January Finishes

Hello again!  Happy End of January!

I wanted to check in before the month ended and show the rest of my January makes.  I'm so happy I made it in time!

This has been a good month for stitching:  light levels in the morning have been just right to indulge in some after- breakfast cross stitching.  I have to confess to quite a few pyjama clad mornings while I plied needle and thread.  But heck, it's January right?

One of my first finishes was this little design on the left by Lizzie Kate.

I realized I had no smalls for the month of January so this was a good way to start.  The 'Peace' design is from The Drawn Thread, and I actually stitched it before Christmas and forgot to show it.  It didn't really lend itself to being an ornament, so I finished it as a small to add to my new January collection.

Because it takes three to make a collection I stitched these little mittens to go along with the others.  They came out super small because the fabric is 40 count.  While I like how designs look on 40 count when finished, I have to confess I don't love stitching on it.  Too hard on the eyes!
I wanted to break out of my pillow finish 'comfort zone' so tried a little tag design instead.  I'm kind of on the fence about it, but I like it enough I will try again.  The design is an old one from Helga Mandl.

I also completed an ornament for the month.  Well, I'm probably cheating a bit because I didn't actually stitch it this month.  I stitched this Country Cottage Needleworks design at least five years ago and never got around to finishing it off.  I'm not sure whether I'm happier about having my first ornament for the year done, or the fact I finished off some stitching that has been sitting around since 2008!

Speaking of long term finishes, I brought 'Stitcher's Alphabet' back to the table and completed the 'H' block.  I realize that wanting to finish two letters per month is too ambitious if I want to work on other stitching as well.

All that finishing was contagious, so I completed another work in progress from last year.  I think I started this last Spring:

I broke away from the pillow finish again!  'Chut je brode' (Quiet I'm stitching) is mounted on cardboard and made into a wall hanging.  I tried a ruched ribbon trim for the first time to cover the seams: I think I'm on the fence about that as well...  Anyway, another one out of the 'In' box is always good!

Now, the last thing I promise!  I crocheted myself another Nordic Shawl, this time in wool.
 ( Last year I made this up in cotton, and if you want to see it go HERE.)

This pattern is by Annette of My Rose Valley, and I bought the pattern from her etsy shop.  It is a pure delight to stitch, and even a beginner could do it.  I just love it, and it's not often I will stitch something more than once.  I may even do it a third time...

I used a Norwegian wool called Smart that I found at my local yarn shop.  Because I didn't put myself at the mercy of the clearance bin I was able to hook up the shawl as written:  no having to skimp on border colours or edges.

It's like a nice, big hug when you wrap it around.

 And that, my friends, is what I will leave you with:  a nice warm hug to end January with and as thanks for visiting.

Happy Days!!
Jenn

January Check In

Well Hello!
 Has Winter visited you yet?  We got a bit of a blizzard last night; and with the way the wind was howling  I thought for sure this morning there would be monster drifts to dig through and perhaps a 'snow day' for school.  Turns out the wind just blew the snow somewhere else!

(Free crochet pattern from Repeat Crafter Me)

I thought I would do a bit of catching up since Christmas.  It seems like a long time ago now, what with having put everything away doesn't it?
My last post was a few days before Christmas and I still had gifts to make.  Can you believe that I actually got them finished?  I'm a little surprised myself!

I completed the slouchy beanie hat for My Favourite Girl.  This is actually the second pattern I used:  the first one was really nice, but I had to rip it out three times to make adjustments and I was running out of time.  This second edition was much quicker, and I am happy to report she likes it!  Yes, a thirteen year old girl liked her homemade gift!  That was like a gift to me:)

The pattern for the hat was from HERE.  The glove pattern is called 'Shell Lace Fitted Fingerless Gloves' by Sherry Ramaila.  This is a free Ravelry download as well.  Both are easy and quick.  For the gloves I would recommend using a larger size hook on the foundation row before switching to what your yarn calls for.

These next gifts I have been wanting to make my kids for years.  They are a little too old for stuffed puppers now (especially made by Momma!), but there is a redeeming feature about these.  Inside each dog is a removable barley bag to heat in the microwave and cozy up with on cold winter nights.

The dogs have been put to good use the past few weeks, but of course nothing is as good as the real thing!

I am happy I finally got the dogs made, and I can say with confidence I will never sew with this fake fur again!  Holy cow what a mess!  I had fur up my nose; in my mouth; stuck to my eyeballs and on every surface within five meters of where I was working!

In the last little bit before Christmas day I found the pattern for those crocheted Christmas lights above.  I fell hard for these and crocheted enough for two sets, with plans for a pastel version next year.  I crocheted so much my wrists were sore for days!

Of course once Christmas was over it was time to look forward to new projects.  I bought myself a pretty little notebook and jotted down all the crafty projects I want to make.  There are over thirty in the crochet section alone! *Sigh*, it's good to be optimistic and busy though isn't it?

I got a few works in progress out of the way, which I thought was a great start to the new year:

This pattern is a freebie from the DMC website and I started it quite a number of years ago.  Why I never finished I can't tell you, because it is neither large or complicated.  I didn't know how to finish it:  it's too large for an ornament or a small, so another piece of hoop art it is!

My Favourite Boy finally got his new flannel pyjama bottoms!

I have also had my first crochet fail of the year.  This is the Fifties Cowl from ByHaafner.  It is very simple and I was really looking forward to this one.  It's just not large enough and all the fudging I had to do to make it fit doesn't seem to help.  I'm sure I will make another one, but for now it's going somewhere else and I will move on to another project.

And that my friends, is enough for today.  I will be back in a couple of weeks with the rest of my January makes.  As always, thank you so much for visiting and your kind words:  it's always the cherry on my cake as they say!

Happy Days!
Jenn