Not just a Knitter!

Ooooh two posts in two days!!

I am not a particularly creative or artistic person. I cannot draw to save my life. My 7 year-old is already much much better at stick figures than me! I don't see myself as creative, the only thing I do is follow a knitting pattern (mostly..... ) and make my own yarn choices.

But I keep seeing lovely things on Pinterest, and  have things around the house that need doing, but I just haven't the confidence to do them.

Not anymore!!

I bought myself a good staple gun and staples, and chopped up the old vinyl tablecloth from my old table to make a smaller tablecloth, and to cover the two breakfast-bar chairs!! I dithered about for over two weeks before just getting on with it, and it was so easy!! I really shouldn't have got in a tizz about it.

I have also been Pinteresting all these bauble wreaths for Christmas for a few weeks now. I bought baubles ages ago. I dug out a wire coathanger and even found a glue gun squirreled away amongst DH's Detritus! So today I managed to get DS3 to have a nap, and thought 'right! I will do it!'!

I started by using the glue gun to glue the tops onto all the baubles. Zillions of them. Lots of different sizes! I then reshaped the wire coathanger, which involved some swearing and sweating as it did not want to bend to my will! It eventually succumbed, and I managed to find some pliers (again, hidden in DH's Detritus) and untwisted the top so I could slide the baubles onto it!

There were a few casualties, some of the plastic tops snapped under the pressure, but all in all it was fairly painless!

I then took two strands of white beads that I got with the baubles, and draped them around, securing them at the back with the glue gun so they didn't clump about. 

The only thing I was not overly happy about was the ribbon at the top, as it really could have done with being much wider! But it was the only ribbon I had, so never mind!

Anyway, without further ado, my Pinterest-inspired Bauble Wreath!

It's nearing December!!

I LOVE the whole month of December. Well November too, as soon as Bonfire Night is over I switch over into Christmas mode!

I have been watching trashy Christmas films on tv, almost every single gift is bought, I only have one left to buy, and I have 3 gifts left to make, two of which are started. And the 3rd may be substituted for beer.

I am giddy with excitement, it is quite pathetic, but I just love the whole thing. The kids have a Nativity play (one is a donkey and one is an alien, so I am slightly concerned about that mixture!), then there is a school Carol Service in the church across the road, plus lots of other Christmas things. We also have my DH's and DS2's birthdays in December, so it is a busy month!

I can't post any pictures of my recent crafting, as they are super-secret secret Santa/Winter Swap gifts, so the post will look a bit bare. I am hoping to make a Bauble Wreath for my door (which you can buy, but I am hoping mine will look better.......hoping....) and I am going to start decorating the house this coming Monday.

I am also doing an Elf on a Shelf this year, for the first time ever. So there will be pictures of his night-time antics too!

Crochet-crazy!

I found this fabulously simple and  quick crochet cowl pattern on Ravelry. I am only a novice crochet-er really, so simple is super for me.

I made this one as a Christmas gift, and it took an hour and a half!

This morning I decided to make myself one, out of some mystery bulky yarn I had stashed. I used less yarn for mine, as I like close-fitting cowls, and I also decided to make some matching fingerless mittens!

Cowl-inspired Mittens!

So I used the basis of the pattern, and chained 17 stitches. Then I sc into the second stitch from hook, and each chain stitch. Then I worked each row as ch1, sc in the back loop of each stitch for 15 rows. Then join the foundation edge together with the last row crocheted, by slip-stitching them together for 5 stitches, sl-st into the next two foundation ridges alone missing out two of the chains from the row last worked (this makes a thumb hole) and then sl-st the edges together to the end. sew in ends and voila, a mitten!

Oops! Another month bites the dust!

I am finding this year has just flown by. Now that my second-born has started school, I am really struggling to spend enough time with them (for me....they are perfectly happy, I just miss them!). It is a day of just the youngest and me, then at 3pm all hell breaks loose and I try to fit in phonics and handwriting practice for DS2, reading with DS1, generally entertaining DS3, plus dinner, and then bedtime! It is manic!

We are now on the last day of half term, and I have loved it. I have loved just sitting for an extra hour in the morning snuggling my babies, and not having to be ANYWHERE! Ok, so my sister was visiting and staying at my mum's, so we spent a fair amount of time there, and it was Halloween so we have had pumpkins and parties and sugar overloads! Then fireworks for bonfire night, and two friends' birthday parties this weekend.......OK.....so not exactly relaxing!!!! Gosh!

What have I worked on since I last posted pictures?

I joined a KAL on the Mamapacks forum, to make a cowlette. This will be a gift for a family member for Christmas!

Then it started to feel a bit chilly, so I made some hats!

I made myself a Faberge Cowl (pattern on Ravelry) 

Then my DS1 won some yarn in a poetry competition on Ravelry, and requested some 'fingerless gloves with a flappy top on', so I made him some flip-top mittens!

I made MYSELF a hat!! The pattern is Torsion, on Ravelry, and is double sided. I added beads as well. Then I made some gloves to match!

So.... there's a mammoth catch up!

I am now getting seriously into the Christmas spirit, it is really pathetic! I am bouncing off the walls with excitement!

Until next time....