Wool and Water

''Wool and Water'' - what do you think? I was toying with the idea of renaming my blog, or retitling it at least and this is my favourite idea. It pretty much sums up my life generally really but it's also the title of a chapter of one of my most favourite childhood books - ''Alice Through the Looking Glass'' click here!

So what do you think? Anybody??!! I quite fancy a change really...

Anyway, I'd better update on my life and crochet bits and pieces.

My Etsy shop seems to have pretty much stagnated so far this month, which is quite disappointing really as I was hoping that we would soon be in the start of the 'busy' season. There's still time of course, and of course it isn't really the end of the world either way, but I was really hoping to reach my goal of having had 300 Etsy sales by Christmastime. I don't know if that will happen now...

I've decided that the best way around shop-stagnation is to try and have another string to my crochet-selling bow ;) So this year I've done way more craft fairs than I did last year! Last weekend I was there for the Sunday of the Valentia Isle Festival and it was quite successful for me really even though there weren't really that many people milling about at our end of the field.

You can see me at the far left of the photo, with my crochet on the tables in front of me (big thanks to Pat Lawless for taking the photo - he makes the most amazing furniture!). I really MUST get in the habit of writing down exactly what items have sold so I can keep track of it all. I brought a few items that I hadn't listed in my Etsy shop yet and so it's hard to remember just what I brought with me and what actually sold. It isn't very professional really and is something that I need to do.

My next craft fair is at the end of November - on Valentia Island again -- so far every time I've done a craft fair on the island it's all gone really well, so hopefully this one will be too. It'll be my first ever two day event!! I'm moving on up!!! It's the ''Holistic Wellness Fair'' in the Royal Hotel and is on the 24th and 25th November. Hopefully I'll fit in a couple more local fairs before Christmas; last year I did one in Waterville and one in Valentia (at the Royal again!)

Wow I just read through my blog post from this time last year I've come a long way! and it all feels like so long ago now; way more than just 12 months ago (almost to the day!) So sad to read about our lovely Boris - I miss him every day :( but now we have little Oscar in our lives, which is surely something to be grateful for.

What do you think about these wrist cuffs? They are my own design - can you tell??!!! I made this pair with the lovely 'Ondine' yarn from Louisa Harding Yarns - oh I wish I could afford to always use her yarns! This Ondine is 100% cotton and has the most wonderful shades: this one is called 'indigo' but it's a really great colour - not just a flat plain blue, it also has inky black and sea green subtly running through the yarn.  I posted a photo of these on the Facebook page of Louisa Harding Yarns and they actually posted the photo on the page themselves - so they must look ok?! I got quite a few compliments, which is really lovely. If I was any good I guess I'd write down the pattern really!!!

I hope the photo above doesn't offend or upset anyone - I think it's kind of beautiful in a sad way - a close up of a dead seal pup's front flipper. Every year so many of the baby seals don't make it to adulthood, I guess it's just natural selection at work but it's so sad to find them washed up on the beach :( It's a rare chance to see a seal so closely though I guess; I love their claws - they look so sharp!

It's quickly coming to the end of my season on the car ferry in Valentia -- I only have ten working days left now; so I am looking forward to being able to spend more time to my two favourite past times--crochet and beach combing of course ;)

This was the view from the ferry the other morning - isn't it just glorious? How lucky am I??! To top it all we had a group of approx 20 bottlenose dolphins swim alongside us yesterday - they were only with us for 10 or so minutes but it was just heaven!