Easter's coming...

...and Maxine is planning a new window display for Marmalade Yarns.  This was the perfect excuse to make one of the birds featured on the cover of this magazine...

Thanks to the extensive instructions it was a very simple, although time-consuming, make.  I may have been a little over enthusiastic with the stuffing though, as it looks rather well-fed!

This is it looking longingly into the garden, wishing it could get its fat belly off the ground! I'm not sure if Maxine will want it in her lovingly constructed window, but I'm determined to get him in anyway - I'll sneak him in somewhere when she's not looking. It could be an Easter version of Where's Wally!

What next then? Well, I should be doing some work for a craft sale at Bath Library on 12th April but I find myself knitting an Easter egg instead, like you do!

Early arrivals...

I was slowly and happily getting on with the crochet blankets for our friends' babies when I suddenly had to up my pace, with the news of their arrival 6 weeks early. Thankfully they are both well and will be home soon, so this week found me in a crocheting and knitting frenzy so I could send the parcel off to Rome as soon as possible.

I wanted the blankets to be different but complementary, so I used the same colours but different patterns. The Rowan wool cotton is lovely to work with and I really like these Spring colours. The finished items have a lovely lightweight feel and drape to them and I will definitely use this yarn again.

I also made a couple of little cardigans and hats - they may not last them very long, but I wanted them to have something they could wear straight away, and they're just so cute (and fast to make!) when 

they're that tiny!

One finished cardigan...

Hurray! I've finished something (I've also started several new projects, so my list of things to do is growing rather than shrinking!)  Nevertheless, I do have one finished cardigan (albeit quite a small one!)

I decided to add a variety of coloured buttons to add to its jaunty nature and am really pleased with how it turned out. The only modifications I made were to add some length to the cabled section, and crocheting the button band rather than knitting it. I may yet add a crocheted border to the bottom hem. The only problem I have with it is that it goes with practically nothing in my wardrobe, apart from a necklace!  Ah well, I'll just have to make some dresses to wear under it!

I've been attempting a sort out of my studio and rearranged some paintings on the wall. I've put my latest little scraperboard up there too, to see if it's finished yet. I decided I didn't like the whiteness of the background so I varnished it to stabilise it, and added some acrylic washes over the top. Still not sure what to make of it though. I may just abandon it and move on to something else.

A burst of colour...

After rain, rain and more rain, I felt a serious need to inject some Spring colours into my life. How could I resist, then, when I saw these gorgeous balls of Rowan wool cotton in Marmalade Yarns.

They are perfect to crochet up a couple of colourful cot blankets. I know I said I wouldn't start anything until my 2 cardigans were finished but these babies will be here soon! They will be living in Rome, so I don't want the blankets to be too heavy and hot. I had thought to use 100% cotton, but the combination of wool and cotton in this yarn makes for a much softer and drapier fabric. Being 4ply makes it nice and light too. I love these fresh colours and plan to make lots of circles with a cream edging for a modern, graphic look.

I've also received a new order of Planet Penny cotton which I shall use to make some more heart bunting. 

This always sells well and I've got a craft sale coming up at Bath Library in April.

I've now got to psyche myself up to take Mabel out for a walk (just how much mud can one dog roll in before realising that this is not a desirable activity?) before spending some time in the studio experimenting with more colour!

Slow but steady...

Progress is slower than I would like on my two knitting projects, but I suddenly seem to have loads of ideas for future work - both yarny and arty! I'm determined to get these two finished before starting anything else, but I'm not sure I can hold out!

                                I've reached the cabling on Peggy Sue and the stripes on Paulie.

I made some more stitch markers...

and finished a scraper board picture, based on a painting I did a while ago. Not sure about this one, but I just needed to get back into the swing of things, and not worry too much about the outcome. 

The joys (and woes) of knitting...

I was getting along, slowly but surely, on my friend's birthday cardi when disaster struck in the form of a broken needle! Luckily, no stitches were dropped, so I secured the ends until I could get some more.

This gave me the opportunity to get started on a cardi an for me. How could I resist a ball (or 10!) of this vibrant green Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK yarn that is currently at a bargain price in Marmalade Yarns. I hadn't a clue what I was going to use it for but I found a lovely little pattern on Ravelry and got started. It was growing nicely when I spotted a glaring error and had to rip back 8 rows. Now if there's one thing I hate about knitting, it's ripping back and picking up the stitches again. There was much muttering and cursing.

Both cardigans need stitch markers and I was struck by the dullness of my plastic ones, and the scrappiness of my knotted cotton thread ones! I decided to cure my knitting blues by making some prettier ones. Two down and I've realised that they are fiddly little so and sos, but I shall persevere and make myself a colourful selection!

New beginnings...

I had a deliberately quiet December on the blogging front, but managed to make lots of homemade gifts for Christmas - 3 beanies, 5 strings of heart bunting, lots of crocheted tree decorations and some crocheted cotton face cloths. I really enjoyed the process of making and sending off all these gifts, and the run up to Christmas definitely had a calmer, less frenetic air about it compared to previous years.

I completed my year of not buying new clothes successfully and have reacquainted myself with a love of sewing. Whilst I will allow myself the odd shop bought treat, I am inclined to make/adapt more of my own things during 2014. I was therefore very excited by the purchase of an overlocker whilst it was on special offer at Lidl's recently. Technically a birthday present, I was allowed to open it after Christmas (how could I wait until August?!) and spent a very jolly hour learning to thread it. Not as complicated a process as I first feared, but boy am I glad they included a tweezers!

I don't make New Year resolutions but I do like to think about new things to look forward to. So, this year I am looking forward to -

1. Meeting two special little girls due to make their appearance in the world in April, and making them lots of teeny tiny clothes, and a crocheted blanket or two!

2. Actually putting something to sell on Etsy after having thought about it for over a year!

3. Getting to grips with my new overlocker and making more of my own clothes.

4. Experimenting in my studio, particularly with scraper board and Lino printing.

5. Knitting a cardigan for my dearest friend who celebrates a special birthday in May. Buoyed by my success in knitting something last year that actually fits me, I am now ready to face this challenge! I also plan to make the buttons myself too.

I am also looking forward to this constant rain actually finishing and having a house that doesn't permanently smell of damp dog!