Tag: Wreath

Just a short post this week, its been very much all go-go-go lately and I need a chance to catch up on some chill time and rest.

Although I did try that on Sunday and ended up spending all my time furiously crafting and boxing off a few projects. And starting a few too, But those will get shown once I get round to a little photoshoot…

Todays knit was a wedding gift for Mr and Mrs Ratman, who after a very long engagement, decided now was the time to get married. It was an a-meow-sing day, Mrs Ratman looked purr-fect, the weather held, everyone behaved, and no cat fights broke out.

A heart shaped wreath with two kitty silhouettes holding tails. The cats are knit following the free pattern Kittinpin! by Diane Trap and everything else was just wrapped with wool. I’m not kitten when I say this was very last minute – the idea only occurred to me the night before the wedding, hours before I was about to run a Cthulhu scenario.

I like to think I can still strike fear into my players hearts, even when frantically knitting little cats to go on a very cutesy heart shaped wreath.

And with that, till next post, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 18 (Up by two!)
Wool bought – 2
Wool given to me – 5 (3 for mothers day)
Wool gifted to others – 1 (yep, I gave away wool!)
Wool handspun – 6

Total – 836 (Net difference: -5)

Edit: Have had a very rough few days, so if I go AWOL that’s why. Car failed it’s MOT (£1k), boiler condemned (£2k and still no hot water or heating) and I have a suspicion I know what number three may be…

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When push came to love, I ended up doing a Valentines wreath for February.

I did toy with the idea of a heart shaped wreath full of flowers, so I could make some plant puns about how I was pine-ing fir some good ideas, if you would be-leaf it, but I didn’t.

I wanted to take this wreath to the nest level.

Anf you can’t fall fowl with lovebirds when it comes to romance and the rest of it. The lovebirds are knit following Songbird by Sara Elizabeth Kellner, which is an amazing free pattern that provides the base for any small bird of about that shape. Change some colours, do a little intarsia, and voila, it can be any bird you want it to be.

I have actually sort of knit this pattern before, as an Alice in Wonderlands Hammer bird and Pencil bird for Rabbies unbirthday party during lockdown.

But let’s stop fluttering around and get back to my wreath. Felix wrapped it, and used a lot of my scraps and even some odd balls of wool. The birds themselves knit up pretty quick after I spent ages trying to pick just the right colours, and the branch was a last minute addition – a bit of wire wrapped in yet another scrap of wool. It all came together really well, but not going to lie, the moment I hung that wreath up, I started to debate what my March wreath should be.

Suggestions welcome!

With that, I shall leave you to this swift post as it’s been a crazy busy week and this viking needs to chill out before more madness tomorrow…

Till next post, stay safe.

Starting total – 841

Wool used – 7 (Up by three!)
Wool bought – 2
Wool given to me – 1
Wool gifted to others – 0
Wool handspun – 6

Total – 843 (Net difference: +2)

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And picking fruit…

Its that time of year where the different berry gluts are overlapping with the other delights from the garden and beyond. In particular, the beginning of apple season! And so, to commemorate this:

A summer harvest wreath! I am aiming to eventually have one a month, but it’s going to be a several year long progress as I wait for inspiration to strike. With this wreath, I only used one actual pattern, Blackberry by Lesley Stanfield, and everything else was just winged. I also wanted to add a little touch of sparkle and texture so raided the bead collection for the seeds of the strawberries and the berries of the blackberries and raspberries!

It does make me hungry though looking at it…

In other knitting news, I have finished one of my multiple projects and subsequently started two more. Unfortunately I can’t share what I’ve made for a while yet, but when I can, I will!

I’m not going to cover the non knitting news this week because a lot has been going on – nothing bad-bad, just a lot of little things all going on at once.

Life is just going far too fast!

Until next week, stay safe!

Wool Count

Starting total – 843

Wool used – 57 (1 since last update!)
Wool bought – 23
Wool given to me – 29
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 3

Total – 840 (Net difference: -3!!!)

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As I type this, curled on the sofa, sipping lemon and ginger tea and nibbling at my chocolate easter egg, I can say for certain that I needed this long weekend.

Its been a relaxed one, playing with the kids, doing crafts and reading and playing games, and with lockdown easing, been able too see people at the park and talk to them without that sense of guilt hanging over me…

We’ve had local Easter Trails and today I made a little indoor easter egg hunt that the kids demolished through in less time than I took to set it up…the weather has been good and it actually feels like spring, with changes just on the horizon, and that feeling of positivity beginning to creep in.

I also finished an impulse knit – sort of – in five days given that it had a weeks deadline, so I’m pretty pleased. I want to eventually have a wreath for the window for every month, and last year managed a spring wreath, two Halloween wreaths and a Remembrance wreath. Easter was definitely one of the ones to make, and last week I decided to just go ahead and make it.

Its an eclectic mix of patterns, all free, there’s Springtime Wreath, Daffodils, Small Knitted Dogwood Blossoms (which I tweaked the colours of to make Periwinkles), Forget-me-nots, a cute pair of Square bunnies and of course, the Easter Egg.

Its bright, its colourful, its silly, it used a ton of little scraps, and its what I needed.

So I hope your all having a great weekend, regardless of whether you participate in the chocolate goodness and silliness of Easter like I do, and that your keeping safe. Till next week!

Wool Count

Starting total – 897

Wool used – 40 (5 this week)
Wool bought – 0
Wool given to me – 0
Wool gifted to others – 1
Wool handspun – 8

Total – 864

(Squee! If I keep this up, I will be able to justify buying two sweaters quantities of yarn that I really want for a pair of projects!)

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Not going to lie, this is my favourite time of the year for me and the rest of us spooky loving folks! Despite this, I had a bit of a slump this past few weeks. Crumble had gone missing for two weeks and when she finally limped home she had a large chunk of flesh missing from the back of her leg and was terrifyingly skinny. Trip to the vets (something else that has been affected by Covid-19 – I have to drop her off and talk to the vet on the phone whilst sat in the car, surreal) and antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and double dinners and this week she’s getting back to being the Queen of the house. She’s still a shadow of her former self, but I can see that fierce little spark coming back.

As well as this, I’ve hit a slump at work. It’s the new normal. I don’t like it. Nothing is how it should be and everyday I keep thinking I’ve got it and I just haven’t. But a routine is being formed, and seeing other people returning to work and going through the same rollercoaster of emotions is actually reassuring.

And what else has Covid-19 and the lockdown restrictions affected? Halloween. No trick or treating. No house parties. No spooky disco at my little ones school (which was also the only event I actually volunteered to help with…)

Crumbles second vet trip and clean bill of health (wound still healing, but it’s clean and it’s already 1/4 the size it was) and seeing the kids ability to just accept whatever the world throws at them and keep going has inspired me to do the same.

We’ll get there. We will. It’ll be different but we’ll make it work.

And Halloween? I just get to go nuts on decorating and enjoying the spooky atmosphere with my little family unit! There’s even talk of a Skype party! So to get in the holiday spirit…

I still haven’t made my summer or autumn wreaths, but that can be done later, for now, let’s have Jack Skellington grinning at the world outside my window! I found a cross stitch chart that I based his head on. The bowtie I just winged. The cat head is ‘Kitty Cat Head’ by Sara Elizabeth Kellner from her book ‘Knits for Kitties’ and the pumpkins are a free pattern – Pumpkin Napkin Rings by Lily / Sugar’n Cream.

Till next week, stay safe guys!

Wool Count

Starting total – 704

Wool used – 125 (3 this week)
Wool bought – 28 (There was a ‘yarncident’ and I ‘accidentally’ bought an adorable hand dyed mini skeins set to make myself something cute! 10 mini skeins in total)
Wool given to me – 301
Wool gifted to others – 7
Wool handspun – 15 (4 have been used! 5 gifted)

Total – 910

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