Yes!! It could be me!

Yesterday was incredible not because Neil, DaPlonka (Leila) and I went to the Hilton Hotel (junc 24 on the M1 - ok, so we got a bit lost and came off at Junc 24A and ended up in a quarry - but that's just another story) It wasn't special because Neil and I were being recognised for achieving our 10% in sales (still trying to figure that one out) well it was - I'm not trying to down play the importance of that achievement - a lot of hard work went into it - a LOT! But the thing that made it special for me was the incredible list of speakers, six in total - they were all excellent and incredibly inspiring (and I took notes from all of them on my phone until my alarm, rather embarrasingly, went off at 4.30pm and everyone thought I'd not listened to the "switch off your phone message" at the beginning! It was in FLIGHT MODE!!!honest! It WAS my alarm) anyway, two speakers stood out in my mind, two that I could relate to 100% they were Jennifer Synnott who started in Kleeneze at the beginning of 2015 working it part time around her Executive PA job ( we all know how time consuming PA jobs are!) Who is now Gold Executive!! In just what?! 18 months?! Jennifer took us through her story of redundancy and debt, she told us about ladies she'd got on board, mothers with 3 young children, a young lady who was homeless who is now debbt free and moving into a house of her own soon. Then came Gill Nicholson, now she really inspired me, Kleeneze has been part of her entire life because her father who was working as a fireman at the time - needed extra pennies, so he took up door to door selling (brushes as per Kleeneze beginings) he did ok, was happy but as always, circumstances change. At some point her father decided to work Full time at Kleeneze during a week's holiday, just as an experiment to see what the earning potential was, he made DOUBLE in 1 week what he was earning in 1 month as a fire fighter! No brainer, he ended up running his own Kleeneze business, making Gill a partner later on. Now Gill has literally travelled the world (which is what I find so inspiring) on her Kleeneze income. She's even found lost family members, it was such a beautiful and heart warming story.
I sat in awe, completely inspired thinking - I WISHED I could do that, but also thinking I could never aspire to that, I'll never make it that high. However, it's tomorrow now and the euphoria has worn off, I'm sat here in my lounge in my dressing gown and slippers drinking a cup of coffee and I'm thinking "why NOT me?!" Why can't I expect to be the same? Why is my story going to be any LESS inspirational some day? It's these little negatives that are the enemy - ALL the speakers went through hardship, debt, job loss, despair, negative thinking. At some point in time THEY sat where I was sitting, thinking what I was thinking - so WHY not me?? OF COURSE I'm going to get there and I'm dragging whoever wants to come for the ride with me because MY story, MY life, MY dreams are just as important, just as needed and just as inspirational as the next! Role on to the challenge! I'm up for it! 

My First peruse into the world of Free form Crochet (Scrumbling)

Well! I can hardly be called an exemplary Blogger can I? It's been nigh on  8 months since I last wrote on here - I will endeavour to do better.
I didn't take many photos of my latest project, but I'm very proud of it none the less, I'm currently in to making phone socks, mainly because they're relatively quick and easy to make (well, for the average crafter, not me, because I keep getting side tracked!) I'm absolutely determined to get myself a shelf in the crafter's shop on Burton Road at the top of town. It only costs £25 a month, but when you have no  job and no money, that's a lot of money to find. However, I keep working on it and thought to make the phone socks as a quick fill for the shelf whilst I'm working on larger and more time consuming projects. Seemed like a good idea anyway. I've made a variety of socks and am relatively pleased with the result but, as always, they're none of them actually 100% complete and ready for sale yet. I really must work on my attention span!

Anyway, I was particularly proud of my latest phone sock because I've started tying in different skills that I've been teaching myself - and this particular phone sock was done entirely by SCRUMBLING, or Free form Crochet. I really enjoy this kind of crochet, not least because I have a massive problem with following patterns, I tend to start off reasonably okish and get sidetracked along the way and the next thing I know, I'm completely fobbing it! So free form suits because there are no rules to follow, absolutely perfect for me - but I don't have much imagination, so it's still a pretty hard process for me.

Unfortunately there are no photos to show - other than the end result because I didn't think to write a blog about it, however, I shall try to do better next time.

I started off with a small piece of green wool from  my oddments bag and started practising with the Bullion Stitch, I love it - but haven't really ever got the hang of it, now this is where scrumbling really comes into it's own, because you're not following a pattern, so you can just do as many or as few stitches as you like. My practice piece was 13 bullion stitches long and curved off to the left slightly - that was as far as my attention span took me, so then I got bored and started to add several stitches into one stitch, kept this up for a while to develop a nice little wave. I then moved onto scarlet wool and double (UK triple) stitch except I was doing the chainless double foundation stitch, did enough of those to have a nice curve that allowed me to make a full circle and tail which, rather fantastically seemed to flow nicely from the green Bullion curve - at that point I decided I had to do something with it, and ended up drawing around my phone to get a  rectangular base to put my scrumbled pieces on. From that moment forward - I was making a phone case.  Grabbing a lilac, I did yet more Bullion stitches, was back on track with my practice by then, (but only briefly, 13 stitches seems to be my limit) did a bit of a chain and made some shell like curves and moved onto dark purple. Tried a bit of lattice stitch and a rectangle of (US) treble (UK) double. Another frilly effort around the base and corner of the phone sock, with a smidgen of scarlet on the top side. Then I had a go at making little puffs, I just stitched in a round from a base of two chains, and kept going round until it was big enough for me (about three rounds) then I started pulling it in by missing a couple of stitches - and the next thing I knew, I had three beautiful puffs!

I played around with my scrumbled pieces and chose the best fit for them, and crochet them together in what I considered the best pattern. However, it still looked pretty bland, I wanted more, so I sewed on some beads to bling up the center of the puffs, and crochet in embroidery thread (which is incredibly hard to do I found!) over the top of the green frilly bit and then did a slip stitch chain to highlight the swirl of the lilac bullion stitch.

I'm pretty pleased with the result, especially for a first attempt.

I do enjoy scrumbling and am in the middle of another set now - I haven't decided on what I'm going to make from it, but I figured, if I just did my own thing and then kept them all in a bag, at some point, they might come in useful. In the meantime, I have a rather interesting phone case to complete and sell. I intend to line it with some kind of matching/complimentary lining, if I said it was mainly because there are so many loose ends for me and my gnat's attention span to concentrate on, would that be a bad thing to say? If it is - then I'm going to line it with a complimentary material because I think it's a necessary addition :p

Ramadan Mubarak

Alhamdulillah (thanks be to God) we made it to Ramadan 2016 or as my trusty Ramadan App tells me - 1 Ramadan 1437.

Ramadan Mubarak (Blessed Ramadan) to all of my wonderful sisters in Islam, we made it, not everyone has, there have been some who were taken before this time, Alhamdulillah the rest of us have another chance to try to win brownie points before we're carted off to our deathly abode - InshAllah (God willing) we shall make it to the end and manage to reap the greatest rewards we can.

I've been waiting for Ramadan this year, with my Imaan (faith) at an all time low, I've been living in dread of becoming one of the Hypocrites as mentioned in the Qur'an many times. I don't want to be left behind, for all my wappy ways, I do have a deep rooted belief. I CANNOT believe there is nothing after this life. To me, a caterpillar has it's life as an egg, then as a caterpillar, a pupa and finally (or maybe not) as a Butterfly. Well, if they can do it - why not us - who's to say there isn't life after death, who's to say, there isn't more after this? I believe there is, and I believe the answers, for me at least, are within the preachings of Islam. Therefore, it's been deeply distressing for me to find that my imaan and my practice have been slipping, and I have struggled daily with myself and my feelings of desolation.

Things aren't easy at the moment in my life, it's just the way it is. In Islam we believe we are tested,

And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to the patient, Who says, when afflicted with calamity: “To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return”: They are those on whom (descend) Blessings from Allah, and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance. (Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)

He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving. (Al-Mulk 67:2)

Whatever misfortune happens to you, is because of the things your hands have wrought, and for many (of them) He grants forgiveness. (Ash-Shura 42:30)

On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray:) "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith." - 2:286

Sometimes I wonder if I'm strong enough to carry my burdon. I find it terribly difficult to practice as a Muslim when I'm on my own, and then I look at all the other sisters around who are in the same situation as myself - who seem to have few if no problems. My conclusion always swings back to my being weak and I must try harder.

So I've been praying, BEGGING to live long enough to be given the chance to slightly redress the balance inshAllah (God willing) and Alhamdulilah, I have been..
I nearly didn't though. I had promised my son and his partner that I'd visit them on Monday. For some idiotic reason, I had convinced myself that Ramadan MUST be on Tuesday, I was praying for Tuesday, but no, the moon was sighted a few hours ago in Mekka, so Ramadan (for us in the UK) is on Monday - tomorrow, the day I'm driving all the way to Nottingham and back, having been up until 2.30 am trying to ensure I've drunk enough water to carry me through the 19 hour fast. 

I'm happy, because my belief that I'm in a sorry state as far as my Islamic strength is - it's true, I am in a sorry state, but, perhaps not as sorry a state as I believed (alhamdulillah) because the moment, the MOMENT, I heard that the moon had been sighted - I burst into tears, I was absolutely devastated because I'd promised to go to Nottingham and I DESPERATELY didn't want to fail in my Islamic practice. This tells me that my believe is VERY strong, my practice might be lacking, but my believe is strong, so strong that I was completely torn over what to do - fortunately (alhamdulilah) we've sorted out the Nottingham business, and I am free to start my fast alongside all the other fasting Muslims in the world alhamdulilah. 

I know I'm not the best, I know I'm a long long way from being even remotely good as a muslima (lady muslim) , but I AM happy it's Ramadan, I am happy that I burst into tears, and felt so desolate when I heard, it gave me a feeling of strength because it showed me that I am still muslim in my heart and soul, I'm a bit lost at the moment, but my belief is SO strong, I'm praying that I manage to build up my strength again this Ramadan. My soul needs this, I need this, I pray that I will manage to get through this inshAllah (God willing) 

Ramadan Mubarak to all my Brothers and Sisters in Islam, may our efforts be rewarded and our prayers accepted throughout this auspicious month. Ameen <3 

The funny little Octopus craze

I was posted the same picture, by three different friends, living in three very different parts of the world the other day,

This was the picture, it's very cute, (the pattern can be found at: Pattern...http://www.1dogwoof.com/2016/05/crochet-jellyfish.html ) I couldn't get the idea that it was more a jelly fish than an Octopus, but I think that was half my problem when making it - I couldn't differentiate between the two (you'll see why in a moment. )

Anyway, I set to, crocheting this little cutie, I was worried I wasn't up to the challenge, because I'm really not good at following patterns, but somehow, this is a fantastic pattern, I found it incredibly easy to follow before too long, I'd the top and a few tentacles completed, I finished there for the night, I wanted to add a few more tentacles in the morning, and just complete it (I'd forgotten at this stage what it was, and I had visions of different coloured tentacles)

Morning came and I set too to complete my project, I decided the beautiful teal green I'd got in my stash from Aldies not so long ago would be the perfect colour to add to the lilac I'd done the main body in. Continued with the tentacles - which I was finding quite therapeutic to do.

Face embroidered on - just about the one thing I do not have in my stash are safety eyes. Googly - yes, safety - no! Tied all the tentacles together and shoved them through the main hole in the centre of the underbelly, tied them off, filled the body with toy stuffing, and single crochet (UK double) around the edge. I did take a photo of it as it was in it's finished state, but I was a bit too flippant with the editing and found I'd deleted the photos I wanted.
Continuing on, I thought it would look nice with a frilly edging , just to make it look a little more authentic - at this point,I was thinking it looked more like a jelly fish than an octopus, infact, I'd completely forgotten I had started making an octopus! So I went around the entire body section making a little wavy pattern all around the edge - and VOILA! A Jelly fish!

At that exact point, I remembered I was making an Octopus and mine had 9 tentacles, so I had to cut one off! And Voila!! an Octopus! <3
I posted the pictures of my efforts onto a crochet page on FB only to find, EVERYONE had been sent the same photos that I had, and that everyone was making them. Amazing really, to think how these funny little crazes happen. However, on a happy note, the world is now full of funny, furry, and beautiful Octopusi :) 

Woolly Nutella

I've been getting some stick recently for being just about the only person in the world that hasn't tried Nutella - I can't say it's one of those things that has appealed to me - ever! Anyway, I decided to get a jar and add my own twist.

I decided to Knit my own jar of Nutella so people can stop feeling like I'm missing out all the time :p
Officially, the jar belongs to a friend of mine, and it will be dutifully returned to her (she, incidentally thought I'd crocheted around the jar of Nutella in it's entirety, she wasn't impressed until I showed her the real Nutella jar in all it's unopened glory!)

I crocheted around the jar using UK double stitch (US single) changing colours as I saw appropriate, once I'd decided the white was enough around the main body of the jar, I then did the top (mainly because I was still using the white) I kept increasing until I thought it looked about right. Once I was happy with the fit around the top of the lid, I then crocheted one round through the back of the loop, thereby giving the lid a clear cut "fold" down, then I continued down the side of the lid without increasing until I got to the edge, I then did a round of decrease stitches to give the jar that separated lid look. 

Picking up on the base again, I did another couple of rounds of white, then finished it off with about 4 lines of brown, again decreasing on the last row to about the same number of stitches as the lid. 

I cut out cardboard for the side and a circle for the lid to give the "jar" a stable look, then filled it with toy stuffing until it was firm. 

The fun part was all the embroidery for the label, I crochet embroidered the writing on but used a needle for the knife (which unfortunately doesn't look at all authentic, but was the best I could do given the space confines) The bread was a challenge, I had no bread coloured wool, so had to improvise with two different colours of yellow, ok, so it ended up looking a little like a sunflower, I think, in the main, it was ok. I did a few squirly bits to try to make the chocolate spread on the bread look a little more authentic, then moved onto the flower which I did separately and then sewed on. The hazel nuts were crochet embroidered on, and the leaves done separately and, again, sewed on. 

I then sewed the lid onto the base with a simple running stitch that was hidden in the lid. 

All in all, I'm quite pleased with it, it's not as authentic as I had hoped, but, considering I've never done this kind of thing before, and I am still a novice at crochet, AND, as usual, I'd no pattern to go buy, I just did my "thing" and kept going until I was happy with it. I think it turned out ok really :) 

Cutting costs on a Birthday card and present.

It was my friend's birthday yesterday (Sunday) I've known her nigh on 30 years, which is quite incredible, as I've known her longer than I've known my husband, and he's been in my life since FOREVER!
I'm incredibly short of cash at the moment so I was struggling with ideas of what I should do. I desperately wanted to send a card, but I don't "do" cards, so I was uncertain of where to start.
In the end, I just got out my pens and some stamps and stamped out a butterfly and roses. I played around colouring the butterfly in, and then went over many of the lines in silver, and then did the same with the roses.

 This was the basic design I came up with, but it looked a little bland, I wanted a bit more - but didn't know what. My trusty FB friends came to my rescue and suggested a little glitter and some wording. I was always going to add the Happy Birthday on the front anyway, but wasn't sure about the rest.

 In the end, I came up with this, I think it's quite cute, especially for a non card crafter :p

 I hope she liked it too, the whole lost cost me no more than a first class stamp, I certainly appreciate the value of the whole project <3

I "kinder" like this little Amigurumi milarky

I apologise for my little play on words - I was trying to think of something to do with owls - I found out that the Latin for Owl is BUBONEM - don't say I don't teach you something new :p Talking of something new - I did something different yesterday, I came across some lovely little Amigurumi crochet "beings" on Pintrest (yes, sorry - back on there again!) they were crochet around the Kinder Surprise toy pods - they Yolk part of the egg. I instantly fell in love with them and (of course) I just HAD to have a go :p

I'm so pleased with the result, I wished I'd done some kind of tutorial/pattern to remind me of what I did - but I've now set all my friends on Kinder Egg eating excercise (you know that prayer? "Please God, if you can't make me skinny, then please make my friends fat" - I think someone might have been listening because I'm still not skinny, and the opportunity to make my friends fat has arisen)
Anyway, I started with a magic circle and just kept going round increasing the stitches until I'd got to a suitable size that would enable me to start circling around the sides. From then on, I just kept checking the crochet fit the egg. When I came to the top of the bottom piece, I crochet backwards (Crab stitch) until I got to the last 4 stitches, for which I resumed ordinary crochet I then continued going round, decreasing until I was left with one stitch.
I then crochet a circle for the stomach and one for each eye. At this point, Neil laughed and said it was rubbish and didn't look much like anything - so I scrapped the stomach and used felt for the wings and tail, the eyes and beak were still crochet. A small square for the top of the head and ears completed my owl for the night.

the following morning I'd set my heart on giving it some character, so I continued to play around and fiddle until I was happy enough to glue the crochet on to the "yolk"

Tadaa! The end result.

I love him, can't for the life of me think of a name, but he's gorgeous, and I'm pretty pleased with my efforts.