Hi, I'm back!!

Hello Happy Hooky Mates! I'm finally back from my travels and caught up enough with tasks to be able to get back to a bit of hooking and blogging! I really don't know where to start with this update, there is SO much to catch up on! Travels first I think and then a Hooky Catch-Up.

Our trip to South Africa is right up there with the best we have ever made! I have NEVER taken so many photographs! I have been through a few times discarding many but it is so hard to delete them, even though I have got so many! I hope you won't mind if I share just a few with you here. I think I will create a specific page for those of you who may be interested to see some more.

So let's begin - with ELEPHANTS! It took a little while to find them but when we did we ended up surrounded! And we were amazed at how close they came to our vehicle - and they are BIG!

 This male decided to come and check us out!

 Mother and baby!

SO cute!!

Then there were zebras!

And Ostriches! Lots and lots of ostriches, both wild and on specific Ostrich farms.

They really are very weird looking creatures! But the babies are super- cute!

Then there were the birds! Beautiful, colourful little Weaver birds

And Penguins!

All wonderful! BUT the absolute highlight of the entire trip and, indeed, the best experience of ANY trip I have been on, was seeing Southern Right Whales up-close-and-personal!! 

Just a glimpse at first...........

And then a bit more!

And before long we didn't know where to look as more and more females with calves were playing all around the boat.

 Rolling and flipping, fin and tail slapping.........

 And coming up to have a good look at us too!

They are so INCREDIBLE and so gentle and friendly. 

The boat we were on is not allowed to go closer that 50 metres and so it had stopped when they saw whales in the distance and the whales then came right up to the boat! Totally BRILLIANT!

Anyway, I don't want to bore you so, let's leave these amazing creatures behind and move on to hooking.......

I didn't take any hooking with me on this trip so I was suffering withdrawal symptoms by the time I got back!! So, I have been keenly hooking in the evenings when watching TV, finishing one project and starting and finishing a second!

The first one, which I mentioned in my last post, is a blanket with a moss stitch knitted centre panel to match a hoodie that I have knit. I'm really pleased with how the set has turned out - but disappointed with these pictures which do not do justice to the pale pastel colours. I'll have to try to take some better ones.....

This one captures the colours a bit better - but I've just noticed that shadow of me taking the picture! Doh!!

And this one shows the crochet border which is a combination of rows of Double Crochet followed by rows of Trebles, then more Double Crochet before finishing with 4 rows of Puff Stitches and a final row of Double Crochet.

And finally let me show you my Rainbow Striped Baby Blanket that I have just completed... VOILA!!

I SO LOVE working with these rainbow colours - as you can tell, because I keep on doing it! 

Once again very many thanks to Lucy at Attic 24 for her inspiration and for sharing her pattern. Like many other Happy Hookers (!!) I have been joining Lucy in her Crochet-Along using this particular pattern but with everyone getting creative with their own colour combinations. 

Because mine is a small blanket and others are doing full-size versions mine is already finished! 

I decided to complete my Rainbow with a pale sky-blue border of trebles. And I'm so very pleased with it that I have already started another!

Well, I really must go and do something else now Hooky Pals. I hope you have enjoyed catching up as much as I have - please let me know! And let's do this again, soon! 

Bye for now, Tricia xx