Christmas 2013 – garlands

A couple of months ago I saw a pattern for this star garland in a magazine (I can’t remember which one – I buy too many!).

I posted it on facebook for my crochet buddy to see, but another friend saw it and requested that I make a Christmassy version for him. I didn’t really need much persuasion! I used Red Heart Miami yarn in Jeans, Light Blue and Nature. It was lovely yarn to use. The stars worked up quite quickly, especially after the first one. I made a lot of them during my lunch breaks!

The stars were quite curly around the edges, but nothing that a bit of blocking couldn’t sort out.

And here it is in it’s new home…

I was pleased with how it turned out and my friend likes it too – hurrah!

This is the mini garland I had over the fireplace this year. I made it a couple of years ago and have had it out at Christmasses ever since.

It was super easy to make – simply cut out 2 star shapes from chosen fabric (probably best to use pinking shears as the raw edges will be on the outside) and start sewing them together. Sew in the string/ribbon as you go along. When 4 points of the star have been stitched fill will a little stuffing then sew up the remaining point. Repeat with as many stars as you fancy!

January 2013

In January I…

…made 2 new garlands for my bookcase.

…enjoyed gates and trees in the snow.

…had a wonderful trip to a craft fair, resulting in a whole load of new goodies.

…expanded my crochet skills by experimenting with doilies (read about them here and here).

…celebrated my one year blogiversary with a giveaway (which finally arrived with Cheryl this week!)

It’s been a good start to the year!

Inspiration

I’ve realised that a few of the things I’ve made this week have been inspired by things others have done. The first thing is one I have seen appearing on several blogs. Have a look here for Rachell’s take on it.

This got me to thinking. It’s a fab idea, but I’m just not sure that a jar would be big enough. So what I’ve decided to do instead is write a thankfulness list. Each night, before I go to bed, I’m adding things that I’m thankful for. Some things I’m sure will be repeated several times through the year (e.g. time spent with friends, crochet, a good meal, etc.) while others are one offs. I think this may be challenging on the days where everything seems to go wrong, and I end up grumpy and bad tempered. But I also think it’ll be really good for helping me put things in perspective – even when I’ve had a bad day I still have so much to be thankful for!

(Along the same lines, I just started reading a book called ‘One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully’. It’s written by a woman who has experienced a lot of pain in her life, but found a new intimacy with God through having a thankful heart. It’s really beautifully written, and I’m finding it both an exciting and a challenging read!)

Although I decided against a ‘good things’ jar, I decided that I wanted to make use of a jar in some way. Especially after I saw what Hannah had done for her ’22 before 22′. I loved the idea of washi tape around lolly sticks being used instead of a plain old list – so pretty!

I didn’t have any washi tape, so I decided to decorate my sticks with buttons (what else?!) instead. And I put them in a jar that was given to me for Christmas. It was intended as a tea light holder, but it will get far more use this way! It is now holding some of my intentions for 2013. So far I have…

…be thankful

This one links in with my thankfulness list.

…try not to let clutter take over

This one might never happen. I hate living surrounded by clutter, but somehow it seems to sneak in without me noticing! But you never know, 2013 might be the year my life becomes clutter free!

…arrange more social crafting

I added this one because I so much enjoyed the few craft evenings I organised last year. I hope that everyone else will be just as enthusiastic about them!

Now, on to the final thing that’s inspired me. The other day, Katherine from Pillows a-la-mode posted about changing her decorations from Christmas to Winter. I thought this was a great idea – why get rid of all decorations just because the Christmas stuff has to be put away? I particualrly loved her garland, which includes trees made from music paper.

I have a book that I’ve been cutting up at various points during the last year, and thought I’d make good use of the final few pages by making a new garland for my bookcase.

It was super easy to make – I just cut the stars out of the book pages, then stitched through alternating buttons and stars with a long lenght of embroidery thread. It has joined the general colour and happy chaos of my bookcase, which is also adorned by…

…teeny tiny bunting

…more teeny tiny bunting

…and the full size bunting strung with fairy lights at the top!

Here’s the whole bookcase in all it’s glorious, chaotic colour…

Maybe I need to re-think that thing about not being cluttered in 2013…

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven’t already 🙂

A little catch up

Hello, how have you been? Sorry I’ve not been around much lately (I seems like I say that in most of my posts!) Life, as usual, has got in the way of the fun stuff.

However, I have been able to work a little more craftiness into my life over the last couple of weeks – hurrah! I made a lovely ripply scarf for my friend’s birthday. The pattern was Lucy’s from Attic 24. I think I even took some pictures of it, but they all came out blurry and rubbish because it was dark and gloomy.

A lot of the things I’ve been working on are for Christmas presents, so I can’t show you what they are just yet! Hopefully I’ll have lots to show you in January though 🙂

Just this afternoon I’ve made another birthday present. I’ll pop by in a few days to let you see it.

However, something I can show you is my little jug. This is what I painted at half term on the Isle of Wight. It was all safely packed…

…and here it is!

If I’d realised how similar some of the colours are I think I would have chosen a few others. But on the whole I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. It’s now standing proudly on my bookcase, just waiting for something to put in it. Any suggestions?