The end is not in sight

I'm starting to feel the pressure of the Christmas crafting. I think following Santa on twitter was not a good idea as he counts down the days to Christmas like he is taunting me. I still feel like I have so much to do, hopefully I can get a few things ticked off the list in the next week. I'm still working on the socks for my brother which I hope to get done tonight.

I finished knitting a cowl for a secret santa gift in work. The person I made this for looks really good in blue so I hope they like it. It was curling lots while a was knitting so I crocheted an edging but it still curled but thankfully after blocking it is nice and flat now.

So with all of this crafting for other people at the moment I have not had much time to make stuff for myself so instead I have been keeping a creative journal.

I have combined two journals that I had made to make one super journal. The cover is crocheted from banana silk, it has the most amazing sheen and is very soft and strong.

I've been having lots of fun doing what the hell  want on each page. It's so much more fun than just writing about what you have done each day, it's more like playing than journaling.

The Christmas Craft Continues

Hello friends,

Well it's been very busy recently and shows no sign of slowing but at least there has been some progress.
I have finished some chunky knitted bags which turned out very well. My favorite is this striped one as it was a stash busting project and the stripes look pretty cool and makes me want to make other striped things.

I've also been knitting socks for the men folk in the family. Though for some stupid reason I have ended making socks for the men with the biggest feet, Sigh! Thankfully I have found a pattern that is very quick to knit. This pattern from corn flower blue studio uses aran/10ply yarn and as they are ankle socks they really don't take much time at all. They are a bit big for me but you get the idea.

Today I have been working with the sewing machine making presents for the kids. I love making crayon rolls. They are so easy and kids really love them. I have adapted this pattern from The Pleated Poppy to make it fit the chubby pencils I got. Despite falling out with the sewing machine over tension issues I am very pleased with how they turned out.

Well I hope you are enjoying the Christmas craft updates,

TTFN

Back on Track

Hello Friends,

Well the Christmas crafting is back on track now, but I still feel like I'm not doing enough, Sigh, I guess I'll feel better once I know it's all done. So this week I have been working on presents for my nieces.

These tutus are going to go down a storm. I made them by sewing some elastic together then tying strips of netting to the elastic, I ended up using 2 meters of netting per tutu and I like being able to change colour to make them more fun. I posted a picture n twitter and some of my friends have fallen in love with them so I may have to make some adult sizes soon.

And to match the tutus the girls are getting a crocheted crown each. I love this pattern for the princess crown. it turned out so well I am tempted to make one for myself

Well it's a short one this week but i hope you enjoy my crafty updates :) see you next week

Happy Halloween

Hello Friends,

Sorry I couldn't post last week. Sadly I came down with an icky bug and spent last weekend getting better acquainted with the toilet.

So I have piles of craft supplies ready for Christmas. Lots of cute netting to make tutus for my nieces. Lots of felt to make disguise kits for the boys and Crayons to make more crayon rolls. Today I started on a project for beloved that is going very well:

I'm making a pair of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gloves for him. So please with how they look so far and if I'm pleased with the pattern I may post it on the blog :)

I'm pleased to say that I have some commission work to do through someone who got in touch through Maggie Makes Stuff so I have some cute baby hats to make. Pictures to follow :)

Some one else who got in touch was Katrien who sent me a picture of her cookie monster that she made from my pattern.

I love seeing what people have made from my patterns. It's also a relief to see that people can understand my patterns.

Since it is Halloween it wouldn't be right to have a post without some pumpkin crafts so this was my pumpkin for the family Halloween party (which was amazing by the way)

Happy Halloween!!!!

Weekly Update

Hello Friends,

I'm glad to say that the progress continues on the Christmas craft. I have planned to make sets of body scrubs with knitted wash cloths as gifts. I have the wash cloths all done and I plan to make the scrub closed to Christmas so that it keeps longer.

I have started knitting socks for some of the men in the family. I have been using this Chunky Sock Pattern that I found on Ravelry. I have knitted it up twice before to make socks for Beloved. It knits up really quickly and makes lovely thick socks. I am knitting with two strands of Aron held together so they are turning out very thick, but they will need to be for my brother's massive feet!

I'm looking forward to making this Princess Crown Pattern form Stitch 11 for my nieces, They love dressing up, I'm going to do matching tutus as well.

I have been very tempted by some TMNT themed crafts for beloved. This TMNT heads chart from ravelry looks great. I want to do it in Tunisian crochet as colour work looks really great in Tunisian crochet and I'm not so great at colour work in knititng.

Speaking of not being so great at knitting. The cardigan I was working on has turned out to be an epic fail. The sleeves fit fine but under the arm is way to baggy and the button band is to tight. Sigh! Well the plan is to pretend it didn't happen for a while then frog it when I find something else I want to use the yarn for.

Oh well, the ups and downs of crafting.

See you next week...

Weekly Update

Greetings Friends,

Well I am pleased to say I have gotten some Christmas craft done this week. I have made four note book and diary sets. I got some plain books and used double sided tape to stick fabric to the books. They have turned out really well, now I want to make a set for myself.

So as I have been off for the week me and beloved took a trip to Totnes. It's a little market village in Devon mostly run by well meaning hippies. Despite the rain we had a great time. We got some delicious garlic and olive focaccia bread in the market and ate the entire loaf in one day! It was that good! We may have stank of garlic but damn we're we happy.

There are a few craft shops in Totnes now, some places that sell beautiful dress making fabric (but a little expensive for my taste) and I visited a lovely shop called the The Bead Room where I got some bits to make lovely necklace for myself.

I picked up the key from an antique shop on the high street. I have a thing for keys and I was really pleased as this one is very old and pretty.

During the week I felt the need to do a bit of patchwork and finally I added another row to the hexagon patchwork that I have been working on.

It was great to see some progress happen with this as it has been sat waiting for attention for some time now.  I know it will take a while to get it finished but the anticipation is a part of the fun.

And finally on the crafty makes for this week I whipped up a cover for the new net book. I had loads of this leopard print left from last years Christmas crafts and I knew I wanted it to look like a clutch so this is how it turned out.

Well that's all for this week. No stitch and bitch for this week as we are off to Bingo instead. Wish me luck :)

Yay Back To Updating Weekley

That's Right, I have a new little net book so I can finally get back to blogging on  regular basis. Still getting used to the smaller keyboard but it's shiny and purple and that makes everything better.

So in crafty news I went to the Library recently (because it's like book shopping for free) and picked up a bunch of knitting books to amuse myself with:

Knitting Vintage by Claire-Montgomerie  I am thinking about making the Lacy Collar from this. This book is lovely, the models are all stunning and not only does it have wonderful patterns but there is something to read about each era.

Evil Knits by Hannah Simpson Well I'm a fan of anything monster. I really like the monkey pattern in this book and there are lots of cool ideas for Halloween crafts and great present for people who are fans on horror movies.

Knitted Dinosaurs by Tina Barrett  these patterns are so cute and I love that they have been designed in bright child friendly colours. The book layout is great as well, with great pictures at the beginning of the book so you can see all of the patterns and it's educational as you can learn the names of the dinosaurs and facts about them.

Pints and Purls by Karida Collins and Libby Bruce This book has been designed for the social knitter and has lots of projects that are perfect for popping in you bag. I like the drinks rating as a guide for how difficult the patterns are and how much concentration is required. I am currently working on the Cherry Cordial Cardi. I had a hoody that I knitted about 3 years ago with some lovely alpaca yarn but sadly it was an awful fit and I only wore it about twice so instead of condemning it to death by moths I decided to frog it, wash the yarn and re-knit it into this cardi. The pattern knits up quite quickly as it is bulky yarn and I'm hoping to get it finished soon.

 This was the hoody before frogging...

....and this is the cardi work in progress. I hope it fits ok, its so hard to tell when its not finished but we will have to wait and see.







Well I hope that next weeks blog I will be able to tell you that I have gotten some on the Christmas craft started.