September Monthly Mandalong

 Helloooo. Well it seems that our lovely summer holiday has finally come to an end and the kids returned to school today with rather glum faces, and in truth mine wasn't a pretty picture either. I have so enjoyed having the kids at home, it truly was a blessing and even though there were moments where I felt the need to pull my hair out (well actually I would need more than a moment to achieve this), on the whole it was peaceful and fun. Both little J & E mostly played together harmoniously and have somehow rekindled their love for each other, something that usually gets lost during term time, I mean its not really cool having your small sis as your best friend.

When the kids were very little, well up to the point when they both went to school, so really not that long ago, we always found that they would prefer to play with each other when in the company of others kids. I use to really love this about my kids, this deep routed love that they somehow have anchored for each other, possibly during some difficult years where we were cooped inside whilst I was housebound, but like they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Even this morning when we set off for school there were hugs for each other (obviously NOT in the playground, oh heaven forbid!), but it melted my heart. To be honest I didn't need anything to melt my heart this morning, I was tearful from the moment I woke and when I had big cuddles with little J, he was very perplexed as to why Mummy had all these tears streaming down her face. Oh how do you ever explain the love you feel for your child. The love of a parent is something so special, it is a gift and one that should NEVER be taken for granted. I feel sick as I sit here and type this as the house is quiet and my babies are most probably very ready to come home, but what scares me most is the pace life is moving. In a few years I won't have these long cuddles with my son where I can plant a million kisses all over his face whilst he buries his head in the fold of my neck. No, I know, they will be replaced by silent grunts even when he has the urge to hug or kiss. Thankfully we can capture these moments and seal them at the bottom of our hearts and hopefully we can hold on to them till our very last days. One thing I have learnt from the last seven years is that every new phase bring new beautiful memories, so I know they don't end here.

So, to stop the flow of tears, I am swiftly moving on to something a little more cheerful, yes my Mandala. I must confess that I am now officially in the habit of leaving this to the last minute so I will endeavour to start this a little earlier next month.  This months mandala was the Daisy Centre Mandala Square by the very talented Zelina Olivier. I again used Drops Paris, as it simply is the best yarn for mandala's in my opinion, if you take away the weaving in ends bit. 

For some reason the cotton always splits when you try and weave in the ends, which is really the only thing I dislike about Drops Paris. It is a fairly simply pattern to work from and I wanted to have something a little different from my usual colour scheme, something a little 'warmer', yes a little more autumnal. Last winter I lost my heart on mustard and even throughout the summer I just couldn't get enough of this beautiful colour, in fact so much so that I had to invest in not one, but yes two mustard bags whilst on our jolly in Italy (but more on that another day). 

I must confess that there was a bit of pulling out towards the end as I tried desperately to finish this whilst trying to focus on the amazing routines on Tumble. Honestly I just LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this show!  Aren't those celebrities just doing the most fantastic job. So common spill the beans, does anyone else watch this and do you like it or love it? We initially recorded it for little E, who started doing gymnastics a term ago and absolutely loves it, but it seems this Mamma is enjoying a great deal more than little E. What I would do to do a little gymnastics, mind you I would seriously injure myself!!! So yes the problem with crocheting mandala's is that they do involve a bit of counting and concentrating at times, which can prove a little difficult when you can't take your eyes off the telly!

If I am honest I really thought that this Mandala would be a great deal smaller than it turned out, but actually I am delighted with the finished size as its inspired me to make something with it, but for now I will have to keep you guessing! Unfortunately I haven't blocked it yet, so none of these images do it justice as I always find blocking your work makes the world of difference. 

So for October, I have chosen something small (yes clearly I still have this urge to make a slightly smaller Mandala, so lets hope this is!) and again I have chosen a pattern by Zelina Olivier. I promise to move on to someone else at some point, but I really enjoy Zelina's designs and patterns and the problem is there are so many of them that I want to make! What I like about this pattern is that I think this pattern might make quite a few little presents for Christmas (oops, yes there I have said it!). So for anyone interested in joining in, you can either make a mandala of your choice, or you can find the pattern for the Granny Mini Mandala here. 

That's it for today my lovelies. A big and warm welcome to all my lovely new followers, I hope you enjoy your visits here and I look forward to getting to know you a little better. For now though I have to get the sprogs from school and I am going to leave you with a lovely memory of our last morning in bed before school started (yes not the most glamorous, but who cares about that!). 

Happy September and Happy Autumn & Spring!

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxoxo

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