Crochet for my niece
It's my eldest niece's birthday soon and she is going to be 11 - I can't believe it! So, I had a go at making this scarf for her, from my ridiculously titled Happy Hooker crochet book (do they really think it's necessary to 'sex up' crochet pattern books?!). I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, and hopefully she can actually wear it in Queensland because it's not exactly designed for warmth. This niece has olive skin and hazel eyes (yes, looks nothing like her Aunt) so I think these shades of green will look like nice on her. Her sister is pale and blue-eyed so would need something altogether different.
Taking it at face value (only!) I am a happy hooker. I love having a crochet project going - it fills up all those moments when you might otherwise just be idling time away with something a little productive and satisfying, and you can feasibly do it and think through the world's problems, listen to a talk, participate in group conversations or pretend you're watching football or cricket and just be there at the same time.
I also bought my niece a book on how to draw horses. She's been mad about drawing ever since she was a tiny thing, is really quite gifted at it, and is apparently always trying to draw horses at present (everything is about cats or horses!). I've been trying to think of gifts for my nieces which aren't just more licensed toys lately, and which are a little more creative, but it's hard with girls. The last thing I bought her is the first in the Deltora Quest book series by Emily Rodda. I have a couple of friends with children the same age as my niece, whose children are also avid readers like my niece, who tell me that their children love these books, so I thought I try them on my niece - even if they aren't about cats or horses. I'm just waiting for the day when I can teach her crochet! (I actually tried that with my friend's 10-year-old daughter recently, and we got there in the end, but it made me realise that it is reasonably complicated.)