Happy Mail…

Hi Everyone… a little blog post today about various crochet related packages that have either popped through my letterbox or emails that have dropped into my inbox in these last couple of weeks bringing a little happiness to this crocheter! They’re worth sharing with you… 😄

First up I received an email inviting me to contribute to Redfin’s next article, “Weave, Knit, Crochet & More: The Best Ways to Incorporate Textile Into Your Home“. Redfin is a big US real estate company and it was fun to contribute to their blog… here’s the finished article by Ryan Castillo:

https://www.redfin.com/blog/decorating-with-textiles/

As many of you will know, last weekend I was in Northern Ireland for the ‘Spinning Yarns Festival’ and we had an absolutely amazing time! I’m in the process of putting together all the photos and videos I took into a blog post (or two)! I really want to capture the visit and do it real justice before sharing it with you all so you’ll have to wait just a little longer for those blog posts… but here’s a few photos from what was a truly wonderful visit!

At the yarn festival it was a pleasure to meet Noel and Julie from ‘Henryettas Hooks’ who had a stand. We enjoyed such a lovely chat about crochet hooks! 🙂 They were featured in a recent issue of ‘Inside Crochet’ magazine and have a popular Facebook Group that you can join here:

Henryettas Hooks on Facebook

They are also on Instagram: Henryettas Hooks on Instagram

Noel is a true craftsman and makes unique wooden or wood with acrylic crochet hooks. They are a true work of art and the first happy package that popped through my letterbox this week was one of their hooks! Noel has kindly sent me a sample to try out… 😄

It really is a thing of beauty…😍 The handle is made of a marbled acrylic called ‘Sea Spray’…💙🌊 And both the wood and acrylic is super super smooth – I didn’t know wood could feel like this!

As a crafter it’s an absolute joy to be crocheting using a tool (the most important tool us crocheters need) that has also been lovingly and expertly hand crafted. That’s really special indeed…

Having happily used my Tulip Etimo hooks for many years, this hook feels different in the hand. I’ve done some research about crochet hooks this weekend and have learned so much! I didn’t even know there were inline or tapered heads and that people can have a strong preference to one or the other! The beauty of Noel’s hooks are that they are custom made so he will be able to craft a hook to specific wishes and requirements – that’s amazing isn’t it and I’m planning to liaise with Noel about the perfect wooden hook for me! Of course that kind of service comes at a cost and rightly so… but ‘Henryettas Hooks’ has quite a following which speaks volumes about the quality of the workmanship and hooks made.

Scroll through the Facebook Group to see so many possibilities: https://www.facebook.com/groups/henryettashooks/?ref=share

Next through the letterbox was the new issue of ‘Simply Crochet’ Magazine. And I’ve been featured in an article about crochet alongs hosted by independent designers! It’s a lovely article capturing the spirit of crochet alongs hosted by designers and you’ll all know how I’ve enjoyed sharing my crochet alongs with so many of you!

It’s always a privilege to be asked to contribute to an article in any of the Crochet Magazines. And I’m always amazed how the writers can condense all the information we give them into such a concise and lovely read…

And then yesterday I received an order from ‘Dotty’s Yarn Pegs’. I have ordered Stylecraft and Scheepjes sets from Dotty’s Yarn Pegs in the past and now I have a full set of ‘Emu’ yarn pegs too. They really are invaluable to me for planning colours for projects.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/dottysyarnpegs/

I even ordered a top up for my existing Stylecraft pegs… these colours were added to the Stylecraft Special DK range earlier this year…

And then the next package that popped through the letterbox was from ‘Sarah Kay Arts’. I discovered Sarah Kay from a magazine article. Sarah is an artist living and working from the Shetland Islands. Have a look at her website…

https://www.sarahkayarts.com/

How could I resist ordering some ‘Beachcomber Buttons’ which are handmade resin buttons made by Sarah. Each button is slightly different and they have tiny pieces of sea glass, sea urchin, limpet shell and mussel shells collected from a beach on the Island of Whalsay and Burra.

Sarah also has beautiful cards and other artworks…

I need to crochet something that needs to use those buttons now! But that will have to wait a little longer because I received an email earlier this week regarding a big commission for next year… I can’t say anymore at this stage but needless to say, my hooks will continue to keep me very busy!

And the final package through the door was some yarn to start playing around with for the commission… 😃 We have kept the postal services busy this week!

Happy Crocheting Everyone! 😃💙