Another bunny blanket, and a gift...

Here is another small bunny blanket that I knitted recently, this time for charity. It will go to PreemiesUK as they are having a sale at Easter and this might suit the theme. It's hard impossible to tell from the photo, but the colour is a pale lemon. I think that is perfect for an Easter bunny; more perfect than for a baby unless it likes the jaundiced look.

The pattern came from Ravelry. It is a free pattern, but you might need to register and log in to view it. It would be fairly easy to adjust the pattern if you wanted to turn it into a cat or dog.

Another photo that suffered from our lack of real daylight at this time of year is:

These woven towels are a rich shade of terracotta. They were handmade on a loom and sent to me by Joanne who writes the Cup on the Bus blog. This a chatty blog written by a feisty lady and well worth a visit. Thanks for the gift, Joanne; they are really well made. I don't think I own anything else that has been hand-crafted to such a high standard. The colour actually suits my kitchen which is basically cream with a few pops of terracotta in the vain hope of making it feel warmer. I can't complain too much about the weather though. Our thin layer of snow this week is nothing compared to what is happening in other parts of the world.

Oh...and as for the big, thick, pink wool. I managed to knit a square measuring about 18" x 18". I will probably donate it to the first family member to have a baby. It is beautifully thick and would make a nice liner for a pram. Here is another photo that doesn't do anything justice!

I don't know what went wrong with photo. It looks like the bottom edge is wonky, but it really isn't.

I thought I hadn't achieved much this week. But, reading this back, I'm satisfied, especially as I tend to hibernate at this time of year!

A lovely surprise...

Just look at the lovely journal I won recently in a giveaway hosted by Vicki of the 2bagsfull blog.  It is beautiful on the inside and on the outside with flowers and butterflies on a blue background.  

Vicki gave away several different journals and amazingly chose my favourite colour. That has been blue ever since I was about four years old and had a little blue summer dress.  I was so upset, incensed and incredulous when I outgrew it that my mother had to let down the hem to make it long enough to last another few months.  I wish I still had that dress.  I bought a very similar one when my daughter was four.  At primary school I chose blue binca material for my very first sewing project.  When I was fifteen and started a Saturday job, I bought a blue leather pencil case which I still have today.  The first party outfit I bought for myself was a blue maxi skirt and I still wear a lot of blue.  We recently had a few days away driving around Yorkshire and the Peak District.  When we were on the less scenic motorways, it was always the blue cars that caught my attention.  Did I mention that I like blue?!

I see a lot of giveaways being hosted by generous bloggers all over the world.  I usually resist entering those that are too far away because of the postage costs.  But I simply had to try to win one of these pretty journals and Vicki paid a small fortune in postage from Kentucky.  We think postage is expensive in the UK,  but it is even dearer in other countries!  Thank you, Vicki.

So when my journal arrived yesterday, I was genuinely delighted.  I will put it to good use.....maybe to record favourite books and authors.....unless I can think of something better.

Vicki's blog is well worth a visit.  She crafts for pleasure and for charity and hosts annual blog parties. You won't be disappointed!

PS: here is a photo of me wearing the famous dress.  This was in the early days of colour photography, so it doesn't really do justice to the lovely shade of sky blue.  I am on the left squinting at the sun....which probably has a lot to blame for my poor eyesight. But that is another story!  

I can actually remember this particular photo being taken.  We had just moved from a very poor part of London to a slightly more leafy area.  This was the local park.  We are standing in front of a tennis court where I used to play into my mid-twenties.  We are all dressed up, so this could even have been my birthday.

...and the winner is.....

Thanks to everyone who entered my Big Birthday Giveaway.  There were 36 entries including the double entries that were awarded to my followers.  I love blogging and I wish everyone could have been a winner.  But, this time, the lucky recipient is Gillian of the hookin' A yarn blog.  Gillian blogs about her crochet, knitting and quilting and peppers her posts with lovely photos.  

I know I said I would choose the winner at 9am UK time.  I'm about 2 hours early as I was woken up by a beautiful sunrise on this first day of my birthday month.  I wrote all the entries on a piece of paper and asked Hubby to close his eyes and point at it.   He happily obeyed and it was a whole ten minutes before he asked what he had just pointed at! 

 Happy August to all my readers!

(Gillian, please could you let me know your postal address.  Thanks, Una, uomalley82@yahoo.co.uk)

My Big Birthday Giveaway...

I will be celebrating a big birthday in August, the big 60! It is a number I find very hard to believe.  I don't know why.  All my misconceptions about being 30, 40 and 50 should have prepared me.  

When I was in my twenties I thought that 50 was really old. That birthday was an eye-opener as I was still firing on all cylinders with a full time job and a very demanding young daughter.  Now that I am approaching 60, I am working only 1 day per week and that same daughter has finished university, left home, started a new job and met a lovely young man.  Such a lot has happened in the last 10 years.  I don't know how I am supposed to feel, but it isn't old.  I think the word "excited" is a better description.

Plans are in progress for how to celebrate this milestone with family and friends.  I couldn't leave out my virtual blogging friends.  I've been lucky enough to win some giveaways since I started blogging and I have been on the lookout for some items to make up a tempting giveaway worthy of a Big Birthday.

Here they are:

• a Cath Kidston notebook
• a tin for storing buttons or other knick knacks
• 5 lovely buttons covered with Fair Trade fabric
• an owl keyring from Oxfam in support of independent artisans in India
• a 50g ball of Jaegar Spiral-spun double knitting wool in a heather shade

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on my blog and some way of contacting you.  This giveaway is open to everyone anywhere in the world.  My last giveaway was won by a blogger in New Jersey.  Any entrant who follows me via Bloglovin' or Google Friend Connect automatically wins a second entry.  

I originally planned to pick the winner on my actual birthday.  But I have been receiving some very heavy hints that I am being whisked away on the special day and I probably won't have access to the Internet.  So I will draw the winning entry at 9 a.m. UK time on August 1st.

Good luck!

My mission hits the buffers...

Well, my mission to use up all my 4 ply yarn has hit the buffers.  I have finally realised how far a ball of 4 ply yarn will go.  I gathered together some small oddments and actually managed to knit 6 hats and a scarf.  I held two strands of 4 ply together and knit the Aran pattern Be Loving by Melissa Simpson.  This is a lovely, easy pattern and the finished hat can be worn with the brim up or down.

I enjoyed combining different colours to create a variegated effect. To keep my interest going, I played around with different stripe patterns.  I even experimented by using a tiny remnant of beige yarn to cast on the brown hat at the top of the picture.  I had just enough left to knit the first row and I really like the way it looks when the brim is turned up.  I might use that design feature again on future hats.

I also knitted a simple pink stripy scarf by just repeating blocks of garter stitch.

Apart from a few balls of white baby yarn, I know I have NEVER knowingly purchased 4 ply yarn.  All this came to me mainly as donations from generous bloggers, Freecyclers and Ravelry members. 

I still have plenty of 4 ply yarn left and I will slowly work my way through it.  But I stopped when my shoebox was full enough to send off to Operation Orphan.  I heard that they have a lorry full of donated items going to Nepal this month.  I'm hoping I haven't missed it.  But, if I have, there will always be another delivery.

*****My next post will be all about the giveaway I am planning to hold for my Big Birthday in August.  Watch this space for more details.*****

A lucky start to 2015...

I have had a lucky start to 2015.  Last weekend I went for a little drive around Kent with hubby.  We had no real plans and just stopped at places that interested us.  One of those was an ordinary house with a sign outside advertising vintage items and collectables.  We are both incapable of passing a sign like that without further investigation.  It turned out that a lady was making a few pounds by using her front room and garden to display items for sale.  

We were her only customers when we went in and possibly for the whole day as the weather was cold, wet and windy.  I looked around and then remembered to look down.  Sure enough, stuffed into a corner on the floor were a few bags of wool.  I showed great restraint and bought one bag of variegated yarn for £4.99.  It didn't look too promising as the bag was dusty and yellow with age.  But I was more than happy to support someone who was showing a bit of initiative and effort to make a living. Imagine my delight when I opened the bag later and found several balls of pristine grey and white yarn.  

I couldn't wait to make something with it.  I knew if I knitted with it there would just be lines of colour.  So I decided to crochet something and I am amazed at how lovely it is.  The colour changes are quite short so each change makes just one or two granny square clusters.  I'm not giving too much away at the moment, but the photo gives a little preview of the finished project.

My next piece of luck was to win a giveaway that was hosted by Maria of The Next Stage blog.  Maria lives in Australia and bought this little Kateryn Parr doll when she was on holiday in the UK.  I was the lucky winner and it arrived today.  By now it has travelled around the world TWICE.  But its travels are over.  As well as the usual baubles, I hang little stuffed toys on my Christmas tree each year and this will be on my tree next Christmas. Thanks, Maria.

I'm a lucky winner...

Here is the lovely pendant I won in a giveway hosted by Terri on her Cache-Mire blog. The link takes you to her page that describes all the work that goes into these handmade pendants.  

This pendant is a real work of art.  I can't believe I now own something that was made from Tallahassee pine needles.  The amber colour in the centre is exactly what I would have chosen.  I already have some amber earrings that I bought while on holiday in Poland and they all match beautifully.

Thank you, Terri, for your international giveaway.  It is probably the closest I will ever get to a transatlantic holiday!

............and the winner is

Well today is November 28th in my part of the world and I have just randomly drawn the winner of my Fair Trade giveaway.  The winner is Meghan of the Moby Knit blog.  

Meghan could you let me know your address.  I see you live in New Jersey where you are probably celebrating Thanksgiving Day today.  As we don't celebrate it in the UK, I had no idea of the importance of the date when I chose it as the end of my giveaway!!

I wish I could have given a little gift to all my followers.  Fret not, I have enjoyed it so much this year that I am planning to hold a giveaway every year.

Just a reminder of what will be winging its way very soon to Meghan:

I'm having a Fair Trade giveaway....

It's nearly a year since I started blogging about my adventures in knitting, crochet and sewing.  In that time I have met lots of lovely bloggers and had a lot of fun.  I was also lucky enough to win a couple of giveaways and to receive some donated yarn.  So, today I decided to host my own giveaway.  It is open to followers of my blog who live anywhere in the world.

The winner will receive the Fair Trade craft items as shown in the photo.  

• a beautiful zipped purse in shades of pink, purple and turquoise
• an elephant greetings card
• a hand knitted sheep ideal for hanging on a Christmas tree or in your craft room

All these items came from a Fair Trade shop in London's Soho.  The card was made in Nepal,  The sheep doesn't have a tag, but the sign in the shop said it was made in Peru.  The purse is also a Fair Trade hand crafted item, though I'm not sure which country it came from.

The important, boring bit:  to qualify for this giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog posting.  Your comment should let me know who you are and how you follow my blog.

The winner will be chosen at random.  The closing date for entries is November 28th and I will post the goodies soon after that.  

(Please note that if I am posting outside the UK and Europe, they might not arrive before Christmas.)

Good luck!!

A baby hat and jumper....

Way back in May I won a giveaway on Linda's Chalky's World blog.  Among the goodies that arrived were a ball of wool and a pattern for baby jumpers or cardigans.  There was enough wool to knit a whole jumper and most of a hat. 

 I actually finished knitting before the recent heatwave, but have been waiting for the right buttons.  I chose simple clear buttons and sewed them on very carefully as this jumper is going to a baby in Africa.  I'm always aware that life is tough where these charity knits go and replacing lost buttons is probably not high on anyone's list of priorities.

Both items are to fit age 0-3 months, but I don't expect they will be worn by the same baby.  Greenfields Africa delivers knitted clothing and blankets to children in Kenya and Uganda.  They have a truck leaving the UK in 3 weeks time so I'm going to post off these and other items tomorrow to make sure they are on it.

I loved the pattern.  I can't post a link as it is on paper.  But I have filed it away as I will definitely make it again.  I especially like the generous arm holes and buttons at the neck.  Memories of trying to dress my wriggling baby (while the health visitor watched) are still fresh in my mind after all these years!!

Just sharing my amazing giveaway....

I recently entered Linda's giveaway on her Chalky's World blog.  Linda is a talented crafter and photographer and her blog is well worth a visit.

I was amazed to win the giveaway and even more amazed when the parcel arrived this afternoon.  It was like several Christmases and birthdays rolled into one.

Here are the goodies all expertly and prettily wrapped:

and here they are after I had a ripping time opening them:

There was wool, patterns, material, recipes, cards and card-making accessories, notepaper, tissues, ribbon, a bookmark, cup cake accessories and straws, an owl and a crocheted burp cloth.  In fact the parcel was perfect for a crafter who also enjoys reading, baking and loudly celebrating the hay fever season!!!!!!  Pardon me while I drool.

I am already planning what to do with everything.  One of the knitting patterns is for a lovely baby jumper and I am itching to start it (or is that the hay fever?)  I have a big blanket  in progress at the moment and the jumper would be a nice little project.  I think I will be casting it on very soon.

Once again, a million thanks to Linda of Chalky's World.