Some finished items...

Today I thought I would show you some of the projects I finished last year but didn't get chance to post, plus it gives me a chance to use my new camera.Talking of the camera the first thing to show you is the case I made for it out of scrap wool. It's small enough to fit in my handbag and this will stop it getting scratched. It looks much better with the camera in it but for obvious reasons you won't get to see that image.

The following photos are of the ripple blanket I made for George (little T, he doesn't like being called that anymore!). He requested a blanket at the beginning of December when he saw my ripple blanket. So always keen to start something new before finishing something old (and because I can't resist buying more yarn) we chose and ordered the wool together straight away. It took about three weeks to make and he's really pleased with it. I used Stylecraft Special DK for this, it's certainly the best acrylic yarn I've used, it's very soft and there is a fantastic range of colours. 

One of the colours that George chose was a greenish colour which I didn't think it would work with the others but he was insistent and surprisingly it looks quite good.

This scarf I finished ages ago, it's made with the Angel wool I got for my birthday from my friends. It's a really delicate pattern which I thought would work well with the wool. The pattern was fairly easy to follow but it was quite slow as the wool is very fine and fluffy but the result is beautiful. I can't remember where I got the pattern from but it was somewhere on the internet.

The next two cushions I made earlier in the year. I just had a sudden urge to re-cover the cushion pads that I already had and came up with these designs. They are made with a mix of Stylecraft and Boyes acrylic yarn and they live in the spare bedroom. My mind is already thinking ahead to what else I can make for that room. 

I haven't given up on knitting completely, I have just finished two pair of socks. the first pair is made with Regia wool and is self striping.

I made a flap heel on this pair as it's quite easy to do but they never sit properly on my foot, they always seem too baggy around the heel. 

But with this pair I trawled the internet and looked through books to find a pattern for a short row heel that was easy to follow. This method gives the same heel as shop bought socks which I find more comfortable. 

The wool I used for this pair is Madeline Tosh sock wool that I bought from Loop when I went to London in November for the Country Living fair. It's 100% Merino and it's gorgeous to work with. Now I've got the hang of knitting in the round I just love making socks. I've got two more skeins of sock wool ready to crack on with.

That's the last of my makes but I want to show you what Hubby and George made for my xmas stocking. Aren't they great ? They are made from polymer clay with tiny mosaic tiles embedded in them.

They are very easy to work with as they are quite chunky and they have allowed me to crochet whilst I've got my bandage on! Something I'm sure I'm not supposed to do. Something I can do of course is buy more wool.

I bought this yesterday, I think I'm going to make a scarf with it, it is wonderfully soft.

I have also ordered some more wool which I'm expecting to arrive tomorrow so I might be back to show you that. I can't do much at the moment so my blog may get updated more often, although this post has literally taken me all day to do and now I'm worn out. Bye for now. 

Boohoo

Poor me. I'm unable to do ANYTHING as I've had an operation on my right hand. I've been suffering with carpel tunnel syndrome for about two years now and it's been getting worse for the last few months. My hands go numb all the time and night time is worse, it wakes me up and when the feeling comes back I get an ache all the way up my arms. Not pleasant. So yesterday was op-day and it went well. It's only a 15 min operation so it was done under local anaesthetic and now I can't do anything for at least two weeks and no heavy lifting for about 6 weeks, and when it's recovered I start all over again with an op on my left hand. Whoopee!

               I've been crocheting like mad to make up for this enforced abstinence and when I persuade someone to take some photos for me I will share them. On the plus side my letter to santa was answered, I got a camera for xmas so my photos should be better. Fingers crossed.

Merry Christmas

Just popped in to wish everyone a merry christmas. Hope you are all having a good day.

xmas decorations

Just wanted to show you my xmas decorations on my fireplace. I made the little knitted stockings garland last year, the pattern came from Little cotton rabbits blog and this year I added the crochet snowflakes, courtesy of Attic 24's blog. I'm really grateful to all these crafty people who share their patterns with the rest of us.

 

The following photos show my gorgeous tea light holders that I bought from Marks and Spencer about six years ago. They are ceramic and incredibly detailed and just look beautiful when the candle is burning inside. This house is actually square so it can be viewed from all angles but I just love the front view, that front door looks so inviting.

The fireplace looks so warming and the little cat is enjoying it.

How beautiful do they look? M&S haven't had these in store for years and their latest ones are not nearly as well made or as detailed as these. I'm so glad I bought them all those years ago, it really starts to feels like christmas when I get them out. Even Hubby admitted last night that it felt christmassy with all my homemade crafts around! But he was slightly annoyed that I hadn't got round to making the mince pies yet.

Christmas wreath

Just wanted to share a photo of my Xmas wreath with you all. I'm quite proud of it, I spent yesterday afternoon in the kitchen snowed under with various foliage from the garden and listening to Classic FM on the radio. All very festive all it needed was some mince pies but unfortunately I haven't got round to making any yet. That's next on my to do list.
Anyway off to put up the tree and decorations now.

A busy- ish week

My Mum has been to stay with us this week and it has been lovely. I have just been to the train station to drop her off, she's always a bit torn about going home. She's happy to get home to see my Dad, but always a bit sad to be leaving us. Hopefully she had a good time while she was here.
We started off her visit with a trip to London to the Country Living Christmas Fair. Mum hasn't been to that fair before and she really enjoyed herself. We managed to look at all the stalls in relative ease before it got too crowded. I made a bee-line to see the lovely Julia from Red hen originals who makes fantastic bird and animal pictures by using potatoes! - yes you read correctly. This owl is my recent purchase, how fantastic is he? ( ignore the dates on the photos it's my sons camera and I don't know how to turn the date off  And it's three years out, I don't know what he does to it)

You would never guess her painting medium would you? I bought my first two paintings from her in March at the spring fair and I have just fallen in love with her work. These are my original pictures.

I must apologise for my terrible photos they really don't do the paintings justice, but I'm hoping Santa is going to bring me a better camera for christmas, if they are still terrible then it will be the fault of the operator. I need to get my owl framed and then I think I will hang him in the bedroom.

I also had my eye on this bag from Susie Watson, it's supposed to be a toybag but I'm going to use it as a bag to carry my laundry out to the washing line, I've been meaning to get a new one for ages and I think this will do perfectly, it will certainly brighten up the washing chore, what do you think? It's very jaunty isn't it? 

So we had a great time in London and even managed to squeeze in a visit to Loop where I bought another skein of Madeline Tosh sock wool, but I haven't got a photo to show you, maybe next time.

The rest of the weekend was spent chilling, I carried on with my ripple blanket , Mum played with Little T and on her DS and Hubby painted his teeny tiny soldiers. I will take a photo one day of our Sunday afternoon crafting sessions. 

Yesterday we went for a jaunt to beautiful Southwell in Nottinghamshire, mainly to visit the wool shop as I had run out of a colour I needed for my ripple blanket, only to find that it was closed. Never mind we had a nice time anyway even though it seemed to be monday closing for most of the other shops as well ! So today I decided after dropping Mum off at Newark I would whizz back to the wool shop for a second attempt, guess what ? it was shut today as well . Hmmph. 

New project

I have been trying to do this post for a while but the computer wouldn't let me upload my photos for some inexplicable reason. Anyway, I want to show you my latest crochet project, I'm joining in with Attic 24's ripple along. These are the colours that I've chosen, they are a mix of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and Millamia merino. 

The colours are beautiful and the wool is a dream to work with, I am loving this blanket so much. It took me a few goes to get it right. I spent many hours doing the foundation row only to end up with more stitches at the end of the row. The next attempt saw the foundation row going well but then I realised at the end of the second row I had made a pattern error right at the beginning of the first row! That was a very frustrating weekend. Once I'd cracked it though the pattern was really straightforward and the blanket is now steadily growing. 

Hope you like it, I'm already planning what to do with the leftover wool, maybe another cushion. I haven't given up on the knitting completely, I've also been making another pair of socks as it's that time of year when I want to pad around the house in cosy socks.

The yarn I have used is Regia and it forms a nice stripey pattern as you go along. I've got two more balls of sock wool to use up so I'm going to be pretty busy. 

I have got some other finished things to show you but I will do that next time as my hubby is out and I need him to show me how to rotate my photos. I knew he would be useful for something.