It’s hard to believe that another Monday has come around again, and not only that, we’re at the end of January.  How did that happen?

It’s been a very cold grey day here today, but we’ve had a couple of bright and sunny ones, and I’ve been out pottering, quite literally, in the veg plot as I’ve been rounding up all the plastic pots which were ‘going to come in handy’ and in fact have blown into various nooks and crannies, binning the broken ones and washing the useful ones and stacking them in the new mini greenhouse.  I’ve started a diary of my gardening efforts which you’ll find via a tab under the header so I won’t repeat myself.  Not much happening at the moment but hopefully there will be!

I found a cheerful bunch of tulips in the supermarket yesterday which have brought a ray of sunshine into the gloom today….

The big excitement of the week was a long awaited delivery.  My very own rainbow in a box!  I’ve got some wonderful new cotton yarn to play with.  Not available in the UK just yet and I shall have to be a little secretive about it for the time being…

…but I can let you have a peek…

…do you want to see?

It’s so pretty. It’s a thinnish DK weight cotton with a beautiful sheen, and crochets like a dream on a 3.5 hook.  I’m going to be doing lots of experiments with it over the next few weeks so watch this space…

And coincidently, the day before it arrived, I had an email from Jill, who writes the Stocki blog, about the Beautiful Blogger Blanket.  I don’t know if you have come across it in your travels through the Blogosphere but you can find out all about it it here…

Jill was letting me know that my name had come up on the Beautiful Blogger Blanket Wish List, proposed by BebeRouge (Thank you BebeRouge, what an honour!) as somone she would like to see creating a square for the blanket.  So this has been my very first project with this fab new yarn.

I will replace this photo asap when I have better light to do the colours justice!

I’m sorry I won’t be able to share the yarn brand just yet, but the pattern, which I have devised, will be available in the tutorials very soon.

I’ve had a little help with photography from Henry …

…whom I’m a little worried about at the moment.  He’s been much brighter since he had his big operation last summer, and still rules the roost and keeps Higgins in order, but he’s never really regained the weight he lost despite having a big appetite.  He seemed to be showing all the signs of having a thyroid problem but the tests have come back negative, and he’s lost a little more weight.  He’s under observation, and we are keeping our fingers crossed, but he still likes to be involved in everything that’s going on, so that a positive sign. (Oh, and note the socks.  A sign of how busy I’ve been, socks still on the needles, and I’ve hit the supermarket!)

And while we’re on the subject of cats, I’vew been working on samples of needlefelt animals for my next course at The OutHouse Studio and this is the first one..

And finally, I had to show you this.  Higgins in his favourite spot in the sunshine, in a good vantage point to shout abuse at passing tractors, bicycles and joggers.  (Note the chewed remains of a ball, and the stolen flower pot, great fun to steal that when I was trying to stack them up)

And now the back view, not easy to maintain ones upright watchful position without the aid of a box…

…and eventually it all gets too much, and you have to let things slide…

So all that’s left is to hand you over to Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts where she is hosting this week’s Handmade Monday and where you will find lots of other handmade goodies to see.

Have a good week,

see you soon! xx