Some other recent presents

Some other presents I've made this year.  Firstly, a Hitchhiker in Wollmeise 100%, colourway Chim Chim Chimney, for my sister's birthday:

And here is a little teddy I made for my two-year-old nephew's birthday:

The pattern is from Val Pierce's "Twenty to Make: Knitted Bears", but I changed the letter on the front from a B to a D as that's my nephew's initial.

Wire crochet

For my mother's birthday present this year, I decided to try something different.  I thought I'd try making a crocheted wire necklace, from this pattern by Leigh Manson-Brown.  It took a couple of attempts to get the right gauge, for some reason my tension is always off when I crochet, and frogging wire proved to be an interesting experience!  When I got it right, though, I was very pleased with the result and I'm sure I'll make more of these.

Last Christmas

"I gave you my heart" - sorry, couldn't resist! Actually, although I should really be thinking about knitting for next Christmas, I thought I'd post the makings from last year rather late.

For my mother, I made a scarf from Rico CanCan - I'm pleased with the result, but I wish I'd looked for tutorials on YouTube on knitting with this stuff BEFORE I started, there might have been less swearing as a result! I think when I make another one of these, I'll make it shorter and wider as the weight of the ruffles makes it stretch a lot.

For my sister, I made a scarf from Rico Pompon, I used a backward loop cast on and made it one bobble wider than the pattern suggested. For future attempts, I need to find a stretchier cast off so it doesn't bunch up at the end.

I ran out of time for any other knitting (disorganised as usual), but did quite a bit of baking. I made a Christmas cake at the beginning of November because the recipe said it would keep for two months. Poured a couple of tablespoons of brandy over it every two weeks, then iced it just before Christmas. Considering we only just finished eating it last week, I'd say two months is a very conservative estimate of how long it will keep!

I also made my own mincemeat, which I used to make mince pies and a "last minute" microwaved Xmas pud. The pudding was the nicest I've ever had, though I'm sure I shouldn't say so myself, because it was much lighter than others I've eaten. I even made my own brandy butter to go with it, as well.

Knit Nation - Saturday

We didn't actually spend much (any) time at Knit Nation during the day, due to other commitments such as seeing a show ("Wicked", which was excellent) and shopping elsewhere.

The elsewhere shopping was mainly Hobbycraft near my sister's flat, they had an offer on kits so I couldn't resist the opportunity to try some new crafts:

Soap, candle and lace making will all be making an appearance in my future!  The stack of little boxes will do very nicely for jewellery findings and so on.

The only visit to KN during the day was a quick stop to deliver and collect swap parcels - this was arranged via Ravelry for members of the Knit Love Club sock club.  My parcel for my swapee included this bookmark and a set of stitch markers I made myself.

I was given a parcel by a lovely lady called Mel, which included some very pretty yarn she'd dyed herself.

That night, we went to the KN bingo party in aid of Refuge.  I'd never played bingo before, but somehow I managed to win a prize!

So, at the end of a very long and busy day, we made our way to our posh hotel (below) where we were staying for the night, ate sandwiches purchased at Earl's Court tube station, and collapsed into bed.

Debbie Bliss garter stitch jacket

Here is a photo of a recently finished project made for a friend's premature baby girl.  The pattern is by Debbie Bliss and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which is gorgeous and soft and perfect for delicate skin.  Being so tiny and simple, it was really quick to knit.

I also made this card to send with it, which is my second attempt at cardmaking.