I’ve got nothing to do today but smile..

So yesterday was a very exciting day. 11 out of 10 exciting. The main reason is because The Parents and I were off to see Paul Simon, but I’ll get on to that in a minute…

While the excitement was mounting throughout the day, I actually managed to find some time to catch up on the Stylecraft Blog Tour. I’d been very slack (or maybe busy) and missed a few days. I’d got to the Crafternoon Treats blog , was practically drooling over the beautiful colours and design of the Blandala, quietly making a mental note to secretly buy these colours to make it, but something made me stop and scroll back up the page. I’d seen something that made me look twice. A caption on one of the photos proudly announced the winner of the giveaway, and low and behold, it was the Mother!! I couldn’t believe it! We’re not really a family who wins anything, so much so that I nearly dismissed it as someone else with exactly the same name. I frantically Whatsappd her to either A) tell her the news or B) shout at her for not telling me. Luckily she hadn’t checked her emails so it was news to her with no need of shouting. There was however a large amount of text squealing. How exciting! We’d get excited enough over yarn, let alone free yarn, let alone being picked out of a hat to receive the free yarn. And the colours are so lovely with the pattern so soothing to look at. Safe to say I’m hugely jealous.

Stylecraft have been conducting the blog tour for the last 12 days to promote the new colours for the aran and chunky weight yarn. As you may be already be aware, we’re a tad addicted to Stylecraft. A huge colour range, so very soft and not to mention affordable. I find myself substituting every pattern into it. So as you can imagine I’m thrilled that they have added to the colours in the chunkier weight. I hope this is just the starting point and eventually they’ll roll out all the colours for all the weights. I know this sounds greedy, but there’s nothing more disappointing than squidging the lovely Special XL, planning a project but then realising its not available in the colour you want. Well fingers, toes and eyes crossed.

I’ll let you know what it’s like when I get to inspect it, and hopefully persuade The Mother to let me post what she makes.

Anyway. On to the goods.

So yesterday it was finally time for the eagerly awaited Paul Simon show. Oh that man. You’ll eventually realise my bias, but he’s like a third parent for me. I can’t remember not being forced to listen to it, and how glad I am that I was. Beautiful poetry with angelic harmonies teaching me about love, life and how I should construct myself. When he does pass away I know I’m going to be devastated. Kathys Song is my favourite piece of poetry, one day I’ll stitch it up and frame it and keep it just for me to look at every day. If I could get it tattooed on me I would

We arrive and head in to what I knew would be outstanding seats. And oh how they were. Row B dead centre. It might have even been a bit too close. It’s impossible to give you a perspective but he was about as far away from me now as that woman over there. I hope that helps. The stage was laden with instruments, many of which I didn’t recognise. All vital of course. A late start but I could forgive this man anything, and he didn’t disappoint when he got here. For me, it was a near perfect set. A good mix between old, new and brand new, with equal measures of big hits and album tracks. I love that he played Spirit Voices and The Obvious Child from Rhythm of the Saints (which is nearly my favourite album). And what value. An expensive £66, but over 2 hours of Paul. Usually I’d get fidgety for that long but I seemed to be entranced. I was trying to work out how old he is. I have no idea, but he was certainly lively for his age. Take a look at the pictures below at the guy in the red t-shirt playing a digeridoo. I love this guy. His expressions were wonderful and he was laughing with the rest of the band all night. I always find the way that Paul almost conducts the band as they’re playing. You can see him moving his arm in a manner that tells them to be softer or one more or faster here. It’s really interesting to watch. All finished off with a lovely rendition of The Boxer where the crowd managed to actually drown Paul out. More like a drunken rugby crowd than a lilting accompaniment, but still.. This is Wales after all.

I am by nature a very critical person, so I should probably give some criticism.

The horns were a tad too loud.
There was a crazy woman in front of us.
They didn’t play my favourite song.

Not too bad is it? A wonderful wonderful night.

I’m going to have to disappoint you with the lack of good pictures, or evidence at all. We were sitting close enough for him to actually see my face and I didn’t want him to shout at me. Also I’ve gotten to the point in my life where it’s more important to be in the room and remember it rather than spend the time behind my phone and watch it through pictures after the event. You can see where I’ve tried to show how close we are and the full to the brim stage. They will in no way convey the wonder of being there.

Craft update

Not a great deal since last we spoke. It has only been a couple of days people. A1 is washed and currently drying. B1 is nearing completion. I’ve also been churning out Christmas trees, but always with the sense of dread as I realise I’m going to have to weave in ends and block these at some point. Sigh.

Also I really feel like I need to give you some evidence of finished projects, so please see a 30^th birthday gift I made for my friend a month ago below.

I’ve been itching to do a blackwork piece for a long time and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to dip my toe in. I knew I wanted to stitch some lyrics but which to pick? We have so many shared songs together, but I kept finding swear words or suggestive lines. Which wouldn’t usually be a problem, but she has a very clever 6 year old daughter, and it would just make things more difficult if she had to explain the meaning behind things! I plumped in the end for Say Anything – Walk Through Hell, which both made me think of her, conveyed my sentiments and wouldn’t need explaining.

Just because its blackwork, it doesn’t mean that it has to be in black. I loved being able to do this in blue to soften it, and then add the light blue to soften again. Sometimes blackwork can look very harsh on the canvas, which isn’t what I wanted. It was only a small token, but I loved being able to think about her and her family as I was making it. It’s one of the nicest things about making presents for the one you love. It’s the main reason I keep doing it.