Monday 28 December 2020

...a hand-made Christmas round-up

  • Lavender sachets - pieced together using hand-painted fabric panels and remnants. My only expenditure was on the dried lavender, a bottle of lavender essential oil for extra oomph, and a little pot of gold fabric paint; everything else came from the craft hoard. I highly recommend making lavender sachets for Christmas presents. Even if you find yourself racing to get them finished in time, it's impossible to feel anything but serene when labouring under a fragrant, lavender-scented cloud. 
 
  • My new favourite go-to/quick-knit gift pattern - the Miss Marple scarf. Fits snugly round the neck, looks neat and tidy, and knits up in an evening or two - what's not to like?
  • Solveig wristlets - bought in kit form earlier in the year to support a local yarn shop, with vague ideas of Christmas gifting in mind. They are a little less garish in real life (the red is more of a deep cherry than a scarlet), and the circular fair-isle was fun to do, but having made them I couldn't think of anyone who might actually want them. What is the point of wristlets? Are cold wrists even a thing? Lovely as these wristlets are, what possible use could anyone have for them, other than as the finishing touch for an elf costume perhaps? So many questions...
  • ...and one obvious solution to the wristlet conundrum - add a thumb, keep going a little further, and turn them into fingerless mittens! Some might say these are equally pointless garments, since they leave the extremities exposed, but for a camera-phone-fiddling, shell/pebble picker-upper like myself, they are wardrobe essentials. Such an elegant design, too.
  • A nail-biting, right-up-to-the-wire, cast-off-25-minutes-before-a-socially-distant-gift-swap, classic Antler Toque for my brother. Photo courtesy of my sister-in-law when they got home! Variegated sock wool held double with some navy DK from the craft hoard.



1 comment:

  1. Your knitting projects are all absolutely gorgeous, Amelia! As for your exquisite little lavender sachets, they are stunning. You have done the painted fabric beautifully, and the colours you have chosen really complement the theme - you've clearly got a very good eye for colour!

    One Christmas many years ago I made lavender sachets for everyone, and then again, 5 years ago when I first started my 6 months of chemo, I made a whole lot, each in its own little co-ordinating box and a little card, to distribute among my fellow patients in the treatment room. They were so much appreciated. I made more masculine looking ones (bolder, darker colours) for the men! The smell of lavender is so soothing and relaxing and I thought it would comfort those who were very anxious about their treatment. I hoped to make further gifts to distribute as time went on, but with each successive treatment I felt more and more poorly and was quite unable to cope with the task, so it was just a one-off at the beginning before the cumulative effects took hold! There is something very special about lavender sachets and people always appreciate them so much. Looking at your photos brought back some happy memories for me.

    Thank you so much for your visit and your kind comments on my end of year summary post! So glad you enjoyed my various projects, especially the Tiny Carpets needle book project. I am very much enjoying making the kitty throw for my hubby and can't wait to get on to the Persian Tiles one as well.

    A very happy New Year to you too!
    Shoshi x

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