Beautifully Crocheted Blanket
I’m sitting here thinking which of all the things flitting through my mind am I going to pull out and share with you this week? How about, I’ve just washed Soho my dog after he rolled in a huge pile of fresh fox poo? The stench was horrific and the only way to deal with it was fast with soap and water. If you have a Fur Baby which method do you use? Outside with a hose pipe, inside using the bath or my personal favourite to get the job done with the least amount of mess, both of us in the shower! In that cubical I’m in complete control of the situation: I have products, Marks shampoo (we’re not using mine, it’s too expensive) and Soho’s towels are strategically placed just outside the door ready for the game of ‘Towel’ (which involves throwing one over him as the door opens just before he shakes and the second spread out on the floor for his 5 minutes of chaotic rolling and rubbing down). He hates the shower so this is his reward and the upshot is that he’s clean, I’m clean and most importantly the bathroom is clean. Nothing worse than a house that smells of ‘Dog’ and there’s really no need for it. Soho’s various beds, much to his annoyance, get regularly washed as do his bowls and towels with the only smell out of my control are those that emit from his legendry French Bulldog rear!
With that job out of the way, my next collection of thoughts drift to the much more calm concept of crafting...one of my favourite passtimes. There’s nearly £20million dedicated to this fine art in the UK and each year 4,000 crafting fairs of various sizes bring this community together and I know because I’ve attended quite a few. It’s a huge business with shops, magazines, books, shopping channels, workshops, YouTube tutorials all celebrating the plethora of creativity here in the UK. I’ll never forget attending my first event in Birmingham, I was there promoting in initiative called ‘Get Britain Crafting’ sponsored by the shopping channel Ideal World who dedicate much of their airtime to everything from cake decorating to jewellery making and everything in between. But what I witnessed in that room was an amazing surge of community born out everyone’s passion for simply making things. Every one had a purpose, that purpose made them happy and with it came friends and a feeling of belonging. Some people craft for themselves, others turn it into a little business. A few weekends ago I bought the most beautifully crocheted blanket. It was on a market stall stuffed under the counter but my beady little eyes spotted it, and it was love! Now, every time I look at it or use it, I think of the lady I’ve never met who spent hours crafting this beautiful blanket from odds and ends of wool and it makes me smile with gratitude. I’m a firm believer that between dogs, crafting and gardening its impossible to feel depressed! I hope at least one of them puts a smile on your face this week (and hopefully doesn’t involve fox poo!)
Love Anthea x