.....I know what your thinking..............

.....some of you, i just know..........are wondering.....'what has happened to the Japanese flower crochet thingy'...the long overdue unfinished crocheted shawl/scarf thingy that perplexed me with its identity and then had me crocheting like a woman possessed.......and then.........'nothing'............well...we have had a falling out...the shawl and I.....I have turned my back on it.........'and it', has shut itself in the downstairs cupboard............sounds harsh doesn't it.....but for the time being we have both decided that we needed some time out.........i shall explain.....
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....This is what it looks like at the moment.........................

......its quite big isn't it.....and it looks kinda OK too......the trouble is...........

..............when i began this project i hadn't at the time decided what i was actually making.....i was just happily crocheting away at making these adorable flowers and not thinking about what i wanted to make...........but i should of done,.................because, as this thing got larger, and i decided to turn it into a shawl,....i didn't consider the yarn that i was using might be the wrong yarn...............you see......the yarn i have used is 50% acrylic and 50% wool, double knit..........sounds OK....but it has made it a very heavy piece of fabric and also a very stiff piece of fabric......so when you wrap it around your shoulders it sticks out like a bit of cardboard and doesn't hang lovely and loosely like i had imagined it would.

...........Also...because the yarn is not 100% natural wool you can't block it successfully............this i didn't know till i came to try it.................i did a test area...pinned it out ...sprayed it....left it for a good 24 hours....went back and checked it.........................aaand..............................no change..'AHHHHHHHHHHgh...................still curly edged....................i was a bit fed up by this point................i had hoped that i would be able to show you this wonderful cosie shawl all snugly and lovely..........but all i had was a large curly edged stiff piece of cardboard........................................so lessons have been learnt.............................always think before you start a project 'is the yarn appropriate for the job'.................

.............So...........for the time being my shawl and I are taking a break from each other and I shall continue to enjoy my small 'quick fixer' projects.....................for now anyway,............and speaking of which............

.........................way way back at the start of the year I showed a book that i had bought.......it was this one......................................

.....well.....i pulled this of the book shelf a few days ago, and I have been making one square an evening.........and do you know..............i am just loving just making one square from each design.......no big project in mind...............just nice simple one of'' squares...............don't know what i shall do with them when i have made a load...........but at this moment...................i don't really care.....................just thoroughly enjoying the simple creative process of    'just doing'..........

..........here's a few pictures from inside the book.........

......Its a great book.....and i highly recommend it...........

......now here's my squares.........so far......

.......i shall show you more as i make them.......

.....Also......i have decided to mix my yarns............i find as long as i stick to using 'double knit' yarn i get a more colourful range of designs in my crochet...........so in these squares i have used.....

Acrylic and wool mix

100% pure wool

Debbie bliss fez

Alpaca

and cashmere.

.....And they all crochet together beautifully.......i'm sure there are loads of you out there doing that already anyway, but for me....being a fairly new crocheter and not a great master of yarn, this has been quite a revalation.........i have always tended to stay with the one wool that i am used to and not experimenting enough with other textures......so this has opened up my choice of colour greatly.............so ...............if your like me and tend to play it safe................perhaps try adding something else to your crochet...................there is so much wonerful yarn out there, that i just want to use it all...........

Have a wonderfully peachy weekend.....Pixie xxx