Medley

I’ve not managed to finish the cardigan I’ve been working on, so I don’t have a huge amount to share this week.

I did have a very lovely afternoon yesterday at my Mum’s house with her and a friend. It was lovely and sunny, and we sat outside under a canopy drinking fruit juice, chatting and I, of course, was knitting.

I’m making progress – I was working on the last sleeve yesterday and I’m now on the bands and the collar; which are worked separately and sewn on. I’m not a huge fan of this method – I’d much rather pick up and knit. Anyway, the finish line is in sight.

My mum’s house is full of crafty things that I’ve made for her over the years. Here’s a quick snap of one of them. It’s a hardanger mat which lives on top of my piano. I love hardanger but don’t often get a chance to do much at the moment. I think the white looks lovely against the glossy mahogany wood.

Mum has a penchant for otters (hence the statue). The pretty sketch in the background was done by Mr, one Sunday morning as a gift for Mum – I think he was attempting to show her how easy it was to draw a tree… She remains unconvinced, as she thinks it’s far beyond her ken (Mum’s talents don’t lie with arts & crafts) so she had to frame it instead.

Day Six: Favourite Tools

"Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers."

From Eskimimi Makes 

My favourite tools... I'm not sure whether I have favourites because everything I use has its purpose. If I'm in a hurry and want the bare minimum with me, then I would grab my scissors, my sewing needle case and my favourite crochet hook (as well as my knitting, of course).

I've had these awhile, so excuse their condition. The scissors are little Fiskar ones: I have two pairs. One in my knitting bag and one in my sewing bag. The first pair I've had for at least 12 years and they are still as sharp as when I bought them. Attached to the scissors is a hardanger scissor keeper that I made a long time ago at a workshop. Originally, it had a tassel but that's long since disappeared.

My needle case is made of two little folded fabric squares sewn together. It's a similar block to cathedral window but is contained to one square. The instructions for the square can be found in  Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations by Lynne Edwards. The book is fabulous and I've made lots of different things from it, including some lovely little pincushions. Here's a few bits that I've made using Cathedral Window blocks - cushion and a wallhanging.

There's a needle for all occasions. Several knitting sewing needles, darning needles, tapestry needles, betweens, sewing needles, glass headed pins and knitters' pins.

I'd not really noticed that there was a bit of a purple theme going on.

Handmade Christmas: The Tree

I thought I'd share my Christmas tree with you!

I've made a few decorations for the tree.

This flat ceramic bauble is double-sided and from the photo above you can see the Christmas tree on the other side.

A ceramic glazed santa

Hardanger embroidered decoration and it's filled with cloves so it smells very Christmassy

Secret Garden folded fabric blocks with lucet cord and beaded tassels

And, it's not just me. These are Mr's contributions, a wood turned bauble and a star for the top of the tree which is made from white leather (a strange material for a star but it looks nice)

These are a few tree decorations that friends have made for me over the years.

Going through them all, I've realised there is not one knitted decoration. That will be something I'll have to remedy for next year!