Two End Of Year Finishes.

 Here we are at the very last day of the year! were did it go, it doesn't seem like a whole year since I was saying the very same thing. 

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, mine was spent with family but it was a very tense time as my daughters neighbours house had a partially collapsed wall with the bricks all banging against my daughters home in the gale force winds and causing damage to her property, she was told that her eaves could collapse too and as you can imagine it cast a huge shadow over Christmas.  She has spent the week having workmen come to see if her property was in danger and the mixed response is unreal, one said yes her eaves were in danger of falling and it would cost £5000 to repair, another said there was no immediate danger but it needed repairing and would cost £2700 and the third has said there is nothing wrong and needs no intervention! who to believe? certainly not the first that's for sure. She is waiting for another workman to come as we speak.  

The Christmas Throw ta daaa.... 

I managed to complete my daughters throw just two days before we travelled to Qatar and gifted to her before we went, she loved it...

I embroidered this on the back

I loved making this throw it's Sonia's Holiday Mosaic by Rosina Plane, I did omit the Angels which were the last pattern on the throw as I though they looked a little scary and replaced them with the gifts tied in a bow instead.

I didn't manage to complete the other Christmas throw I was making but it doesn't matter as it will be ready in plenty of time to be gifted to a charity for next Christmas

 The Year of Doodles stitchery

I actually completed this just last night, I can't tell you how much fun I have had making this...

I am waiting for a flexi hoop to arrive and then I'll frame it properly.

I'm already getting exited to get start some new projects for 2024, my daughter-in law has asked me to make an all in one suit for her baby due in February, she loved the one I made for baby Julian here so I may make another for grandson number three. 

A male friend has asked me to make him some red and green striped socks! It's been a while since I made any, he is still wearing the ones I made him back here reading that post I don't know what I'm letting myself in for but it's good to see that he is still wearing them since 2015. At least the colours will be easier to work with, watch this space they may or may not materialise. 😂

I am eager to start another mosaic throw but I'm saying nothing more on that subject until it's actually finished I have the yarn and pattern and I'm itching to start.

I'm going to be sewing the new stitch-along by StitchDoodles 

A Year of Woodland Blossoms

 

I have ordered the pre printed fabric and I can't wait for it to arrive. 😊

So along with some charity projects it looks like I'm going to be busy.

What about all of you lovely people did you manage to finish everything you had planned for 2023 and what are your crafting plans for 2024?.

I always spend Christmas Eve quietly and am usually in bed long before midnight but my grandson Mikey and his mummy and daddy are coming later this afternoon so I'm looking forward to that.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and I hope that 2024 will be a good one for all of us, 😘😘

Linking with

  Slow Stitching Sunday

Wednesday Link Party  oombawka design crochet

Happy Christmas.

 I have just returned from visiting my son and lovely daughter-in-law in Qatar and am quite shattered after having a lovely but extremely busy time with them. More about that another time but for now I just want to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

 

Happy December!

My garden on the first of December what a lovely festive start to the month our first snowfall.

 I seem to be spending most of my time trying to keep up with the mosaic blanket CALs I'm busy with but I'm really enjoying the process, I could quite happily sit crocheting all day but life does tend to get in the way, wouldn't it be lovely if we could just sit with our hobbies and do nothing else.   I do tend to get carried away and it has to be said I am a messy worker especially when sewing. 

I have a few little sewing projects on the go at the minute most of them Christmas orientated. It's the decoration of things that cause the trouble I can never make up my mind, there is so much christmas bling to choose from and it's invariably the bling that makes the biggest mess, it usually ends up spread all over the place with the floor bearing the biggest brunt.  Then a friend will text is it ok if I pop round for coffee?  I know what you are thinking well if she/he is a real friend  they won't mind the mess! well, there is mess and then there is MESS. When this happens you see me hastily stuffing bits and pieces into bags and thrusting them out of the way into cupboards and then later I can't find anything.

I need to get a control of my life I know, take a deep breath and have a huge tidy up, put things in an allotted place then I'll always know where to find them, my intentions are good and I do that sometimes but strangely those items don't seem to stay in their allotted place for long I do believe that they are alive and come out to play at night. 

Anyway this is what is it I have been playing with.. 

Hearts

I'm not a great sewer, I do like to try, but sewing straight lines and getting perfectly curving edges are beyond my capabilities this wreath did test me somewhat, trying to get the hearts evenly spaced to make the circle seemed to take me forever but I think I managed it.

It doesn't need any bling because the fabric is very busy so I just added the bows and a tiny christmas tree shaped button in the center

Tree

The hardest part about making this tree was getting the stuffing right up to the top, I found that a knitting needle helped a lot. I can't decide whether to put a star on the top, what do you think?

Little Trees

These were fun to make and quite easy, in fact I may make more, they are lovely to gift and to hang all over the place really, I'm thinking about making a garland with them...

All of the above were started at my u3a sewing group, a great bunch of ladies but it has to be said there's usually more chatting than actual sewing taking place.  You can find out how to make all of the above online, in fact there is so much lovely Christmas stuff out there you are spoilt for choice.

The little trees above are similar to these here, but I stuffed mine and added a cinnamon stick for the trunk,

and finally my embroidery..

Almost there! I'm looking forward to sewing the December segment, I want to use traditional colours I'm busy sorting them as we speak.

I have lots of other things on the go but I'll leave them for another time.

The last month of the year already, how quickly this year has flown! How are your Christmas preparations going? do you put your decorations up early or wait to nearer to Christmas.  As I get older the time seems to pass more quickly and because of that I have started putting mine up earlier, it takes a lot of time and effort and so it makes more sense to me to have them up that bit longer. I don't put that many up now just a few of the things I have made over the years and if my youngest son isn't coming home with his wife for Christmas I don't even bother with the tree. Myself and my daughter are going to Qatar to spend the week before Christmas with him this year so I'm really looking forward to that.😊

I hope you all have a great week 😘

 Linking with the ladies at Slow Stitching Sunday

Christmas Crochet Mosaic Roundup

 Here we are again another Christmas and another year of stunning Christmas Mosaic patterns, as always new patterns seem to be released by the day and I will add them here as soon as they become available.

Evergreen Dreams by designer  Robin Parent

Mosaic Christmas tree skirt by designer  Susanne Toth

Poinsettias by designer Lucille Schubert

Gonk's Holiday Mosaic by designer - Rosina Plane

Sonia's Holiday Mosaic by designer - Rosina  Plane

Christmas Gnomes by designer - Anneke den Outer

Christmas Spirit by designer -  Sarah Athey

Cosy Christmas Blanket by designer  - Fiona Kirk

Arboreous by designer -  Robin Parent

Glorious Christmas by BebaBlanket

Deck the Halls by designer Lindsay Mika

Christmas Blanket

Magic Winter CAL designer - Ana Morais Soares

Click below for more great Christmas Patterns.....

A Mosaic Christmas

More Christmas Mosaic

Even More Christmas Mosaic

Christmas gifts and making a start with the Christmas Mosaic

 The clocks have gone back and I can feel myself slipping into hibernation mode, although I do love long Summer days I quite enjoy the cosiness of winter evenings as well, the ritual of locking the doors, closing the curtains and lighting soft lamps and candles, sitting in my favorite chair with my cuppa and a warm crocheted throw over my lap.  Then whatever project I'm working on sitting at arms reach along with TV remote and audio book close by. I am quite content sitting there in my little world and have to make myself get up and move around but to be honest it's usually just as far as the kitchen to get another warm drink.

What about you lovely people? I would love to know your evening ritual.  I live alone so I'm lucky in that I have no one else to please but myself.

I'm also lucky because I love to crochet with a passion and if it's a new pattern even better.  I have started not one but two Mosaic crochet CALS and to be honest I'm wishing that I had two pairs of hands.

The first is the one I told you about in my last post Sonia's Holiday Mosaic, it runs over six weeks it's amazing to think that if all goes well I'll have a beautiful blanket in less that two months just in time to be gifted for Christmas.

Christmas Crackers

Then quite by chance I came across yet another beautiful CAL for a Christmas blanket on Facebook and it's free which is very generous of the designer because there's a lot of work goes into designing any pattern but Mosaic especially because of the charts and in this case there are written instructions too.

This one is called Cosy Christmas and this the start..

The designer is Fiona Kirk and you can find the pattern here  However if you join her Funky Loops community on Facebook the pattern can be found there for free. The pattern is released over six weeks.  I would like to donate this one to be sold or raffled for a charity but I'm not confident that I will have it finished in time, if that's the case then I will put it away until next year.  I wish they would release the new Christmas patterns just that bit earlier.

Along with the crochet there has been quite a bit of sewing going on I am a member of the u3a sewing group and we brainstorm for little gift idea's for Christmas well in advance, we usually start sewing them in September, we had lots of idea's this year, just for small things to be gifted to friends who appreciate a little handmade something, this week I have made these..

Little lavender bonnets very easy to make, in fact quite addictive but I had to stop at five as I had run out of fresh lavender, they really do smell divine. 😊

Do you gift little handmade items and are they appreciated? I plan to make more little sewn gifts this afternoon the sun is actually shining and my conservatory beckons so I will say bye for now and I hope you all have a peaceful Sunday. 😘😘  

Linking with the ladies at Slow Stitching Sunday

  

Improving, Some Follow Ups and Mosaic CAL's

 Thank you all for all your best wishes for my recovery from Covid, it was horrid! I'm hoping that I never get it again, I tested negative on the 15th day but it has left me with a cough and my voice is so hoarse, it hurts if I talk much so I'm resting it as much as possible, I'm hoping that there's not going to be any lasting damage because my throat was very sore for quite a few days and the continuous coughing didn't help.  I am trying to increase my exercise every day, my appetite has returned and food tastes almost normal again.

Onwards and upwards I hate to dwell on illness lets talk about nicer things like little grandson number two  I actually got to meet him for the first time yesterday.

Baby Julian

I was happy to see him wrapped in the little blanket I had made for him but he was wearing a crochet jacket which his mummy had bought from Etsy and I couldn't help thinking why buy from Etsy when he has a grandma who is more than willing to make him anything he needs but DIL said she had gone a little crazy with buying him far too much stuff than he will ever need. I'm already planning what I can make him for when he gets older.

More good news which I didn't want to share until we were sure that all was going to be ok, if you remember grandson number one Mikey's mummy lost a baby a couple of years ago but now she is pregnant again and due in February, she is having a boy as well so I'll have three lovely little grandsons.

Tedds Poncho

Ted was so happy with his poncho and wore it for the Abba Tribute 

Ted Wearing His Poncho

Apparently it was a great show and everyone had a fabulous time, I was so sorry to have missed it, Ted says he is looking forward to wearing his poncho to many more Red Hatter events and thanked me with a crochet pattern booklet and a gift voucher for a yarn store bless him I didn't expect anything I enjoyed making it for him.

I was asked to make a pair of thumbless mittens for my  friend Carols granddaughter, Carol  loves to crochet herself but is partially sighted now and finds it difficult to crochet. She asked me the evening before I was due to meet her, I was determined to make them that evening and have them ready for her the next day. After almost completing one mitten I came to the conclusion that it just wouldn't do, it had almost no stretch and her granddaughter would find it hard  to put her little hands into them. Although I love crochet items you can't beat a knitted rib and so I quickly made these little thumbless mittens for her, I managed to make one the evening before we met and I sat knitting the second one in the garden centre where we met.

Alyana modelling her mittens

I can't wait to make her and Carols other granddaughter some more it's lovely to make things for little girls, I'm thinking cute little sweaters with hats to match 😀

That trip to the garden centre was my first time out following Covid and my friend Jan joined us there, she had brought along a bag of crochet granny squares which she had been asked to join into a blanket for Macmillan, she knits and crochets for them but she had never joined squares to make into a blanket and wanted my advice.  I offered to do it for her...

A nice and easy project which took no time at all

It measures 38" x 42" and it's made in chunky yarn and will make a lovely throw or lap blanket.

So it's been quite a busy two weeks and now I'm looking forward to a Mosaic Crochet crochet along which starts at the end of this month.  It's hosted by Rosina Plane and it's called Sonia's Holiday Mosaic, this is the blanket/throw..

I'm going to make it for my daughter, I already have some of the yarn and I'm in the process of ordering the rest. You can find the details here if you fancy joining me. It's that time of the year when lots of crochet alongs are being announced and I get quite excited and end up buying lots of patterns while they are discounted, another one that is starting at the beginning of November is this ....

Happy CAL hosted by Tinna Thórudóttir

A very easy Mosaic Pattern which would be great for beginners.

Today I will will be doing some sewing, I need to catch up on my embroidery..

I'm determined to get it finished before the end of the month.🌝

Have a great week ahead.💗

Click here to see all the great parties that I will be linking with this week.

Covid Strikes and a New Arrival!

 It got me! I suppose I'm lucky that I have managed to avoid Covid up until now.  It started with a trip to A&E with stroke like symptoms, tingling on the left side of my head and then it spread down my face.  Friday night is not a good time to be in A&E it was crowded with a 11 hour wait! I suppose no time is a good time to be in A&E but I couldn't help thinking that if it was a stroke I don't fancy my chances as I arrived at 7pm and wasn't seen until 3am! Anyway thankfully stroke was ruled out and I got home at 4 30am. I was ok on Sunday although the tingling sensation was still there but on Monday I could hardly get out of bed, did a test and I tested positive for Covid.  I'm wondering if it was the Covid that caused the tingling sensation.  

I have been pretty ill with it but the worst thing is two outings which cost me quite a bit have to be cancelled I was so disappointed especially as one of them was the Abba Tribute which is on tonight but I'm still testing positive and feeling very weak.  I was all set to get dressed up in my 70s gear and I had made a couple of Abba Style hats for my friend and myself...

I won't get to see Ted in his poncho either so I've instructed everyone to send me lots of photos.

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 My second little grandchild arrived yesterday morning it's a boy! It's going to be a while before I get to see him but I'm going nowhere near him until I'm completely well.

 I want to show you a couple of the the things I have made for him along with the blanket I showed you earlier..

My DIL asked me to make this baby onesie it's a very easy pattern and didn't take that long, I used Stylecraft special Aran in shade sage you can find the pattern on youtube here 

The blanket is my own little treasure baby blanket you can find the pattern here, it's lovely to make a works up in no time.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

This past week I haven't felt like doing anything much but I'm planning to do I little sewing today, I'm quite proud that I'm keeping up with this, the problem is though, the pattern is fading and it's getting more difficult to see it, I'm hoping that it lasts till December

To finish off I just had to show you this, still blooming in October just outside my front door, this is the wheel barrow that my brother gave me last year for my birthday, I filled it with Bizzy Lizzy's and they put a smile on my face everytime I open the door,

Have a great week ahead.💗

Click here to see all the great parties that I will be linking with this week.

Teds Poncho

 Thank you for all your lovely comments it's great to be back again and I'm going to try and blog more often, it may be easier now that Autumn is officially here and the garden is winding down, I'm a fair weather gardener and rarely venture out once the weather changes.  I'm looking forward to Spring already and have bought lots of Spring bulbs, I'm going to plant them in pots and will look forward to them emerging in the Spring, I still need to buy some crocus as well and these will be dotted about my lawn both front and back of the house. 

Teds Poncho

Have you heard of the Red Hatters?  click on the name if you haven't and it will take you to the Red Hatter site.  We have a Red Hatters group in our u3a which has just started up again since before Covid.  We have a few male members who don't mind wearing the obligatory red hat and purple clothing.  One of them is Ted and although he's in very poor health it is obvious that Ted wants to embrace life and throw himself into as many activities as his declining health allows. Ted approached me and asked me if I would crochet him a purple poncho, I think our upcoming outing to a Abba thank you for the music evening  triggered this request as poncho's were very much the thing in the 70's

Well we sat and pondered, time was short as I was in the middle of making things for my upcoming grandchild and charity makes, so it was decided that a granny square poncho would be the quickest to make. I made a few samples so that he could choose which pattern he wanted...

He chose number two and I started making it, but it soon became apparent that because of all the other stuff I was trying to make there was no way I would finish it in time, so I made the decision with Teds blessing that it would look much better if the patterned  squares were just around the edges and plain purple squares in the centre. 

 I could have approached my crochet group and asked for their help but as you must realise everyone's tension is different and for the poncho to look good the squares need to be the same size, however because time was short, Pamela who runs the knitting group as well as being as member of my crochet group insisted on trying to help and she made quite a few of the plain purple squares thank you lovely Pamela! 

I'm so pleased to say that we did it!!

It consists of 69, 6 inch squares - there are 116 tassels! yes I counted them and the ends that needed to be woven in were in their hundreds. 

I used Stylecraft special dk and it took 1000 grams.

I found this such a lovely project I love making granny squares don't you? 

Fingers crossed Ted will like it I will try and get a photo of him wearing it and show you with his permission of course. 

Have a great Sunday 😘😘

Linking with..

Slow Sunday Stitching

A New Addition

As always my apologies for my very sporadic blogging, time just gets away from me, it seems to go faster the older you get, I will get back into the flow someday because I really don't want to totally abandon this little space of mine.

 I think we all look forward to the day when we will become grandparents, I know I did and I made lots of baby things and put them in a special granny suitcase up in the loft.  My wish was granted five years ago when little Mikey was born to son number one.  Since then it has been a very trying time for my lovely family, if you remember Mikey's mummy sadly miscarried a couple of years ago and there have been several unsuccessful attempts at IVF for another two members of my family.

Then son number two and my lovely daughter-in-law came to visit and presented me with a photo of a scan at twelve weeks, I was overjoyed for them but it always comes with trepidation, the hope that all will be ok after the previous IVF heartbreak that they have been through. I feel that now I can breathe easy as the pregnancy is going well and the baby is due end of this month.

My daughter-in-law asked me if I would make a baby blanket and sent me a photo of what she would like, silly question really OF COURSE !! I will make a baby blanket and anything else your heart desires, it will be an honour.😊

So here is the one that she chose, it didn't me long to make as it's made in Aran yarn, 

I couldn't help but think how times have changed, we used to make baby blankets in fine 3 or 4ply, then we moved onto dk but nowadays the younger generation seem to prefer the thicker yarns like aran or even chunky.

I used James C Brett Baby Aran Yarn in cream and you can find the pattern here

With some of the yarn I had left over I made this cute little hat

You can find the pattern here

I will show you what else I have made in another post because the crafting has been going on quite steadily throughout the Summer, at the moment I am trying to finish this for my daughters birthday next week..

Its an experiment and I'm not sure if I'll like it when it's done, I got the idea from Lucy at Attic24, my daughter said she needed a pencil case and I thought that I would try this out, I will let you know how I get on, I'll be working on this today whilst sitting in the sunshine making the most of this lovely weather we are having before it comes to an end.

My garden in September 😍

I hope you are all enjoying a lovely Sunday 😘😘

Linking with..

Slow Sunday Stitching

Oombawka Design: ...

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