Little Cotton Rabbits

Done!

Time for a quick family portrait before they all go their separate ways.

Off to rest my fingers and have a cuppa!

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PS: better individual photos over on flickr

Christmas jigsaw

Where is November going? Has anyone else found that it seems to have had less days than it should have?

I had hoped to do a new calendar design for 2011 but have had to abandon that idea for this year. I'd also hoped to have my little christmas batch of animals ready by now, but at the moment most of them are still waiting for various limbs etc. It's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle working out which legs to put with which head and then which dress or jumper suits them best.

I'm determind though to get them all done by the end of this week, so I had better go and get on with it! Will email the mailing list with details soon (I hope!) and in the meantime best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends in the USA.

"a bird in the hand...

...is worth two in the bush" as the saying goes. But I've already got 2 birds in my hands today because I've finished the mittens and I'm chuffed to bits with them.

Knitting the Madeline Tosh Vintage yarn on 2.5mm needles really makes them thick and warm and the gorgeous tonal range of the yarn really does Kate's beautiful pattern justice. I love the secret little bird on the inside of each thumb and the design seems fairytale like, so it seemed appropriate to take them into the woods for their first outing.

Though I did have to keep checking over my shoulder to make sure Mr Wolf wasn't sidling up behind me through the trees!

It's a really lovely pattern and I'd definitely recommend it. If you're put off by knitting in the round or by the estonian braids then take a look at my ravelry page for some cheats and tips.

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PS: I had an email from a dear friend with a request:

Kate and Gerry McCann are looking for people to sign a petition that they hope will result in an independent review of Madeleine's case - the text of Gerry's letter follows.  I was wondering if you'd be able to highlight this in your next blog and give a link to the petition so that your readers can sign up?  As you know, I struggle with physical pain most days but the pain of losing your child, wondering what has become of them, being vilified in the press - Julie, I think that would drive me mad.  Consequently I feel I should do anything I can to help them ... so I do hope you don't mind me turning to you once again. The link to the petition is:

 

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/madeleinemccann_case_review/signatures

If it's a cause that has resonance for you please take a moment to sign the petition - you can visit their website too which details the history of Madeleine's disappearance three and a half years ago. Thanks x

Autumny part two

I've just treated myself to some new yarn - Madeline Tosh Vintage in Antler and Tart*. It may be eye-wateringly expensive, but my goodness it is gorgeous!

Vibrantly rich in colour

with a lovely plied twist

and perfect for a pair of lovely mitts to keep my hard-working fingers toasty and warm on those cold and frosty mornings that are just around the corner!

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* I bought mine from Loop

Autumny

Walks in the woods are definitely best at this time of year and Toby & I collected lots of different leaves on our walk last weekend. It got me thinking about hedgehogs and hibernation and made me want to come back home and get cracking on a little batch of autumny hedgehog pincushions with leaves on them.

I had lots of fun last year with shrinkle sheets and leaf shapes but couldn't find the sketches I made back then so I've made some new templates which you're welcome to use too.

Just trace them onto a shrinkle sheet (my favourite are the frosted ones - which make it easy to trace an image underneath), colour in with coloured pencils, punch a hole and bake them in the oven to shrink them into tiny little leaves. I use mine as pin toppers for the hedgehogs but they'd work as jewellery, keyrings or phone tags too.

Red & Green

It's tidy up time in my garden. The last of our potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and squash are gathered in for another year with just the parsnips left to be pulled after Christmas, as apparently they grow sweeter after a couple of frosts. I'm left with a bowl of green tomatoes which will probably get turned into chutney.

Around the rest of the garden greens are turning to reds - I do love autumn leaves.

There's even a spot of green and red knitting going on inside. I'm really enjoying playing around with new ideas for a batch of nordic animals which will be ready to find new homes in time for Christmas.

Next week it's forecast to be turning colder and I'm looking forward to getting our fire stoked up and curling up with my wool. Hope you have a snuggly weekend!