Christmas is coming......

I've been a little preoccupied of late.....planning and organising for our super duper, fabulicious news which I received back here.......the most wonderful of wonderfullest Christmas surprises for my Angels....so I haven't really had the time to pop into my blog and record the things that are making me happy just now.....although, as its a s u r p r i s e I can't really put anything about what I've been up to on my blog anyway.....just in case one of my delightful Angels just happened to check up on my blog and all was exposed just a little too early.....but it is good.....it is worth the wait....all will be revealed s o o n....I promise.

But now it's December, the magical big C.....Christmas can full-heartedly be talked about. Every year for the last 12 years (bar one) I've made advent calendars for my four Angels....I prefer handmade and customised calendars to the commercialised shop-bought a-choc-a-day type of calendar.....I include little pressies, sweeties, and a chocolate coin or two, but also items to evoke the Christmas atmosphere......little bundles of cinnamon sticks, tiny parcels of cloves, small sprigs of christmas tree, holly and ivy, a decoration, maybe a christmas poem I've penned....you get the picture.......

Big Lad's Advent Calendar 2010

What started out as a special little treat for two Angels, has now turned into quite a major undertaking, not to mention quite costly......it requires quite a lot of planning in plenty of time for the 1st of December, and even though I try to make at least half of the items, that still leaves half to buy.....and since I have four Angels it all adds up quickly......and we haven't even got to Christmas proper!

And so it is for two reasons this year......all the planning and organising for our Christmas surprise, and the cost.......that I sadly decided to forgo my handmade calendars and give my Angels a much cheaper and quicker alternative......a-choc-a-day advent.....Sorry Angels......but I promise it WILL all be worth it!!!

I actually thought the Angels would quite like the change of calendars this year......a chocolate every day for 24 days......but although they were obviously happy they had advent calendars, it was Little Lad who voiced his (and I suspect everyone's) disappointment at not having one of Mummy's special calendars.....it really tugged at my heartstrings......initially, because I hadn't stretched myself just that little bit more to find the time and the money......secondly, because it made my heart sing that they did actually prefer mine.....and lastly, because in just a few days I can at last reveal why our Christmas is going to be so special this year.....yay!

But while I haven't been thinking about and planning and organising advent calendars this year, I have been  thinking about.....and making.......lots of teeny tiny hearts......

Now I've not yet crocheted a blanket....it's on my wish list of things to do.....I will get there eventually......so I can only imagine what it must be like to sew all those straggly little ends in.....just the thought of all those little tails on my hearts filled me with dread.....

But needs must and all, so I set to and threaded, weaved, and snipped till all the teeny tiny hearts were tail free.....

Such a colourful little pile of strands.....not to be wasted mind.....I'm saving them till the spring, then I'll pop them outside on a warm, calm day for the birds to help themselves.....a little helping hand with their nest building.....

So now tail-free, they need to be made into something pretty.....

Ooooohhh, I know......lots of little strings of bunting.....

....just perfect for Christmas decorations and presents.....

Happy Advent!

-xx-

Birthday Bunting & Cute Cosies.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!......It's my very good friend M's birthday today.....but sadly she's not the happiest of people at the mo.......her husband is in hospital and she has worries on her mind.....so any little minute I've not been keeping her company, I've been secretly whipping up these little treats for her new kitchen.......birthday bunting for the pantry....

and cute cosies for her new egg cups......

They're only little things, but I hope they brightened her day a little......and maybe bring her a little joy and a smile when she sees them each day.

I hope with all my heart, M gets some good news from the hospital tonight.....it would be the best birthday present ever for her.

Happy Birthday M!

-xx-

Happy Birthday & Happy Hooking.....

It's our friend Big Miss A's birthday today......HAPPY BIRTHDAY!......so I got my hook out on Tuesday and rustled this up for her.......

I haven't picked up my hook since the school holidays started......it was really enjoyable to feel it in my hands again, the yarn being drawn through my fingers, the calm rhythm of hooking......so peaceful and soothing.


I'm relatively new to crochet.....well, I say new.....my Nana actually taught me when I was a little girl....she taught me many things, my wonderful Nana.....I used to sit for hours at her feet, sewing buttons onto facecloths, sorting the buttons into sizes, colours, etc.....my Pop made me a finger knitting doll from an old wooden cotton reel and some nails.....then my Nana taught me to finger or french knit. Anyway, I digress .....my Nana taught me to crochet when I was little, but then knitting took over, and I completely forgot how to do it.....then in my late twenties I asked my Nana to crochet me a blanket....something to occupy her really.....I bought the yarn and had high hopes for a cuddly, cosy blanket.....by now though, I think she was really past producing something on this scale......so I asked her to teach me to crochet instead, so I could complete the blanket myself, and not waste the yarn. I picked it up quite quickly, my old memories brought back to the fore.....and I completed that lovely blanket..... unfortunately, as time has gone by, my tastes have changed, and the colours are less than appealing to me now.....but I still have the blanket, stored away.....think it's about time to bring it out into the light of day again though.


Anyway, after finishing it, life kinda took over.....I had one Angel, then another.... and before I knew it, I had four darling Angels.....a crochet hook was never held again. Until quite recently that is......I had rather a stash of balls of yarn, all odds and sods that had been used for a variety of knitting projects over the years, and I decided it was time to get rid of them....use them up.....I had this idea that if I taught myself to crochet again, I could just make some little things like crocheted flowers to use as brooches or the like, which would use up my stash....AND....give me some pretty new brooches to boot. So I took a cruise around Amazon and bought this lovely book Cute and Easy Crochet which has easy to follow tutorial pictures for beginners, and some lovely patterns, including some easy flowers. Within minutes of starting, I was up and running.....well hooking actually....it feels like I was meant to hook....the skills my Nana taught me way back when must be somehow embedded in my brain ....I was surprised how much I enjoyed twisting and twirling that little hook.....and produced several little flowers before you could say "by hook or by crook".....my poor fingers ached!

Then I saw a picture of some charming crocheted heart bunting in a magazine which really got me excited....I set to, searching the internet for patterns to make it....I did find the pattern I wanted here, which I haven't tried yet..... but I also came across a most delightful teeny tiny heart pattern and tutorial at Attic24....this incidentally opened my eyes to the world of blogging, of which I now hugely enjoy....both reading my favs .....and writing my own. But again, I digress....I was off.....teeny tiny hearts strung onto a ribbon of single crochet were popping up all over our house.....in the kitchen...

in the larder......using a slightly different heart pattern I found here.......

on the Miss' bedroom door.......

And of course, I couldn't leave my Lads out, so I thought little flags on a string of single crochet would be more appropriate for their bedroom door......

And strung in the bathroom too.......

Then the third issue of MollieMakes dropped through my letterflap with gorgeous teeny tiny flowers and butterflies.....so they were made with some teeny tiny hearts....and strung onto a ribbon of single crochet.....a gift for my friend S, for her new campervan.......

Which brings me back to Tuesday....enjoying the feel of a hook again, the soothing rhythm of hooking. I'd love to make a gorgeous snuggly ripply blanket like Lucy's here....but it would use just soooo much yarn....and I have rather a penchant for deliciously soft, cosy, natural yarn.....the thought of all the necessary pennies makes my eyes water......that ripply blankie will just have to wait for now....I'll have to stick with the pretty flowers like Big Miss A's, and teeny tiny bunting.

-xx-