Stuff!

Needing to occupy my mind this evening I thought I would ignore the housework and do a little crafting instead.

It's turned so cold the past few days that I decided to treat myself to a nice pair of gloves:

I've had this wool in my stash for many many months but I love Mirasol wool so much that I always set it aside for a special project and then never get round to using it. These gloves only took just over one of the two 50g skeins I had so I still have enough left to knit a pair of mittens for Heather too. The wool is Mirasol Chirapa 100% merino and is just so soft and warm. The colours are pretty warming too for on the coldest of days.

I also finished off the cardigan I have been working on over the past week for Heather:

Yet another purple one, she looks so lovely in all things purple. This was knitted up on Paton's Diploma gold DK and used 3 50g balls. It's in a simple garter stitch with a crochet edging rather than the usual rib. I really like the added interest a crochet edging gives. And it's so much quicker too ;-) Actually this looks so much better on Heather than it looks in the photo. Will have to try get her to model....

Felting too has been taken it's turn, although this was an accidental make. Remember this? Well it somehow ended up in the washing machine on a towels wash and when I realised it had already shrunk to newborn size. It was too stiffly felted to be of any use to a teeny baby so I decided to turn it into something else rather than throw it away:

I used the back section of the cardigan to make this purse/zippered bag and added needle felted flowers and edging to add a bit of colour. Not sure what I'm going to do with it now I've made it but I think it's very cute and almost worth felting a piece of clothing for. And I still have the rest of the felted cardigan and the buttons looking to be used on a new project. Now I just need to think what to do with the extra large mum and baby covering cardigan that also got felted in the same wash.........

Making things........slowly!

Crafting time has been difficult to find lately. Sophie has been staying here more often, Heather is not settling until late, I have been reading more than usual, and life has just been rushing along. But I do have a few things to show.
First is a chunky sweater for Cain. I have been knitting it in plain stocking stitch as the stitches are so well defined and uniform and I think they look great and need no embellishments or creative stitchery. The pattern is from the top of my head and all guesswork but I think it is coming on nicely. Just the arm to finish and the neck to trim in some way and then it will be done. The colour is great don't you think?



Another thing I have been finding very relaxing is making these little needlefelted balls:


There's something about all that rolling and stabbing that is so therapeutic, especially at the end of a hectic day. Heather especially loves them and has a couple which she loves to pass between hands and follow around the floor. The boys just like to throw them at each other!

Also on the needles is a small blanket which I am making to cover Heather's legs when out in the car. Our car is not the best of its type and the heating is a bit hit and miss so she needs a little something to keep her comfortable. And I can't wrap her in a big outfit as she'd get too hot when I pop her in the sling when we get to where we are going. Hopefully this blanket should do the trick and keep her warm. It's being knitted in Paton's fairytale color 4 me DK which is a pure wool which comes in lots of lovely colours. I chose these three colours as they are so warm.


And finally............I still haven't bought any wool! I'm doing well aren't I? Even John is shocked as I turned down the chance to go to BlackSheepwools craft barn last week. This weekend might be a bit difficult though as John heard about the stitch and craft show in Manchester and asked if I wanted to go............... Must resist the urge to say yes. Besides, it's the Aintree craft and hobby fair in March and I do want to go to that one. Anyone else going to either?
Oh well, that's enough for now. Off to get on with the list on the right.
Happy crafting everyone.
xx

And now for something completely different.....

Well ok, not completely different........same basic materials, needles and wool. But used in a very different way. Meet little Santa:


Can you see how he's made?

He's needle felted!
So he's not amazing, and I haven't been able to get a good face, but I did so enjoy creating him. It's very therapeutic and stress relieving, the repeated jabbing of the needle into the fibre until the shape begins to appear. And great fun manipulating the piece into the form I wanted it to be. I wasn't even sure what I was making at first so Santa's inside are made from multicoloured fibres which I then overlaid in red simply because the original colour was a little dull. Then as a body shape began to form the image of a little Santa gnome came to mind. So I jabbed some more and created a head, and then rolled and jabbed some arms to attach to the body, then jabbed away at some more red fibre to create a hat and then finally I jabbed a few wisps of white into his face and added a ring of white around his hat. No sewing, no gluing, no pinning, just all held together by each fibre locking onto its neighbour. Amazing isn't it? I left him up on the mantlepiece to be spotted and to see if anyone could guess how he came to be. And he confused them all. Was he shop bought? Was he glued from felt? Was he knitted somehow? Knitted? With no visible stitches? "Well perhaps he was brushed after knitting to make him fluffy?" was one suggestion. And when I relieved he was formed from some wispy bits of wool and a very sharp needle they were all rather surprised.
I think I like this needle felting thing. And I will definitely be having a go at some more christmas/winter themed makes. Not sure how they would hold up to handling by little people but as decorations they should be fine. Now what to make next?
Well after the gifts I currently have on the go of course ;-)
See you all soon with hopefully a glimpse of dearest husbands crochet blanket that I started yesterday. I am forever finding him asleep on the sofa in the cold living room as he insists on watching tv late at night, silly man. Or maybe I might be able to show you the Thomas hat to match the gloves from earlier.........

Hope you're all having much fun with your crafting and creating too.
xx