I stopped my subscription to Simply Crochet a few months ago because I was a bit bored, I reckon it’s stuck in a bit of a rut. When they asked readers to complete a questionnaire some months ago I requested more garment patterns. I know I’m not alone in feeling fed up of patterns for small items you don’t want or need. However ( a little positivity coming up now!) I really fancied crocheting the scarf pattern I’d seen Heather of The Patchwork Heart posting pics of on IG. So I picked up a copy last week, there was the added temptation of pretty pins too…but oh! They are mostly rusty – albeit silver coloured rust, not rust coloured, but it’s rust all the same. I can’t use them at all. Boo!
Ooh now this is a good magazine related bit of news – I’ve been given a year’s subscription to this beauty. I’ll turn into a green eyed monster at times (beautiful homes and expensive lovelies to buy) I know, but I am very pleased.
This is my catch up reading pile. I asked for my birthday subscription not to be continued for a third year to Mollie Makes, again it’s feeling in a bit of a rut. I really can’t face yet more patterns for felt animals and the target audience feels like it’s for young twenty somethings. That’s fair play especially if it’s encouraging them to develop or learn some crafty skills; I just realised that I hadn’t used any of the mini packs, let alone made any items from the magazine for ages and ages.
Just because I saw this in a gift shop in Broadway, in the Cotswolds, and it made me smile. It’s one of those things you’d love to say when someone’s being all one-sided me-me-me.
While I was wondering around Broadway I kept hearing yelping and barking. I ducked down an alley to pop into the Sue Ryder charity shop and saw two pens of hounds. They must belong to the local hunt. I’m a baby where dogs en masse are concerned so this is as close I got.
I’ve seen these chargers in airports etc before, but how handy to find one in John Lewis (High Wycombe) for free charging.
My friend gave me a bumper lot of thoughtful presents including this lovely tin. It’s my new things crochet tin as the other was bulging at the seams, especially with a new bigger notebook. Isn’t it similar in design to the Cath Kidson tape measure and needle book? It’s such a good match and right up my street.
Warning. Warning. Tomato talk incoming! I’m still cooking with my home-gown tomatoes, this time it’s a bacon and olive sauce. Yum. I usually halve the olives but this time left them whole. The house is full of bowlfuls in various stages of ripeness. I never imagined eight plants could produce so much fruit (or did QI state they are wrongly regarded as fruit, when in fact they are the vegetable we all grew up believing them to be? Or have I dreamt that?!)
I’ve been wincing at sightings of the C word; usually in relation to crafting for ………… but look at what fell out of the new issue of Country Living. With the change of weather and the end of the summer holidays looming it doesn’t feel too early to contemplate booking tickets. Are you going?
What have you been up to lately?
Did you see the ice cream debacle on The Great British Bake Off last night?
In my next post I’ll show you the shawl I’ve been crocheting from the current Simply Crochet. It’s sweet, though I do have a shawl related question: there are so many patterns for them at the moment, they seem to be on trend but……have you actually seen anyone wearing one out? Anyone?
The Little Room of Rachell 
I have a couple of friends who wear little mini shawls around their necks and they do look good, haven’t seen anyone out wearing a shawl round their shoulders though.
Inside Crochet magazine is better for crocheted garments I find, I’m like you in that I’ve yet to make anything from Simply Crochet freebies.
Jean
Hiya! Great post by the way. I really enjoyed catching up on all this! I don’t subscribe to any crafty magazines as I’ve often found with subscriptions of crafty and non-crafty magazines that after a few months I get a bit bored with the samey content. They’re so pricey per issue if you don’t subscribe though aren’t they? Your tomato sauce looks amazing, I make a similar one with sardines instead of bacon if your looking for a different idea. How many tomato plants did you have to plant to get such a good yield? x
I’ve just blogged about my 4th post. This was about my trip to London and the Folk Art Exhibition at Tate Britain. Still finding my way around blogger so it’s takes me a looonnggg time to publish one post! So that was my evening tonight (Thursday 28th). I did watch bake off. I think if that would have been mine I would have ripped it on someone instead of in the bin. It was good to read on honest opinion on magazines. I only subscribe to pom pom mag now and busty the odd magazine if I like a pattern on the front cover like the current issue of Knit Now.
I really like the look of Pom Pom, but it’s about £9-10 isn’t it? So expensive when You might not make any of the patterns.
If you were on WP I’d be happy to help but have no experience with Blogger. Coming rate the blog to WP ;-p
Yes pom pom is £9.50 for the print edition although they do a digital version. It took me a while to decide as it is expensive but I decided to subscribe and not to buy other mags unless I must have a pattern in it. So far it’s working as only bought 2-3 mags all year!
Thanks re offer I think there are pros and cons to both blogging platforms. There are just a few things that bug me at mo with blogger but apart from that can’t complain! Hope your having a good weekend. Isla
Interesting randomness! You did well to keep away from that pack of hunting dogs, because they would behave like a pack of animals, not some nice pets. Yes I did see the ice cream fiasco last night. Although he should not have chucked it away, it was a most unfortunate happening and we should have seen that the judges had been made aware of what had happened. The fairest thing would have been to let him start over. It now looks as if the two people who used the same freezer did nothing about it. Which reminds me of the custard fiasco last year. And no I have never seen anyone since the 70s wearing a shawl, and that was me! Thanks for sharing these topics.
Thank you!
BUT did you see the Extra Slice on Friday night? Now seems to be one far more selfish in the mix! (Check out iplayer it might be on there, it’s worth watching.)
There’s such a lot in the magazines that I will never make… I have a quick flick through in the shop and only buy if there are things I particularly like and might make in them. They are very samey and I always feel that they promise wonderful things but very rarely deliver when you open them up. I’m with Jean on the shawl thing… Only seen mini ones used as scarves. If you have lots of green tomatoes left I have a recipe for green tomato chutney which is YUMMY.
The problem is also for us that they rely heavily on bloggers (clever them! So much talent out there) and so of course you feel you’ve seen a lot before and the writing can be like reading the same blog posts, rehashed.
They’re ripening, have enough at the moment for two recipes this week featuring cherry tomatoes. Yum.
Ooooo and they should put those charging things on campsites!!
Yes, so true they’d make a mint!
I’ve been given a super charger; which is a little metal device you plug your phone into. It will charge a phone fully 3 times before it needs to be charged. It’s so handy.
That sounds really useful for camping too. We will have to look into this kind of thing before next years trip.
i’ve seen people wearing shawls – gypsy-type hippy women, or down at the old age home. And sometimes even here, in my very own home. It’s not what you wear but how you wear it :-)
“Down at the old age home” ha ha! Not there yet cheeky. X
I’d rather go for the gypsy-type hippie woman look I think!!
Can’t I just go for ‘chilly so wrapped in a bit of fluff of an evening on my sofa’ if I promise not to go for hippy or OAP look?