Aileen's Baby Shower.

It was Aileen's baby shower last week. Seems like the time has flown in as she is due in a few weeks. Mind you, you wouldn't know she was feeling a little tired as she looked amazing. Unaware that Aileen is a dentist Anthea, Jill and Grace got her some bonjella and a teething ring. It gave us all a laugh at the coincidence.

Joyce knitted Aileen one of her famous and much coveted blankets. The heart and edging is shaped with bobbles. Very effective and everyone loves them.

Magdalena is back from her weeks at home with the kids. She made Aileen a baby toy. Like Joyce's blanket these are famed through out the group and Aileen was delighted to receive one.

Isabel couldn't stay long as she had three grandkids to pack up for an early morning flight the next day but she did hand in a present. She knitted this lovely green jacket.

I decided not to go with the blanket this time and knitted Aileen a baby hat and socks set. Done in stripes as Aileen is known to love anything stripey.

Elaine expanded her crochet skills to make this beautiful blanket and pillow. It was her first time using this particular crochet stitch. Not that you would know it.

Helen knitted Aileen a lovely set of baby hats, each one different. My favourites are the ones with the pom poms. As you can see Aileen's favourite is the bonnet.

Margaret gave Aileen some much needed bibs and bootees. She also knitted a yellow and a cream hat and cardigan set.

Roberta knitted a sparkly jacket which Aileen can't wait to use at Christmas (unfortunately the photo's don't show up the sparkles). She also knitted an aran cardigan which will be perfect this winter.

June gave Aileen a baby snuggle and a book (June always makes sure she passes on a book). She also crocheted one of her famous blankets. We always love her granny square blankets. The colours are lovely.

At our craft day Linda made a draw string baby bag to put Aileen's gift in. The bag will come in handy and the fabric is perfect for a baby. She also gave her a rattle and knitted this lovely cardigan.

Alison knitted Aileen this lovely sleeping suit. It's done in stripey yarn which gives it the amazing effect. So unusual. I don't think any of us had seen a knitted version of this before.

Stephanie gave Aileen these lovely Winnie the Pooh pajamas and bib set. Extremely cute and will come in handy.

Caroline bought this lovely thumper sleep suit. So cute! She also has something she is in the middle of making but has been sitting exams just now so it's not quite finished.

Last but not least Isabel made one of her fantastic quilts. I love the fabric. If you can't see the photo the square are birds and little bird houses. Lovely colours too.

I think it's safe to say that Aileen had a nice time and was delighted with everything. Everyone else had just as much fun as Aileen. We always like to see what everyone has made and there is always something unusual among them.

Scarf Weather!

If you remember a few months back we had a fantastic day of crafting. One of the things we learned to do was make Japanese folded bags. Alison took hers home and finished it off. I love the ribbon she has used. It really sets off the Christmas fabric and adds an extra sparkle. She spent Tuesday working on her bird cross stitch. She is also however, trying her hadn't at something else we learned that day. Japanese folded quilting. It's proving to be quite popular.

Elaine has also been busy working away on knitting scarves for her craft fairs. I don't know if you can see it in the photo but she added crystals and accents to the first two scarves. The scarves were already lovely without them but they now have a bit of glam.

We also had another knew member. We would like to welcome Rhona (yes, a second Rhona). She actually came along the week before just to get some information but came back this week and brought her knitting with her. She is knitting a jacket for her dog. The pattern is from a lovely book which the rest of the group admired.

On Tuesday we held a baby shower for Aileen who is expecting her first baby. She is due in three weeks. I got lots of great photo's and I will post them over the weekend.

First time cross stitcher

One of our newer members, Freya, has been learning to cross stitch. She just finished this lovely cross stitch flower kit. She is thinking of framing it for her room. She is now working on a more difficult cross stitch kit and is loving it. A lot of our members who do cross stitch greatly admired her work.

We had another new member, Jill, who is also a cross stitcher. She just finished this lovely cross stitch from the Cath Kidston book. It's even backed up by some lovely Cath Kidston fabric.

Helen also had a few finishes. After learning how to do Japanese folded quilting she stitched the blue mat. I love the colours she used and I know there are a few members who are wanting to give it a go. She also made a Japanese folded bag but she experimented with some variegated thread and fancy stitches from her sewing machine. It was quite effective.

Anthea has not long taken up crochet but she has yet another finish. She was crocheting this lovely shrug only last week. She used a lovely purple and a variegated yarn to give it that effect. She is now working on some granny stripes.

Dawn has been at her card making again. She made this lovely card for Donna who just celebrated her first anniversary. The card is backed onto a CD to make it more sturdy plus it can also be used as a wall hanging. I did try to pinch it but Donna wouldn't let it out of her sight.

Elaine finished another granny square blanket using striping yarn. I really love the effect. She spent the evening adding fringe to a lovely scarf. She did finish it but wants to add some crystals to really set it off so no photo's yet.

Linda also had a couple of finishes. She was also working on a granny square blanket. Contrary to the photo it's actually more purple than blue. She also crocheted this lovely hat and scarf set. All of these are for the shoebox charity.

Just a reminder that we are still collecting for the shoebox charity if anyone wants to knit or make anything for it. Also empty shoe boxes would be much appreciated.

This Tuesday we are having another baby shower. This time it's for our Aileen who is expecting her first baby. We all love a good baby shower so we are very much looking forward to it.

More New Members!

As you all know Margaret has been knitting lots of baby clothes for a friend. She decided that since there was some yarn left in each of the colours to use it up. She knitted these cute baby bootees and embellished them with buttons. She also managed to knit matching mitts.

Anthea is one of our newer members. She learned to crochet not that long ago and hasn't looked back since. She recently finished this lovely crochet hook holder. I love the colour and the button on the front just sets it off (handy too).

I forgot to post a couple of my own finishes last week so here they are. The first one is the triangular granny square shawl. Donna taught us this method whilst we were in Gartmore. I used cotton in two shades of purple. The second is a pair of socks (big surprise) also in purple.

We had some knew member again this week. We had Grace who likes to cross stitch. She is working on a lovely tapestry at the moment which she finds allows her to craft and chat at the same time. We also had Raquel and her daughter Miriam. Raquel was working on a lovely crochet hat. She learned to crochet from her grandmother who crocheted until she was 100 and had to stop only because of her eye sight. Miriam was learning to knit and she was knitting a scarf. Glad our little group is growing again.

We are also planning our next craft day. It will be in November and it will be Christmas themed. So far we have quite a few lessons planned so it should be good fun.

Five Minutes of Fame!

Hobbycraft like to have examples of various crafts on display. I have always admired them and it's a good way of getting some inspiration. I did a double take when I was in there a few weeks ago though. They had a display of scrapbook pages and they featured our knitting group. I know you have already seen the photo's themselves but here they are if they were being put in a scrapbook.

We also had a couple of birthdays a few weeks ago. Our Roberta turned 66 (doesn't look a day over 21). Elaine baked and decorated this amazing cake. Sadly Elaine failed to tell us that it was her birthday too.

Margaret has been busy working away on baby clothes for a friend. She managed to finish quite a few more the past week. The baby isn't due for another few months and these cardigans will be perfect for the weather round about then.

Elaine has been crocheting away. She made another large granny square blanket. She used self striping yarn which had an interesting effect on the blanket.