Crochet sanctuary… Day three

Well, I’ve made it home from the crochet sanctuary, and despite very busy trains managed to get a seat in both of them which I was very grateful for.

Today we worked on a couple more projects. First thing we made faux fur pompoms in different colours. By the end we looked like we’d been in a dog grooming parlour where they are really bad at cleaning up the brushed out fur – there was fluff everywhere! Plus it was very tickly on the nose! But the pompoms were cool, and we then got making a puff stitch beanie to put them on.

I had made two pink and one white pompom, but then chose mustard and green wools to make my beanie sort of stripy. I didn’t think either of the pompoms would go with it colour wise so I went back and made a beige one which will go perfectly.

And I think that was it for making things! I’ve nearly finished my beanie, and I think I will try to work on Emma the bunny, and my other sock this week so I finish them before I lose momentum.

At the end of the weekend we were given a bag of lovely goodies and Lisa and lynda-rose told us to take more yarn with us. One lady there, Jackie, who lives not far from me offered to take my bag of yarn home when she drives back later this week, so I didn’t have to take another bag on the trains with me. I thought that was rather lovely of her and it means I’ll see her again when I go to pick it up.

The weekend was fab, and it really was luxurious. The rooms were lovely, the bed was super comfy, the food was plentiful and yummy (though weighing in at slimming World this week will not be fun!) and I surprised myself that I never got tired of doing crochet! I did enjoy my little drawing break though. Some of us chatted about whether we liked having the workshops as surprises or if we’d rather have known what they would be but I thought it was like opening lots of crochet craft pack Christmas presents… You got the excitement of wondering what they’d be, and then you could start making them straight away. Some, like the puff stitch beanie, I wouldn’t have looked forward to if I’d known about it in advance as I thought I hated puff stitch as I always seem to get the hook caught on the loops when pulling the stitch through. But I surprised myself and actually found this pattern really easy to do. Whether it was the hook, the yarn, or the fact that we made the puffs in spaces rather than stitches, so it seemed easier to pull the lengths through, or a combination of all those things, I’m not sure. But I have a cool, nearly completed beanie in very 70’s colours that I really enjoyed making. So I’m glad I didn’t know about it in advance as that may have changed my experience of the weekend. It’s been tiring focusing on crochet all weekend (though not in a bad way), and lovely to meet so many people. But it was tricky too as I tried fairly unsuccessfully to battle low self esteem while I was there. It’s not easy to do that when you’re surrounded by other people who seem completely at ease with themselves, but then I have to reminding myself to try not to compare myself with others, so I guess it was good to have to face that again in a real situation!

If you’re tempted by the crochet sanctuary i’d definitely encourage you to sign up. It’s so worth the money you pay for it, and they really had something for everyone, regardless of your skill level. It would be a great thing to do as a relatively new crocheter, as Lisa and lynda-rose were always on hand to help you if you weren’t sure what you were meant to be doing!

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