3rd January 2021

 Hi and thank you for the comments about the loss of our little dog Tammie who died on the 11th December.  The house is so quiet and we miss her terribly.  You don't realise how attached you are to a pet until they are no longer there to cuddle, to feed, to walk, to take up space on the sofa and bed, to bark at people just going past the house.  Our back door was always being opened to let Tammie out for a wee and it is so odd that, for over a week, we did not open our back door.  I now make a point of opening it, even if it just to throw some bread or seeds out for the birds and squirrels that visit.

So let's get into what has been going on here in my crafting bubble.  I have done a heck a lot of knitting to keep myself busy.  Here is a selection of projects I have made since I last posted..

This pattern is from a kit using Finual Garn PT2 yarn and the kit is called Cairngorm.  I purchased it about a year ago from Ysolda Teague's online store.  TI knitted it to pattern until I got the depth of the hat I wanted and then I stopped the fair isle on the crown.  I think that fair isle stretches when you decrease a lot to form a crown.  It always looks odd to me.

The chart is easy to follow, very clear and it fits on my head good.   

The only negative thing I would say about it is that is not very warm.  If it is a cold and windy day, like we are having now, it is not warm enough for me.  

However, for the spring time weather or autumn weather, it would be perfect.

The next hat I knitted was just a design as you go kind of hat, I wanted to have a go at some colour work and wanted to use my Novita Nalle yarn that I have which is cream, light grey and a dark grey.

The funny thing with this hat is that I did not think about how I was going to decrease for the crown.  

After a bit of frogging and frustration, I decided to just do the best I can and then hope for the best.

The wool is definitely warm and soft and is great to knit with.  It has washed up lovely and soft and of course, went in the washing machine which is a bonus.

The crown looks a bit odd but when I took my Grandchildren home on New Years Day it was so cold and windy and the hats they had were not that warm, so my Grand daughter chose this one.  It's a little big on her but pulls down over her ears to keep her warm.

The next hat that I made was kind of a wing it hat too, I had some black DK yarn and some green Novita Venla yarn left over and decided to have another go at a hat with a little colour change and hopefully, a better crown.

As you can see, this came out much better.  There is a green stripe and then when it was deep enough I decided to just decrease every other row.

I knitted this on a circular needle, as per my preference at the moment, and I knitted 5, k2 tog all the way around on the first row.  I then knitted 1 round.  

Then I knitted 4, k2 tog all the way around and then knitted a row after that.

I repeated it until I got to K1, K2 together and then after doing that I just knitted 2 together.

Et voila, a much better crown I have made.  

This one, my Grandson wanted because it had green in it and is a little big but it keeps him warm and loves it.

I went on annual leave from 23rd December and was glad for the rest.  I had to go to work on the morning that Tammie died and it was really hard to do.  Luckily my job is quite busy and it was only when I came home that the tears would flow.

We had our Grandchildren on the 23rd December and they stayed overnight so that Christmas Eve would be our Christmas Day with them.  They woke up about 7 am and there were lots of excitement and they got spoiled as usual.  They went home in the afternoon and will have them again New Years Eve so that their Mum and baby brother can stay with her parents.

I got 7 or 8 cross stitch kits for Christmas from my partner.  They are full coverage, most of them, so will keep me busy for the next year or two.

There is a sampler, a daffodil and a tiger which is full coverage.  There is also at the bottom right of the photo, a diamond painting which I have never done before.

I do watch a lot of podcasts and love watching 'dizzysticher' on Youtube.  There is such a lot of them to watch and they are amazing the amount of projects that people have on the go at one time.

I could not bare having too many, I get a bit flustered and overwhelmed so I just stick to a knitting project, a crochet project and a cross stitch project.

I will show an update of my latest project next time.

This next photo, to the right, shows you the full coverage cross stitch kits that my partner got me too.

These ones are Van Gogh pictures in full coverage.  I will probably start the one that is at the top left of the photo.  It is a cherry blossom in full coverage.

I am working on a Christmas stocking for my Grandson for Christmas 2021 and when I have done his, I will have to start on my Grand Daughters before I can work on any of these new ones.  I also have to purchase a 3rd Christmas Stocking kit for their baby brother to do.

This is getting quite a long blogpost, sorry about that.  I am hoping to blog once a month.

I was thinking of doing a Youtube channel but I would feel a bit odd plus there is a lot of craft channels on their anyway.

My aim this year is to try and get more views, I was getting about 500 views a month but because of my lack of posting, it has gone down quite substantially.  

I do read blogs, I read Yarnharlots and that is good to read and also Attic24.  

Oh well, I will toddle off now.  It is Sunday afternoon, 4pm, getting dark and need to get on with some more crafting.  Back to work tomorrow!