Beehive tea cosy

This very cute tea cosy is gloriously old fashioned, fun to make, and continues the bee theme!
You can find the pattern in "Cute and easy knitting" on page 103. I used Duetto Stampe from Veritas, a cotton wool blend yarn. It's nice to work with and I think the colour and structure of the yarn suggest a hive really well. The flowers are crocheted and the bees knit with some yarn leftovers. The bee wings are made of net curtain fabric.
Nice hot cuppa anyone?

Upcycled not thrown out

Imagine, you spill some very yummy, very oily tomatoes on the cover of your very cheap ottoman. Yes, a big stain and a wash doesn't get it out. And I can't throw this thing away. So I sewed a new cover from some soft stretchy fabric I got from my mum, and I decorated it with a knitted and crocheted house, some flowers and a tree. It is actually this project that brought me back to knitting and crocheting all these years ago. Just trying out what I still remembered from school, and making my own design as I went along. Not a masterpiece, but very dear to me, this thing!

A woodland friend

This little friend, Rusty the squirrel, I knit around 5 years ago. He's made from a kit that came with the magazine Let's Knit (issue 83). As often, the yarn in this kit was dreadful, but I like Rusty and his fluffy tail came out very nice! Also, by knitting him, I learned some new techniques.
And we had a lot of fun taking the pictures!
Perhaps I will knit this pattern again in a nicer rustic yarn. Not sure about what yarn (non-acrylic) to use for the tail though. Anyone any ideas?

Always in need of more lavender bags

A wool lover with some stash always needs more lavender bags, because the lavender keeps away wool-eating moths. It also works very well for this pile of cotton patches.
This lavender bag I made from a piece of linen fabric from some old trousers. The embroidery I learned from an Afghan refugee teacher who was kind enough to come and teach our textile art group about the principles of Afghan Embroidery. To learn new techniques offers so many new possibilities. We should strive to learn from each other, there are so many fascinating people!

Stephen West's Itaca Shawl

Yes, I very recenly finished this shawl, yay! It is a Stephen West design, called the Itaca Shawl. You can buy the pattern here.
I used Fyberspates Gleem Lace, which is 55% superwash Bluefaced Leicester Wool and 45% Silk (800m/100 grams, so very thin yarn). I bought it in a truly great shop : Wool-on-the-Exe in Exeter. If you're ever in Exeter, do go there!
The other yarn, the white one, is a very rustic 100% wool. It was given to me without specifications, no weight, no yardage. I just thought the two yarns would match so I got on with it.
Because of the completely different yarns (one soft and manageable, one rustic and much less manageable) I used, the shape of the shawl was, when finished, a little odd. I loved the look of the fabric, but to be honest, it was hard to find a way this shawl could be worn at all… But no worries, the pattern says to wash the shawl and then stretch the fabric extremely and that did the trick!
"Simple garter stitch plus simple shaping makes a simply beautiful and casual shawl!", I couldn't agree more!
And notice I added glass beads, which I think are lovely!

It's finished! (And I'm showing of a bit...)

Before blocking and stretching : The white and purple yarns react completely different to the pattern.

Before blocking and stretching : beautiful texture, not so nice to wear

Nicely stretched : softer and bigger shawl

Knitting pictures...always lovely!!

Chunky tweed slippers

This is a pattern I have used twice, because I found the construction of the slippers really fun. At first it looked rather complicated, but the shaping of the slippers happens quite easily and naturally.
the pattern is from the book 'Knitted and crocheted slippers' by Alison Howard. There's lots of great, lovely, unusual footwear in this book. I'll make some more in the future!
For the pair in the photos I used Schachenmayr Boston wool and acrylic blend and acrylic leftover yarn in different colours held double for the soles, which makes them quite durable.
The slippers are really warm and cosy, lovely and fun to wear.

cosy and warm!

 with sturdy soles:

Winter Wonderland scarf

I made this scarf from a piece of fleece fabric sewn together with a cool, smooth, supple fabric. The decorations are embroidered merino yarn and various kinds of beads. On the reverse side I embroidered some subtle stars with small beads. The scarf makes me think of Russian fairy tales, winter wonderland and magical icy landscapes.

                            

A gingerbread man for the festive season

I love gingerbread men, both the edible and the decorative ones! This one I made to serve as a Christmas decoration, from pieces of felt sewn together with feston stitch, some beads, thread and ribbon. 

hmmm I think I should soon plan to bake some real ones...

Upcycling Christmas bulbs

We had a box in the attic with very ordinary silvery Christmas bulbs that we no longer used. I decided to upcycle them, make them more special by adding decorations with woolen thread and small beads. Then I put them in homemade paper boxes that I had also decorated. The bulbs were sold for charity. I still think of them sometimes and hope they make a Christmas tree beautiful somewhere!

Pockets on a string

I was looking for something useful I could make from the patches I got practising crocheting and using up my yarnscraps. At the same time I found myself inspired by the dangerous pockets project, by Paula MacGregor and this poem by Sharon Owens :

Dangerous Coats

Someone clever once said
Women were not allowed pockets
In case they carried leaflets
To spread sedition
Which means unrest
To you & me
A grandiose word
For commonsense
Fairness
Kindness
Equality
So ladies, start sewing
Dangerous coats
Made of pockets & sedition

It is true, womens garments often don't have useful pockets and to carry a handbag just isn't handy all 

the time. So I thought, what about pockets on a string? Little bags for phone, keys, card, a bit of money, so you have the little things you need close at hand, but also freedom of movement!

Making these pockets, I can try out different techniques, different materials (some recycled fabric and yarn leftovers), adding haberdashery, tassels, and so on, which I think is a lot of fun!!