...staying frosty

December and most of January seem to have passed in a blur -  a hectic, tiring blur - with  very little to show for themselves blog-wise! My daughter finally (FINALLY) completed the purchase of her new home on December 16th, around 18 months after she first started the house-buying ordeal process, and just 6 weeks before her self-imposed target of "moving out before the age of 30". All the heavy lifting is done but we are still packing up belongings from her childhood bedroom. I think she may actually be a Time Lord because that bedroom is literally a TARDIS - she is already running out of storage space in a six roomed house - and we still have at least two car-boot-loads to go!

Christmas came and went fairly unremarkably, and in the New Year my Dad was given a date for his hernia operation (at the beginning of February). We are keeping everything crossed that the operation doesn't get postponed, as he's in near-constant pain with the hernia now. My Mum has her "memory" assessment at the end of January too. She has been losing quite a few of her marbles and it feels like I've mislaid a couple of mine recently too - keeping track of two 80+ year olds' prescriptions and appointments is turning into a full time job. Thank goodness I took early retirement!

So there are just a few bits and pieces to "report" on here...

Remember when I swore I'd never make a Claire Garland knitted rabbit again? Well, all I can say is "Never say never". My Mother-in-Law's friend loved the Teeny Tiny Bunny I made for my M-i-L so much that my M-i-L asked me to make another, for her to give her friend for Christmas. Words cannot express my utter despair upon receipt of this flattering request! I ended up having to confess how much I'd hated making the first one (despite it being oh-so-very, very cute), but then (being of a masochistic saintly disposition) I said I'd be willing to give the Little Baby Bunny pattern a try instead, if this would be acceptable. The Little Baby Bunny is slightly bigger than the Teeny Tiny Bunny (the clue's in the name), and better still, legs are optional. My M-i-L decided that she actually preferred the legless paws-tucked-in version, so a deal was struck...

...and three soul-destroying weeks of procrastination (and whining) later this was the result. It's oh-so-very, very cute, I agree. Claire Garland is an absolute genius - 100% agree. Now disregard what I said before. Sometimes "Never again!" really does mean "Never again!"  

It didn't help that what I really wanted to be doing was working on my "Homage to the (Granny) Square" project. But by the time I'd procrastinated and whined my way through self-inflicted Bunny Hell it was the week before Christmas and I had to focus on mass producing crocheted snowflake Christmas tree ornaments (this year's handmade stocking filler) instead. I used this pattern, but there are loads of different variations on You Tube. They are very quick and easy to make, especially once you memorise the pattern. To stiffen them up and add some sparkle I drew a circle on a piece of cardboard and pinned the points evenly around the edge, then used diluted Mod Podge and a generous sprinkle of biodegradable white glitter (both sides) to add a delicate, crystalline shimmer.

At the beginning of January my daughter's best friend had her first baby, five weeks early. So I abandoned my plans to make matching booties, hat and cardigan and made an aran-weight version of this lovely pattern instead. If you want to enjoy a brand new baby cuddle at the earliest opportunity you have to be adaptable!

Other than these modest creative efforts, all I have left to share are a few photos of the frosty park, lit by low winter sunshine. Lovely!