Halloween!

Apologies for the late post. I'm afraid it's going to be like that whilst on placement. This images on this one is from over a week ago. Worth the wait. First of all this amazing Halloween scene was knitted by Lyn. She did this so that it can be displayed in Hobbycraft but is going straight home with her after Halloween. I had to post some close ups so that you can see the amazing detail that went into it. I particularly like the bats!

Roberta has been busy once again with her Christmas prep. She stitched two more amazing advent calendars so that everyone in her family has one. Then she stitched these Christmas bags using the pattern taught to us by Izzi last year. I am now a proud owner of one of those Christmas bags as Roberta gave one to me.

Margaret has been equally busy with her Christmas prep. She knitted a Christmas cracker decoration and a Christmas pud tree decoration. She knitted the lovely snowman and the snowman garland. A few of us fell in love with the garland so she has said she will knit a few more.

Do you recognise this doll? It's one of Stephanie's handy work. Unlike the others it's not going in her famous box. Instead she donated it to Lyn who is raising money for Children In Need. The idea is to guess the name of the doll. We have all had a turn at guessing her name. However, I think Isabel is the most determined to win. If she doesn't there may be an exchange organised later for one of Stephanie's dolls.

We also had a bit of a demo. Roberta had asked Lyn how to use the acrylic and rubber stamps. Here are some photo's of Lyn showing her how to use them. The good thing about these particular stamps is that you can peel them off the acrylic to give them a wash and use something else on them.

Just a few dresses!

How amazing are these little girls dresses? All of them were the work of our resident sewing genius, Izzi. Each of these dresses were made from scrap material, sheets and pillow cases. The group favourite was the second photograph because it has a huge bow at the back. It was made with just two pillow cases. All of them are going to charity.

Izzi isn't the only one who has been sewing. Jill has finished her cross stitch owl cushion. She changed some of the colours from the original pattern so that they match better. I have to say I prefer the colours Jill chose. This is going to her lucky niece (sadly I couldn't sneak it in my bag).

These beautiful jumpers were knitted by Magdalena and are going to her two younger sons. The previous week Magda was making the chords which tie up the front. We all wondered what she was up to as she stood at the back twisting yarn. Very effective and worth the strange looks we gave her.

Fiona is one of our newer members who has been working on a baby blanket the last few weeks. She now has her first finish which is this beautiful scarf. I love the ruffle effect. I did get her to tell me the yarn she used but it has since escaped my memory (this is why I should write everything down).

I had been working on a pair of socks for my dad and managed to get them finished on the night. Even started another pair (not for dad).

 Elaine also had a finish. For the last few weeks she has been working on a throw for her niece. She finished it last week. Love the colours but I also love the ruffle effect on the edging.

Our Zuzann is also expanding her crochet skills. She has been practicing her double crochet. She plans on turning this into a panel. She will then make more panels and turn those into a baby blanket.

Christmas Prep!

Before I start talking about this collection of images from our talented group I have a mention for another talented group (of which a few of our members just happen to also be a member of). If you enjoyed Helen's report on the quilting show then there is an opportunity for you to go and see some quilts yourself. The Glasgow Gathering of quilters are staging an exhibition of their "Suitcase collection" of quilts in the Willow Tea Room in Sauchiehall St, Glasgow, on the 2nd floor. Opening hours are 10am - 4pm Mon-Sat. It ends this Friday.

Without further ado it's about time that this photograph was taken. You may remember that one of the winners of our challenge was absent. Isabel came back from her holidays a few weeks ago and it took me about three weeks to remember to bring along her prize and the prize winning scarf. Sorry Isabel! So now you can see Isabel finally receiving her prize as well as showing off her fabulous scarf.

A few weeks ago you may remember a photograph of a beautiful granny square baby blanket which was created by Anthea. This is a present for a friend who has just become a mum. Well, she has also made her friend a lovely bag to go with it and this baby toy (the toy jingles). Once again I love the colours. Anthea got the pattern from a blog that is much loved by many members of the group called Attic24. I used one of her patterns before myself. If you like bright colours and crochet it's worth checking out.

This lovely hat and mitts were knitted by Stephanie. I did try to get a photo of Stephanie modelling them but she was far too fast for me. The hat is very unusual though as it is knitted in panels. Stephanie says it was actually very easy to do. I think these are going to her granddaughter.

Roberta has been equally busy on the crochet front. The first is a baby blanket done mainly in double crochet. The little bear was cross stitched onto the blanket afterwards. Roberta says it was a bit footery at first but this was her first go at it. Looks amazing to me. Sadly it has no recipient yet. The second blanket I'm afraid the camera doesn't do justice. For some strange reason my camera hates sparkles. I think you can just make them out in the blue but trust me the red is also sparkly. This beautiful blanket is for her granddaughter. I love the fact that she has done a blue edging. It just sets the whole thing off.

It's getting to that time of year where the bulk of the images are of Christmas themes of presents. Once again Roberta has been busy as has Alison. These beautiful advent calendars were stitched by them both. Again I don't think the camera does them justice but it's safe to say they were very much admired. Hard to believe that it's only been about a year since the pair had some quilting lessons.

Margaret has also been busy once again with her Christmas cross stitch. She has just about finished all her cards for family members. The first three cards featuring elves are for her grand nieces. The last one with the monkey is for her youngest daughter.

Good news! We just found out that Sheena is expecting. She is also moving back to Glasgow so will once again be a regular at the group (we've missed her). We will be holding a baby shower for her the first Tuesday we are back after Christmas.

Lastly, wish us luck! This week myself and Elaine are taking part in a readathon to raise money for SAMH (any excuse to read).

There Be Mermaids!

For the last few weeks we have been much admiring Lyn's work on a knitted mermaid. Even without her hair and crown we loved her. So cute! I have to confess that I wanted to take her home with me. You can see her desert island in the background. Plus if you look closely you would be write in thinking that's a bag of knitting sitting up against that tree. This mermaid clearly know how to use up her free time!

Here she is on her own.

Rhona knitted this beautiful cardigan for Freya. Sadly Freya was too shy to model it for us. However, it is lovely. I love the shades of purple and the pattern it creates. I think it accentuates the pattern of the cardigan itself.

I finished knitting these socks for my sister. I wasn't sure of the colours at first but it has since grown on me. You can't really see from the photo but the socks have a spiral pattern to it which I got from a new book.

Roberta brought along these goodies to show us. Her friend makes and sells them. A little baby broach and a hat pencil topper. I love the detail. The baby even has a dummy!

A friend of Magdalena's was having a bit of a clear out. She sent us along bags of baby and dolls clothes she had knitted as well as some balls of yarn. These photo's don't quite show how much is there. Some went out to Roberta's charity shop. Isabel also took some as her friend is having a craft sale for charity.

Oh, and I thought you might want to see this. These are all the hats all bagged up in postage bags. It took three of them. They have probably reached The Big Knit base by now so look out for our hats at the end of November!