Celebrating Life.

I'm sorry I've been away for a while Hooky Pals - longer than I intended. I enjoyed a very pleasant week in Mallorca, with very warm sunshiney days and nothing to do but potter around.

Above is a view from the promenade at C'an Picafort where we stayed,  a very pleasant little town just down the coast from Alcudia.

 I just had to take this picture! So much work has gone into creating this sand dragon.

 These remaining pics are of Alcudia old town, I just love wandering down these little narrow streets.

Unfortunately, the day after I got back a very close friend and neighbour passed away, losing her short and traumatic battle with cancer. Gone far too soon........ She was a wonderful, feisty, vibrant woman who had always grabbed life with both hands and lived it to the full - something she tried to continue to do to the very end. And her premature and all-too-fast passing serves as another reminder to do the same and live life to the full, in whatever way means most to us.

And for me knitting and hooking is a BIG part of that, because I get so much pleasure from it. So. I have, of course, got several projects on the go. I will just give you a sneak peak of a couple.......

 This picture doesn't really do justice to the colours of this Hexie Hooky blanket - but then I always think that projects look so much better when you can get close up and personal with them!

 And this is my latest Hoodie Set: a little sunshine striped seed stitch hoodie and what will be a matching pram blanket with a knitted seed stitch centre panel and a yet-to-be-crafted hooky border of some sort. The hoodie just needs the sleeves to be sewn in and the buttons attached and the blanket is just waiting for me to get on with deciding on a border.

But all of that will have to wait a couple of weeks now because I'm off abroad again on November 1st, this time for a couple of weeks in South Africa, travelling the beautiful Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Capetown! I really can't tell you how excited I am! I might not be hooking but I will be doing the next best thing which is taking lots of pics of my travels!

I'm really looking forward to sharing with you when I get back, so watch this space Hooky Pals and I'll be back before too long. BFN, Tricia xxx

Introducing 'doppelpops'! SO exciting!

I'm SOooooo excited, Happy Hooky Pals! I have a REAL treat for you today! I want to introduce to you my very talented friend Clare and her really amazing, and oh so cute, doppelpops lookalike dolls. 

Here is what she has to say about how doppelpops were born.

doppelpops were born when I couldn’t attend my friend’s Hen Party weekend. I wanted to still have a ‘presence’ during the weekend, so I created a little ‘mini-me’ to send along with her! 

She loved it, and appreciated the gesture.

I enjoyed making the doll so much, I decided to keep going and drew inspiration from the sweet-faced simplicity of Waldorf Dolls.









My favourite thing about making doppelpops is focusing on the qualities that make a person individual and then turning that into a unique portrait in cloth and yarn.


doppelpops are custom made lookalike dolls of you, or a loved one, and can match the skin tone, hair and eye colour of the subject. Check out my etsy shop for more details!

Aren't they just great! I just love Clare's unique creations. And having seen them 'in person' I can tell you that they are even more amazing than in the pictures! They seem so simple and innocent and yet each one is so full of personality. Soft and cuddly too! Custom-made, they make a completely unique gift for all kinds of occasions. So if you have a special someone, a special occasion or both or if there is a special someone you want to be reminded of, take a look at the Clare's etsy doppelpops shop here.

Well, I have a number of hooky and knitting projects on the go at the moment but I'm off on Wednesday for a little holiday for a week so I'll catch up with you when I get back. BFN, Tricia xxxx

Yarndale!!!

Well Hooky Mates, it's been a very exciting few days! The highlight has, of course, been the Yarndale event held last weekend. I had bought tickets last April for myself and the lovely E to go on Sunday and we have both been looking forward with eager anticipation ever since! And I can tell you that we were not disappointed! The entire day was a joyful cornucopia of everything to do with yarn-based crafts and a feast for the senses and creative spirit.

Our day began with a pleasant train journey to Skipton with many other Yarndalers. We were lucky enough to have a fine, sunny day and so, although there were lovely old red buses laid on to take people from the station to the venue, we chose to take the Yarn Walk through the park instead. What a joy that was! Lucy of Attic 24 has been working with local schools on 'yarn-bombing' projects based around bicycles and she and her army of helpers had done an amazing job of lining the route through the park with colourful crochet bunting, Yarndale signs and decorated bicycles like the ones below.

Aren't they just WONDERFUL! 

I could have photographed them all - but then it would have taken an hour to get to the venue!!

Once we did arrive this is what greeted us in the entrance!

Just beautiful!
But let's not linger tooooo long because there is so much more to see inside!

If you have been following Lucy's Attic 24 blog you will know that she has not only been making Mandalas herself but people have been sending them to her from all over the place. This grill, above the area where the stalls were, was decorated with literally hundreds of them!! This shot is just a very small sample. I love them - especially the first on the left of the top row in this picture.

But wait! If you think they are good just look at Lucy's GIANT Mandalas which attracted Yarndalers into the area of Lucy's Yarndale Attic, where yet more delights were waiting! If you want to know more about the mandalas check out Lucy's blog here

Meanwhile, the photos below give you some idea of just how great they are.

Beyond the Mandalas more delights were waiting........

with this AMAZING wreath created by Lucy being one of my absolute favourites! 

The prize for the most colour in one display has to go to this stall! This is a shot of just one little bit of this stallholder's display which was quite literally a riot of colour!

Well, after much pleasant wandering, lots of touching & feeling and feasting of eyes, very many ooohs & aaahs and quite a few purchases there was only one final thing to finish off our day - a special appearance of a unique sheepdog herding equally unique Swaledale sheep! 

Unique as they are, they could not compare with these little guys on the cuteness front tho'!! 

These adorable alpacas attracted a lot of attention. 

Well, it was finally time to leave Yarndale after a really great day.  And there was just enough time for cake for E and scone and jam for me, washed down with a pot of tea, all enjoyed in the quirky uniqueness of The Cake 'Ole in Skipton! You really must check it out if you get the chance! Great cake in mind-boggling surroundings, just like something out of Alice In Wonderland! And the cuckoo clocks DO work!!

 The perfect end to a perfect day!

So, that's Yarndale over for this year - can't wait for the next!!
HUGE thanks to Lucy and all the organisers for a fantastic event!