Woven Rug

The disappointment of my woven scarf  hasn't put me off using my peg loom. This small rug was finished recently and I'm really pleased with it. You'll probably have noticed that some of my recent photos have a snowy background. That's because I took lots of photos when I got the chance and it was nice and bright. The snow has gone again and we're back to our usual grey skies and rain.

The rug is made using the entire width of the loom; three feet wide. The warp took a ball and a half of Wendy Thor super chunky (42.5% wool 7.5% alpaca 50% acrylic). I used shade Baltic - a lovely turquoise. For the weft I used another ball and a half of the Thor super chunky, the ball of Harrris tweed I bought on holiday (near the bottom of the post) and several balls of Rowan pure wool DK. I had to use six strands of the Rowan pure wool wound together to make it as thick as the Thor super chunky. 

I made the weft rows as close as I possibly could so the rug is firm and thick. Not good for a scarf but excellent for a small hearth rug. The weaving swallowed up vast quantities of yarn that wasn't at all cheap. In the end, I spent more than £40 on the materials! But I love it.

I'm now trying to think where else needs a rug!

Bye for now and thanks for all your comments. I look forward to seeing them.

Crocheted Christmas Decorations

I've been making lots of Christmas decorations to use this year. In this post I'm going to let you see some of the crocheted decorations as well as a few knitted ones.

First of all, this robin is crocheted using my own version of Jacquie's owl pattern. This was my first attempt but I've made a different version that I'll show you later in another post.

This tree, stocking and penquin are made from Val Pierce's Mini Christmas Crochet (Twenty to Make) book. I used different yarn and hook sizes and made other various tweaks to get these results.

This bauble and the little star and heart are made using Lucy's patterns here, here and here. I also made some of the baubles with the points and they were really nice too.

 

The acorn is from the same book as above.

These hearts are made using Teresa's pattern here. I crocheted some King Cole Cosmos along with the red and purples yarns.

This tiny wall hanging was made by crocheting some Drops Eskimo scraps to make a square and then felting it. A crocheted cotton snowflake was then sewn on and a hanging loop attached.

This is my star tree topper ready to be joined up. See that needle stuck into the point at the right hand side? I've lost it. Actually ... my memory has just been jogged and I think I might know where it is. Must check when I've finished writing this. This is my own design crocheted using Rico Essentials Cotton together with Jomil Starmist yarn. It starts out as a hexagon and then the points are made individually by decreasing the number of stitches on each side of the hexagon until only one stitch is left.

The Christmas trees (to hang on the Christmas tree!) are knitted. Basically made up as I went along.

 

Most of the decorations were made using Rowan pure wool as well some 50/50 acrylic/wool yarns. This is just a sample of the decorations I made but I'll let you see them and others when they are hanging on our Christmas tree.

 

Needless to say I had to go and look for my darning needle and I was right. The needle has been found and put away in its proper place.

 

The girls in my crochet class surprised me, on the night of our last class before Christmas, with this beautiful bouquet.

 

 

Stunning or what?

 

Better go and do some more preparing for Christmas. Need to bake mince pies. As well as lots of other things. More decorations coming this way very soon. 

Knitted Nativity Set

Would you like to see my knitted nativity set? I managed to get it finished just in time for Christmas last year. The husband made the setting for me. A stable in a cave. It even has a thatched roof, straw and tiny lights.

Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

The shepherds with some of their sheep.

The wise men with their knitted gifts. They're looking a bit tired after their long journey.

Lots of people have made this nativity set or at least parts of it. I used Jean Greenhowe's pattern for all the figures. Most of them are made using odds and ends of yarn, including some Rowan pure wool. I'd love to make a donkey to add to the collection but it won't be this year.

Hope you are enjoying the last few days before Christmas. Of course, not everyone celebrates Christmas but I'm sure those who don't won't mind those who do just enjoying it. Must go and have a (bought!) mince pie.