Getting Back To Normal...

Well, after the hottest summer I've ever experienced in this country, temperatures have finally dropped to normal levels for this time of year and I can get back to doing some arts and crafts without dripping in sweat or the paint drying on my brush.  It has been a struggle keeping the garden alive, carting watering cans up and down due to the hosepipe ban, and I have lost a few plants - no cucumbers this year, although the tomatoes have been OK and the runner beans are just about starting now, with help from copious bowls of washing up water!

I saw a funny crocheted coaster on the net last week and decided to have a go at creating my own version.  It works by using the yarn double and making a dome using the amigurumi method of increases.  The coaster sits with the body concave and when you put your mug on it...

 

...tadah!  The head and legs spring up to clasp the mug!  Well, it made me laugh...

 I've also been painting another wooden box - no photos just yet, I still have to put a lining in it. That was a chore as well - hard to paint when the paint dries on your brush before you even get it on the work!

I am also working on a large watercolour - good to be painting again after a difficult summer where my enthusiasm was at an all time low.