Miss Aine

The December Giveaway is a little late - just getting it in! The run-up to Christmas was pretty busy, trying to organise everything. It was a good Christmas though. C proposed on Christmas Eve which was quite unexpected, I sang rather well at mass on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day we went down to Wexford and had a lovely day with my family. Good all round! Any how, leave a message by Janaury 1st and I will pick three winners that morning to win a pdf knitting pattern for Bobble, Squeek and Pierre. Bobble Pierre Bobble

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This morning I got a message that my Fairy Godmother knitting pattern is featured in one of the Treasuries on Etsy. So exciting as it's my first on. Woo Hoo! It was put together by Artwolf .

Well, our carol service didn't go too bad. I started off a bit shaky as I was very nervous but I think I got better as I went on. The highlight of the show was the Fillipino choir. They were actually a children's choir and ranged from very young to early teens. They were very cute, had actions and very confident. I was so jealous! This is my present to myself for Christmas. I found the pattern for free through Ravelry. Its available through the Little Turtle Knits website. It was super fast to knit and looks so nice on. Its inspired by the hat Kirsten Dunst wore in ElizabethTown.

Blogging has fallen by the wayside this week as I have been so busy. I had two christmas parties - one on Tuesday night with the knitting group, and one on Thursday with the church folk choir. On Thursday myself and Smem had to go to the dump and we also went shopping and to her grandparents in Dublin. On Friday we had to go into the city centre, and yesterday we all went out for a family lunch. I haven't been so busy outside the house in ages. And it doesn't stop today. My parents and sister are visiting, then I have a carol service to sing at at 5pm and mass to sing at a 7pm. Lord, my days are full. I have managed to do a bit of crafting though. On Wednesday I realised that Smem had no stocking. I had bought dpns last time I was in Wexford so I decided to give a sock a go. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination! I only found one pattern that I half liked but it was far too long so I had to doctor it to make it the right size. I also made a red hat fo...

I finally got around to knitting the christmas stockings from Little Cotton Rabbit . They are so cute and so quick to make. It's taking me less than 2 hours to make one, even with the fairisle design. We are going to a family dinner the day after Stephen's Day so these little socks will be presents for the kids. I just have another two to make. I also got my god-daughter's present finished - finally! I think it turned out really cute in the end. I hope she likes it. And more importantly - I hope it fits!

This is a new pattern I've been working on this week - Blanket Bear. It started off being something else but I think he turned out quite nice. He's ever so cute. He's just 19cm/7inch tall and can sit up himself - thanks to his little tail. The pattern will be for sale in my Etsy shop.

I have pretty much spent most of this week making and writing christmas cards. I was inspired by a card in Crafts Beautiful (a crafting magazine) of a chopped up christmas tree. Theirs was much more colour co-ordinated than mine but I like them. I had various green, red, purple, blue, black and white papers and just jumbled them all up. I had plenty of plain green and red cards left over from a few years ago so I just used them. All in all, I think I made around 50 cards. Writing the damn things takes the most time though. Plus time to go to the post office and get stamps and then more time to go actually post them. And the weather has been freezing this week so that hasn't been pleasant. In Smem news, she has a cold this week. Her nickname is now Snotser. The poor chicken! She does seem to be getting a little better now though so hopefully she is over the worst of it. In other crafting news, I am working on a new knitting pattern - a teddy. I've a body made so he ...

Another no-sew project. Firstly I cut the fat quarter into 2.5inch strips. These I wrapped tightly around a polystyrene ring, taking care to catch the end of one while starting the next. When I got to the end I secured the last one with a pin. Then I wrapped the skinny ribbon over the fabric and secured the end over the start with a pin. Out of the fat ribbon I made a bow and pinned it to the front of the wreath. Viola! A pretty christmas wreath that only takes about 20 mins to make.

Between yesterday and today I have got some lovely post. The final three ornaments from the EtsyFAM swap arrived and they're all rather pretty. First is from Mia's Bows: Second is from Hullabaloo Boutique: And third is from Original Cyn Studios: I put up my (fake) christmas tree this morning so they are all residing happily there.

So finally here is the no-sew garland. Myself and Smem have been out and about every day this weekend so I've barely got to the computer. Materials: Red, green and white felt Glue Some red thread Paper to make templates Instructions: First I made templates of 2 triangles, one bigger than the other. The large triangle is 6 inches wide at the top and 8.5 inches long. Next cut out 17 large triangles from the red felt and 17 green triangles from the green felt. To make the lettering, draw the mirror images of the letters 'merry christmas' on to the back of the white felt. I have an alphabet stencil so I just copied the letters backwards. Cut out the lettering. Next stick the green triangles to the red using the glue. When they are dry, stick the lettering on. There will be 3 triangles with no lettering, as they go before, after and between the words. Sew all the triangles together, in the right order! To do this I ran them all through my sewing machine one after the other....

I discovered this blog - Tuesday To Do - while on blogland travels during the week. There are some really cool tutorials to make christmas-y stuff. I am definitely going to try the bird ornament. Check it out! Coming up will be instructions for how to make an almost no-sew christmas garland. I have all the pieces made and just have to put them together, which will hopefully happen tomorrow morning. In crafting news, I have been working away on bib designs for issue 3 of Irish Quilting, my own garland design, a cardigan for my god-daughter for christmas and a mock-up for the birthday atc swap that was organised by Kate (see her blog in the list of blogs on the right). I would also like to make Smem some clothes for christmas - I have lots of red and cream wool - including a jumper, a cardie and cute shoes. She really needs something for her feet that will stay on as she is quite expert at getting her socks off. Although she did manage to keep them on today when we went christmas sh...

Seen as the holiday spirit is on me, I thought I would share my latest pattern - the lovely Bow Bag. I made this one using chunky wool and 4.5mm needles so the knitting is really tight. Gauge doesn't really matter, just have nice tight knitting. Materials: About 150g of chunky wool. (I used a marble chunky but this would look equally nice in a solid colour) 4.5mm circular needles, 80cm long. Darning needle. Main Bag: Cast on 88 sts. Knit straight as though knitting on straight needles, i.e. do not join in the round. G-st 5 rows. Next Row: (K1, Inc into next st) to end Join the knitting into the round. Continue to knit g-st in the round (so that it looks like st-st) until the piece measures 20cm/8in. Next Row: (K1, K2tog) to end - 88 sts. From this point stop knitting in the round. G-st 12 rows. Cast off loosely. To make up, join the rows ends of g-st at the top and bottom of the bag. Oversew across cast on sts. Handles: Make 2. Mark where you want the handles to be positioned. ...

I know I was going to post a free pattern for a bag this morning but I came across this blog while reading my usuals and I just had to pass it on. Little Cotton Rabbit Check it out for the most beautiful knitted toys. And there are free patterns too which are absolutely adorable. My favourite are some mini stockings for the christmas tree with lovely fairisle designs - and they're knitted on straight needles. My hero!

The randomly picked winners for November are: Shelly Debhi Teddy's Mom Shelly - I have sent you the pattern via email. Debhi - I've convo'd you on Ravelry. Send on your email and I'll send on the pattern. Teddy's Mom - Please send me on your email so I can send the pattern to you. Thank you to everybody for participating. Stay tuned 'cause tomorrow I will post a free pattern for a bag.