Hats for the Rpyal Maternity Hospital

Earlier today I noticed an appeal by Anthea on behalf of the Royal Maternity Hospital for normal sized baby hats. The hospital had an ample supple for premature babies but had run out of the regular first size of hats. As luck would have it, I just happened to know that a knitter of 87 years young had a stash of baby hats looking for a charitable home. Gran Sheila had always been a knitter and liked to keep busy and had amassed  a collection of 90 hats over the last few months. She was delighted to donated her work to such a good cause. Well done, Gran Sheila! And a big Thank You to Norma who handed the collection into the Royal Maternity on her way to work the following day.

 I've been learning to crochet this year and I think I might just be making progress. I managed to complete two baby blankets this week. One for the Hospice shop in Bailieston and one for a lady who is about to go off on maternity leave.

Norma had a lot of fun creating this scarf. The yarn is called "Oh-la-la"  by Ice Yarns and there were only two stitches in the pattern If you would like to have a go at a similar project then you can obtain the yarn from Norma.

OK, I give in! Christmas is coming, The goose is getting fat .......etc, etc! I confess, I love these cross-stitch cards by Margaret. She really is planning ahead!

Noreen had completed a set of pram accessories. These miniature bootees are stunning and make such a beautiful gift.

Sharon has an eye for style! I told you earlier that traditional baby styles are all the rage just now. Practical, functional and CUTE!

Janice loved being a Clydesider and a ball at the Commonwealth Games. The Clyde mascots are for friends and the Clydesiders are for fellow Clydesiders who wanted a momento of the occassion.

I think Janice can knit this pattern with her eyes closed. This aran jacket and hat is gorgeous and is for a friend. There was some yarn left over so Janice just rattled up an extra hat. Just like that!

Kathleen's work is stunning! The baby hats were trimmed with eyelash yarn. The bigger of the hats was adapted from beret pattern and the smaller hat was adapted from a beanie pattern.

Anthea has many talents! These tops were created in response to the lovely weather we had this summer. The fabric for the Paisley pattern top was purchased in the Cotton Print Shop. The fabric at the top of the second garment was bought in South Africa in 1994. The darker blue fabric came from Mandors.

The third top has been made with a Lberty styleprint purchased in Mandors.

Anthea also crocheted this magnificent shawl for the cooler evenings using some of her own yarn that she had spun and dyed. The yarn is 100% silk. Anthea was unhappy with the resulting colour soooooo she dyed it again and this is the result.

This is the Anthea Fashion Show! Would you believe that Anthea got this fabric at one of our swap nights about a year ago? Our summer was so hot that Anthea needed a cool outfit. Wow!

Gill has been busy working on this amazing shawl in King Cole Riot. I must watch out for this yarn. The colour is called Urban.

Phyllis knitted this beautiful little baby dress in Baby Merino which she got from Norma. I love the detail in the dress.

Can you spot Magda? She had just returned from holiday in Poland and completed this blanket on her travels. She used six different colours to create 120 differnt hexagons. the result......STUNNING!

Elaine made this lovel wee FLUTTERBY baby suit. It is so soft to the touch. However, she had to alter the pattern to make the opening bigger to accommodate the baby. If you plan to use this pattern, please speak to Elaine and she will explain what she did. If you attempt it on your own the the baby will have to a contortionist to get into the garment!

Sorry about the delay putting in making the blog available to you but I went to Ireland for a few days and ran out of time to do this earlier. see you all tonight.

It's a Wrap!

So a few months ago Helen started up giving raffle tickets to people who completed projects. Each month there is a lucky dip and the chance to win a wee prize. Isabel won the November dip but she was away. Back for her last day we re-enacted the moment.

Seriously, the stage is missing a truly great actress. Isabel was delighted to be a winner and was lucky enough to pick out a ball of yarn that will knit up into one of these fancy scarves. Isabel does love a scarf (even if she loses them) so it was good that she picked out something that she would use. Helen was the December winner and picked out a pin cushion.

Janice has been going to quilting classes for a good few weeks now. It's with the class she has been learning to do her large squares to make a quilt for herself. She also learned to make these beautiful glass-stained Christmas hangings. The Christmas tree was the one she was taught in class. As she had some Christmas fabric she decided to make another and designed the stocking herself. Very impressive.

Janice also has a new addition to the family. Her son recently got engaged. Not wanting her to feel left out she has made her future daughter in law this lovely Christmas stocking.

Her son also couldn't be missed out and she made him these Christmas minions. These were actually requested by her son. Love the bells on the tops of the hats.

Norma has been busy working on a commission. A friend of hers asked her to make a crochet bag. The bag was to be done in cotton and Norma isn't a fan of crocheting in cotton. However she managed to get it finished. I think it looks stunning. The lining matches the colours exactly. If her friend isn't happy with it I know a good home which would happily take it in!

Norma seemed to have a finish every five minutes on Tuesday. These beautiful baby blankets are for a friend and she finished them on our last evening. The deep pink is my favourite. The boldness of the pink is set off by the black edging. It makes a nice change from lots of pastels.

Fiona also had a finish. She finished this gorgeous baby blanket for a friends wee boy. The yarn is super soft.  It will make a fabulous blanket but it can also see baby using it as a play matt. I love the little flecks of dark blue throughout.

Helen is making sure that she stays warm this winter. She knitted up this cowl so that she could wrap it beneath her jacket to stay warm. It can also stay on when the jacket comes off. Love the colours! Also it's nice to see Helen knit something for herself for a change.

Margaret has been busy too. Her last cross stitch card was revealed. She stitched this gorgeous owl card for myself. I do love an Owl. I may have to find a wee frame for it once Christmas is over so that I can hang it up next year.

She is also continuing with the baby knits until she uses up all her baby yarn. This is the latest cardigan to be done in the pink. Like the others she has done over the last few weeks, it is for the hospice charity shop.

I have also been busy getting Christmas presents ready. I needed help in thinking up something I could make for friends when Lisa suggested mug cosies. This is what I cam up with. I filled it with hot chocolate and chocolates. Then decorated it with a little cross stitch tag.

I also have the last of our bucket lists. If there is anyone I didn't get round to I apologise. It's been a busy few weeks. Plus there is always next year. This list is longer because I forgot to list some of the previous weeks. The lovely Helen went round asking the question this time as I was giving a little impromptu sock lesson.

Lyn - Learn to knit socks, dye yarn and finish the snowman I started a year ago. Also would like to do more sewing

Fee - learn to do more sewing, taking up knitting without tossing it and finish everything I have started

Fiona - try to move on from blankets and scarves and actually do something I have saved or bookmarked.

Lisa - knit socks, master amagurami

Carol - amagurami

Janice - knit socks and learn to crochet. Finish my quilt

Stephanie - learn to crochet, learn to do applique with Val

Noreen - knit socks and learn to crochet

Norma - learn to knit socks, learn to sew and quilting

Susan - I would love to learn tatting. I've seen it done on TV and I'd love to give it a try.

This post is over a week late but that's us done for the year. We are back on the 7th January. We are having a swap night then so bring any unwanted craft items and you might get inspiration or pick up something you like. I will also be starting sock lessons that night.

Until then I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and an amazing New Year!!!!!!

A Star In The Rising!

It was a fairly quiet night on Tueasday. Lots of people away because of the fireworks. Either hiding indoors or taking their kids to displays. However, it certainly wasn't quiet for finishes. This beautiful baby cardigan was knitted by the lovely Swati. You may remember that Swati came along to the group in January hoping to learn to knit. Stephanie and Helen took her under their wing and she knitted some dolls. This is her first garment and Janice gave her a hand in teaching this along with Stephanie. She had quite an admiring crowd round her on Tuesday and it's easy to understand why. Hard to believe that this lovely pattern was at the hands of a beginner. It's not exactly a simple pattern and it was beautifully done. To top it off Swati is now learning to crochet granny squares. This time June is doing the teaching.

This doll has a new outfit thanks to Lyn. She knitted every part of it and decorated it with lace. Sadly she doesn't have a name yet. That will be rectified shortly as her name will be part of a competition to raise money for Children in Need.

Lyn also finished another of her hats. I actually quite like dark grey knitted up. Especially in lacy projects. The sparkle in the yarn though really makes this winter knit. It's lovely and soft too. For once my camera was able to pick up the sparkles. Alas, it's never going to pick up how soft a yarn is. You will just have to use your imagination.

Did I mention that we had a new sock obsessive in the group? I am sure I did last week. Isabel has knitted these beautiful Christmas socks for her grandson who requested them. She is now on her second pair for his brother. These socks are amazing. I do like colour work and this is one of Isabel's talents. It seems sock knitting was just waiting for her though as she worked between several different patterns to create these.

These lovely little flowers are the work of June. I love how delicate they are. She plans to attach them to pins so that they can be worn as broaches. Who wouldn't want to wear one of these?

Margaret hadn't quite finished her Christmas cards as we thought. This is her latest finish. She stitched this for her younger daughter. A perfect choice as she loves meerkats (both the real animal and the adverts).

She also knitted this lovely red stocking. The fork seems out of place but it was actually used in the making of the stocking. Our Izzi once showed us how to make pom poms using a fork. This is what Margaret did to make the little pom pom at the front of the stocking. Easier than using two tiny circles of card.

Janice also adapted something taught by Izzi. She took one of the bags that Izzi has taught us to sew in the past and she made it bigger. It is made by a kind of oil cloth material to give it that shiny look and make it sturdier. There are even handy pockets on the inside. I love the pattern on the fabric.

Stephanie has been knitting for her stash again. This beautiful baby jumper is going into her famous boxes. I am sure she has knitted this pattern before. I remember the stripe round the collar which I love. Very effective and love the two tones of blue.

I also took a quick snap of scarves that both Jill and Magdalena are working on. As you can see Jill is doing one similar to her finished scarf from last week. Magda is more of a closed crochet. The reason I took the photo is for the colours. They just scream autumn and since it was very cold that night they seemed perfect. Jill's yarn is by James C. Brett and Magda's is by King Cole. Both gorgeous yarns and beautifully soft!

Saturday is our Christmas craft day. I think everyone is looking forward to that. Sadly I won't be there but Helen will and she will no doubt post something about the day. So look out for that. Plus, if you manage it along, have fun.

Winter is Coming!

This beautiful shawl deserves to be admired by everyone. It's stunning work. This is the first shawl that Anthea has made. It was supposed to be a shawlette but Anthea added extra repeats to make it bigger. Glad she did as it looks truly stunning.

Anthea also knitted this chunky scarf for her hubby. When visiting her mother in law she was recently taught how to do cables. Looks like the lessons paid off.

Margaret knitted the angel which was a kit that came free with a recent magazine. Looks fab. She also looks a little squinty but that's because she is meant to be hanging up. She also used some of the yarn to knit this pretty star.

Still on the winter projects Margaret finished two pairs of mitts. One pair for myself and one pair for her younger daughter. With the cold weather I did consider wearing them before she had a chance to bring them along to the knitting group. They are knitted in chunky yarn to make them extra cosy.

She also stitched this card at the request of a friend. It's her friends granddaughters first Christmas and she wanted something special for her.

Norma continues to be busy. Her craft fair was this weekend and she was still working away on finishing projects in preparation. This beatiful blanket was one such project. Some baby is going to be very lucky. Hopefully we will here how it went on Tuesday and in the meantime perhaps Norma will actually make something for herself.

Jill is usually a cross stitcher. However, the stitching was put down to crochet this gorgeous scarf. It actually looks like noro yarn but it isn't and has a softer feel as a result. Jill claims that it was fairly easy to do however the effect is fantastic. Love the colour changes too.

Laura is one of our newer members. She came along a few weeks ago and last week she brought her first finish. Look how detailed this is? I do love fair isle and this hat is very impressive. Beautifully done.

Janice had been busy too. She has been taking a leaf out of Stephanies books and been knitting baby things with no one in mind. I love the cabling in this cardigan which goes all the way round the back.

Lyn had been busy with these pretty little hats. She took the flower pattern I taught at Gartmore and added buttons then used them to decorate a couple of the hats. The buttons just make those flower.s

Audrey has been doing some Christmas knitting too. She also knitted the angel that came free with a recent magazine. However she adapted the hair and this little angel even has a pony tail.

Kathleen knitted another of her hats for her granddaughter. I love her crochet hats. Love the feel of them too. This is a fab effect created by doubling up the yarn. Her granddaughter can definitely claim to be best dressed.

I feel so rotten because I don't remember who knitted this fabulous hat! We had a queue of people at that point. I do remember the person felt that it was a little big. It looked fab to me though. So cosy.

Libby has been busy with the crochet hook again. She made this beautiful cardigan and hat set. I love the little flowers stitched on both. It was supposed to be for a 3 year old but turned out a little bigger. So it's now being sent to family abroad.

More winter crochet and this time from Carol. She made this lovely hat for her son. It's for him to wear in the car during the cold weather. I love those colours!

This is a group photo of a group project that some of us are taking part in. I didn't explain it very well on the night. So hopefully I can make up for that here. There is a facebook group page called For the Love of Yarnigans which both Carol and Lisa are administrators of. Lisa came up with the idea for the members to do a crochet along. The idea is that it can help with some stash busting. So the challenge is to creat a mood blanket of scarf. Each day we contribute two rows to our project. The colour we chose on each given day is supposed to reflect the mood we are in at the time. Fran, Lisa, Magdalena and myself are all taking part. Magdalena is the only one among us who is doing a scarf. She is also using a lovely ripple pattern with variegated yarn. I thought it would be a great idea to get a group photo to see how everyone has interpreted the project. Can't wait to see them all when they are finished.

The 9th of November is our Christmas craft day. We have three classes on and one of them is making these beautiful lavender bags and sachets. I guess I don't need to tell you that this project is from the lovely Izzi. I have a list of names for each class. So if you want to join in please let me know as it will determine the supplies brought along. I have emailed out details of each class and posted it on our facebook group page. However, you don't have to join the class to come along. The important thing is to spend the day doing something that you enjoy and to have fun.