...an enormous catch-up

Yet another list-like stock-taking post, because Life, the Universe and Everything seems to take priority over blogging nowadays...but I'm determined to keep this little secret* space going, even though it has been five six nearly eight months since I last sat down to take stock of what I've been up to on the creative front. Mainly because it cheers me up no end to see that I am still capable of seeing things through!

*It's 'secret' because only my husband even knows of its existence, and as far as I'm aware, he doesn't ever read it. It's not that I wouldn't want him to, after it's posted, it's just that if he happens to pass by while I'm writing it, I close the window so he can't read over my shoulder. "Marzipan's private!" we both chorus - referencing Reeves and Mortimer from back in the day. 

• Ta-dah! I finished this crocheted bag for my daughter, and I really, really want one of my own one day, because I absolutely love it. I procrastinated for ages because of the handles (confusing instructions/high boredom factor) and then knuckled down and completed them within a couple of hours. T'is always the way.

I then figured out how to make a double sided lining bag (all raw edges enclosed) to fit the shape of the crocheted bag perfectly and stop it from stretching out of shape. I'm sure there are clever people out there who could have just done this standing on their heads, but it took me a couple of attempts to get it to work the way I wanted it to. I kept the pattern just in case I make another one for myself, but it will be just like starting over when it comes to it, because I haven't the faintest idea how I did it! (It's the zig-zags along the top and the curves at the bottom, and the working out which bit of the seam to leave open so that it can be turned right way out with no raw edges showing that makes my brain hurt). Anyway, I did it, and I hand-stitched it into place, and it was extremely satisfying, and my daughter loved it, so - "Hooray!"

• Next, in September, a new addition to the family - Gorgeous Grandson the Second. My D-i-L asked me to make him a little newborn hat to wear in the hospital, so I made him this little number from the Tin Can Knits Barley pattern while we were away for a few days in Perthshire.

• Obviously one should never play favourites with grand-babies, so GG2 also got a colourful all-purpose blankie for cosy pram rides and cuddles like the one I made for GG1...

...complete with another (matching) Barley hat.

• GG1 is now a very busy, active toddler, who loves being outdoors in all weathers, so he was next up in the Autumn knitting queue for a pair of colourful mittens. GG2 got a matching tiny-baby thumb-less pair...

...and a Beloved bonnet, which made him look like an adorable baby gnome.

• I made GG1 this Winter jumper, using up some dark blue DK yarn from my ridiculously over-sized stash and a random multicoloured ball I picked up at my local charity shop for 50p. I love lazy colour-work cheating like this! I also love this pattern - rather unimaginatively named "MK#36 Baby Sweater". It's seamless and easy to follow - great for knitting in front of the telly, and perfect for keeping a small boy nice and snug on walks through the woods.

• Winter wouldn't be Winter without some novelty hats. GG1 got a brightly coloured stocking hat, and GG2 got a teddy-bear bonnet, slightly adapted from a classic Debbie Bliss pattern (i-cord ties under the chin(s) rather than a button fastening). 

• Towards the end of the year the son of one of my very dear friends died after a long and difficult illness. She asked me if I would make a cushion cover from one of his favourite jumpers and a shirt he often wore. She also wanted some small decorative heart ornaments (the kind of thing that can hang from a door handle) to give to other family members. I've never been asked to make anything like this before, and it took me quite a while to pluck up the courage to actually cut into these precious garments. 

For the larger cushion I used the front of the shirt (with the button band) as one side of the cover, so that it could be easily removed for washing. I created a pocket on the other side using overlapping layers of the jumper front, and added an appliqued heart. I originally thought the pocket could be used for storing little mementos, but during the making process I remembered that her son was very fond of giraffes. So I made a simple stuffed giraffe with needle-felted ears, horns and tail to sit inside it.

Once I got started on the smaller ornaments I found it fairly easy to come up with individual designs, using different parts of the jumper for texture, and adding a button from the shirt to each one as a finishing touch. I felt very honoured to have been asked to take this project on, and each item was made with a lot of love.

• As always, earlier in the year, I had grandiose plans to make home-made Christmas presents for everyone, and as always I left things very late and completely ran out of time. So I ended up making little Christmas tree bird ornaments out of an old hand-embroidered linen tablecloth*, which could be stitched together on the sewing machine, then stuffed, and hand-stitched to finish, with embroidered eyes, beaks and  little tufted crests to bring them to life.

*It pained me greatly to cut into the tablecloth, because it felt like vandalism. I agonised over it for ages...but in the end I realised that this tablecloth (along with dozens of others) had just been shut away in a drawer in my friend's Mum's house for many years before she died (whereupon my friend had gifted a whole boxful to me). I, in turn, had kept it shut away in a drawer for several more years...so I reasoned that by turning the unknown embroiderer's handiwork into pretty little ornaments I was actually giving a new lease of life to something that would otherwise never see the light of day until after I'm gone - when my children will probably end up tossing it into a skip along with all the other "stuff" I've accumulated over the years. Reader, I repurposed it!

• GG1 just never stops growing, so by January it was time for another MK#36 (I'm sorry, this is a just a terrible name for a pattern - always makes me think of AK47, for some reason) jumper in a gorgeous self-striping blue/green yarn. This was the largest size, with extra inches added to sleeves and body measurements for longevity of wear. I'm probably going to have to experiment with making bigger sizes by adapting the pattern, because this is such a great design. (Plus I'm in denial that my grandbaby is too big to wear "baby" clothes any more).

• Meanwhile GG2 had entered his official tummy-time rolling and pre-crawling era, so I made him a brightly coloured patchwork play-mat using cotton, towelling, velvet, faux fur, knit and denim fabrics to keep him entertained and exploring. I sandwiched the patchwork together with some lightweight batting and a piece of fabric from an old duvet cover for backing, bound the edges with some cheerful spotty bias binding and then knotted the layers together with embroidery floss to give it more stability. It probably should have been several squares wider (he's a tall-for-his-age boy), but this size is lightweight and portable - he recently took it to his "first picnic at the park"!

• We had a weekend away in the Lake District at the end of January. This was the view over Lake Windermere from the hill behind our cottage. Blissful!

• GG2 was now big enough for his first AK47 MK#36 jumper, in (yep, you guessed it) another fabulous self-striping yarn. I really struggle to knit anything plain/one-coloured when there are so many beautiful variegated/self-striping yarns in the world. Fortunately my daughters-in-law are very tolerant of these multi-coloured gifts (my sons already know my magpie-like love of bright shiny things). Either that or tactful/smart enough to send me photos of the boys wearing their Grandma-made hand-knits on at least one occasion...even if never again!

• Which brings me, finally, to the beginning of April, where I'm on Day 44 of the 100 Day Project. This year I'm doing little daily paintings of all the bird-themed ornaments and objects around my house. The picture below shows the first 36. I don't know if there are actually 100 bird-related items (I haven't ever counted them all) but it seems like there are still plenty more to capture...remember when I mentioned that skip my children will need to hire one day?!

Hooray! Enormous Catch-up complete!

...bits and pieces

My creative endeavours have taken a nose-dive recently, and the more I fret about it the worse I feel, and the worse I feel, the more I procrastinate. There is a new grandbaby arriving in September, and there are blankets to be knitted and crocheted, and a little newborn hat for the hospital has been requested - but I have a cut out tunic waiting to be sewn, and I'm stuck on the handles of a crocheted bag for my daughter. I know how close these projects are to completion, but I seem to have zero motivation to get them done - and I absolutely, categorically, can not (and will not) start anything new until they're finished. Ugh! Creative paralysis is the worst!

In the meantime, here is a quick round up of the things that have stopped me from grinding to a complete halt since I last posted here, way back in April.

• Place-setting pebbles for my eldest son's wedding in May. A lovely day celebrating a very happy couple.

• Queen Anne's Lace at the park. I was so glad to have got this picture, because the next time I went along this path it had all been mown down, almost to ground level, as if it had never been there at all.

• A new Wiksten top made from upcycled curtain fabric. I've been gradually shedding a bit of weight this year - eating less, moving more, choosing better - so everything in my wardrobe is getting a bit loose and baggy. It's nice to have an excuse to make a few new things in a smaller size, but I'm a little sad that some of my favourites are now too big. Guess it's still a good problem to have though! 

• One of my most-travelled paths at the park, in June. Just love that glowing green foliage and the pretty shadows of the leaves on the ground.

• The cut out tunic waiting to be sewn... 

• Hedge mouse in the bird feeder. So busy munching that I got within about five feet of him/her before he/she went scrambling for cover.

• The crocheted bag waiting for handles. This entails working 110ch for each handle and then doing three rows of sc all the way round the top of the bag on either side of the 110ch. So bloomin' fiddly. Plus I need to make a lining (not included in the pattern). I've figured out how to do it in my head, but again - so bloomin' fiddly!  

• July is the best time for berries. All freshly picked from the garden! Yum!

• In mid-July my gorgeous grandson turned one. His first year has just flown by. We had four weeks of Grandma Daycare (one day per week) before the school summer holidays started (his Mum is a teacher), and I can't wait for September to get back on duty. I made him a card and wrote him a funny, sentimental poem. He lives on a farm, so is obsessed with tractors, cows, and watering the garden. Pointing at things he's interested in is his new super-power. Love him so!

...William the Whimsical Waltzing Mouse

Towards the end of last year the Instagram algorithm introduced me to the work of a wonderful artist - Rosanna Dell. I was absolutely entranced by the delightful little creatures she was making from cotton wool, PVA glue, pipe cleaners and florist's wire, and thrilled when she generously made a "how-to" tutorial for Youtube. It's my sister's 50th birthday this week, and she has been saying for a long time that she would like me to make her something mouse-themed after she saw the little felt mouse and the little needle-felted mouse that live in my mouse-house.

So I decided to make her a Rosanna-inspired mouse as a present. At first I struggled with the materials - cotton wool and sticky fingers don't mix terribly well, and I kept accidentally pulling bits off in one area whilst adding to another - but I eventually managed to produce a basic mouse shaped figure... 

...and after leaving it to dry on the clothes-airer above the dehumidifier overnight, things got an awful lot easier. Being patient and allowing things to dry between layers is definitely the way to go with this medium. Cotton wool mixed with glue actually functions like a very fine, very responsive papier mâché - it is surprisingly sturdy (though very lightweight) when it dries, and once you have that basic shape to build on, you're away. The texture is perfect for creating a soft, furry effect, and as soon as  you start adding colour (and some little beady eyes) the whole thing comes to life. Look at that plump little mouse belly, and those paper-thin little mouse ears!

I'm not sure where the idea for a daisy chain garland initially came from - although I know the "how to" aspect of it came to me in the shower one morning (the shower is where most of my best "how-to" thinking occurs). I have a paper punch that cuts little eight-petal-flower shapes, so I figured that I could glue two together in an offset position with a strand of embroidery floss sandwiched between them to make perfect little daisies, with sunshine yellow centres and delicate pink-tipped petals. I coated the 'stems' with a PVA and water mix to stiffen them up and stop them unravelling when I threaded the 'chain' together. 

The final touch was a bunch of daisies tied with a tiny piece of pink ribbon, and my happy little mouse, full of the joys of Spring was complete. 

All that remained was to have a photo-shoot in the garden against a back-drop of forget-me-nots, violets and bluebells...

...and to give him a name - because at some stage along the way it became apparent that he was a 'he' - a name in keeping with the air of solid dependability underpinning his sprightly demeanour and obvious theatrical flair... William!

...Winter into Spring

• At the beginning of February I finished this jolly little pram blanket and popped it in the post to a family friend's new baby girl. This was such an enjoyable project, I was really sad when it ended. Since I took up crochet again in 2021, after a nearly 50 years gap, I've become quite the granny square addict. I love the way they allow you to play with colour combinations and use up odds and ends of yarn too. I think there's a bit of a retro 1970s vibe going on here with the 'clashing' purply-blues and oranges adding a bit of a zing to the raspberry pink and softer peaches-and-cream shades. I kept thinking about Play School while I was making it!

• After the Autumn pumpkin hat and the Christmas pudding hat, the Gorgeous Grandson needed a cosy Spring hat to keep him warm through the March winds and April showers. I used this pattern and some leftover Stylecraft yarn (Pistachio and Duck Egg) to make this cute little stripy ribbed number.   

• I've been trying to do a bit of painting and drawing lately - just doodling really, and working from memory rather than life. Sometimes photographs don't capture what I'm 'seeing' - the colours or shapes that grab my attention. This process also helps me to move away from the pressure of realism - because I'm drawing on images in my mind's eye rather than focussing on objects directly in front of me. .

• I really enjoyed making this top-down seamless Spring jumper for the GG. It's a lovely, simple design sized for babies aged 0-24 months, and I will definitely be making a few more of these. Not least because my eldest son and his wife are expecting a baby boy in September - I'm going to be in full-on Grandma knitting and crochet heaven!

• In March we had three nights away in a tiny cottage just outside Alnmouth. We explored Amble and Warkworth on the first full day...

...drove up the coast to my beloved Seahouses on the second day (so cold and windy that we popped the XXS Cat dog in the rucksack to give her a break from the scouring sand in her face), and then spent a happy morning at the wonderful Tynemouth Station Market on the way home. We keep talking about re-locating to Northumberland "one day", but with increasingly frail parents and the arrival of gorgeous grandchildren it's really just a pipe dream to be living North of the Angel.  

• I started a second Nuuk jumper in January, but it languished for weeks in a half-finished state because I wanted to complete the neck ribbing before trying it on to check the body length, and I just couldn't face the neck ribbing task! I absolutely hate picking up neckline stitches because I haven't found a fool-proof way of doing it evenly enough to meet my (self-imposed) perfectionist standards. This pattern simply says "pick up 92 stitches around neckline", and leaves it to the knitter to decide how they should be distributed. In the end I forced myself to sit and count how many stitches I thought there were around the neck (102) and then did ten K2tog at evenly spaced intervals as I went round, to arrive at the required 92. It actually turned out ok (if not absolutely perfect), and was finished by the following day - just in time for the warmer weather that's no doubt coming soon! Sigh...

• In other news the park is turning green around the edges... 

...and two odd-looking wooden mice came home with me from the charity shop this week, for the princely sum of 50p. I'm trying really hard to de-clutter, rather than continue adding to the "stuff", but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants and resistance is simply futile.

...Christmas and beyond

Christmas 2023 was a bit of a fail from a Making perspective (although it went pretty smoothly in every other respect). I had so many ideas for All the Things that I out-faced myself and ended up in a state of creative paralysis - a Jill of All Trades and Mistress of None! This year I am going to Make a List and Start Early (ho-ho-ho). That way maybe my daughter will actually get her knitted gnome with an assortment of festive hats, my sister will get the carol-singing needle-felted mice, and there will be handmade Christmas tree decorations all round! Sigh...

Christmas Wins:

A Debbie Bliss Striped Top for the Gorgeous Grandson, pattern taken from her classic Baby Knits book. My youngest child is 31 this week, which means I've had the book for over 30 years and the patterns are just as timeless and wearable as ever!

A pretty, ruffly 'Rose Smiles' scarf for my soon-to-be-daughter-in-law. This was a last-minute win snatched from the jaws of failure. I actually knitted the scarf in November, basking in the warm glow of my excellent forward thinking, and then forgot all about it until Christmas-Eve-Eve, when I suddenly remembered that it still needed blocking and wrapping to be ready to give her the following day. I was literally weaving in ends whilst it was pinned to the blocking mat, and had to finish the drying process with a hairdryer. It's a minor Christmas Miracle that I managed to snap a couple of hasty photos...

Christmas Fails:

I bought this book in June... 

...and had plans to make cute little needle-felted gingerbread houses (top right hand corner) for EVERYONE. I ended up with just ONE tiny, oddly shaped, pyramid/house ornament/thing that my best friend was kind enough to actually thank me for, although it really didn't merit any gratitude! Thank goodness for the lovely M&S bear-shaped chocolate "hugs" I  was able to sweeten that particular pill with!

I slaved for hours over this mosaic-framed mirror for my Mother-in-Law, and got it all the way to the grouting stage a couple of days before it needed to be wrapped and ready, but my husband had a crisis of confidence about whether she would like it, so we ended up buying her something else. I don't really mind (because I like it myself and am happy to keep it) but it is now languishing in "unfinished object corner", needing the final film of grout to be cleaned and polished from the ceramic pieces. I've completed the bottom right hand corner, and know it will be lovely when it's finished, but the wind of urgency has definitely left my sails. Watch this space... 

Post-Christmas Progress:

New Year, New Projects. Accept the things you cannot change, tomorrow is another day, the past is a foreign country etc., etc. With this in mind, in January (so far) I have made another Debbie Bliss striped top for the GG, because he is knitworthy and beautiful...

...as is my daughter's best friend's baby who has just turned one! He received a classic ribbed birthday hat in shades of blue to match his big blue eyes...

...and my son's best friend has had a baby girl, so she will be receiving this jolly crocheted pram blanket just as soon as I can hook my way through it. All of these projects have been made from stash yarn, which is very pleasing to me, in this traditional season for de-cluttering. It also has to be acknowledged that they have barely made a dent in the yarn mountain, but we're moving in the right direction one baby-step at a time!