Winter Fashions

Sharon \bought real Aran yarn when she was in Ireland to knit this amazing coat for herself. The pattern had been her Mum's from long ago. If you keep a thing long enough........A fabulous
coat. Look at the sleeves!

Fee is terribly shy! This wee blanket is loud and full of joy. I love it! A great gift.

I've been watching Jill work on this wee blanket for the last couple of weeks. I would never have thought of using these colours together but they work!  Jill used Stylecraft acrylic. Another great gift!

Elaine looks shattered! She has just completed this HUGE blanket as a Christmas present for someone. Shhh! Its a secret!

Janice is always thinking about her wonderful grandson.Now he has his own personal Christmas stocking. She even knitted the cuff! The Twiddlemuff was for a lady that Lisa knows. These muffs are worth their weight in gold because they provide calm and tranquility to those who need it.

Magda has been experimenting with hand dyeing. It did not turn out as she had hoped but it still looks wonderful. The hat is for herself. Well, it is that time of the year! Chilly!

Isabel has been busy knitting little blue and white things as a gift for a friend! Look at the tiny socks!

Fiona O has been crocheting tiny Christmas trees for some special friends. They will be filled with sweets. Love these little ideas!

Fiona also had time to put some of Lisa's FTLOY yarn to good use. The Infinirty scarf has been worked in Firework!

Roberta has been busy making more squares for blankets for Yorkhill. Well, you know what I mean!

 ......and just when you think you've seen it all, Donna pulls out these characters from Star Wars! Speechless! But in a good way. These are a gift for someone. Brilliant

.......and just when you thought it was all over, Ally sent me some photos of other finishes. The first is a chemo hat for a friend made by Ally.

Izzi used the left over yarn from this hat to crochet three little hats for Preemie babies. Unfortunately, the photo did a disappearing trick while travelling between the ipad and the blog. Sorry, Izzi. xx

Lorraine also made a chemo hat for the same friend. I like the flower! Very fetching!

Ally and her work colleague, Karin, completed some Twiddlemuffs. All very different and facinating for the old people who receive them.

1st December is our Christmas night. If you would like to join the pass the parcel game then bring a gift to the value of £5.

1st December is our last night because the parking situation is manic at the Fort leading up to Christmas.

 Stephanie & Magda will be meeting in M & S cafe on Tuesday 5th of January 2016 if you are free to come along.

12th January 2016 we will meet in the Management Suite as usual.

Just a wee reminder that it would help me a great deal if you could bring me your  finishes to have them photographed.

Happy crafting.

Obsessions!

Phylllis has a new obsession.........socks! You have been warned, they are addictive! Phyllis also likes to adapt patterns and experiment with yarns and stitches to add texture. At the moment she is working on a pair that using a variety of stitches. I can't wait to see them completed. The set of three pairs of socks has been worked with DROPS FABLE and the other pair are DK ICE YARN from Norma.

AND......Phyllis even had time to make a cosy hat a set of ear warmers!

Elaine has been working with the popcorn stitch and created this beautiful baby hat for Yorkhill and the hat with the pompom for her box. in both cases , Elaine used two strands of DK together. Just in time for the winter!

Donna crocheted this wee brooch for her best friend, Caroline.

Morag only had a photograph on her phone to remind herself of the cushion she crocheted as a gift.

Roberta is full of surprises! She is craft mad and usually has a finish to show, holidays permitting. This week, Roberta, had another Twiddle Muff ready for decoration and a giant granny square blanket for Yorkhill.

I think Ally has a production line going in her work! This is a selection of Twiddlemuffs  that she had been decorating.

The final total raised by the Happy Hookers now stands at £3285 after a donation from Yvonne. Well done, everyone! What an achievement!

Our Christmas Party will take place on Tuesday !st of December in the Management suite. Bring a present if you wish to participate in the Christmas Pass the Parcel. Something up to the value of £5 or you could recycle an unwanted gift. Christmas jumpers are optional.

Linda says that this is her last year doing the Shoe Box Charity. She will be happy to accept filled boxes or cash to pay for their postage which works out at between £2.50 and £3 per box.

I got a lovely thank you email from the Beatson about the syringe driver bags. This will be forwarded to you.

Thanks again to M & S cafe for their hospitality. It is always a joy to visit there.

Happy Crafting!

New Beginnings.

Jillian wanted to learn to quilt, soooooo she bought a book, Jelly Roll Quilts and some fabric and just dived in. Admittedly, Jillian has sewing experience but quilting is a different way of working. Undaunted, Jillian brought the quilt top to the craft day and picked Izzi's brains on how to complete it. The finished quilt is stunning! Just my colours. I would happily adopt it! Well done Jillian.

Janice is getting a little excited about the impending first grandchild. Now she has made bunnies and bibs to welcome the baby into the world of the Taggarts.

Norma is always busy with several projects on the go at the same time. The Granny Ripple is a new adventure for her and I just love that colourway. She used Robin DK from Watt Bros who had a special offer of 5 balls for £5. Her second finish is a pompom baby seat cover. Both blankets are for her stash.

For the blue and white star blanket Norma used ALDI yarn and trimmed it with Snowflake yarn. Beautiful.
The corner to corner blanket has been done in Merry-Go-Round and trimmed with Jester.

Fiona Orr has come on leaps and bounds with her crochet. This week Fiona completed a star blanket by following the Crochet Crews pattern for the Five Point Super Star Afghan on the internet. She used Ice Gumball that she purchased from Norma.
Fiona's second finish this week was the Road Trip shawl from For the Love of Yarn's Shawl Along Box.
 Zoom in and you will see that the shawl yarn has a sparkle to it. Fab!

Stephanie has been up to her tricks again and doing things in miniature. This pretty doll in a crib has been a secret project, The little doll has a knitted dress, headband, pants and socks. I particularly like the the little cover made with eye-lash yarn. Can you believe that this little set is for her box?

Lyn has been busy making this lovely C2C blanket with yarn given to her by her lovely daughter Fiona. Such a kind daughter!

Isabel quilted this table mat at Gartmore. Magda took her under her wing and made her do it! This was Isabel's first encounter with quilting. Apparently, it was traumatic! Which is a pity because she still has 6 place mats to make!!!!!!!

This is my finish. I'm struggling to do things at the moment due to carpal tunnel but I did take part in Elaine's class on decorating mugs using hot water and nail polish. I'm well chuffed with my finish.

Fran made some Bonding Squares for the charity Emily's Star. The squares are for babies in Neo-Natal. Mum takes one square and baby has the second.Then the squares are swapped over every 12 hours  so that the baby ends up with a square with Mum's scent on and Mum has a square with baby's scent.

Elaine will be taking deposits for Gartmore 2016 whenever she has recovered from this years.

Swati is still in India visiting her mum.

Caroline and Linda plan to do a 10k charity walk to raise funds for the Beatson in August. If you would like to join them or make a donation please speak to Caroline or Linda. Dig deep people, this is a worthy cause.

Happy crafting

Pretty in Pink

 My finish this week is this pretty little bolero. I saw this pattern and was determined to try it out. It is a fairly easy project to knit but you have to pick up and knit sections of the band, which can be slow and laborious. However, I would use this pattern again.

Stephanie fell in love with this fabric. She backed it with a lovely soft white fleece and then quilted it by following the roads. This would also work as a play mat.

Magda has been experimenting with dyeing yarn. On the bottom skein she used food dyes. The top skein is merino in aran weight. All dyed and spun by her own fair hands!

Alison had been working on this stunning baby blanket during the craft day. This is for a friend at wor.k

Catriona is always busy. She seems to have numerous projects on the go, and all of them are magnificent! This is a First Communion dress for a friend's granddaughter. The bodice is beautiful!

Kat was as proud as punch to display her second big finish in crochet. This colourful baby blanket may a gift to someone expecting a baby OR she may keep it for herself if she can't part with it.

Catriona had a second finish this week. This stylish boy's aran jacket has been beautifully worked. Such patience! This one is for sale.

Linda organises the Shoe Box Appeal in her work. The left hand pram blanket has been worked in plain knit stitch which is very effective. The second blanket has been made from all of those bits and bobs left over from previous projects. Both will be greatly appreciated.

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I love this. Sharon is now an expert at knitting these baby cocoons. This one has been done in, "Sweet Dreams" from the Bargain Wool Shop at the Barras. The colour change is so subtle.

Remember, The Conference Room is not available to us on Tuesday 12th May.

The weekend at Gartmore House is the 16th & 17th of May.

Remember to vote in the General Election on Thursday 7th May. Women fought and died for the right to vote in this country. Your vote is important!