Eureka!

It's been a crisp but sunny day in London today. I've noticed we've had almost an extra 30 minutes of light in the late afternoon and can't wait until spring. Speaking of which, my Spring Explosion tea cosy is progressing really well. Today I made three more flowers: two daffodils – which I am delighted with –and an elegant lily.

Apart from making an i-cord (see third party YouTube clip in previous post for a tutorial on these), I haven't quite mastered using double ended needles yet so worked all the flowers flat. Where possible, I also prefer using regular needles to circular needles. Fingers crossed, I'll have the tea cosy finished by next weekend!

I firmly believe we have our best ideas when we are relaxed and our minds are free. At the crack of dawn this morning I had a brain wave: I still had the little blanket squares I made when I first experimented with knitting a year ago and realised that one in particular would make a fabulous coffee cosy. Wasting no time at all, I frogged an inch or so of it to make it fit our six cup cafetière, and to remove the uneven pattern at the start. When I first knitted the square I hadn't even decided where I was going with it so it was a bit freestyle until a few rows in, where a raised spotty pattern starts to emerge. It took ages to frog as I unpicked the cast-on end (where the pattern was uneven). I've never done this before and it was hard to find and pick up the stitches again to cast off. It's not as neat as the other end, but, in a light bulb moment, I decided I could add two sets of ties, the Isamo Crochet bows I made before and some shell edging and it could look really pretty. My first original design!

Remember the pouffe I made? Well, a lady got in touch on Friday to express her total joy at seeing mine; she is going to have a go at making one herself. All credit goes to the Pickles for supplying such an inspiring pattern, thanks girls!

Domestic Goddess

Another "ta-da!" moment. I finally got around to filling the knitted pouffe and here it is. Not bad, huh? I'd originally decided to use it as a pet bed for when I get some animals in the future, but actually it's too firm for pets to sleep on, so I'll just use it as a funky foot stool instead.

I think I'll make another one in a brighter colour in the future and neaten it up a bit more. The size came up exactly right as well; it's just the perfect size for sitting on or for resting tired feet on at the end of a long day... Domestic bliss indeed. Here's the pattern again if you fancy having a go yourself, it's very easy, garter stitch throughout. Do let me know how you get on!

Stealing a march on next winter, I squirreled away two remaining scraps of this chunky yarn and worked it into a two-tone rectangle. The creamy stripe shows what the yarn looked like before I dyed it. Hubby took a shine to the wool when I was knitting the foot stool so I plan to make him a snowboarder hat or scarf for next winter. Here it is so far...

Reflection

Well, it's that time of year again when people start saying they're going to join a gym or give up smoking. Being the Doubting Thomas I am I usually struggle to feign interest when people tell me this; but then, with my empathetic side intervening at the last possible moment, I manage to utter a few encouraging words: "Good for you!"

With a fondness for reflection, I myself have been wondering, what will 2012 bring and what, if anything, should I change about my life next year?

Well, with 2011 going into my Room 101, I decided there's definitely space for a whole lot more fun next year and that's about as far as I've got.

And speaking of fun, once I've brought my PC back from it's comatose state (yes, it's still poorly and in need of a geeky once-over), I will be able to share pics of my new knitted footstool and mum's cosy hat. Yes, that's right, the pouffe is finished and it actually looks rather good!

Revelling in the relaxing and cosy bubble that is Christmas week, I have no qualms about enjoying a few more days rest before January rudely interrupts us all next week.

Have fun. Surround yourself with people that make you happy. Create things. Gx

Having a Cool Yule

Our Christmas Day went smoothly, with my mince pies and homemade ice cream receiving high praise! Mum completed a burgundy Donegal yarn hat, whilst I spent a couple of hours continuing to knit the pouffe. To my envy, mum also received a set of ergonomic Japanese crochet hooks.

Next week I plan to experiment with my fabulous new purple sewing machine, crochet and mochimochi (a Japanese word, meaning knitted toys) books. Bliss!

Here's my sister-in-law opening her presents on Christmas Day...

Put your feet up

This week I spotted textured knitted cushions in both John Lewis and Laura Ashley, but of course I enjoy the challenge of making my own unique pieces.

Here's an update on my latest project... I've finally made a start on my foot stool and have included images below of the newly dyed yarn and my first few rows: 35 stitches in garter stitch on circular needles. As you can see, it's very dense and chunky so will hopefully be really thick and hard wearing when it's finished. I can't remember whether I included a link to the pattern previously, but here it is just in case. The pattern suggests stuffing it with duvets but I plan to use two pillows instead, depending on how large it is.

Well, I'm off to a Christmas pub lunch now. Enjoy your day!