Christmassy

We don't have a huge amount of decorations up at Christmas, but I am prepared to make some effort - it's either that or risk being labelled a killjoy, or as my daughters would say, a "fun sponge"! So we always have a real tree, and that tree has as much squeezed onto it as possible.

The food preparation is one of the things I enjoy most about Christmas. Everyone has their own preferred way with mince pies, don't they? Cranberries are my secret ingredient. They add a lovely sweet sharpness and an extra kick of flavour to ready-made mincemeat.

Wishing you a happy and peaceful Christmas.

Short and Sweet Knitting

I'm back with two more things, this time knitted.
I've been waiting for days to take these pictures. I just needed some. . . what's that thing that used to be around, but never seems to be there nowadays? Oh yes, LIGHT. In the end I just took the photos anyway.

I used 4 ply for the bunny and the smallest needles I had, for a smaller scale than stated on the pattern, and she is 7" tall including her ears. Working a tight fabric on fine needles can be quite hard on your hands though, so I wouldn't recommend doing it for too long at a time.
The uber-cute ducky is in dk weight on 3mm needles. The button "wheels" are what sold this pattern to me!

Why am I making stuffed animals? What does a grown woman want with knitted toys? There are no young children to give them to in the family, my daughters are grown up, but I love making these small pretty things, and I enjoy the creative challenge. Plus, they look nice on the sewing room shelf.

Patterns by Debi Birkin.

Christmas Birds

Hello, busy in the run-up to Christmas but just popping in to show you some recent projects.
More birds, this time from Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle. I intended to make some of these last year but didn't get round to it. They are fiddly to make but well worth it, and just the right size for hanging on the Christmas tree.

The lace is vintage and the ribbon flowers were bought from the annual Harrogate K&S Show, not the one just gone, but from a couple of years ago now.
I particularly liked the idea of sewing a metal ring to the top of the ornament to thread the hanging cord through. I think this gives quite a professional look, and and from a practical point of view it enables you to easily hang your bird with the best side facing outwards! I got an inexpensive packet of jump rings with lots in from Hobbycraft.

Hope you have some time for needlework in amongst all the Christmas preparations. We're getting our Christmas tree tomorrow! Back soon with some knitted projects.