Around the World Blog Hop

I've really enjoyed reading all of the blog hop posts, and been looking forward to adding mine! The lovely Emma, who writes the blog crochet. reading. travels. stories. life. love. me. kindly sent the hop my way last week. Emma lives in Austria near a lovely looking lake, and blogs about her crafty and other adventures - I'd highly recommend hopping over to visit :)

I'm writing this on about 2.5 hours sleep after a very early flight to Berlin, so apologies if not much sense is made ;) And so with no further ado, the questions!

1. What am I working on?

Currently I have two blanket WIPs, a cross stitch WIP and a couple of crochet scarves waiting to be finished. One blanket is an ongoing project to furnish our campervan with some warm and comfy proejects (last update here) and the other blanket is a scrap granny blanket using up wool I bought for my wedding in May, set to be a lovely momento! My cross stitch project is a picture for a (relatively) new born niece. That one is quite slow to progress but I'm trying :) I like to have lots of WIPs so I can dip in here and there - I have a short attention span! I tend to chose projects that are easy to pick up and put down again, so it doesn't matter if a long time passes between working on things,

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I've been pondering this question a while. I guess I think that everyone creates things in line with their tastes and styles - I tend to draw a lot of inspiration from other blogs, magazines etc and choose projects that I will like making and enjoy once finished. I'm a relatively novice crocheter, and haven't ever designed anything so really my work doesn't differ drastically from others', but collectively my pieces of work reflect me and what I like :) In terms of cross stitch I tend to avoid overly floral pieces, instead sticking to more simple charts. My crochet is all about practicality - I like making things that I can use regularly and enjoy.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

The simple answer is because I enjoy all parts of the process, the planning, the making and the enjoyment of whatever it is, whether it's seeing someone's reaction if it is a gift, or using it myself. It's also insanely relaxing. I've been cross-stitching little Mouseloft kits for about 15 years now (see here) as a way of chilling out and taking my mind off everything. There are quite a few in a shoe box in my wardrobe, some a mounted in cards, others just loose. I should really do something with them!

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

One of two ways :) Either there is a need for something: a gift for a special occasion, a case for a camera, a new scarf in a particular colour to match my favourite coat etc etc, and my brain tries to come up with a solution. Or I see an idea in a magazine, or online and become obsessed until I start making it.

And for next week the blogs participating which I'm passing you to hop on over to....

1. Love Made My Home - Amy writes wonderful posts about her adventures both at home and away, sharing the places she visits as well as her lovely home and workplace. She's very talented and is working on some lovely crochet and tapestry projects :)

2. Rose Hill Collections - Ruth creates incredibly beautiful crochet projects, including some stunning shawls! She uses wonderful colours, and blogs about crafty and other adventures :)

3. @livjaa - Liv is multitalented - she sews, knits, crochets and dabbles in many other crafts! She writes about her projects, inspirations and adventures and makes lots of lovely things :)