My new hooks and patterns have arrived from Purplelinda

My order from Purplelinda has arrived. I think it was really fast service as I only ordered them late on Saturday night and as most places are closed on Sundays I didn't really expect them until later this week.

For my birthday last year Kath and Sylvia gave me a set of 11 coloured aluminium crochet hooks and I have enjoyed working with the different coloured hooks so I decided to treat myself to a full set as I didn't buy anything at Woolfest.I know I now have several hooks in each of the sizes but I do find that certain hooks work better with certain yarns and so I can't always use the same hook all of the time. For some projects I like a sharp point and others a more rounded one. The only hooks I cannot use are the wooden ones with the long curved handles. They are too long and uncomfortable and upset the balance and the flow of my work. The ones that I bought have now got a new home. I have got 3 Clover hooks thinking that with the wider handle they would be better for my arthritis but I find the crochet area too small and the handle too large. I must crochet quite low down the hook and not at the point. It's funny how we all have our own style of crochet. I see more variations of technique when people crochet than I see with knitting.I think we develop a style that suits us. I usually tell people when I am teaching them to crochet that there is no right or wrong way to crochet. You will develop your own style. The only time I ever show people a different style is when I see them knitting the wool over the crochet hook as that takes so much longer to do and makes them slow crocheters.

The baby bootie pattern that I ordered is one that I have been looking a long time for. I have seen it many times on projects on Ravelry and Flickr but as it is a Leisure Arts pattern not many places in the UK stock them. I took a deep breath as it cost almost £5 but I am sure I will get a lot of use from it. I also ordered a ball of the cotton to go with the pattern so that I could see what the thickness is for future purchases.

The last 6 patterns are some new baby patterns plus two adults ones. A couple of the baby patterns are closed stitch patterns and so suitable for any boy babies and small children. Two patterns are very girlie but I know that one baby is a girl so I can make her these before she arrives later this month. There is also a practical pram blanket done mostly in trebles. A little boring to make perhaps but if I chose a pretty wool then that will add a bit of interest.

My knee is very sore after hydrotherapy. I had a young physiotherapist who seems to have a bit of a sadistic streak and the exercises she made me do were very vigorous and OK at the time in the water but when I had to walk back to the bus my knee kept giving way on me as well as being extremely painful. The last few yard home were a killer.I am very tired today as I have been awake in pain most of the night. Will someone convince me that this hydrotherapy is doing me good as I seem to be worse now than when I started. Everyone medical seems to be convinced that exercise is the cure whereas I am convinced that something is not right inside the knee and exercise is only aggravating it.

Not much progress on Kath's sweater as last night I finished up watching Liz Smith (Nanna from the Royle family) Takes a Cruise on catch up BBC on the PC. Someone mentioned on Ravelry that she was crocheting a hat whilst on the cruise (which she later wore) and so I watched it to see. She is certainly an eccentric old lady with some strange opinions but I enjoyed watching it. If you want to watch it then click on the blog title for the link. The hat is brightly coloured with a huge flower.