Summer crafting...

... can be pretty slow. 

It's been hot out there these past few days. I'm not complaining, mind (I really shouldn't, after whinging for weeks about the unseasonably cold weather), especially since it already seems to be over again (far too soon!), but it did make me slow and unwilling to engage too much with warm wool. I have been doing some gentle crochet, and I've also worked on a test knit which, for a while, took most of my knitting time , but other than that there isn't much to report. I do have plans, though! This year, I am telling myself, is the year when I will knit some Christmas presents. Nothing large - no cardigans or blankets - but some hats and scarves and mitts are in order I think.

I also need to make another baby quilt, because my oldest and dearest friend just had a baby girl (her third little girl, to match our three boys!!). I sewed quilts for her older two, so will obviously have to do the same for the new arrival. :)  Add to that a sudden desire to finally learn embroidery (I purchased the materials for this years ago, but never got round to it) after seeing the beautiful bags that Stefanie over at Woolythyme made, and I am pretty much set for the summer and autumn.

I'm also contemplating what to take on holiday with me. It dawned on me the other day that we will be getting ready to board the ferry to Rotterdam in two weeks time. I have dragged the suitcase down from the attic and have been putting kids clothes aside so there won't be a mad dash to get all sorts of clothes washed and dried on the last day! 

But what really occupies my thoughts is of course not the packing of clothes - it's the packing of crafts projects. I always overestimate the amount of making time that I have on holiday, but hey, I can dream, right?  Right now I am thinking some portable small projects such as hats and scarves, and perhaps that embroidery stuff - after all it's also fairly small and portable... What do you think? What are you taking on holiday with you?

Other than that it's a mad dash to get organised. There is work stuff to be done of course, but in between I have to find time for all the holiday planning too. I have things to get for the journey, and the beach, and food to plan and buy (we are going in the car and we  will have a flat, so we may as well plan ahead - since we are going to a small island food is bound to be pricey there). 

On top of that I am trying to think up an easy irigation system for my greenhouse. The tomatoes are coming on so well in there, and  I really don't want to come back to some kind of desert... The allotment will hopefully look after itself for the fortnight that we are away, although as fate may have it we could be heading for a freak heatwave (a rarity in Yorkshire, but not unheard of...). Not much to be done about that, though, so I can only hope for a) rain, and b) wel-established plants that can weather a dry spell. 

Anyway, look what arrived yesterday!

My mum-in-law was kind enough to give me a subscription to Taproot for my birthday. I'm so looking forward to reading it, but perhaps I should wait until the holiday?

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A Year of Projects

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Stitch Along Wednesday