Paddington

I have finished knitting Paddington but not all of his gear. Since a fruitless search for wellies indicated I wouldn't have him ready for Christmas mail (and the accompanying books were too heavy to post) I am waiting until Eve is in the east to give him to her. I added black ears because the pattern left out his ears and I am still uncertain about the yellow hat (but that's the colour yarn I have). Here he is so far.

Bauble bling

Copper sparkle

Used a Spotlight leaflet to make some baubles for a Knitting secret santa gift. I used Moda Vera Tinka in green and Filati Bertagna Cometa in copper to make plain round baubles. The pattern was too loose and if I do it again I will adjust it.

Green sparkle

Present Projects

washcloths made from cotton, and bamboo/wool blend

Mercerized cotton bookmarks

I have finished three washcloths for my staff and half a dozen bookmarks for my book group. Paddington Bear is knitted but not sewn up or stuffed (and I still have to do his clothes) so I have done some of my Christmas knitting but whether it's all going to be completed in time is another story. So much for working my stash down though most of the stuff I have been working on I have had to go out and buy yarn specially. Only the bookmarks marked some knitting down and at just over 100m it was hardly significant!

Crocheted and knitted bookmarks

To Dye For (not knitting!)

Just had a brilliant weekend at Main Creek near Dungog. It was a quilting weekend with some teachers from school and others I didn't know. I am not a quilter but it sounded like fun: a weekend away to concentrate on craft, good food, beautiful surroundings and pleasant company. The plan was to dye fabric on the Saturday and make a bag on the Sunday. I did the dyeing but I wasn't convinced about the bag so ended up with an array of coloured material and knitted all Sunday, finishing one little Christmas project and making a bit of an impact on my Paddington Bear project. I'm thinking of knitting the dyed fabric after cutting it into strips. Watch this space on that one.

Finished!

Yay! I have finished Paul's cardigan. Knitted in Sean Sheep Prairie 100% wool in windchime colourway it's got a nice brushed wool finish (it's sold as suitable for felting). Of course yesterday Paul Bevan on ABC radio was having a go at cardigans particularly grey ones as being weatherman wear. And Paul was listening too. But he's still going to wear the cardigan (I think) but it'll be next year because it's too late in the year for it now.

Christmas knitting

Paul's cardigan is so almost finished. Just a little bit of buttonband to go and the rest of it is already sewn up. In the mean time I have started on my Christmas knitting. I have a $5 secret santa gift to do. I spent $4.18 on string and made a string bag. I now have an 82 cent budget to put something in the bag. I have a free Delicious magazine which came with another magazine, I am looking forward to the 82 cent challenge. My next projects will be bookmarks.

Word Clouds

Someone on Ravelry suggested making a word cloud from the words in one's blog. So I had a go at a couple of sites - Wordle and Tagxedo. These are the results:

Made with Tagxedo

Made with Wordle