Mandela for Wink.

Mosaic Headbands

Mosaic shadow

The heatwave that has spread across Europe has even hit Sweden. The natives are out in droves either on their motorised boats, swimming at the nearest lake or simply pointing their heads skyward holding a “mjukglass” (soft, white and delicious ice cream.)
As a pasty-white British-born living in now sweltering Stockholm, I have confined myself to the indoors. I have a long term health issue, CFS/M.E., that is made worse by extremes of temperature. This has been exasperated further by a mysterious tummy bug and a recently bout of bugs of the flying kind biting the hell out of me. Sweden is home to many mosquitoes and insects and they are drawn to me like flies around shhh… a nice English girl. And when I get bitten I swell up like some kind of itchy, blotchy, raised temperature freak. Oh yes, I am also allergic to pollen.

I hate summer. More specifically, I hate this heatwave and all the bugs who fly in it and all those darn grass-cutting neighbours who want to see me cry with tears of pollen.

In my cave, blinds drawn, water bottle open, I am struggling and sleeping. In between genuine bouts of tummy aching self-pity, I try to take my mind of things with some knitting or crochet. Today I have begun a mandela in honour of Wink. See my previous post: Goodbye, Wink.

and the wonderful work here: Crochet Concupiscence

And here: Mandelasformarinke

Do pop by to join in this initiative to bring about awareness of the depression Wink – and so many others – suffer from. A really practical way to bring colour and awareness through the therapeutic craft of crochet.

I have also been productive making various mosaic design headbands to order. I am also working on an improvised vest using mosaic blocks. Mosaic is something I have really got interested in (ok -obsessed with) and there are two designs here using a shadow technique. This involves repeating a pattern chart but reversing the colours – what was red is blue, what was blue is now red. This creates an interesting colour effect and optical illusion if you squint your eyes a bit.

Anyway, another cold drink and sigh is required as the heat seems unrelenting. I will return to the colourful but heat-friendly mandela for Wink. You can see/purchase Wink’s designs on her website: http://www.acreativebeing.com