Almost Christmas... but still time for a bit of crafting!

So since last time I've not had a huge amount of time for crafts - my 6 month old keeps me very busy with an array of baby classes. I have managed to make an elephant and get her involved in crafts though!

Firstly, the elephant. Now I discovered some time ago whilst my baby naps I can crochet. She doesn't tend to nap without a cuddle, and if she doesn't nap gets very grouchy, so being able to crochet whilst she does so is a huge bonus!

I was at the international knitting and stitching show a few weeks back with my best friend, and Toft had a stall there. They sell luxury alpaca wool and also created the Edward's menagerie series of toys. I've liked them for a while, and now have someone to make them for! So I bought the book and some silver wool and set about creating Bridget the elephant. She didn't take long to make at all, and was very easy too. I'm rather happy with the end result, and the wool was lovely to work with. I'd highly recommend them, even for a complete beginner.  Here's a picture:

The other thing I've done recently is some painting with my daughter at a Christmas baby class. It was run by Rainbow Rhyme, a local baby class, and was great fun! There were songs, different musical instruments, and in the middle a creative bit. I was sceptical as to what a 6 month old could do, but they had some inspiration of how to turn footprints into Christmas artwork. Below are the resulting pictures - I actually think they're pretty good! (Yes, I'm one of those parents now that thinks whatever their child does is amazing!) It's amazing what sticking on a few googly eyes can do!

Anyway, this will (unsurprisingly, given the date) be the last post before Christmas so I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends, and I'll be back in the new year when hopefully I'll have finally finished those bags I keep mentioning...

Crafting can be like buses...

So, after not much crafting in the months after becoming a mum, I seem to have been on a roll over the past week or so! And I even managed to finish a project that has been in progress for about 2 years - a heart bauble. Now to work on the rest of the ongoing projects... Though in true me style I wrote this last month and forgot to publish it! Oops.

So one thing I've made progress on is the bag I've been making. It turned out I'd cut a couple of pieces out the wrong way (if I'd used them the elephants wouldhave been on their side!) so I've rectified that. I've also managed to make the inside pockets. There are formed by sewing the rectangle so the wrong side can't be seen, then creating a box pleat in the middle when attaching it to the lining:

So back to the bauble. This might have been a bit ambitious - I started it with little colour work experience, and no experience of double pointed needles. On the plus side, being worked in the round meant minimal seems to sew up! Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad, but I must admit making several mistakes and getting rather frustrated, hence why it took so long to finish! Here's a picture of it in progress, working in the round:

I discovered when I'd nearly finished that the right side was supposed to be facing outwards. Perhaps that would have meant the joins between the needles would have left fewer gaps... Should have mentioned - the pattern is from a book called 'Knit your heart out' which is a collection of heart patterns all worked in the round. The instructions weren't most clear in places, but I eventually worked it out with a bit of help from the Internet!

The resulting piece is one that isn't my finest piece of knitting, but still something that will be proudly placed on my Christmas tree (though perhaps towards the back!). Here's the finished item:

Once I'd finished that, I decided I wanted to finish something a bit easier so chose to start a new decoration - this time a stocking from a free magazine kit. This was much more straightforward, though I managed to forget a colour change so it's not perfect! It was however quick to knit, meaning I could finish it whilst my daughter slept (on me - she rarely stays asleep when I put her down).

Here's the finished item:

Anyway I think that's enough for now, next time I'll hopefully have finished those bags I mentioned in my post way back in 2014...