More Yarn Stuff

A few posts ago I mentioned how I was getting back into crochet big time, so when I saw Melissa Goodsell's invitation to a dishcloth/washcloth knit-and-crochet-along, I thought I'd give it a go. Well, to be honest, I was probably equally attracted by the idea of making something along with people from the other side of the world :) Anyway, over the next two weeks, around 20 of us will dig out our cotton yarns and knitting needles and/or crochet hooks and hopefully create a lovely little pile of dish- or washcloths. I made a few a Christmas time to put in with teacher presents, and kept a couple for me, but have not really had the courage to use them, they're just too nice! To have a little stash to hand, maybe for some last-minute gifts (with a nice bar of soap!), seems like a good idea.

So far, I have made two (I cheated a little - I started on Sunday...), faithfully using my rather plentiful stash of leftover cotton yarn:

Then today, I was doing a spot of shopping (at Lidl, no less!) and came across this:

Lovely, variegated cotton yarn goodness, and at under 70p a ball too good to pass up. Okay, I had to buy 6 balls per pack, but hey, it's still a bargain, and I'm going to make good use of these goodies :) So, keep your eyes peeled for more cloths, and the next ones are definitely going to be of the crochet variety!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cards Galore

So I'm sticking to my crafting resolutions quite well, helped along by our SBS group challenges and activities, but blogging seems to be another matter. So this is a catch-up post with quite a few pictures :)

12 Months of Christmas card


January Sketch Swap card


"Just Because" cards

Kiddie Birthday card

You can probably tell that I'm fed up with winter - I'm very much gravitating towards bright colours at the moment :) Thanks for stopping by!

Candy Alert

Check this out! My SBS26 sister Gina has some lovely blog candy on offer - pop on over and pay her a visit! She makes lovely cards, too :)

SBS stuff

Priscilla from our SBS group has set up a ton of activities for us, and I've made a couple of things for challenges - it's been fun! :)

First up, a chipboard coaster calendar (as seen on SCS):

I covered a couple of beermats with kraft card, which I had stamped with Polka Dot Basics background stamps from PTI, using Chocolate Chip ink. Put in a photo of the girls (of which I printed far too many, so there will be more calendars coming...), a calendar tab, put number and letter stickers on the front, plus chipboard brackets. Hubby now has a lovely, albeit very seasonal, calendar on his desk at work ;-)

Then there was a scrabook layout sketch challenge:

This is going to help me with my plan/resolution/hope to scrapbook more this year, I should at least manage one layout a month. For January, of course, I had to document all the snow we had. I used papers and diecuts from a My Mind's Eye kit that I'd just ordered and cut some extra snowflakes with a Cuttlebug die.

And, lastly, here IS another calendar (got to use up those photos!), this time an easel card:

This uses kraft and Old Olive card, plus some Bazzill red, PTI background stamp and Stampin' Up! number stamps. I'll be popping this in an envelope for my mum to put on her desk at home. Probably should make one for my dad, too, or he'll get jealous ;-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Hats!

With hubby working from home lots last week and my craft table needing a major tidy, I ended up giving the study/craftroom a wide berth and got crocheting again. Unfortunately, the cushion cover from last summer is still awaiting completion, but I think you'll agree that the current weather situation did actually call for some hats to be made, while home decor really has no particular season ;-) I started off with a pale green hat for myself, and rather nice it turned out, too! Which then prompted all three girls to put in requests for their own hats. Thankfully, the colours that I'd previously purchased found favour with them, and now they each have their own crochet beanie, adorned with a matching flower! :)

Now I just need to make a flower for mine - I'm starting to think it really needs one :)

I'm really really getting back into crochet big style, and I've just taken delivery of a box of wool, so I can finally make that throw I've been wanting to make since the summer - off to open said box now! Thanks for stopping by, "regular" craft projects to be posted again soon :)

Changes

Hi all, I hope everybody had a very happy Christmas and is looking forward to the new year! We've been away to Germany for Christmas with my family, and it was a minor miracle that we even got there! Our flight was at 6.35am on 23 December, and it started snowing about 5.45am... Boarding was started only to be interrupted again and then we spent the next 7 hours waiting for the snow to stop long enough that the runways could be cleared, planes de-iced and prepared for take-off. We finally left at about 1pm - phew! The kids did great, behaved themselves really very well for all those hours with very little entertainment. There was only a little snow left in Germany and it all melted while we were there. We had a lovely time, with lots of visits to and from friends and relatives, playing games and enjoying the odd glass of wine ;-) We came back yesterday, during one of the few snow-less intervals, which again was very lucky. It's still a winter wonderland here, we haven't had anything like this for years (the last deep, lasting snow I remember was in Feb 2001, our first winter outside Edinburgh), everywhere is just covered in white with about a foot of snow on the ground!

Well, the main reason for this post is to let you know about a change to my blogs. I'm no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (various personal reasons), so all SU! related things in the sidebar are gone, and I've also merged my SU! blog with this blog, so there are a number of extra posts on here now. I'll be tidying up over the next wee while and then hope to resume business as usual - well, actually, a bit better than usual, I hope to be crafting lots!!! I know, I say this regularly, but I do mean it! :) My SU! blog will eventually be deleted.

Wish I could leave you with an image of some sort, but haven't got anything handy just now and really need to get off this PC to finish tidying and cleaning - just in case we have a first-foot tonight ;-)

Happy Hogmanay/New Year's Eve and all the best for 2010! See you soon!

Birthday Cards

Youngest daughter had a number of birthday parties to attend, and I was a good mummy and made birthday cards for all her little friends. I must admit I'm not particularly good at putting names and ages on cards, but I try to make them cute and kiddie-friendly. Here's the lot:

Maggie with Flowers from Sugar Nellie

Henry Mouse from Whiff of Joy, retired Stampin' Up! DSP

Magnolia image, pp unknown, Stampin' Up! flower punches

Hope you enjoy this little selection, I certainly enjoyed the change from making Christmas cards. However, I will try and post some more seasonal creations soon. Thanks for looking!