Week 4 

Finding the Acorns 

Story 

Walking along the path towards the next part of the forest we would see an area with very old stately oak trees. They were mainly common oaks with their typical leaf shapes. 

Their branches majestically hovering high above us and their leaves turning all the lovely yellow, orangy, reddish and brown colours of autumn. In autumn they would drop their acorns and we would find them all over the floor of the forest, some still green, others a glorious forest brown. 

Their cups often lost, I would try and gather some that had the cups still attached to the nut. 

Often the squirrels would get to them first, but I often collected some to take home for a display in my room.

I remember the colour of the earth of Pepe’s garden, the soil contained a lot of iron in those regions and the earth would be rusty red. Oh, what a glorious colour and it would really stick to your skin and embed itself in any fabric. 

Later on, when I went home from the UK to visit after having the babies, I spent the summer when Thomas was about 8 months old and Rachel was just 2 years old with my parents in Belgium and Thomas had this habit of waking up really early and because I didn’t want Rachel to wake up yet I just took him out of the house and I walked in my nightie into the garden at about 5 - 6 am where Pepe would be digging up the potatoes. 

The air would be fresh and cool, and I used to put Thomas down in the earth and we helped Pepe gather up the potatoes. We’d be covered in dirt by the time the sun was fully up. 

Those mornings with Pepe I really cherish. It was a time where no words were spoken just hands in the earth and just the birds in the background singing their dawn chorus while we collected the fruits of Pepe’s labour. 

Thomas enjoyed just sitting and nearly crawling around in the garden. By the time he needed his breakfast it would be too hot for Pepe to work in the garden and tools were cleaned up, potatoes stored and the soil left in peace, waiting for another early morning digging session tomorrow. 

These colours and the stitch here represent the acorns I would find and collect on our walks. 

Pattern

Please note: consult the table for the colour changes!  please make sure you end on a repeat of row 61, if not just level off by doing DCs on the DCs, HDCs on the shell and a DC on the DC in between. otherwise just continue with row 85 below 

Row 85: CH2, turn, 1 DC in the next 2 st, *1 HDC in the next 5 st (3rd HDC is around the CHSP) then 1DC on top of DC from previous round* repeat *-* to end (197), 

Now check to see in which direction your skipped stitch is going to be running. If you want them to run in the same direction you might have to cut off your Stone here and start on the other side with a standing DC. If you are not worried, just keep going. 

Row 86: CH2, turn, 1DC in the next 5st, *sk1, 1DC in the next 3st, 1DC in the skipped st, 1DC in the next 5st* repeat to end, 1 DC in the last 2 st. (197)

Row 87: CH2, HDC in each stitch to end (197)

Row 88: CH2, turn, sk 2, 2DC 1CH 2DC in the next st, *sk4, 2DC 1CH 2DC in the next st*, repeat *-*  to end, sk2, 1DC in last st. (39 repeats. 1DC, 1DC)

Row 89: CH2, turn, *2DC 1CH 2DC in the next CHSP*, repeat *-* to end, 1DC in last st. 

Row 90 - 113: repeat row 89 whilst also adjusting your colour according to the table below.

Colours

Was that a fox you saw?

Multiples 

5 plus 2, 197 stitches, 39 repeats 

Gates 

9 plus 8, 21 repeats 

I hope that you enjoyed this part of the walk with me and my grandpa digging up the potatoes together and that you were able to have some crochet me-time along the way. 

Please don’t hold back posting your progress updates in the group Ophelia Talks Crochet on Facebook.

I am already super excited for next week…

Anja xxx