Good things come in Small Quantities!

Every phone should have one! June made a sleeping bag for her phone! And just to prove she is clever, she made a second one for when her phone wanted a change of colour! Such a great idea! I wonder if we could have a display of handmade covers that members have made for their devices. Bring them along and show how well your device is catered for.

Elaine has been busy again knitting a hat for our charity. Blue is definitely my colour. I think we could all have done with woolly hats over the last couple of days.

Sally has got into the swing of charity knitting with this cosy hat. There seems to be a recurring theme here!

Allison likes to complicate matters because she gets bored doing plain patterns. This stylish hat is also for our group charity.

Next week I expect to be inundated with finishes because there were so few pieces of work completed this week. If that is the case, please form an orderly queue and I will try to process things quickly. If not.........I may get to work on some of my own knitting. See you next week.

Tiddly- pom- pom -pom!

Roberta made this lovely Pompom Pram cover and Carry-seat cover for her niece who is about to become a grandmother. I just love how soft this yarn is!

These lovely little jackets were also knitted also by Roberta. Sadly, the photograph does not show the sparkle in the yarn

 
Margaret has also been industrious. Above is a little cardigan and hat set which she made for a friend at work and below are a pair of Easter Mother Hens for her darling daughters. Such a lovely gift idea!

At last, I managed to complete this pair of socks for my daughter. I was was unsure about the colour but luckily, they were deemed a success!

This coat of many colours is bang on trend with multi-coloured yarn. Janice said it was just an experiment. The wool was in her stash and the pattern was an old favourite, She just combined the two. Stunning!

Alison found that knitting the charity hat was a bit boring so she decided to try something more interesting and this was the result! Very impressive. I hope that Margaret puts all the donated hats on display so we can admire the variety of colours and styles.

Fiona has been learning to crochet and this gorgeous little blanket is her first finish. Keep up the good work!

Disaster struck when Norma's son's jumper was put in the washing machine and SHRUNK! Norma went to Plan B and turned the disaster into a bag for herself. The bag is lined and finished with a giant button. Looks great! This could start a new trend........up-cycling crafting disasters.

This bonnie wee baby cardigan was also made by Norma. No signs of a disaster here!

Izzy surprised us all with this amazing set of dolls clothes that she had made for her niece's Barbie doll. So stylish and cute beyond words!

Linda has been busy knitting this hat for our group charity. Love that colour!

Elaine has be dynamic and completed a balaclava for the charity. At some point I will give it a go and attempt to make one. Oddly enough, I saw a workman on a building site wearing a balaclava. Is this a new trend?

Swati has been learning to crochet granny squares recently. She incorporated her favourite colours in this lovely wee baby blanket for her bump.

Morag finished another hat for our charity. I love the way some of our knitters are styling their hats with a bit of colour to add interest.

Margaret says that our total number of hats so far is..........28. Keep those pins busy ladies!

Isabel did not have a finish this week but she had fun dressing up in some of the finishes. Is she going through a second childhood? Probably!

Member of the Month - MORAG

Tell us three things about yourself - I love working with colour! It affects my mood and my creativity.
                                                      I adore cats, and in particular, I adore my little Pepper who is a short                                                               haired British Blue.
                                                      I like to please myself!

Who taught you your first craft?
Myself! I'm self taught in everything, knitting and crochet. In knitting I follow a pattern but in crochet I like to work in freehand.

What finish are you most proud of?
Being able to please someone whenever they have asked me to do anything for them. I love doing the little animals and fairies because they such fun to do.

What was your biggest crafting disaster?
A christening dress. I can see finished articles in my minds eye.This christening dress was in antique colours with twill. I started it many years ago, sadly I have no inspiration to carry on with it.

What other crafts do you do?
I have a SVQ1 in Floristry. Not fresh flowers but silk flowers. I do wedding favours, make chocolate boxes and I've done a course on making Fascinators!

List of favourites -
Favourite yarn or supplies - Any good double knitting yarn.
Favourite designs - Cats, dogs and fairies.
Favourite colours - Amethyst and the smokey colours, such as smokey grey.
Favourite shop - John Lewis.
Favourite craft publication - Crafts Beautiful Magazine.

What would you like to achieve in the future?
I have yet to master Tunisian crochet. I would like to do some solid pieces.

What do you like to listen to or watch while you are crafting?
I like the silence. Having worked in retail for many years I had to listen to other peoples musak. Now, I enjoy the silence while I work on my crafts and when I listen to music, I give it my full attention.

What words of wisdom would you give to a beginner?
Just, stick at it.

What are you working on at the moment?
Easter things for the care home I support. I'm doing an Easter tree to display in the front entrance of the home. I may do some bunting as well.

Granny Squares Rule!

Tuesday 11th March had been a lovely Spring day and I was expecting a full house of members swapping gardening stories and plans for Spring cleaning. Where were you?

June surprised us all with this lovely Granny Square blanket. If you look closely you will notice that every square is different and in some cases sparkly yarn has been used. At some point this year I must attempt granny squares. At some point!

Janice had completed another hat for our chosen charity. I notice that some of our knitters are including distinctive stripes to make the woolly hats a bit more fun.

This is my Dresden Plate cushion. I used a variety of batik fabrics and parts of the 24 inch cushion are hand sewn. I have given it a test drive and it is really comfortable.

 Janice had a UFO weekend and was determined to complete a number of projects that she had accumulated over the past few month. In the pictures above you can see a variation of her knitted fairies. This is the first time Janice has knitted a Fairy Elephant! The Teddy was made using odds and ends and is intended for her storage box.

The two aran cardigans had been knitted by Janice a while ago and just needed to be sewn up. If you look closely at the top jacket you will see the novelty buttons that Janice bought at the Quilt Festival. The little jackets are not for anyone in particular. They are on standby for whenever she needs to give a baby present.
Now that's what you call organised!

This little aran had been knitted by Janice's work colleague who is about to become a great grandmother. She asked Janice to see it up but leave buttons off the garment until she found some interesting buttons to add to the jacket.

Audrey is modelling a Faux Fur headband that Jean had made with yarn that she had bought while she was at the Creative Stitches show at the SECC. This yarn is beautifully soft to the touch.

Anthea has been experimenting with her spinning wheel. This is 100 per cent TUSSAH SILK, which is undyed. The hank weighs 200 grams and it is 800 yards in length. It is Lace Weight and has been hand spun. I wonder what she will make with this yarn! Can't wait to see the finished garment.

Magda is able to turn her hand to making anything. She is so talented! This week, Magda crocheted these pot holders for a friend in Rico Aran Cotton yarn. So simple but stylish!

A Voyage of Discovery!

Every day you learn something new! This week we celebrate the success of Janice, who has just completed the Bronze standard of the Discovery Award. This is a version of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for youngsters over the age of fifty. The four areas undertaken in this award are:-
- Service to the Community, Hobby, Recreation and Journey of Discovery. Janice has already started working towards the Silver standard. Well done Janice!

Margaret has been learning a new crochet technique from Donna's Crochet Class. This lovely little baby blanket was worked in an Off-set Ripple Stitch which has a great textured finish to it.

This miniature cross stitch wall-hanging was a kit Margaret found in a magazine. She was really taken with it and worked it for her Mum as a gift for Mother's Day.

  Helen donated this cosy, brown hat to the Seafarers charity.

Morag added some designer stripes to her charity hat.

Ester made this bonnie baby hat and bootees set. Beautiful work.

Jean has been busy creating these cute mini boots for her grandchildren. She even had time to make a distinguished hat for our group charity.

Sharon is bang up to date with this vintage style baby jacket and I just love the little knitted shoes!

Caroline caught everyone's attention while she was finishing off this beautiful seasonal gift. The daffodils were crocheted and added to pipe cleaners to completed the flower look. Such a cute idea! Spring is in the air!