Christmas Elephants - My Christmas Rush

I am being a bit ironic calling this my Christmas rush, as I have not had many orders this year. Not all bad though, as it has given me time to get on with my husband's present. All will be revealed at Christmas, if I can get him to do some modelling. But I was really pleased to get this order for some personalised Christmas elephant decorations.

I would still like the elephant to become the new fashionable decoration for Christmas. I did see some felted elephant decorations in a shop recently, so maybe the word is spreading.

These elephants are now on the way to Canada, and I was really happy to add the personalisation of names embroidered on the back. It is nice to think of another family building up their collection of Christmas decorations. I can't wait to get mine out this year.

So if you fancy making some Christmas Elephants for yourself, you can find the pattern in ravelry, Etsy or LoveKnitting. Or if you would like me to make some for you, although they aren't listed in my shop, but just send me a message.

Just a reminder that there is still plenty of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for December. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Ginx Woolly Linx Party December

Well I am a little late this month getting the party started. Lovely to see all your projects, and clearly it is not too early for Christmas projects now, since we are in December. So just go for it.

My features for November have already put me in a seasonal mood, and there are some good gift ideas here.

Michaela of The Art Deco has shown this gorgeous little beaded purse. So cute, I can think of lots of people who would love one of these.

Analia of Handmade by Analia's little sleepy dog looks so peaceful. 

Aria of Be Glad (who is just 15) has knitted a stunning snowdrift blanket. What an amazing piece of knitting.

And finally, this is one for my to do list. Just love this fair isle bag from Jo of Three Stories High. I love fair isle, and she has given it a lovely pink lining.

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Art Deco Dress

I haven't written much about sewing for a while, but thought you might like to see my daughter's school art project. She insisted on editing the photos.

This is her final piece in an A-level art project. She printed the material with a lino cut. The theme of the project was art deco, and she decided to make her fabric into an art deco inspired dress.

Her bravery always amazes me, and I have to say that nearly every bit of advice I offered was ignored. "Buy a pattern" "V-shaped necks are difficult" "A v-shaped waistband will be tricky"  All ignored!

So despite my advice, she has made this beautiful dress, and without a pattern. She made the top initially out of calico and "shock" sellotape, so she could desconstruct it to make the pattern pieces for the printed fabric. It is all fully lined as well.
  

The photos are taken in the stairwell of our flat. The metal railing seem the perfect match to the gold print on the fabric. Though we were both keeping a look out for anyone coming in, ready to dodge back into our flat.

Just a reminder that there are still is still a little bit of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for November. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Is It Too Early?

I think the answer to that question is probably "yes". Too early to be thinking of shopping, and I am very happy to have a husband who takes the lead with cooking. But perhaps not too early if you are thinking of making some Christmas decorations.

I am trying to design a pattern for a new Christmas decoration - which may not be done in time for this year. I would definitely put it in the non-traditional category, with my Christmas Elephants, Shells and Sand Dollars.

So I thought I would just make a collage of some of my other Christmas patterns. I love using the Layout app to put pictures together. Patterns for all of these Christmas ornaments can be found in my shops, with links to the patterns in ravelry in the lefthand sidebar.

Just a reminder that there are still is still plenty of time left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for November. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Ginx Woolly Linx Party November

Welcome to the November Ginx Linx Party. Remember you can join at any time in the month, so you can always link up a project and then call back later in the month. I wonder when the first Christmassy project will appear.

In October there were a lot of lovely projects to look at.

Michaela of The Art Deco has a crochet pattern for these delicious looking donuts. Some superb photos to help with the making of them.

Con Hilos, Lanas y botones has made this beautiful red shawl. Very intricate stitches, and the red leaves are perfect for Autumn.

I liked this advice from Gema of Hebra de Lana showing how to knit your socks and sleeves at the same time using the magic loop method. I can't quite get to grip with magic loop, but am knitting both arms of a cardigan at the same time.

Alexandra of Eye Love Knots has give us a pattern for another Autumn item, this lovely acorn washcloth.  

And finally Lalka Crochetka has made these adorable little owls. I am in love with them. Lovely shades of grey, they look so soft and cuddly.

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2CV Cushion

I've been working away for so long on this pattern, but am really happy with the final result. Not at all my usual style, but I keep just looking at it and smiling. I nearly published the pattern a few weeks ago, with just the front view, which I had intended to sew onto a fabric back. But once I had had the idea for the back view, I just had to do it. 

So this pattern contains the charts for the back and front, and a smaller chart for the chevron corners. Then there is an explanation of how I used them to make this cushion. But you could use them for other projects. I do really fancy the idea of a jersey for my husband with a car on the front and back. Probably not enough time to do this for Christmas. Other ideas are possibly to make a car rug incorporating it, or perhaps a scarf for those breezy ride in your 2CV with the roof open.  Would love to hear if you make a cushion, or use it in another way.

I have called this pattern hard, which might be a reflection of the fact that I have not done a lot of work like this. If you are used to intarsia knitting from charts you might find it fairly easy. The wool is only carried across the back behind the wheels and on the striped roof. You can end up with a few colours on the go at once. I found the best way was to try not to worry about this, but then every so often just turn the work over, and do a bit of untangling.

The pattern for this cushion will be available in all my shops, ravelry, Etsy and Loveknitting. I've also decided to put this cushion in my Etsy shop. Pricing is going to be tricky, as it has taken me weeks of work. Don't tell anyone, but I might be quite happy if it doesn't sell, and I can keep it! 

Just a reminder that there are still a few days left to join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for October. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.

Ginx Woolly Linx Party October

Hello, and welcome to the party. There is a autumn feel in my bit of the world, and it is time to sit all cosy by the fire with a nice crafting project. Actually I can now do this, as my new home has a real fireplace. I haven't used it yet, but the day may come quite soon.

The features I have picked from September are:

First of all this adorable baby mobile from Mimi of Mimi Swan. Very cute and with instructions of how to make one yourself.

Marmita of Au Fils de Marmita has just retired. I really like her case for her crochet hooks, which she might need to take with her on new adventures.

Rachel of The Philospher's Wife had knitted this very cosy swirl hat. I think we may all need something like this for the winter.

And finally Nephi-Handmade has made a very cool crochet camera strap.  Sometimes the only way to get something perfect is to make it yourself.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Remember if you were picked as a feature you can put the "I was featured" button on your blog.