A change of tools

A friend of mine is holding a charity fundraiser morning tea in a couple of months and I suggested I could make a few small things that she could sell there.

Then I looked at the diary and realised we are going to be away a couple of weeks before the event. Then I looked again and remembered that around that same time, our grandsons like me to make some goods for their school Mothers' Day stall. 

Then I looked at all the deadlines for various projects over the next few months!  Put all of that together and I came to the realisation that I had better start now!

It called for a change of tools! Stitcheries and embroidery are SLOW work and I wanted to knock over a few quick projects, so that at least I would feel I was making progress. There was nothing for it but to exchange the needle for a crochet hook!  

A few hours here and there with hook and thread and now there are eight little pretties in my 'Fete' box.

The patterns above are from very old books, but the fan bookmark below is available from this site if you are interested.

Now the box is no longer empty, I feel more comfortable about tackling some slower projects and have already started on three mug rugs. I have plans for coat hangers, pincushions, coasters and tissue covers, so we'll see how many I can get done!  The crochet hook is not being put away yet as I can work on more items when we're in the car. 

It might not be the weather for a picnic in some parts of the world at the moment, but I will still show you my "Picnic in the Park" tablecloth and cutlery wrap:

I like the idea of a wrap to carry the cutlery - keeps it clean and together:

and looks good too: 

You can find the pattern in Patchwork & Stitching Vol 15 No 2:

It was lovely to catch up with some of our family last week when we went to see our grandson receive his Band Leader badge at the school assembly. Every minute is precious with family! Thankfully we have Skype for the more distant ones.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Happy stitching.

Val