Little knitted hats

A heart bobble hat

Over the last 4 or 5 weeks of lockdown I've started to feel that I could be doing more to support the community.  We are doing a weekly shop for our neighbors, but maybe I should be doing more?

A simple bobble hat

However I am one of the lucky ones able to work from home and still on my full hours, so I don't have as much time as some.

A stripe hat

Then I saw that innocent were supporting Age UK again this year with their big knit.  They want people to knit tiny hats for their smoothy bottles.  Then for every bottle they sell they donate 25p to Age UK.

A chunky bobble hat

On their website they have 41 knitting and crochet patterns that you can use and I've decided I'm going to have a go at as many as I can using my stash and my 'commute' time.  Of course the banana hat might have to wait as I don't have any yellow wool right now, but I think I can try most of them.  So far the basic one's haven't taken very long and I look forward to trying the rest.

A beginner hat (accidentally Christmas)

Crafty fox hat

Fez pattern

Apple hat

Rainbow Beaded Kumihimo Bracelet

Now that I've started to get the hang of kumihimo I wanted to try another project. So when I found this rainbow bracelet kit on Etsy I just had to get it.
What I really liked about it was it wasn't a spiral of rainbow, the rainbow is blended across the bracelet.  So pretty.
The kit came with everything I would need expect the kumihimo board, along with really clear instructions.  
Everything would have been great except one of my stoppers came off when I was working through the green section and I lost some beads.  I tried to fix it but something when wrong and in the end I just undid the whole thing and started again.
Second time round it went perfectly and I am so pleased with the result.  Its a perfect fit and I love the colours.  Now I just need an excuse to wear it, it doesn't feel right just wearing it round the house or for walking the dog!

A Couple of Face Masks

While we might still be in lockdown right now I am hopeful that at some point in the near future we'll be allowed out again.  Thinking about this I decided it might be an idea to have a couple of face masks ready to go in case a) the government say we have to, and b) 'cos it might be sensible.  
A cold Sunday afternoon is the perfect time to spend sewing so I followed Tilly and the Buttons pattern and raided my stash for some fabric.
These masks have a pocket so you can add a filter inside, and a slot for a paper clip or cable tidy so you can form it over your nose.
They are pretty comfortable to wear, and while I'd rather not wear one, it might be a good idea for the time being.  
I expect I'll be staying at home for a while longer, but I'm ready if I do need to go out.

Virtual Running - part 3

On 5th May I completed my second virtual running challenge - running the length of the River Severn - 220 miles.
It would have taken me 2 months, if I hadn't had a couple of weeks where I had to take my laptop home with me every day in case we went into lockdown. (My laptop is a brick and I don't want to run with it!)
However now we are in lockdown I've had some really lovely early morning runs where I've seen the sun come up, listened to bird song and hardly seen a soul.  So different from the busy smelly runs across London from the start of the year.
I started this challenge on March 1st.  In March I ran 87.5 miles.  In April I ran 116.06 miles and then I made the total up in May with 16.44 miles.
Although I do love running and find it very beneficial, having the virtual challenges has helped me to stay motivated, especially on those days then it's all so overwhelming but a run will do me good. 
The only thing that I felt was missing from the challenge was an actual map of the River Severn broken down into miles that I could have ticked off as I ran.
So on to my next challenge 277 miles 'along' the Grand Canyon.

Purly Paw Print Patchwork Blanket - Red

I had a tidy up of all the 'craft' stuff (mostly knitting and crochet) downstairs and came across a second Purly Paw Print Patchwork blanket, started but very much not finished.
I don't like unfinished things, and as we're still in lock down and its harder to find the materials for new projects I decided to get this one finished.

In the end it didn't really take long, its not a very big blanket, and now its done it can be send off to Battersea Dogs Home as intended when I first started the project.  I'm sure they will appreciate it.