Linaloo

This year's Christmas cards

We're Ed Emberley fans here and our first introduction to his books was through our local library where we found a copy of his first thumbprint drawing book from 1977.  His website is fun too and includes an excellent holiday activity page here.

His thumbprint art (and an image somewhere on flickr that I can no longer find) was the inspiration for this year's Christmas cards.   A fun little activity with all the family joining in.

 

Done!  I have never been this early with my Christmas cards before.

Fru-cool Advent

It’s almost that time of year again!  Two years on and my advent calendar is still by far the most popular post on this blog and most ‘favourited’ photo on flickr.  In that time, the pattern has been published in Better Homes and Gardens and countless beautiful versions have sprung up everywhere I can think of!   What I particularly love is that everyone who has made one has added special personal touches and made it their own.  Surely that's the best thing about handmade? 

And if there's any doubt whether handmade is worth all the effort, I was listening to my daughter chatting to her friend in a shop recently when they were looking at chocolate advent calendars and I overheard her saying:   “My mum made us an advent calendar and its much cooler.”  Yay, success! A family heirloom I declare!!

Here’s a list of ideas that I’ve used  to fill the calendar in the past, and some excellent suggestions from Mel, Cassi and Grace too.  I'm hoping to post a few more no or low cost ideas in this space over the next few weeks.

New to me

A list of new things that are making me happy this week.

I found some excellent non fabric related thrifty scores at la fripe yesterday.  Vintage glass baubles and some bargain milk glass bud vases.  The idea of recycling someone's cast offs never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I am really enjoying the hilarious, very clever and new to me, Tim Minchins (best listened to out of the range of children).  Introduced to me via Monda.  My particular favourite here.

I am being sucked into the geeky side of Ravelry - I've recently spent time logging my knitting needle sizes into my profile details.  Seriously.

I found an amazing new yarn store last week with a friend.  I'm knitting a hat and scarf with Merino (as suggested by owner of said new yarn store when I told him of my aversion to itchy wool) which is so so soft. 

I'm excited about my first ever photography course which started last week, my teacher is amazing.  I have an assignment already.  Still life, shooting in RAW and using a tripod.

Done and done

In knitting news, after starting these in June and largely due to being at home under the weather and unable to shift a bad cold this past week, I have finally finished my lace "spring forward" socks.  They are riddled with mistakes, more zag than zig in some places, more zig than zag then others. But they're socks, so I don't mind. I'd like to believe that anyone who would question the randomness of their pattern would be suitably impressed by the fact I had knitted them myself and overlook their quirkiness.  
What I've learned from my first attempt at a lace pattern is that my ability to concentrate on details is pretty poor whilst watching TV/hanging out at my children's skating lessons.  I had romantic notions how they might be a wonderful portable knitting project I could take anywhere with me, but I kept losing my place in the pattern and, rather infuriatingly, the odd needle here and there too. 

After the knitting equivalent of Proust, I feel like I need a little chicknit to lighten things up a little.  As soon as I'm well enough for a trip to the wool shop...

P.S.  Imene just interviewed me on her blog today. Read it to find out my real name and favourite swear word!