back hooking

have picked up the crochet again...
...and have had quite a fruitful month.
i've been making jubilee bunting, pirate flag bunting, baby things, and lots of little black skulls to make some sort of window decoration for my bedroom now the ex has finally moved all his shit out and the room is all mine mine mine (well except when the new boytoy is staying over)

here's some tasteful jubilee bunting...also good for fourth of julys!

more of what i have been doing...

met a boy while out walking my puggle puppy, and the three of us have been spending LOTS of time together.
so not alot of crochet has been happening...

freedom

i'm home.
stay tuned for some crochet action while i recuperate...

don't let the door hit you on the ass

...so much for rekindled love.

this is what it looked like as it was walking out the door. again.

wearing the jolie rouge hat.scarf set that he begged me to make him.

which means i'll be doing what i always do when life sucks.

run away.

i'm packing my hooks and getting on a plan to stockholm.

there's a shop in gamla stan that sells the best sock yarn, so i'm going to be making lotsa these yoga socks for dance training.  because i've got alot of rehearsals for upcoming shows and events...both tribal fusion bellydance and gypsy.

hating leaving the puppy, but it's too soon to get his passport sorted and he'll be well looked after. next time he is coming with me!

it's been a long time...

Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, let me get it back
mm-baby, where I come from...

...yup, I have been a bit pre-occupied.

New/old rekindled love and a puppy have stolen all my free blog time!

But I am still hooking - have made The Dicktator a hate hat (ooo a bit freudian there!) and one of my special jolie rouge deep red skull and crossbones scarf - and I'm still working on the yarneater CAL with Sarah London (who despite my new/old bf, I still love love love in the biggest fangirl way ever).  My yarneater is actually getting too big to carry around, so I need to do some doggy crochet as our little 13 week old puggle Elvis needs more chewy toys!

I used to make really nice crochet doggy bones out of worsted weight cotton and stuffed with my old t-shirts, gave them to my puppies at the salon in Stockholm and also the tattoo shop in Ibiza town...now I gotta get back on the bone and make some for my own little one, but this week has been pretty harsh - we've had literal blood sweat and tears (and a few police) and today is the first day I can read properly - so maybe I'll leave any new projects for a couple days.

Oh, and if it's not past midnight yet for you = happy Sadie Hawkins day!

And if it is later on - happy St David's day!

Miss you all xxx

yarn eater/rug muncher

potaytoe.potahtoe.

so i've now got a handful of little crafty vixens here at work that i've taught to crochet.
and last year our learning project was to create versions of the house of holland shawl for ourselves.
this year's project is going to be the wool eater!

both me and beautiful and wonderful caroline started ours out in peachy colours today:

yesterday...

well yesterday's adventure to the wilds of crouch end was interesting...
i sold absoutely zilch at the crafternoon but the crowd/stock just didn't fit and i'll know for the next one (eastertime).  both myself and the girl next to me that had handknit items sold nothing - but girlie across from me with the most awesome machine knit felted monster stuffed animals did really really well.  her stuff was the cutest and i wish she had a site to link to! i traded her the salt and pepper mustache below for the cutest red plaid monster...and i'm gonna see her again soon as she'd like to learn to crochet - in fact, i had more interest in my crochet clinics than anything else so i'll be doing more of those for sure!

and note for next time: take more amigurumi and jewellry items rather than scarves and bunting...

still, it was a lovely day full of crafty vixens and old friends - and on the way home i spied a couple of my old iknit homegirls in the window so popped over to say HELLO. they'd not seen me in ages and were amazed at my long natural coloured bettie page hair and UK size 8 body!
 (last time they saw me i was probably a still a size 16-20)

crafternoon today!

still not sure what you are up to this afternoon or you are going to be around crouch end anyway?
well the lovely ladies of happily ever crafter have crammed me in a last minute stall at their crafternoon today because they "frickin love" my skully pirate crochet stuff...

so if you'd like to buy some or just hang out then pop on up to the hornsey vale community centre this afternoon...and experience the spectacle of cherie matrix outside zone 1 for two weekends in a row!

of course this means another saturday evening that i miss my gypsy dance rehearsals for the brixton hafla in december. i'm really torn as now my crafty vixen time is really fucking interfering with my bellydance time. however, with the latest knee problems i wonder more and more if i should slow down/give it up altogether? i "frickin love" the bellydance girls and musicians that i've met, and would miss them too much. luckily, the crafty vixen communtiy is just as interesting and loving so i'm replacing one with the other - FOR NOW.

sometimes there just really isn't enough hours in the day to squeeze in everything that i'm interested in - when this happens to you, how do you choose?

don't forget! underground food rave this weekend!

yes, my poor little blog has been sooo neglected! and i'm so so sorry to the few of you that still pay me any mind...but i've been busy hooking things to sell to your good selves that are attending ms marmite lover's underground food rave this weekend.

i am also putting together some learning materials for those lucky enough to join me and juicy lucy in bed to learn to crochet! but for those of you intent on coming, i need to remind you of the RULES...same same as any other awesome underground rave...you GOTTA BUY YOUR TIX IN ADVANCE to get the address...and i swear on my bag of antique hooks that it's not in some field off the M25 (shhh...kilburn)

so to make it easy for my little lovelies click the date to reserve your space now!
Friday starts at 18:00
Saturday starts at midday

well that's my service announcement
its going to be such an awesome event that you'll be a smelly dogshit covered fool to miss it!

enough. from. me.
i've had really bad stomach flu so i better get my ass offline and back to blocking out some crocheted skulls to tempt all ya'll to part with some big fat british pounds...but make sure you bring extra! because my friends  paul a young will be there with their chocolates too!

rain rain go away...

i want to be renegade renegade today!

so i am now toying with the idea of tying my smaller crocheted garlands to the inside of an umbrella and just standing around on brick lane selling my wares that way.  

i'm also wondering if i could add this somehow to a raqis tanoura costume - hiding the crochet under the skirts and lifting layer by layer to reveal crocheted halloween and day of the dead skull items...

still. probably. not. best. for. the. rain.

but just imagine a combination of:

CROCHETED PIRATE BUNTING and long flowing layered skirts!!

also guess i should look into getting a proper indoor stall...ho hum. doesn't feel quite as fun or punk rock.

well i did it.

...and with one day to spare!

i managed to deliver all my july crochet orders.

now time for some interwebbiness.

om my god!

well so far today has been a waste of sunscreen, but not of creativity!

i was up til around 5am with the crochet ideas buzzing through my brain, then was woken up by blaring sunshine at 10am. so slathered on the factor 15 and covered my freshy tattooed back with one of the blondeboy's stretchy xs topman white t-shirts...2 hours later i'm back in bed with a pot of vanilla tea and some MORE new ideas for bunting and where to sell them - which includes a trip to stockholm, hej hej! if they sell ganesh, then they should want some of my newly redesigned oms!

which actually may be my first pattern to upload to ravelry, as i've never really been one to pattern anything before - but i had to make my own version of the awesome kody's om chart as i needed something longer and thinner but also a bit more rounded out in areas. also, because i'm going to be selling them it would be shit shit shit to just steal her hard work, especially as it's a chart she made on her wedding day! aw...

on my wedding day all i managed to invent was a soya milk white russian served in my niece's sippy cup so i could drink it in the shower - so i really am in awe of the kody! also because she has taken the time to chart a ribbon design that i've used to created red ribbon yarnbombs for world aids day.

and of course...the sun is back out now. let's see how long it lasts this time!

more rainbows

even more crochet a rainbow granny blanket squares!
i am being alot more bold with colour than i usually am and loving the results. usually i'm working to a set scheme so don't play around as much as i am with these squares. i love the randomness - something i usually have a hard time with...so strange and so not punk, but hey that's me!

tumblr

i made this tumblr for us all to update with our trashy crochet links...but now what do we do with it???

shock! horror!

i am going to be a bit horrid here...

HOW BAD IS THAT PHOTO?
IT IS THE MOST UNATTRACTIVE PHOTO OF CROCHET EVER!!!

and what is scary is that i still want to make it.
it would be lovely low slung for use with some of my tribal bellydance costumes.

guts

i would write more about my latest crochet project progress right now but my blondeboy just brought me cava breakfast in bed.

see why i love his guts so much?

x

the irony is not lost on me

this evening mostly made me feel horrid. this evening also had me upset with myself. for the last few months i had actually felt a bit guilty for focussing more on my bellydancing lessons and rehearsals than my knitfriends...now i am kinda glad that i did!

however, this evening was also punctuated with some of the most awesome moments. moments that i'll always hold dear - seeing a proud young teen mother and glowing new grandmother, catching up with one of the most zen women i know, seeing the most shit hot tattooed girlie family in london, and visiting with one of my oldest stitchfriends.

and the highlight>>>>>>

afterwards and even though we were all dead tired, with us moms in fucking horrid hip pain - we still as a group and without thinking or speaking rushed to the aid of another woman stranger on the street and stayed with her til the situation was diffused and she was definitely okay. then as soon as she was sorted we said our good nights without even discussing it -just a natural thing.



now, i'll probably offend some knitladies with the rest of this post though

(what's new)

maybe even lose a couple friends from it - but if they don't understand then i am better off without women like this in my life.

all i can say is gosh darn those ladies love bitching about each other and fucking back biting - especially about things they have not lived/experienced. it got so bad and i was feeling so horrid that i finally said "i know i've been gone awhile but i really can't believe how much you all talk shit about each other".

now ironically i'm kinda doing the same thing here on my blog. well, it is called Trashy Crochet - and at least i was brave enough to say what i was thinking TO THE PERSON'S FACE.

so i've had both ends of the frienship spectrum tonight.
and right now i'm still oscillating between the two, wonderin' which end i'll remember next time it's a thursday night and i'm itching to crochet!

ironically i walked right past another stitch event to get to this one tonight.



and PS to my dearest radio lee - if you are reading this - thank you our knight in shining (vintage) armour!!!

mama stitch and fish

yes - i know this photo was taken yesterday and i still had my pink xmas tree up. i wanted to actually leave it up til valentine's day like i have in previous years, but took it down this evening. but only because i scored a pale pink feather and fibre optic tree in the sales that is even more perfect for valentine's day!!! so now i need to crochet some hearts to go on it!

well, to be truthful, o dear - really truthful - i have NOT been crocheting up a storm at all. tis really only the last couple days that i have been finishing off some amigurumi presents for utah family that i promised when i saw them all back home last october! 2 fishes and a plane and a turtle all need to be posted soon...now just got to find some lunch hour time to post them!

but it probably will not be tomorrow, because i'll be getting some anti-inflammatory rx's filled so i can get my left hip back to normal before tribal bellydance on wednesday night. an old kick/thai boxing injury has reared its ugly head and set off a bad bout of bursitis that i pray dies down sooner rather than later. last time i had it i had to give up my daily run - which is also the same time i started getting ALOT curvier.

so guess i better coutneract the less movement again with less food - and more exercising of the crochet muscles!

so what has everyone else been up to?

finished!

i've finished my mom's shrug and started an airplane!
but i also need to do my xmas crochet...luckily the latest lion brand newsletter has the perfect crocheted bauble for the pink tree.

new job/new convert

so i started my new job at blue barracuda yesterday and already am trading crochet lessons for fresh baked brownie goodness! my lovely office manager lucy has wanted to learn for ages - so we start next monday...and lucky for me my new place is just opposite the age concern charity shop where i buy my £1 a ball bright coloured acrylic...

...which is all the better to make baby toys with!
i've got to make a quick baby shower gift but don't know the sex of the baby yet so it'll be bright bright bright instead maybe...figure i can knock up one of those 12 pointed celestial stars in time - fingers crossed.

and i've pretty much finished my mom's shrug - just need to put the side seams in!