Making use of...

...those January Sale purchases.

A visit to The Works when I returned to work after the New Year revealed some pretty yarns in their seasonal clearance sale...

 ...and oh it was difficult to decide which colour to pick.
However, I went with the grey & pink as it was something a bit different to anything else I had...

 ...and a couple of evenings on the sofa produced this lovely soft hat (made on the round knitting loom). Then the needles came out...

...but I'm not sure if I like the way this is knitting up. I might undo it and start again using the rectangle knitting loom - I'll have to have a think about this one.....................................

Tomorrow is...

...the last day of January 2017.

Really!!!

Just where did that month go to?

Although I didn't make any resolutions this year, I did intend to be a bit more organised with my Christmas makes and so far I've been doing pretty well with the knitting & crochet but there was a distinct lack of cards so a rummage in my bag of sale purchases and a bit of card making in front of the TV resulted in...

 ...a quick but fun Naughty Pudding...

...quite a few layers so this wont be going in the post. There are even some googly eyes to add to the fun factor.

So January draws to a close and I have one card done & dusted.

I want to have a play with my Card-io stamps but just as January has flown by, so has my crafting time. I really need longer weekends & shorter weeks...........................................................

Have you heard...

...the news about Pinnacle Crafts?

They are having a MA-HOO-SIVE downsizing sale. See the announcement below...

Hi everyone,

We hope you are well?

We would like to announce that we have decided to downsize Pinnacle Crafts. With Mum virtually retired now, the day to day running of the shop, teaching and the website are becoming too much for just the 3 of us to continue with in the same way we used to and still maintain our high standards of service and creativity.

So, to help us achieve this,

from Today on the website, and from the 24/01/17 in store, until a date to be announced,

we are having a MASSIVE DOWNSIZING Rummage SALE...

50% Off Of Everything in store to everyone..

If you are shopping on line, simply enter code

downsize50 in the promotional code section to activate the discount

We are obviously aware that it is Members Discount Weekend next Weekend,

so we have decided to incorporate this within our Downsizing Rummage Sale.

Therefore, Club Members “Week” will run in store from 24/01/17 – 29/01/17 10am – 4pm

However, any orders placed for out of stocks or new products will only be processed with

Club Members 30% or applicable Discount.

**Orders already placed and/or awaiting collection from us will be at discount at time they were ordered..**

The 50% Sale price is only for stock we already have within the shop

and includes already Reduced To Clear Products.

So, that’s 50% off of all in stock Dies, Embossing Folders, Adhesives, Cutting Equipment & Tools, Parchments Tools & Accessories, Card & Paper, Peel Offs, Inks & Colouring Tools, Stamps & Accessories,

Cross Stitch Kits, Pinflair Sequin Kits and already Reduced to Clear Items.

Please pass this information onto any Club Members you may know who do not receive the Members Newsletter

and also all of your crafty friends, as this Rummage Sale is open to them too (excludes CM’s 30% orders).

We’ll be sharing this on Social Media too, so please feel free to do the same or any crafting groups or forums you belong to.

Come and grab some amazing crafting bargains...

Pinnacles....

...but before anyone starts to panic about the loss of another B&M craft store - in Andy's words they are moving from a house to a bungalow. This means that the lessens will take place in the store which will be easier for Joanne, Paul & Andy to manage now that Pauline has more or less retired.

So if you live within access of Barleylands Craft Village, why not pop along and grab yourself a bargain - but don't worry if you are further away; just pop onto their website and see what takes your fancy...but please leave  some goodies for me to grab when I pop over there on Friday...........................................

Time just ran out...

...in the run up to Christmas.

I had seen some pretty knitted tissue box covers on a few blogs and wanted to have a go. There had been ones made to look like traditional post boxes and others that looked like Santa's jacket but I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted.

I still had some balls of the glittery red yarn (although the sparkle doesn't show up in this photo) and set about making the basic box cover...

...and as you can see, that part did get done. The problem was that I couldn't make up my mind how I wanted to decorate it so with all the 'umming' & 'ar-ring' I ran out of time.

Still - with eleven months to think about it, I should come up with something by next Christmas LOL............................................................

A bit more...

...knitting loom action.

Well here is the scarf with the added tassels...

 ...this was the finishing touch that was needed so this piece is all done and ready for use.
The hat that was underway in the previous post...

 ...is now completed and I love how the colours have worked. Even if I was to use the same yarn there would never be another exactly like this - one of the reasons I love variegated yarn.
The yarn left after completing the hat is going to be another scarf...

 ...and here is the loom that I am using. With the circular looms you create a basic "tube" which depending on the size of the loom you are using can be made into a scarf, hat or snood (I have a knitting loom book and there are patterns for knitting socks and lots of other stuff but then I'd have to sit and follow the pattern/instructions - at the moment I'm just having fun). With the circular looms you work your way around the ring for basic knitting but with the rectangle/bar loom you work across the gap...

...as you can see here. This was done at "Knit & Natter" on Tuesday and although I was showing folk how the process worked, I still managed to get a fair bit done.

I enjoy knitting but knitting on the looms is 'fun' - I don't know why it took me nearly a year to finally take them out of their packaging and have a play.......................................................

Knitting looms...

...are great fun.

Once you get the hang of the basic process you can actually build up quite a bit of speed and it is surprising how quickly your knitting grows.

My local wool shop had some pretty new yarns in just before Christmas - here is the first one...

...the base colours being aqua & off-white with speckles of green, orange and charcoal scattered all over. I used the circular loom to create the hat and a rectangular loom to create the scarf. I think I'll add some tassels to finish off the scarf.
The other yarn I bought was this heather mix...

...I love how the colours create a pattern without you even having to try. I will be making a matching scarf with the remaining yarn.

200g of Double Knit yarn are plenty to create a nice snuggly warm set to keep the cold out during the Winter months..............................................................

On this day...

...in 1987.


We had snow - lots of it.


Nothing unusual considering the photos that have appeared in the media recently.


However, the heavy snow in the area where I live was a problem back in 1987 as my Sister was pregnant and went into labour.


It was touch & go whether the ambulance would reach her or if it did, it wasn't certain that they would make it to the local hospital. Luckily, she arrived safely at the hospital accompanied by my Aunt and there she gave birth to my niece.


Where I live is near to a main road linking with the oil refinery down by the Thames (now it is the Gateway Port) so at least part of the main road had to be kept clear for access. This helped with our getting off the estate but the hospital was accessed via country lanes so the family had fun & games visiting. But that was 30 years ago and now a distant memory.


So today my niece celebrates her 30th birthday.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Pestie...here's hoping you have a fabulous one.


Best wishes from those of us 'down south'.................................................

K2, P2...

...and I've made a start.

I don't normally knit adult garments as I get bored but when I saw this huge box in the craft section at the Range containing everything needed to knit an "Olaf" jumper for just £4.99 - well it would have been rude not to take advantage.

So the box sat there for a couple of days.

When I finally opened it, there was all the wool needed, the pattern & instructions and needles...I say needles but they were more like bean poles - sooooooooooooooooooo long - they were discarded and I dug out my own needles which are a far more controllable length (I really can't work with needles that you have to tuck under your arms LOL).

So here is what I am knitting...

...and I have to say the instructions and pattern chart are very clear and easy to follow.

I have made a start...

...and at the moment I'm doing the 'boring' bit - I'm knitting the back of the jumper. This doesn't contain any patterning at all so should be fairly quick. I say fairly quick **rollseyes** as I'm at row 50 of 106 and am already bored so will have to do it in bite-size chunks otherwise this will end up in the UFO box. Thinking about it, the most sensible thing will be to take this to my "Knit & Natter" group each week as it is more likely to spur me on.

So folks, that is one project that I made a start on over the holidays.

My intention is to get it finished for Christmas 2017 and give it as a gift. Watch this space..................................................................

How can two weeks...

...fly by so quickly?

Christmas has been "packed away" ready for the next one and the fridge is groaning a little less...

...as the mountain of food has gradually been consumed.

The sales have been visited and taken advantage of...I now have a lovely new log-burner effect stove for the lounge and a collection of stamps to add to the ones that I received as gifts (I will be playing with my selection of Card-io stamps once I get myself a bit more organised).

I haven't blogged much over the holiday period but have taken the opportunity to catch up on a bit of blog reading.

The knitting needles & crochet hooks have had a good workout over the holidays and once I've taken some photos I'll share the details - although I realised that there are a few items that I forgot to photograph before I gave them as gifts...what a numpty.

So the New Year is up and running and it is back to work (groan) - I wonder how many emails I will have to wade through?

Have a wonderful week everyone.............................................................

Happy New Year...

...out with the old; in with the new.

2016 has been quite a stressful year but it finally rounded off in a far more enjoyable manner.

For the first time in a good many years, Christmas was actually fun. This was because I wasn't running around like a loon at other folks insistence. The family get-together took place at my Sister's on Christmas Eve (boy were we stuffed after all the fabulous food she served up) and then Christmas Day was a quiet day at home just enjoying the quiet and playing with some of my gifts. It was wonderful not having to quickly open presents and then dash off somewhere at the beck-&-call of others. It may seem selfish but I actually enjoyed being on my own on Christmas Day...in my own home (I can't remember the last time that I spent Christmas Day at home).

I hit the sales after Christmas - not the big store ones where folk have been battling for the large (still expensive) goods. No; I hit my local stores to see what they were clearing out "post-Christmas". I also visited some of the well known high-street supermarkets and picked up some bargains. I am also very organised for next Christmas - I purchased a lot of the 'reduced to clear' gift wrapping stuff and have actually put it all together in a storage box so it doesn't get 'misplaced' by next Christmas LOL

I have enjoyed watching the Harry Potter films each evening and sitting knitting (don't groan but I've already made a start on 2017 Christmas pressies - after all, there are just 357 days to go...).

I will not be making any resolutions as I do not want to set myself anything that could make 2017 stressful but I do hope to get myself a little more organised as that will help to reduce stress levels.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & a very Happy New Year and that 2017 will bring you all that you could wish for.................................................