Sunshine, crochet, staycation . . .

I must admit that blogging over the summer months has been a bit tricky - time seems to be running away this summer, school holidays will soon be over!

I've had a couple of weeks at home with the boys on a 'staycation'.  We had a fun city break earlier in the summer so I was happy to spend some time at home - in beautiful sunny weather no less! So no complaints :)

I planned just to chill out, work on a summer crochet project and a little crafting if I could squeeze it in.  We also had some lovely family visitors at home so plenty to fill the time.

Here's a peek at the crochet throw I've been working on . . . the colours are inspired by the flowers and fauna of the moor near my home, a favourite place to take a relaxed plod :)

I think I started it at the end of May, you might remember me showing the initial blocks/experiments . . .

This was the first picture I took on the 27th May - I'd forgotten it was that long ago!  The project has evolved a bit since then.  The lacey squares above turned out really pretty but were quite intricate and after a while I decided to use them as a centre panel and to outline them with simpler blocks.   I'm making 35 blocks in total to make possibly a settee throw or something like that.

Above shows the three different blocks I chose.  The bottom left square is going to be placed on each corner and the traditional grannies around the edge - well, that's the plan.  I'm using Leonie Morga's book 100 Bright and Colourful Squares and it's just brilliant!  I think it will become a firm favourite :)

Here's some moorland photos I took the other day to demonstrate my colour choices . . .

We've been so lucky with good weather these past two weeks - makes a nice change!

A nice trip to Gress beach which is very close to my home the other evening - completely deserted apart from another lady with a lovely bouncy springer dog.  The sea was flat calm - I think this seagull thought I was stalking it, hehe! . . .

This old boiler from a ship has been on the beach since I can remember . . . having just googled it, it seems the ship (the Glenesk?) ran aground in the 1920s.  It's  quite a landmark on the beach . . . and of course a good viewpoint for a passing seagull :) :)

Hope your holiday time has been enjoyable if you have been having one.  I'm back to some more regular crafting soon I hope.  Two lovely craftbooks were my birthday pressie - both fabulous, but the textile collage book is just wonderful!

Lots of inspiration in both of these :)

Back soon,
Alison x