Menokreatikkul; Saturday Stitches

As I've been away from The Hutch, as mentioned last week, productivity has been curtailed. This week, then, I thought I might introduce you to some of the yarn-work vloggers and bloggers that I like to ogle now and then. As with perusing Ravelry or places like The Knitting Network, I watch/read these people for inspiration and ideas... and to let myself daydream about possible projects for my own hands to tackle.

First, a couple that I am sure I have mentioned before on the blog, but I am happy to put a repeat link.

Juan the Yarn Addict is a prolific poster of vlogs, so there's plenty to watch. It's also a bit of something for everyone. If you like a natter about yarns and unpacking orders, there are plenty of those. If you just like a coffee and work-along with a natter, there are those on a regular basis. I don't watch everything Juan posts, but I always check in once a week, and I definitely like to watch his crochet videos, as he is great with mixing and matching stitches to create wonderful, textured fabrics. He is also a prolific creator of blankets for charity, and, more recently, infant caps for the local maternity ward. Kudos.

Toni at TLYarn Crafts is one of my faves. She is so full of verve and does really good reviews of various crochet products, be that hooks, yarns, winders...you name it, she'll give it depth and breadth. What I love about all the patterns on the TLYC blog is that Toni is the designer of all of them, and, like me, she is in love with colour, colour, and yet more colour!

What is more, Toni is a big advocate for Tunisian Crochet, and almost all that I have learned about that particular craft has come from her online tutorials. She does have a book on the craft... I am trying not add more to my shelves, though it is very tempting!

More recent additions to my watch list...

Chandi at Expression Fiber Arts brings weekly videos with mini tutorials to help one through the pattern being focused on. To get those weekly patterns, which are free for a limited time, one needs to pop over to the EFA blog. There are some truly gorgeous knits and crochet patterns on offer, and genuine inspiration. Chandi does have a few of her own designs in the earlier pieces, but her main focus has been the yarns on offer... she employs designers for the majority of the patterns. I lust after some of the yarns... but have restrained myself thus far. Chandi had a passion for hand-dyeing as well as luxury yarn and has taken it to superior levels.

Honourable mentions must go to Deborah Knits (lots of insightful and incisive commentary on the craft of knitting - it was she who did the amazing reviews on the Game Of Wool show...) - and also to Simon Henry Makes for sheer entertainment. Simon just natters away on a lot of subjects, not necessarily yarn crafts, but does it with heart and panache. 

Very recently, though, I have added to my subscriptions Rachel Is Knitting. This was thrown my way by the algorithm in the ethermutts, I suppose, because, at the time it came to my attention, she was leading a group of ladies around Scotland on a yarn tour... and, most engagingly, at that! Then came Ireland. Rachel has now announced that she has quit her academic career to go full-time on her channel. I've become a devotee.

There are so many inspirational channels and web pages out there... oh to be a sponge...

Menoturals; Floral Friday

Always a joy to share in the Nature Friday theme with the LLB gang! Today I bring you the scarlet ones...

Menordinarisms; Sigh

After the visit to the gallery, another day of simply keeping company with my sister was had, and then I transferred up to the IKEA car park. I shop at the big blue-and-yellow barn, grab some food, and spend a couple of nights. As it happened, the weather turned. We had been planning a couple of day trips to outside activities, neither of which could be entertained in the almost monsoonal levels of water that decided to fall from the sky. It also got windy and considerably more chill than it had been for a month or so. Very disappointing... sigh...

At one point, when it was more like light showers than a garden hose, I took the opportunity to charge the van. Of course, I had to extend the line more than usual, because an entitled EV owner felt they could just use the space as a regular parking spot. This meant I was using up the spot that ought to have been available on the fast-charger side... 

The selfishness of this makes me fume. When the woman in her designer gym suit turned up, she made a point of not looking anywhere other than the car itself. She knew it was wrong, but did it anyway. Sigh...

While I sat there, too, another pair of women in the red Land Rover turned up after their shopping foray... and decided they could just leave their trolley where it was...

We were literally 50 yards from the trolley collection point. Too hard, apparently. So Muggins had to move it out of the way in order to drive out without risk of colliding with the thing... sigh...

During that stay on the Straiton hill, I observed boy racers throwing doughnuts in their suped-up third-hand vehicles, workmen deciding they could just tip their rubbish on the edges, and in the mornings it would be obvious that folk had parked to have their take-out meals and then decided that opening doors to put the packaging into the bin beside them was just too much hard work, so left if lying all over the ground... sigh...

I'm becoming a grumpy old woman!!! Seriously, what are people thinking? Not much beyond their immediate selves, it seems. 

Anyway, the weather persisted, so I decided just to head west again. I stopped for another couple of nights in Lanark, taking the now familiar looped route home. I was back in Dunoon by Sunday, and the rain was still happening.... sigh...

I'll hang around here for three weeks, then try getting back on the road in July. I have to go pick up some art, for a start...