Winter Blues and Grey Days

I have a huge case of the winter blues...

As much I as I love frosty mornings and Christmas-card snowy views I'm really not a winter person - I much prefer bare feet and flip flops to fluffy socks and slippers!  

I think it's these dark mornings that are really making me feel bleugh.  I love waking up early to the sun streaming through the window and the promise of a long day ahead whereas these dark mornings just make me want to turn over and go back to my warm fuzzy sleep; especially last week when I finally succumbed to the dreaded bug that's been doing the rounds.

However, despite headaches, runny noses, coughs and sneezes we must get up and get on as jobs need doing, bills need paying and craft needs crafting!

I've had quite a productive start craft-wise this year already having made my first bunny and sent her on to her new family.  I really love the Toft Emma the Bunny pattern and can't believe I've made 35 of these now, they're such a perfect and personal gift - let's hope baby Evie will love her new friend.

I'm in the middle of making myself a messy bun hat - the latest craze to hit Pinterest by the looks of it!  Having long hair that's always up, I don't wear hats very often as it's uncomfortable and I end up with a rather unsightly lump in my hat, so I thought this would be the perfect compromise.

As always, I don't make things easy for myself and I chose a beautifully soft wool which is an absolute nightmare to crochet with.  Fingers crossed I'll get it finished and I can be warm and toasty without having to wear my hair down or plait it like I do now in order to wear my bobble hat (especially at the rugby on these cold evenings!)...

Due to running out of stash space I think it's about time I started making up the pile of "freebie kits" that grows every month.  I subscribe to 2 magazines and often buy others and they all come with little kits on the front and I pop them into my storage cube in the living room.  The poor cube is getting way too full so in between my "proper" projects I'm going to see if I can fit them in...

The first one I did was the flower brooch from Simply Crochet Issue 43 which I am really pleased with, an easy pattern to follow and I managed to whip it up in no time :)  I might make a few more to have as little standby gifts, always handy to have.

I have put mine on my black winter coat and it's a gorgeous splash of colour on these dull grey days..

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2017 a week old already!

I can't believe we have had over a week of our New Year already, the days are just flying past!

Despite taking my last few holidays and not working Bank Holidays, the days all blended into one and before I knew it we were back to work as if Christmas had never happened - well, apart from glitter which just refuses to go up the vacuum cleaner.

As a crafter, Christmas is always my busiest time and no matter how early I start and how organised I am, it always turns into a mad rush!

I did manage to get 33 chocolate orange covers finished for the local tea shop which I was pleased about.  They had a Christmas pudding theme this year and my little woolly covers seemed to go down well and as far as I know they all sold.

I also had an order for a rainbow jellyfish...

I love these little chappies, they're quite quick to make up and always get a positive reaction.  I was teaching my Mam to crochet using the pattern for these as they're not difficult but she's given up - she thinks it's boring!  I think she needs to concentrate and that's why she doesn't like it but who am I to argue?
I've also finished my first bunny of the year as well but I'm not posting her picture until she's been gifted - which depends on when baby Scott decides to arrive 👶

I even managed a quick make for myself  (I know, things for me are rarer than hens teeth!) Simply Crochet magazine had a lovely cover gift on issue 43 way back in March (link here) of a flower brooch. I thought January could do with a splash of colour and am rather pleased with it ...

I've also got my super chunky cardigan on the go as well which is having the odd round added to it here and there.  My local wool shop (where I go for my crafty chatter on my day off) was having a sale and I picked up some gorgeous wool for a bargain price.  I did have a cardigan in mind but it wasn't working up how I wanted it to so I pulled it out and have started again.  This time I'm attempting this granny hexagon cardigan which I found on Pinterest...

the pattern is from the Baby Prop Shop blog here
I really like so fingers crossed I can get cracking on it :)

Next on my order list is a penguin (when I find a pattern that I like) for another new arrival and then I may be able to get on with my Sheepjes CAL in memory of Wink.
Having said that, I've not finished my hand-stitched moose yet, just got to assemble him and add the finishing touches and see what he looks like.  I might leave him up all year round and change the decoration to suit the season / holiday, we'll see let's get him finished first!

I don't tend to make resolutions but have decided I'd really like to learn how to make socks this year.
I'm going to try crochet first as I think they will be easier and then have a crack at knitted ones, although when I'll get around to it is another matter entirely!

All the best for a wonderul 2017 xxx