Crochet Snowman and a Cross Stitch Christmas Card

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Well Christmas is fast approaching and I just don't know where the time is going. The youngest and I have been back to normal with our groups this week after she was under the weather last week and we've been having lots of fun.  I'm not actually sure who was the messiest after messy play, me or her! My highlight for this week has got to be how much I'm loving being back into crafting with a purpose - I may not be selling things, but knowing that I am in some way accountable for creating things by blogging about them has really got me back into it with a vengeance.  I want to do ALL the projects 😀

Crafting wise I've had a pretty productive week.  I've finished off a crochet snowman which is a hit with the kids, completed the very cute cross stitch polar bear Christmas card which I think will be winging it's way to L's teacher at school and I also whipped up a sewing machine cover that I've been meaning to do for who knows how long. I've also made a start on a pincushion for L; he picked up a sewing set from Aldi last weekend and requested his very own pincushion. More on the set he picked later.

My friendly little snowman is my first attempt at amigurumi and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  The pattern I used, designed by Zoë Halstead and from the Christmas Crochet book 2, called for toy eyes but I couldn't find them in the craft type shops near me so I went with some small buttons instead - I think that it's still come out pretty well.  It's an easy enough pattern to follow and there are a number of others in the book so I might just have a go at some of the others for next Christmas.

The polar bear was a simple enough chart with a whole host of back stitch to add detail and it does work well, it's just back stitch is my nemesis so it took me a little longer than the 4 hours suggested on the chart.  I'm still really pleased with how it turned out and I'm sure that L's teacher will appreciate the work that's gone into it.  My plan is to send it in with the little Christmas hamper I'm doing for her.  G's teacher will also get a hamper - I'm planning on doing the shopping for them next week so I can add a photo to next week's blog post.

With the sewing machine cover, I utilised a pattern from a Cath Kidston book that my beautiful sister and her family bought me this year.   It came together really quickly, despite a number of interruptions from the kids who always get excited when the sewing machine comes out, and the end result is a perfect fit.  I used some fat quarters pieces that I had left from sewing the quilt topper for my bed a couple of years ago. With my sewing machine having it's current home in my bedroom, it now fits in beautifully with the decor as well as being kept dust free.  Win-win.



From the same Cath Kidston book, I've started working on the pin cushion for L.  It's a tortoise and the top part of his shell is completed using English paper piecing.  This is a technique I've had a brief go at in the past, but never really with any project in mind.  It was fun sewing up the pieces by hand and when A is older I'm sure I will have lots of fun sewing little projects using this technique while she plays in the park or has her swimming lessons or something.  It's a real 'sew-on-the-go' technique which is great.  I'm now onto the machine stitching side of the pincushion and all being well I should have a finished article to share with you next week.

L has been wanting to find himself a hobby for the longest time and of the 2 boys I think he is the one that is more likely to craft. When I got my sewing machine out at the weekend he was instantly at my side asking to be allowed to sew something, but he wasn't really sure what he wanted to make.  Having done my weekly food shop at Aldi, I'd spotted some kits for kids so I suggested we go and take a look.  He bought himself this gorgeous sewing set which is filled with material, embroidery thread, a tape measure, needles and instructions to make 4 projects.  He was s pleased.  I also picked up a set of 3 sew your own Christmas decorations for the boys to do, which they have been cracking on with this week.  They've had a little help from me with the blanket stitch, but it's mainly their own work and I'm really proud of them.  Added bonus is they've had less time on their Nintendo's and watching TV 😉


I'd better leave it there as this is turning into an epic blog post.  If you have any questions about any of the projects I've completed or am working on, or things you'd like to see me do, please let me know by posting a comment.

Until next week,

M x