First, the Finishes!

Well we had our challenge on Tuesday. We also had some finishes though and I thought I would post those first. Not quite save the best until last since these finishes are amazing (as always). However, I didn't want to post both together in case something got missed.

First off Helen has been quilting again. How lovely is this quilt? You can't see but in the corner she has stitched 'wish upon a star..'. If I could have I would have pinched it when she wasn't looking. Helen was our judge for the challenge. When she wasn't doing that though she was knitting some socks.

Jill has also been busy. She stitched this lovely apple for her mum. Anyone else thinking that this could be the prettiest pin cushion? Love the pinks and greens. She is now working on an owl cross stitch design which I also love.

A week or so ago Izzi had shown Lyn how to crochet onto bangles in order to knit a bag. This is her finish. I love the rainbow colours. A little girl is going to love this bag. Lyn then spent the evening working on hats for the Big Knit.

This scarf was knitted by myself and for myself. Do you recognise it? I fell in love with the scarf Helen knitted a few months ago and voila. My sister also liked it so I spent Tuesday working on one for her (in the hopes that it would prevent her from pinching mine).

We also had a lot of hats given in for the Big knit. I'm afraid I haven't added them up yet but we have breached the 300 mark. I promise to have them added up by the next get together. Just as well I have been keeping note of how many everyone has handed in otherwise I would be there all do. Have filled a box with them already. These particular hats were handed in (in order) by Janice, Margaret, Lyn and Rhona.

Watch out for the challenge post which I will have up in a couple of days!

Welcome!

A couple of weeks we had a new member along. Her name is Janice and she is currently knitting for premature babies. She's also knitted for the Big Knit in the past. Last week she brought along her first finish. These cute little dolls. She isn't sure what she is going to do with them but everyone loved them. Welcome Janice!

Roberta also had a finish. She crocheted this baby blanket of Linda's shoe box charity. The pale shade of blue in the middle was a happy accident. Roberta hadn't realised that she had picked up the wrong shade. It looks lovely though and sets off the blanket.

Margaret, Stephanie and Isabel also handed in more hats for the Big Knit. We are over the 200 mark just now. Stephanie is in the lead with the most knitted so far. It's close though between herself and Margaret.

This post may seem like a quiet one however, we have our challenge night tomorrow so prepare for a busier entry. As usual there will be a lot of photo's and this year we have a junior category for our younger members. The challenge this time is Odds n Ends. Look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

Lessons in Pom Poms!

Our Freya had a finish with some of her famous decoupage. We all admired the colours used on this little pig.

Anthea liked the bag Izzi made so much that she made a larger version and decorated it. I love the blue ruffles.

I think this is the first time we have shown a finish from Grace (not to say that she hasn't had any but they are usually given as gifts). This is a Wedding present. I love the camper van.

Caroline made these sparkly strawberries for the Strawberry Tea held by hobbycraft (run by Lyn). Each of these little strawberries contained a chocolate.

Lyne has also been busy for the tea. She made these tissue and soap covers. You might recognise the lace as she used it to knit her hedgehogs which I posted a while back.

Isabel has been busy knitting for her granddaughter. She is going off to see her next week and knitted this dogs jacket for her.

She has also been knitting for the Big Knit charity. I love the alien and the bumble bees.

Margaret, Stephanie and Helen have also handed in quite a few hats. I think we have now breached the 200 mark. These hats have to be handed in by the 1st October. So I am making our deadline 18th September which will give me time to send them off.

Stephanie has been making lots of hats with pom poms and her secret is a pom pom maker which everyone has been fascinated by. I took some photo's as she demonstrated how to use it.

Voila one finished pom pom.

Isabel liked it so much she borrowed it and made three during the evening.

I have also begun taking names for next years Gartmore. We have quite a few this time round. So I think it will be a good one.

Strawberry Tea!

Last week I showed pictures of purses stitched by Izzi. It's for the Strawberry Tea hosted by Hobbycraft that she got the sewing machine out for. It's this Friday at the times above and there will be other goodies to purchase. It will raise money for Breast Cancer so it's for a good cause. Just from our group buying some of those purses £50 has been raised. I will be there so hopefully will see you there.

The Big Knit is still going strong. We have one or two people racing ahead in the novelty and quantity competition. These are some of Helen's lovely hats.

Stephanie has also been busy again. Some of those beaded hats are among my favourite.

Roberta has joined in too. She has a few with buttons on top rather than pom poms.

Lyn has also started knitting for it. The banana is one of my favourites.

It's not just been about the charity. Caroline knitted this lovely Chef for Elaine's birthday. I'm afraid though that it gives away the birthday celebration (sorry Elaine).

We had Donna along with little Abigail last week. I had attempted to knit for the baby back when we had the baby shower. It went horribly wrong and ended up using the yarn to knit this shawl for Donna instead.

The sewing machines have also been busy. Roberta has got back to the quilting again and made this beautiful spread for her bed. I love the colours.

How nifty is this? This is a quilted burping napkin which Izzi made for Donna. Stops all her tops from being ruined from the baby being sick. I can see a market for these.

Knitting For the Big Knit

On Tuesday there were quite a few knitting for the Big Knit. Think there will be a lot of photo's to come. First of all how amazing is this? Caroline adapted another pattern and knitted this ice cream hat. Complete with flake and beaded sprinkles.

Helen did a few pineapples which she got from an online pattern. She also adapted another pattern for this very creepy spider hat. Would give anyone nightmares. Believe it or not the pattern was originally supposed to be a flower but Helen decided it looked more like a spider and voila!

Margaret has knitted a fair few special hats which she has adapted or invented herself. Lots of Christmas themed hats in there. I personally feel sorry for the chick in the back which looks like it has been plucked.

She also knitted some other hats using the basic pattern. Lot of lovely colour combinations in there.

Stephanie has also been knitting away and she has been adding pom poms to hers. She even used some of her fluffy yarn to make those white ones.

I have also been knitting some although not as many as others and certainly nowhere near as inventive. I'm looking forward to seeing what others come up with in the next few weeks.

Izzi has also been working on a charity. She is making these little coin purses to raise money for breast cancer. There is a tea hosted by Hobbycraft where you will be able to purchase them (don't know the details of that yet). Luckily we have Izzi at hand and a number of us purchased them on Tuesday. Hopefully that's a good start to the charity.

 There were other finishes too. Roberta knitted these lovely baby cardigans and jumper. The pink and white have a sparkle to them which is sadly lost in the photo.

Caroline also had a finish. She crocheted this beautifully bright blanket for a friends baby. Love all those bright primary colours.