Yesterday was my birthday. It’s not the best day to try to celebrate, one day after new year’s day. However, we did brave the rain to have lunch at my favourite local eatery – The Harbourmaster – where they serve lots of locally produced food.
Mr Snail fed my yarn habit too by giving me some wool, plus some lovely stitch markers, amongst other things. However, I decided to follow my mum’s approach to her birthday a couple of years ago, and to give all my guests presents.
So, there were fancy chocolates all round, plus a hat for my nephew, a couple of pairs of socks for my mum, a calendar for my sister and, perhaps best of all, a crochet VW camper van for my niece:
Mr Snail contributed working lights to the van, and my yarny creations used up some of my stash, so I only had a slight net yarn gain on the day. No one was expecting to receive a present and it was good to see all the smiles. It’s certainly a lovely way to celebrate.
The Snail of Happiness 
Pat
/ January 3, 2016Love the van! Did you find a pattern or design it yourself?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 3, 2016I saw a link to the pattern somewhere (Facebook perhaps) and just knew my niece would love it. You can find it at: http://epsiej.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/volkswagen-van-crochet-pattern.pdf
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nanacathy2
/ January 3, 2016Happy birthday 🎂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 3, 2016Thank you!
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nerdinthebrain
/ January 3, 2016Happy birthday!!! 😀 I love the idea of giving gifts to loved ones on your birthday…I may have to be a copycat!
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nettyg
/ January 3, 2016Happy Birthday…..what a lovely way to surprise your guests and make your birthday even more memorable. Love the van.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 4, 2016Thank you. Plus we had a really lovely lunch 🙂
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thecontentedcrafter
/ January 3, 2016A belated Happy Birthday to you dear Jan – love the giving gifts idea! I have just begun to think of doing that myself – you are an inspiration! I love that Jon is keeping the stash alive and well 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 4, 2016I do like to give gifts unexpectedly… the reaction is much more fun. This is one of the reasons I never give presents at Christmas.
I’m just itching to get started on the yarn Jon bought me, but I have two projects that I am going to finish first… one of which has been hanging around for about a year and a half. Plus I’m trying to make some more progress with the sofa cover… the piece I’m working on is so big, that I’m not seeing much growth even though I have worked on it every evening for a week now. I know it will be good when it’s done, but I need some finished items too!
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Murtagh's Meadow
/ January 3, 2016Belated Happy Birthday ! Love the VW van, very creative:)
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 4, 2016Thank you – it was a bit of a fiddle to make, but I loved the final outcome.
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katechiconi
/ January 3, 2016Happy birthday, dear Snail, I love your way of celebrating. Mr Snail’s working lights are truly inspired!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 4, 2016We don’t often make things together – crochet and electronics are not common partners – but perhaps we’ll manage some more co-creations in the future.
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katechiconi
/ January 4, 2016I have visions of a beautiful lacy crochet lampshade for a small table lamp.
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davidprosser
/ January 4, 2016A belated Penblwydd Hapus Jan. I love your idea of giving instead of receiving (or as well as) on your birthday .I’ll have to give some thought to that in couple of weeks.
Sounds like everyone had a good time.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 4, 2016I did get some lovely presents too, but I particularly enjoyed the giving because none of the recipients were expecting it.
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alookatthelittlethings
/ January 4, 2016Happy birthday! I love the van.
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KerryCan
/ January 4, 2016Such a nice tradition to start! I’m glad your birthday was so fine, Jan!
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katythenightowl
/ January 5, 2016I’m so glad to read that you had such a wonderful day – and what a way to celebrate your birthday! 🙂
I’ve always said it should be the Mum who gets the presents on our birthdays, and you’ve gone one step further to gift all your guests – a wonderful idea 🙂
I really love that Camper Van, BTW – I’ve a dear friend who would adore to get one of these, so thank you SO much for posting the pattern link 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 5, 2016No problem… it’s a bit of a fiddle to make and I think could be simplified.
I have a little gift for you too, so I’ll call round between showers one afternoon!
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katythenightowl
/ January 6, 2016I won’t be able to make it sans lights, but I’m sure I can put my own stamp on it, Jan 🙂
Looking forward to seeing you, even without a gift! 🙂
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Born To Organize
/ January 8, 2016Happy belated birthday, Jan! I love your gift-giving tradition and agree that unexpected gifts are far more fun.
That VW van is adorable, lights and all. What a fun gift for anyone who’s a fan.
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ January 9, 2016Bit late to the party here, but happy birthday! It sounds like you had a super day, and your VW van is an absolute triumph! Adding working lights was truly a stroke of genius 😀
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The Snail of Happiness
/ January 9, 2016It’s very rare that I come up with a project that combines electronics and crochet… perhaps I need to seek out more!
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ January 10, 2016Hahaha! Yes, I think you’re on to something there 😀
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