Seasonal Greetings!

This was our last Meeting before the Christmas holidays and it was lovely to have such a crowd of cheerful happy crafters participating in Christmas frivolities. First of all, we had the finishes. This little skaters jacket was knitted by me, with my own fair hands and was for the Hospice shop on Baillieston Main St to help with fund raising. The eyelash yarn is called Eskimo.

Stephanie also used eyelash yarn for the first time with this make. The little jacket is divine and the hat is fabulous. I so love this pattern.

Norma had asked if anyone had time to knit something for the, "First Baby born on Christmas day and the First Baby born on New Years day." This was a special request from the Princess Royal Maternity hospital in Glasgow. Janice had time to create this lovely set for a special baby.

In her spare time, Janice is a nurse! In her crafting life, Janice made this pretty quilt on the left for a relative. Zoom in and have a look at the butterfly buttons. The next quilt was made at the behest of her daughter-in-law-to-be. Janice made this quilt from old pairs of jeans. Recycling with a twist! Some patches still have the pockets on as a design feature. It looks great and will be a hit with its new owner.

Stephanie completed her wall-hanging. This pattern is called Japanese Stepping Stones and the idea was taught at The Village Patchers Quilting Group. Stephanie has coordinated her fabrics beautifully while sticking to the Japanese theme.

As you know, Isabel loves her colour work. This week she completed a pair of Christmas socks for her great-nephew. The Advent calendar was a labour of love! The pockets were attached by machine sewing but the details were picked out with a gold thread that had been hand sewn. It only took three years! Good things come to those who wait!

Sharon knitted this charming baby set for a friend at work who just had a baby. The girl will be thirlled with this.

Sharon was asked to knit two blankets for a set of new born twins, one boy and one girl. The blue blanket was knitted from an old pattern and looks wonderful. One down and one to go.The cream coloured pram blanket was made for a doll's pram. This is a Christmas present for a wee girl that Sharon knows.  Lucky girl!

 Gillian is amazing! She just happened to make stylish poncho for her friend and then this lovely coat appeared. I know Gillian said she had done a wee bit of dress making before but WOW! Such talent!

Karen graduated as a nurse last week after three years hard study! This group owes so much to Karen, our founder and inspiration, that we could not let this event go unnoticed. Lyn made an incerdible card for Karen from the group. Magda made one of her famous notebook covers using Karens beloved VW campervans and the rest of us made a donation to vouchers from Hobbycraft and Marks & Spencers. Big well done, Karen!

Swati came along to our Christmas party night and brought the baby who is now four and a half months old. What a little darling! Grandma Sheila came along to say goodbye as she was travelling back to India on Thursday. I know Swati will miss her terribly and skype Sheila every day. I hope Sheila had a safe journey home and that it won't be too long until her next visit to sunny Scotland.

Isabel said, "Let's have a picture with the two babies together!" How did she manage that? Isabel just happened to get a hold of Esha and  Baby Isabella! They look adorable and so do Isabel and Sheila! I was paid to say that.

Two finishes from Magda. She customised a plain cotton bag with her signature Stitching a Rainbow emblem to great effect. Her second finish had been a handmade gift which has already been posted to a lucky friend. Magda's mum found a youtube tutorial on how to crochet an angel and sent it to Magda. Magda made one or two alterations and ,hey presto, you have an angel. Clever mum!

Did you know we have an artist in residence? Elena has come all the way from south London to study at the Glasgow School of Art! She has been learning to crochet as part of a print making project for her degree. Who would have thought that you could print with crochet? It worked out well. A star in the making!

Anthea had made this aviator baby hat a while ago but needed to add some goggles to finish the project. Well done, Anthea it looks great! And finally, this cabbage patch hat is too cute for words. Both will be in the post as I type this. They are off to the USA as a gift.

I would like to thank everyone who donated to Karen's graduation gift. In particular, I would like to tank Karen and Lyn for their makes and everyone else for keeping the secret.

It was lovely to see Swati and the family at our wee Christmas celebration. The Indian nibbles delicious!

A big thank you to Elaine for the Christmas story. Some people need to work on the difference between their left and their right for next year!

Thanks to Karen and Margaret who organised the nibbles etc.

Last but not least...... a big thank you to everyone who comes along and makes the group AWESOME!

Have a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year! We start back on Tuesday the 6th January 2015.
If you have any spare time you could start on your gift for Aileen's baby shower. Just saying!