Second year studies and a summer break

Hi everyone!

I owe you all a huge apology as it has been far too long since I last posted. I have been incredibly busy since I was last here, with a huge marathon of midwifery essays and exams, followed by clinical placements, and I eventually made time for a family holiday to the South of France!

This year’s holiday was my first real holiday as a crocheter – this time last year I was attempting my first crochet project! So my suitcase actually ended up with more yarn and fabric than clothes. Thankfully we drive our car down across France each year, so I’m not limited with my packing (yes, I took my sewing machine). This also gave me some space to bring some holiday purchases home with me – check out these bargains!

My mum and I set out to find some craft shops which we found a few details for online. We ended up wandering around the French town of Draguignan in search of a shop that apparently no longer existed. A little old lady came out of a nearby house and we managed (just about!) to ask her about the shop, but she confirmed it had closed a long time ago. However, she did give us directions to another yarn shop, and to a man on the local market which is where we bought the goodies in the photo above!

My favourite purchases were the crochet cottons, 555m of cotton on each roll for 3€50! I did go back and buy more of these in white, blue and a second roll of the two I already had. I’m using them to make some coasters as thank you presents, and one larger one which I would like as a table mat one day when it gets big enough! The pattern is a blanket pattern – Beautiful Shells Blanket – pattern available for free on ravelry here.

We stayed in a beautiful villa that had a gorgeous pool, just what we needed with the weather so great! So I spent my two weeks getting up early, crocheting in the sunshine with a cup of tea before everyone else got up. And then I would move my craft supplies down next to the pool for the rest of the afternoon, although my crocheted blankets didn’t grow too much as it was far too hot to sit under them in the heat.

And just when I thought this holiday couldn’t get any better, my boyfriend of 6 years made it a holiday to remember by getting down on one knee! I said yes of course, so I came home with a gorgeous ring and a fiancé. This was the spot, over looking the lake at the Gorges du Verdon. And below, my ring.

Now I’ll finish off by sharing a few of the projects I took with me.

• My neat ripple blanket pictured by the pool in a photo above – although it really was far too warm to work on this much!
• My multicoloured granny squares that I discovered under my mum’s bed (mentioned in the Buried Treasure post from earlier this year). This was my car crochet that kept me busy on the eurotunnel and on the motorways.

• My tiny alpaca granny squares:

 

• My crocheted project bag, following the Lucy Bag pattern from Attic24. I am loving the pinks and greys I am using here.

• And some sewing – a Dilly Bag. The pattern is available online for £10. I had this all planned before I left home, with a bundle of fabrics ready. So I sat down one morning and cut out all my hexagons, and I’m still sewing them together now.

 

So now I have made a start on the huge blog catch up mission. I’m sure there are things that I wanted to share with you that I’ve forgotten so I’ll be back for more shortly!

Emily x