Retail therapy, crochet stylie...

I don’t know about you, but I have HAD IT with January! Finish already, for cryin’ out loud!

Yesterday I faced yet another morning of:

Waking to darkness;

Grumpy child, reluctant to get out of bed;

All of us running late, rushing out the door to school;

Rain, rain, rain. Chilling me to the bone.

I reached my limit. Absolutely fed up. Something had to be done. I ignored the cluttered kitchen table, the pile of stuff on the stairs that needed to be carted up and sorted...instead I hopped into the car and drove through the dreary rain and giant flood-puddles to a nearby village with a beautiful yarn shop.

I know I’m nursing my crochet-strained arms and shoulders, but I really want to make this shawl. I fancied it when I first saw Annette's design at My Rose Valley, and fell fully head over heels in love when I saw it again, not once, but twice: in beautiful pastels on Sandra’s blog, Cherry Heart, and then again in happy colours at Coco Rose Diaries. I purchased the pattern, printed it out, and took it with me to the yarn shop.

I spent a lovely half hour playing with the selection of colours whilst nibbling a pain au raisin from the bakery next door. I had balls of yarn laid out in rows on the carpet as I searched for the perfect colour combination. Like a kid in a candy shop I was, sampling this sweet colour, swapping for that bolder shade...

peek-a-boo!

In the end, I came home with this:

I’m sure those of you who have been around long enough to see some other WIPs will not be surprised by this. I thought I was being rather clever, not buying a complete range of pink yarns (I am a very pink person). But when I got home, I noticed that some of the yarns are variations of the colours I chose for the Blossoming Bag...

...and they’re not all that different from my hexie blanket choices...

And the taupe which will be the main colour of the shawl is pretty identical to my living room

Well, at least I am coordinated! (But I may ask for some advice with my next impromptu WIP, get out of this comfort zone...but it is such a *pretty* zone!)

So another WIP. The purple scarf is very nearly done, the hexie blanket has a new batch of purple blooms this week, and I spent Bunny’s harp lesson crocheting the first few rows of the scarf! This is beautiful yarn to work with, soft and smooth and indulgent.

I ended the day with a rehearsal with the chamber choir, a few hours of beautiful music and singing. Talk about turning around a bad day!

January, you can kiss my...hand and take your leave! I have moved on!

Chrissie x  

PS Share what you’re crocheting to battle the January blahs! Link up below...