24 Socks and Mittens

Here they are done at last. All the socks, mittens and hanging loops are now complete and the cord has been finished today - alas it was not complete before Christmas as an injury prevented this. Still I am well ahead of schedule for next year :-)

Stripes and Spots

Nearly there - here is the last of the stripy socks and the first spotty one. I am pleased to report that all the socks have been completed since this photograph was taken - the spotty one above took some doing in order to get the spots correct after shaping the heel - I changed the pattern as I didn't think the spots fell properly so that took a few attempts until I was happy.
I have also completed all the hanging loops but need to do the cord now - just started but it needs to be 59ins long - seems a funny number why not 60??
Ok must get back to it so that it is completed before the 24th - a day when I can start another project, yes?
ps. Just read the pattern - apparently the cord needs to be 150cm which is 59" - completely glossed over the metric stuff :-)

And now for some socks

All the mittens are now finished and here is the first batch of socks. Still got another 5 to knit. Hopefully these will be done before the 24th!!!

Not managed to finish off the Father Christmas I made last week as I am really trying to finish off these socks. Honest, I am.

And even more mitts

Here are another two mittens for the advent calendar - how long have I got before it has to be done? Perhaps best not ask that. All the mittens are now done and three socks, with another to sew up. Hmm could be a late night tonight :-(
This afternoon I went to a sewing class to make a Father Christmas but it was dark by the time I got back so no chance for a photograph, but you can probably find him on Facebook if you know where to look. He still needs a few tiny things doing to complete him but he should be already for next week's post.
Also got a second Christmas cake in the oven at the moment and I am planning to finish making some Christmas cards tonight so in all a day spent predominantly on Christmas projects.
Ok enough of this as I ought to press ahead with the advent calendar before it is consigned to the corner by the sofa as a project for next year :-)

Goodies

Friday saw the annual day out to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate. A lovely day was enjoyed by 7 ladies - some 'old' showgoers, some new. We had a fabulous time shopping, chatting and eating.

I think I am right in saying everyone purchased something - some far more than others and there were various reasons for justifying said purchases - they are presents (that old story), I NEED it, I got approval from the board and we have to have something to keep us busy for a whole year until the next Harrogate outing. Don't we?

Here are my purchases, just two - quite restrained I think but then I did spend quite a large budget earlier in the week!!!!

I can't wait to start the knitting - not sure you can see it very well on this photograph. I love the vintage pattern and even better - it came with a free bag. You know me - I LOVE bags of all sorts :-)

I ought to be doing something useful as I can hear activity in the kitchen and I feel a tiny bit guilty, only a tiny bit though. But it is still the weekend so maybe  I should just go and knit some more mitts - another 2 done since yesterday's post :-)

Mitts, Mitts and More Mitts

Ok, ok, I know I have been absent for a while but I have been busy - doing lots of lovely things with family and friends. But I have managed to find time to make a few more mittens for the advent calendar and here they are. Still got more to do and all the socks to start. Must get back to it I suppose.
Yesterday was a day at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate - some nice purchases made - more of those later.

Poll Project

The results of the Christmas Project Poll were in favour of the Advent banner, so a couple of weeks ago I made a start with the mittens. Here are the first and only three so might have to up production a little to get them ready in time.
Other work has been done for Christmas - 24 cards made and written!!! And another batch started. Also made a Christmas cake today which has been out of the oven about half an hour - fingers crossed it is ok. I have made some toffee as well from my Grandma's recipe book, which a  bit like the technical challenges on the Great British Bake Off- ingredients and no recipe. It looks ok but the tiny bits from the edge I have eaten are far more crunchy than when my Grandma made it :-( Might have to have another go sometime.
Ok must go now and press on with the mittens.

Ta-dah!

At last a completed project after quite a few months. It turned out to be easier than expected although not sure if it needs something to cover the back but that would make it quite bulky. Need to find time to start another book then I can use it.

I am going to finish something!

This has been my holiday sewing -  a small kit my husband bought me on a trip to a National Trust place a few years ago - Devon I think. The only thing left to do is to finish it off - but every time I decide to finish it I realise needs pressing and the ironing board is never out. Well today since I took this photo I have pressed it, although from a different angle you can still see the folds.
Tickets are now booked for the K&S Show at Harrogate so I really did ought to finish a few projects before then and it is ages ago since I posted a finished item, so off to do just that :-)

Progress ..... at last

Eventually after weeks of being stuck, the back of my jumper is finished - all but casting off. The armhole shaping was a challenge - I was trying to work the pattern out mathematically as I decreased stitches and it never seemed right. In the end I had to work out by eye where the pattern should fit and forget about the mathS, which has messed with my mind no end I can tell you. Anyway that is one piece down and three to go :-) Pity it is a spring/summer type yarn - still not finished yet though so that may not matter :-)
Progress has also been made this week on sorting out our visit to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate, which is almost as complicated as this knitting!
Feeling inspired to get on with the knitting though now, especially as the vote is coming along nicely for the Christmas project and I shall be wanting to start that soon. :-)

New Project

Testing something out here - a poll for my lovely readers to vote on! I have wasted 40 minutes trying to do this and in the end it is really quite simple - provided it works.

Ok I have been given permission by Lady R to do a Christmas project provided I stick to it and it is completed by this Christmas - hmm suddenly it is less appealing.

Ok need to take photos of what is on offer and see which people prefer - of course I reserve the right to ignore the results!!!!! :-)

So here are the two projects - a cross-stitch at the top (you know who you are won't can't tell the difference!!) and a knitted garland. Sorry about the poor quality but taken in poor light with a flash. Now I have found the cross-stitch pattern it makes me think that I also have another pattern by the same designer - for Christmas - but no idea where that is!! Ok feel free to vote.

Don't Talk to me Knitting

This knitting has been on the go for over 2years! It is eventually going to be a shawl with a lovely lacy pattern that I found somewhere on the internet. I bought this wool a few years ago from a knitting and stitching show but I don't remember which one now. It came with a free pattern which was abandoned after a few attempts at knitting hexagons only to find that at the end with a few dropped stitches it all unraveled :-(

This pattern is not really any easier - I find that I can knit one row and then unpick three - including ones which had previously been right - I am now learning that is the nature of lacy knitting - easy to drop the yrn and yfwd so you end up with the wrong number of stitches. Not much has been done on this shawl as I find I cannot knit it when the TV is on, the light is poor or as the title says - anyone is talking to me.

Sadly that seems to be the way it is with my knitting at the moment - just knitted two rows of the jumper and having to unpick those too.

Still never mind - hopefully this time next week some progress will have been made.

Result!

 

Here is the jigsaw finished at last. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this - lovely interesting picture that was tricky but not impossible such that it was hanging around for months, unlike some jigsaws. In a way I am sad it is finished but it means that normal service can be resumed - i.e. housework!!!!

Alas, still not much progress made on any of the projects - they are all stuck or approaching being stuck - I have emailed about the jumper that is missing some instructions but not had a reply although my email has been read.

I have had one success this week and that is getting more than one picture on a posting on this blog - always had problems before. I am saying that, but I am not sure what will happen when I publish this!

And here is another Corner by the Sofa - which inspired the name of this blog. Here is where I keep all my work in progress projects, plus a few other things like fleecy blankets and soft cushions for curling up on the sofa with. I took this picture a few weeks ago when I was tidying the lounge - before and after pictures. I am trying to declutter - ha ha  - inspired by margorganizes.com - I did tidy the lounge and then it got messy again, but at no point did it lead to decluttering the corner! Heaven forbid. It does look at bit different from this photo - not vastly different, just rearranged as I was looking for something and unless progress is made soon, that might be the desperate subject of another posting.

Chilling

Still not finished anything because I have been distracted by this fabulous jigsaw. A dear friend gave me this to do and now it is on the table I can't leave it alone. It is such a distraction that almost no ironing has been done for  two weeks! Or much else for that matter. It has reached the point now where not a great deal will be done until it is finished and the only thing stopping me completing it is the lack of daylight. And work!

Camp Blanket

I was hoping to have the bag finished this week but it was not to be. All the needlework is done, but I just need to fix it to the bag - easier said than done. I had hoped to get this done but I have been at Guide camp all weekend so not had chance.
So what to post - and Guide camp gave me an idea.
This is my camp blanket bought for £4 many, many years ago but the badges make it worth an great deal more than that. I haven't got many badges compared to some and if you look closely you will see that I wasn't a very good Guide, well at least not as far as badges were concerned! But on the left is a whole pile of badges waiting to be stitched on.
A Guider friend of mine has got together with other Guiders to sew their badges on whilst chatting - a lovely idea but I have been lazy and started machine sewing mine on - not exactly easy to do in company.
I'd like to think that inspired by Guide camp this weekend that I will start sewing these on but what are the chances of me putting them back in the bag in the corner? What is worrying me looking at the picture is that I think there are even more badges somewhere else, just waiting to join the blanket!

Almost there

All the cross-stitching is now finished I think on this - just got some back-stitching to do on the house and the butterflies. And then the tricky bit - sewing it onto the bag. Hopefully done by next week. Not sure what I am going to do at knitting and sewing groups this week as I need to find something simple - maybe that is a cause for starting something new????

Still Resisting

I have had this kit for sometime and managed to avoid starting it, which has been particularly hard these past few days, so much so that I have had to return it to the stash along with all the others. I think I had made up my mind though, that this will be next on the list.
It is one of series of English villages - all of which are beautiful kits. It was a difficult decision which to buy at the time - Yorkshire, Derbyshire or the Lake District - all of them dear to me, but in the end I decided I have never lived in a cottage in Yorkshire or Derbyshire, but it is possible I may holiday in a cottage in the Lakes so the decision was made.
Watch this space for it being started!!!!

Finished!

Finished at last. The little fox has been so close to completion for a while, and as it was pointed out recently on this blog that it was time I finished something, I decided to do something about it. I even left a cup of tea, so that it was only warm when I came to drink it, in order to finish Mr F! (For those that know me this is a very rare event indeed!!!!)

So he is done, but what to do with him now?

It has been suggested to use him on a padded box lid but I'm not sure about that (I want to make a hexagon box like the one I made my niece to keep cross-stitch bits and pieces in). And I would like to do some of his other friends to join him, so it would seem sensible to get them framed together so they are all alike but that could take some considerable time - years in fact. Or I could just go ahead and get him framed in the near future. Decisions, decisions. Not my strong point. What is my strong point is having lots of projects on the go at once - so as I have finished one, can I start another?

In fact the next project is on the table next to me ...... waiting. It has even been photographed ready to show - in case I don't make progress on anything else before Sunday!!!

Failed Again :-(

Oh dear - dreadful picture - amazing how the light can change from one set of adverts to the next at this time of year!
Alas still not finished anything and I have been promising to do the slippers for days now - still good progress with the bag.

Hmm still not finished anything

I suppose this picture is a bit of a giveaway - I haven't finished anything ...... for ages! I have made progress with the fox cub and the bag but perhaps not enough to post. I did intend finishing the slippers this weekend but I cannot find the book with the instructions to make them up - well it will be in the corner by the sofa!
Today I have been tidying the craft den - and discovered stuff I don't remember buying and also a substantial number of unopened packs of card - oh dear. None of them colours that I could do with at the moment.
Today's picture is of 3 beautiful books that I am desperate to make things from - two are knitting/crotchet books (I can't crotchet except for miles of chain) and the other is a mixture of various crafts. Two were bought from a lovely needlework shop and the other was a gift from a friend.
Ok that's enough for today and time to go and watch Lulu on the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony and try and do something so I have progress to photograph next week!

Up to Date

My intention was to update this blog every Sunday but sadly that has not happened. However if my calculations with my diary are correct, I now have the equivalent of a post per week from about January this year. See how long it lasts!

Here is a picture from the bag - lovely kit this - nice and easy to do whilst in good company without too any errors:-)

Ok back to it and watching more of the Commonwealth Games.

Cooking with Kids

Today has been a really busy and hectic one at my mum and dad's. I spent the day with my lovely nephew and niece. Firstly we started off with some Maths homework - my nephew teaching me how to do division so that I could help him with fractions, decimals and percentages!

Next it was off to the kitchen on a hot day to make cup cakes and cookies. The cookies were a challenge as the dough looked more like cake mix with the heat.

After lunch we rolled out the dough - in a fashion and made numerous animal cookies. Then on to decorating the cup cakes as sheep with marshmallows and making some flowers from yet more marshmallows. Then finally adding features to the animals with writing icing. Our efforts were well rewarded, even if we did set fire to greaseproof paper in an electric oven and cover ALL the kitchen in a thin layer of icing sugar, with delicious sheep, ducks, rabbits, fish and more! (I can highly recommend cooking in someone else's kitchen!!!! :-) )

Next it was on to loom band bracelets - my niece a very patient teacher taught me, Grandma and uncle (yes uncle) how to make fish tail and inverted fish tail bracelets - and it would seem that uncle is the best pupil - well he did have more training!

So a day of learning for lots of us! We have more cooking planned in the near future - chocolate brownies and jacket potato mice.

And now for something completely different

So I have been found out I guess - not much progress on any knitting or sewing projects - that will be down to a hectic week which included managing to double book myself. I have been seeing friends, doing lots of Guide things and supporting a very worthy charity event in aid of Breast Cancer.
Finally did some relaxing this weekend with some lovely friends who came to stay and brought me some beautiful plants, one of which is pictured above.

I have no idea what the plant is - and neither did the lady who brought it, relying on one friend who reads this blog to tell me as she is a very keen gardener! The plants are grown by a very talented neighbour of my friend - she is well known in her local area for her plants and sales, and whenever I visit my friend we go round and browse the garden, discuss my garden and then I am recommended some plants to buy - all very reasonably priced.

Hubby suggested taking pictures of the plants with the macro setting on my camera and I have thought about the 'rule of thirds' when photographing this - I think I should have two versions of this photograph for some photography friends - the one above and a cropped one with the flowers in the centre Also tried to get one of the plants with a bee in it for my wildlife photographer friend but it flew off :-(

Hoping to get these plants and more into the garden this week and make progress on the knitting/sewing - a quieter week - no Guides but filled with at least two craft nights - although that is card making and I tend not to put that on here, but maybe we'll see

Well this seems like a lengthy post so I will go now and try and find something to do - hubby is watching the GP ad I feel at a loose end! No idea why as there is PLENTY to do.

Nearly there

Today has been a good day on the housework and card-making front and having a friend round this evening for dinner. Less good on the needlework front, but fortunately I did make good progress with Mr. Fox last night. Realised that I have forgotten to record the hours spent on him after the first two or three - an excuse to do one of his pals perhaps???? Yes????

Easy as ABC

Here is the tote bag that I started about 3 or 4 weeks ago. It really is quite simple - the most difficult bit so far was sorting out the threads. Interesting that these colours are quite 'dull' if that is the right word for them, but I love them together yet this week I have been in a little trouble for commenting that I found colours in a card making challenge dingy - oops. Maybe it is because |I have so many lovely colours to choose from in my card supplies (hopefully that might have made some amends!!!!! :-) ).

Little bit spoilt for choice what to cross-stitch at the moment but it has been said in previous post comments and to me in person that I ought to finish something. Ok, ok, I have not had someone to keep me in check recently and I have come to a standstill with the knitting and Nile. And somehow sewing up slippers is not appealing, but I know I must get back to these things. Plus I was quite proud to have finished a project per month but that lasted until, what, March? Sigh.

Paws

Here is the progress so far with the fox cub. It is quite a small count and has half stitches so has taken some concentration to get this far. Should get easier though as I get to the body.
Off back to the needlework once I have posted this - no need to watch the TV every second now that Wimbledon has finished :-(

How cute is this?

A few weeks ago the needlework shop where I go to stitch and chat twice a month had a reorganisation and moved everything around, such that now the needlework kits are in the adjoining tea shop. This little fox cub is just one of a group of cute little cross stitch animals. For the past few get togethers I have sat at the table with these little pictures just a yard or so away and last night I weakened and bought the fox - well it seemed the right thing to do especially as one of the ladies pointed out that I had been admiring him for some time.

So here he is - in my home. I wouldn't say he has joined the stash as I have started work on him already - what joy :-) It might not look like it but he has half stitches - oh well, I'm sure he will be worth it.

Last night there was show and tell of a beautiful picture with foxes (yes more foxes) and sheep and birds done by one of the ladies. We did discuss how long it takes us to do cross-stitch pictures - scary we decided and perhaps we are best not knowing. But being curious, I decided to keep track of the time I spend on this one as it is small - only an hour so far although not much progress has been made, but that did include setting up.

Oh dear

Well I never intended leaving this blog for so long - shame on me! Reached a bit of a standstill with the Nile and the knitting. I have run out of another of the threads for the Nile and the shaping of the jumper and working out the pattern is a little tricky - tried working it out twice and got two different results so need to try again :-(

So I have started this kit - something fairly straightforward that I can do at sewing group and still chat!!! I bought this from one of the shows from the Cross-stitch Guild. Going well so far and hope to make good progress this week - watch this space.

Can you tell what it is yet?

Here is some knitting I have been doing - all knitting done just needs putting together. The two oblong pieces need felting - at 30 degrees according to the instructions but it does not seem to have worked so I will need to wash them again at a higher temperature. The wool used for those pieces is quite thick (done on old size 0) and is bobbly but incredibly soft.
Hopefully a post coming soon of the completed articles(s).

Debatable

So much for my plan last week to schedule a post so I didn't have to rush to do this when I got back after a weekend away. Anyway at long last here is another picture finished off with more of the gold thread. The pattern says it is Ramses III but Ramses II was the great king ruling for 60 years I think. We have tried to look them up to work out which he is but they seem to look the same. Still got to put his name on and undecided which to put - ho hum.
Not many pictures left to do but I have run out of thread for the mosque that I am dong next, so this week I have been knitting - hopefully a finished project to show in the next post :-)

Catching Up

After having found the gold thread this has meant another picture could be completed in relative quick time. Again sorry for the slightly blurred picture - I must sort out the camera battery problem. For the photographers amongst you, my camera has a function that tells you if the subject blinked - well Cleopatra had several shots taken before I was happy and most of them had a warning that she had blinked!!! Bizarre.
Had an enjoyable day today which included some knitting outside as the weather was so lovely - photos of the knitting coming soon.

March's Picture

Today I have managed to finish this picture - it had been stuck for a while as the gold thread was missing - found in the corner by the sofa :-) The gold is not the easiest thing to work with - it splits into 3 and doesn't come together at the ends making threading a needle difficult even using Thread Heaven.
Hopefully this week, now the gold has been released from the corner, I should be able to finish another two pictures.

The First Blackberries of the Year

Here is the back of the jumper that I purchased the wool for 3 weeks ago - managed to resist starting a new project until last Saturday - wow! It is going well so far as the pattern is just 4 rows- not sure when it will be finished though, which is possibly a good thing until I learn how to do the washing! Today I managed to shrink a cardigan - oh dear!!!
Not much craft work has been done today but trying to make up for lost time now with the cross-stitch.
Oooo and yesterday I purchased a fabulous book - Arne and Carlos Knit-and-Crotchet Garden - a beautiful book full of wonderful brightly coloured pictures - the nicest ones are the crotchet patterns, not something I can do so that will have to be a challenge for the future.
Oh well - that's all for tonight - back next week with hopefully a picture of Mount Sinai that is almost finished.

January's Picture

Storming ahead now with these pictures - here is the one planned for January. Sorry for the picture quality - still having problems with the batteries in the camera - not enough charge. This afternoon I went to St. George's Day Parade with the Guides and I left hubby with two jobs to do whilst I was out. One was to charge my batteries for my camera - only the other job got done so a small charge in the end and that didn't seem enough to get the camera to focus properly - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I have started the jumper with the wool I posted a couple of weeks ago - it is going well so far - almost a ball put in in just 24hours :-)

February's Picture!!!

Here is another scene from the Nile. To make it more manageable I decided sometime ago to complete a scene each month, the border another, title another etc. therefore giving me something to aim for. This would mean that it should be done around October/November this year. Good progress was made last summer and I was a little ahead, but I ran out of some threads which slowed me down partially due to a lack of motivation and also having to source more thread - which has now changed numbers. 

This weekend I completed another scene but as the title says it was planned for February!

Having said that, good progress is now being made on the next scene thanks partly due to being away a couple of days and no chores getting in the way :-)

Shopping

Yesterday I had a lovely day out at Castle Donington with Lady R. We decided it was high time we investigated a new knitting shop so off we went to Threads of Life where we spent a very pleasurable hour browsing their patterns, wools and other lovely bits of knitting and sewing paraphernalia. I found a lovely book - 'More bags to knit' - it was VERY tempting but as I have not sewn a bag from the '25 Bags to Make' book that I purchased at Harrogate some years ago I did manage to resist this temptation. In fact I managed to resist ALL temptations - ok not quite!
After our browsing and purchasing by Lady R we went exploring around the village - a upholstery fabric shop - bargains to be had there and I purchased stuff to make a bag - from 25 bags - if only I could find that book! More of that another day. We also looked at the local craft fayre, several dress shops and even a very brief nosey in a bridal shop. Next stop a very nice lunch. Anyway after being told to live a little I decided that living a little involved the returning to the knitting shop and purchasing of something. I had taken a liking to some wool - Rico Pixel - a lovely cotton and polyester wool that on the test piece the shop's owner was knitting did feel lovely and like it had some weight to it.
So I happily left the shop with 10 balls of said wool and the above pattern - suggested by Lady R rather than the one I had originally looked at. I can't wait to start this but feel I should press on with the Sphinx  or the slippers - don't think I have posted those yet? Also got 2 balls of wool this week to knit the sole and lining of those so nothing holding me back now! Except domestic drudgery, work, etc. etc.
I feel some knitting is inevitable this week and it is both the knitting and stitching groups and the old Sphinx may be too tricky for these social events. :-)

He who is upon his mountain

Well he is according to Wikipedia - or better known as Anubis. This was lovely to finish off after doing the camels - not many colours so quick and easy to do - just need to add his name now then it is on to the Sphinx.
Yesterday I resisted the temptation to buy some wool and a crotchet hook from the local wool shop that has moved premises. I thought my mum might be able to teach me to crotchet whilst she was here today - ha ha - hardly enough time to cook dinner so crotcheting was never going to happen.
Next Saturday I am off to visit a wool/needlework shop with my good friend Lady R.. Might take in a tea shop as well - wonder if I will be able to resist shopping there? Doubtful.

Camels and Jockeys

So here is the Queen's Pyramid again with the camels and jockeys outlined now - is jockey the right word for someone who rides a camel??? I think the camels and their riders must be twins as they are exactly the same - no variation at all. I forgot to put the name on the picture but when that is done that will be another scene closer to finishing :-)
I started a new project this week - knitted slippers but that is now on hold as I went to buy the wool for the inside and the shop doesn't sell it  even though they do stock a lot of other Rowan wool. I guess that means I will have to venture out one day and find a new wool shop - it's a hard life. Still without the inner wool it did mean I went back to the cross-stitch last night.

Camels and Half-Stitches

Can't say that I like camels or half-stitches after doing this picture. It may not be obvious but this is Queen's Pyramid and has two camels in front of it. This picture has lots of half-stitches - twice as much effort and quite tricky to fill the space of one normal stitch. Most of these half-stitches here are for the camels legs. Just got the back-stitching to do now and it should improve the picture no end and mean the camels don't blend in to the pyramid.
In fact I have started the back-stitching - and it is already wrong :-( So off to unpick or finish knitting a square that Guides started yesterday at a craft day.

Ta-Dah!

Finished at last - the scissor keepers from previous posts - and fastened on to the recently discovered scissors :-) That should stop them disappearing between the sofa cushions.
The finishing off of the roof was really quite tricky and it is not perfect - but what is the opposite of perfect? Yes, finished!!!
So what next - well probably another unfinished project, however I have had two people say I can start a new project - and one of them was none other than the Lady of the Rules - yeeesssss! So I see this as a great triumph and a cause for celebration. So far, despite having had the go ahead for 48hours, I have resisted a new project - wow! But that will not last much longer as this week it is both knitting and craft group meetings, and experience tells me not to do anythng complicated or I will only end up unpicking it when I get home. The Nile picture, well much of it, falls into the complicated category so I think I can justify a simpler project for these evenings out with like-minded ladies.

Almost there

I was hoping to finish this for today's post but the really good weather meant we went out so there was no time to finish off the fiddly little bits like stitching the roof. Also need to make the cord to fasten it to scissors but that requires two pairs of hands so bribery might be involved somewhere. Anyway there cannot be too many hours(??) left with this so can I start something new then? Pleeeeaaaassseee?????

Another Harrogate Purchase

Is it still Sunday? Maybe not

Much of the past couple of weeks was spent searching for my needlework scissors and half an embroidery hoop - big mistake tidyng up and putting them somewhere so safe that I couldn't fnd them! As a result not much stitching has been done so here is another purchase from the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate last November. Burnt orange wool to knit a lacy scarf. I can't wait to start this but there are rules you know and I am not allowed to start another project until one is finished, so watch ths space .....

Who said I'm not a finisher????

I admit I am not very good at starting things but I am a 'strong finisher' - yes I have some sort of team building quiz/analysis to prove it too! So when it was said of me a couple of weeks ago that I didn't finish things, there was a part of me that said "I'll show them".
So here is my second finished project of the year - not bad one per month I say. These are the fingerless gloves from my earlier post (hmm tried to put a link there and it didn't work but as there aren't many posts yet I don't think it will be too hard to find). These gloves are the first project I have sewn up using mattress stitch, which gives a nice flat seam. A lovely lady at knitting group taught me this recently so many thanks to M.
Another project is ready washed and awaiting finishing but I need a second pair of hands to help with that - wonder if hubby can be persuaded????

Blackwork Penguins

I first started cross-stitch back in 1990 and it wasn't until last year that I completed this first picture for myself. Although mostly blackwork, this picture does have a little bit of cross-stitch - I think just on the baby penguin. I bought this kit to try something a little different and because I liked the baby penguin. 

Now unless I find the most wonderful picture in the world, I don't think I will ever do blackwork again - having said that I am pleased with the end result.

Progress will have to be made with something this week and find the battery charger found, so that I can take photographs otherwise I have no idea what will be on here next week!

Continuity Project

A friend of mine has the idea that you are allowed one continuity project - something that can be on-going for a while alongside other projects - well here is my continuity project.

It must have been on the go now for about 5years! Oh dear. The original idea was to do this in secret as a present for my husband, but the progress was so slow that it was unlikely that it would ever have been done! So I had to own up and show him a part finished present.

It is a picture made up of lots of smaller pictures of scenes alongside the Nile. Anyway this year it is my mission to finish it. By trying to complete one of the small pictures per month means it should be done in October or November.

I think it stalled for a long time as the frst picture - top left, Hapshepsut's Temple - seemed really difficult with lots of colour changes. I thought sandstone was all one colour - not so, this kit has at least five shades of sand!

I suppose I ought to go and do some more but the lure of the Winter Olympics is proving  too much.

Padded Sewing Box

Back in December I had a part-time job working as one of Father Christmas's helpers and this was the box that I made and my niece was lucky enough to be the recipient. I am afraid the photo isn't brilliant but I think you can see the fabric is covered in ladybirds, but I am not sure the ladybird button is that clear. Just love this fabric. The inside is lined with the same fabric as the tab.

Something for Everyone

So am I really organised for next Christmas or just a little disorganised for last Christmas?
Well the wool was purchased before but some of the items not bought until after Christmas!

Anyway here is the a snowman tea cosy - I love him. And alongside him some Christmas cake - only decorated a week or two ago but I think this is reasonable - deocroated when all the other Christmas goodies have gone and it has had more time for feeding right? And ahead of schedule compared to one year when I decorated the cake in February!

"The Sofa is so last year" - or maybe not!

Earlier this week a dear friend said to me "The sofa is so last year" - puzzled I thought it must be the latest in home stlye - you know like open plan living (yuck!) and hence the sofa was out and armchairs or something worse was in! Anyway puzzled I had to ask, only to find out he was referring to my blog - cheeky! :-( I should have known - he isn't a friend I often have conversations with about home decor! Ok so I apologise for the lack of posts - I never intended to fall by the wayside so soon but the run up to Christmas was even more hectic last year and other things have had to (or should have) taken priority for myself and a number of friends since New Year, but here I am with the first post of this year, so a rather belated but Happy New Year to you all.

I had hoped to show you a finshed article today but that has clearly not happened. I have numerous articles nearing completion and I am sure someone is going to get me to finish a few of them off! It was so tempting the other night to start a new project at craft evening as there would have been no-one to stop me and I had an excuse of having  been a little fed-up of the year so far, but no I resisted, well not exactly - I couldn't find the equipment to start said new project!

Enough waffle and on to the photo above - can you tell what it is yet? This is a scissor keeper from a kit by Sue Hawkins - her patterns are a pleasure to follow - so clearly explained and use colour. I bought this a number of years ago at a craft show - Birmingham at a guess - and since then I have bought and finished a second scissor keeper - a post for another day perhaps. Well my intentions are good and I plan to finish the above in the not too distant future - note, not promising it for next week.

Well that is all for now - I have projects to finish and many more exciting ones to start.