Tracking Santa?

My grandaughter is half-Japanese, and loves putting the Santa Tracker on to find that her family "over there" get to see Santa a whole nine hours earlier at this time of year. They may not go big on it, but I do get a card with a very Japanese symbol on it and a tiny, tiny Santa in one corner zooming off on his sleigh. So, knowning that E was coming up on Chrimstmas Eve for a flying (what else?) visit, I knitted a last-minute Santa. She decided to keep it as a pocket Santa rather than a hanging one. On Boxing Day I finally got round to making a half-decent spiral Christmas tree. After knitting the I-cord and threading the wire, both ends are looped and sewn to the ends of the cord. It then needs to be worked flat into a loose spiral before the centre is pulled gently up. Nothing like starting earlu for next yeary

Angels One Two Three

It's that time of year again

The King's Award

 On the 14th November, on the occasion of King Charles' 75th birthday, it was announced that the Framework Knitters Museum had been given The King's Award for Voluntary Services.  This is the highest award a group can get, and is equivalent to an MBE.  The etched crystal trophy will be presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire on the King's behalf later.  On the day, we, that is all 52 members of the volunteer team, of which I am very proud to be a part, got a commemorative royal purple badge.  I also got a pesonal letter detailing all the things I have done for the museum over the years (it would make me blush to quote from it here).  And took part in a live interview for Radio Nottingham - available for 28 days.

Missing in action

 Been a bit of a rough time lately with OH in hospital.  Nothing new is coming off the machines, just plodding along with handwarmers and socks when I have the time.  Not sure if "normal service" will ever be resumed.

Granny Mary' triumph

 Wow!  Took five peg bags into the museum and they sold out the first day! perhaps I should have charged twice the price.

Bunny Bottle Bag!

 Nuff said.

Peggy clothespin bag

 Daft peg bag prototype with envelope neck type opening.

  

I don't like the effect at the side seams, so I am now trying to work out how to do one with vertical stripes and still have an overlap.  May not be possible, so vertical stripes up as far as the opening, then pick up stitches on back, knit over, divide into three sections and finish separately?    A bit of a faff.

Later- it looked better after a good steam press .  May be renamed Granny Mary's Peg Bag when it goes in the museum shop.

Back to rabbits?

 Who buys draught excluders in July?  Don't, know, but I'm glad.  It is always pleasing to see one of my daft(draught!) ideas take off.  I had made  some beige headpieces in advance, now to pick up the stiches and add the coloured bodies and ears.  And as it is July, naturally I am thinking about Christmas...  first of all a bag with bunny ears, trying to make small ears but entirely on the machine to minimise sewing up, for neatness and speed.

Then I really must get my head round I-cord and wire.  The wire I bought is too thick for knitting with, but would be okay for "stuffing"  And probably better to do narrow strips rather than true I-cord, weaving the wire in and out of sitches on the edge.

"Mend it, Grandma!"

And now the other grand-daughter wants me to mend her big brother's teddy.  It's all of 21 years old and I mended it when he was a baby and had sucked the paws off it.  It's more a candidate for The Repair Shop now, but nope, coming to granny.

After!A

I gave him a bath, used the same chenille as on the Honey Bun in previous post, very tightly knit on the flatbed, to make new ends for the paws, repaired and re-embroidered his nose and gave him a jolly good feed of EN71 stuffing.  

 

The grand-daughter was impressed, and I got a lovely smiley photo of her and bear.

Frogs are fiddly!

Grandchildren have no idea of the skills ned for making tiny stuff, have they?  But do we turn down requests from those cherubic faces?  No, we do not.

The eyes on this creature have only a few stitches, I can't see how you would stuff them, so I just sewed the googly eyes into the hollow socket.  So what if he looks sunken-eyed, I am sure E will love him.

In other (knitting) news, I have invented a Honey Bun Draughty - which is a door draught excluder masquerading here as a cushion.  Note to self - chenille is NOT suitable for sewing up long seams - i.e. the grafting line for ending the nose.  However, the colour of it did lend to the name.

The Golden Fleece Collection

Now the new needles have arrived,  I tried a few things out.    

Heels - tick

Rib - tick

Hems - tick

Texture - tick
Colourwork - tick

The macine has now been sold on, which I slightly regret because it was the best I ever had for making heels without dropping stitches!  But it has raised money for the musuem.

What happened to February?

 It must have been there on the calendar!  My only excuse is all the getting ready for the annual Going Round in Circles event in early March.  All over now, and life would be flat if it weren't for a new project - the Golden Fleece machine.  It had been a little tinkered with, and the internal cams re-installed the wrong way round.  Then stored assembled, so some areas not quite seized but very marked.  Sorted that and another couple of items, and now awaiting new needles from America before putting it through its paces.  I have no intention of "restoring" it to a showroom condition, only cleaning it of extreme grottiness and getting it to knit without too many hiccups.

Teacosies galore

⁹
 Six cosies, 18 flutes each, 42 stitches to pick up for each flute  ... yep, total of 4536 stitches.  I need a cup of tea after that!

Bear with me

 I am not going to revisit last Christmas!  Two items failed to work, and they weren't battery problems.  The decorations were put away early. Another hospital trip soon after.

One of my decorations is a little jointed red bear, made by a friend years ago.  I got some thick yarn, found the pattern (a Jean Greenhowe one) and made it a companion.  More fiddly pieces, which had to be made and stuffed separately (firmly) as the magic happens when just a couple of strands of yarn join the separate pieces together.