The finished article

(For the 'work in progress' pic of this piece, see Have Yarn, Will Travel!) And by finished article or work in progress I mean, of course, the jumper rather than my sister.

The jumper was crocheted using a Mission Falls pattern (but not yarn) and was a Christmas present for my big sister in Canada.

Actually it was all a bit 'coals to Newcastle' since my sister is pretty much a yarn expert and the materials were bought at her local yarn shop, Black Sheep Yarns, on my last visit to Canada. And it was actually meant to be a birthday present in the summer but this year has been a bit manic!

Anyway, it's done now and looking pretty damn good I think.

And as for my sis, well she's just amazing as ever!

All present and correct

I've just had a pretty special Christmas courtesy of my sister and her family. This was the scene when we finally got round to opening presents. The wee man was incredibly patient and waited until after lunch before the great unwrapping began. Not altogether without complaint but without undue drama for a 6 year old.

Apart from having no snow (which ironically there's tons of in the UK at the moment) and starting a yukky cold, the day has been wonderful.

All finished off with a Wii extravaganza this evening from which I doubt I'll ever quite recover. I'll try to post photos soon, just as quickly as I can work out how to do it with a new camera and unfamiliar computer.

Sweet dreams and happy Christmas everyone.

A Merry Christmas to all our readers

I thought I should get back to the original point of this blog and celebrate some more handmade goodies. Today's festive offering is of a less permanent variety than normal but is handmade all the same.

This is our amazing (and informative) christmas cake. It was made by my sister, inscribed by my nephew and accessorised with sweets (or candies for North American readers) by me.

True to family tradition, the icing was rock hard and has now largely disintegrated. But the cake was delicious, and even better, completely wheat free!

Another chunk anyone?

On the Sea to Sky

We're on our way back from Whistler after a quick pre Christmas ski mini break and decided to have a coffee stop in Squamish. This was the view from the car park.

I think I'll need a bit more practice on the climbing wall before I'm ready for the Chief!

Watch this space for some photos of the snow at Whistler.

Have yarn, will travel!

Sitting in terminal 5 at Heathrow with a couple of hours to kill. Lucky I had some portable crafting to while away the time with.

Ceramics part two

As promised, here's the output from last weekend's visit to Ceramic Experience. Two more bowls to complement the salsa pink ones I did last time, and a platter for putting things on - probably not food and not quite sure what exactly - but it looks good (she said modestly!)

And. OMG, ignore the mess in the background! (Note to self, always check the background of all photos!)

Creativity as therapy

Guess where I've been today? Yup, back to Ceramic Experience in Stirling.

I had great fun spending a decidedly wet autumn afternoon painting another pair of bowls and a rather zingy bright platter.

Watch out for photos of the finished article sometime after Tuesday.