A crochet blanket for Gatsby

As a Christmas surprise for my daughter, I made her a crochet throw and cushion to cosy up her leather sofas for the winter weather. The stash was raided for greys and taupes to match her colour scheme, with a few pinks and mauves to petty it up a little. The cushion cover is just two giant granny squares crocheted together over a washable feather pad and the throw is 12 giant granny squares, each of 9 rows of colour. Every single square is different, thanks to the stash!

My little cat, Milly, was a huge help during the creative process and my daughter’s cat, Gatsby, clearly appreciates the result!

 

Christmas holidays, and then a party (!) for the Fenton Knitting Group

In the very busy run up to Christmas, the ladies of the Fenton Knitting Group have decided to wait until the New Year to celebrate the season together. Our first Knitting Group meeting of 2018 will be on Tuesday, 9 January at 6pm. Ailbe can’t wait!

Until then, wishing all knitters a very happy and knitty Christmas.

Christmas distractions #3

In the run up to Christmas there are always so many last minute gifts to make and stock to replenish for all those festive craft stalls. My last remaining Christmassy characters, courtesy of Jean Greenhowe’s traditional patterns, now resemble nothing more than a group of drunken carol singers as they lean against our mini tree.

Christmas distractions #2

You have to love a good jigsaw at Christmas and this one really got me feeling Christmassy right from the very first piece. All your favourite Christmas stories all in one place, leaving you dreaming of snowy white Christmasses past, whilst the knitting, cooking, present wrapping and tree decorating wait quietly in the wings.

Christmas distractions #1

Apart from knitting, I really love a good Christmassy read at this time of the year. Since it’s arrival at the beginning of December one book has been my constant companion in every spare moment throughout the busy day: The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. This is the ultimate feel good Christmas book, full of nostalgia for festivals past, joy for the moment and firm hopes for holidays to come. I will be reading this still well into the New Year and hope to catch up with Nigel, chronologically, as January looms. For today, I am still on 11 December, ‘decorating the tree’.

Christmas jumper … slow progress

Here we are in the mid winter gap between Christmas and New Year, the prime time for some cosy knitting, and I’m still trying to finish my Christmas jumper.

There have been so many distractions leading up to the festive season. I guess that once again knitting for myself took a bit of a back seat.

The back and two fronts are finished (it’s actually a cardigan!). So now it’s just the sleeves to go. Phew! So nearly there. Maybe it will be finished by New Year’s Eve?

 

Too soon for Christmas knitting?

If, like me, you’re still frantically trying to finish off your summer knitting projects (I currently have two cotton summer jumpers waiting to be sewn up and a third still on the needles!) then the answer is probably yes, it is too soon to be thinking about Christmas jumpers.

The really good news is, though, that we can definitely look forward to another crafty run up to the festive season on TV courtesy of Kirstie Allsopp and friends.

So come on everyone, give this Christmas jumper designing thing your very best shot this year!