Long distance amigurumi...

So, the random number app on my iPhone generated number 6 as the winner for my amigurumi giveaway.

Mary - that's you!  Your greedy comment paid off!  Hee hee : )

I will start making your bluebird mobile as soon as and despatch it to the other side of the planet.  I'll email you for your address.

The penultimate Day of Specialness...

If I'm honest, I don't want it to end - I've loved opening my pressies in the mornings.

On Friday, I shopped in style and had lots of admiring glances and comments when I declined bags from the shops I visited and packed my much more stylish tote.

On Saturday, there was the most chicken-y box...

...filled with colourful buttons...

...including 2 with the teeniest embroidery on them...

Today there was a beautifully trimmed gingham and floral purse (with a lucky penny tucked inside) and a fabric-filled keyring.

I love the trim - want a closer look?

*****

I will be selecting a winner from my giveaway tomorrow, so if you haven't already posted a comment why not go for it!

Monkeys and magnets...

On Sunday I made my way over to Islington to the make lounge with Kristina to do some extraordinary embroidery.

It's been a long time since I really embroidered anything and one thing I have always struggled to do is a French knot.  Not anymore!  I think I could have quite happily sat and made them all afternoon!  Our lovely teacher, Catherine, showed us the crucial tip of holding the carefully wound thread close to the fabric as we pulled the needle through to produce perfect little knots.

We got to choose a Sublime Stitching transfer pack to embroider.  There was much ooh-ing and aah-ing at all the designs and minds were being constantly changed.  I settled on Monkey Love just because.

After ironing on our transfer, we set to embroidering our design.  I outlined his face in split stitch and filled in using the same stitch but in a lighter brown and then finished him off with two French knots for his eyes.

The carousel of threads in the window has inspired me to do lots more embroidery.  So I came straight home and got started on another design from the pack.

*****

Days 2 and 3 of the Seven Days of Specialness swaps have been filled with gasps of delight.  For Day 2 there was these fab fabrics...

...and for Day 3, these gorgeous fabric magnets.

A magnet board is on my list to put up in my workroom, so these will soon have a very important job in there.  Look how cute that little deer is!

Loving this week still!

Seven Days of Specialness...

I signed up to Ali's swap and today was my Day One.  Oh yes, when I got back from my walk, there was a big fat parcel tucked in next to my front door from Moogsmum, my partner. 

Aqua tissue paper!  And a red tag!  My favourite colour combination!

It was ripped off in my excitement to lookie inside.

I love bonbons.  Love them!  Then there is a fab set of stitch markers.  Want a closer look?

Just the thing to get me back on to my sock knitting.

Thank you so much, Lesley!

  **  It's going to be a good week  **

A thank you...

As a little thank you for all the wonderful comments for my first attempt at NaBloPoMo, I am going to have a little giveaway!

I will leave it open for one week, so will draw a winner on Monday 8th February 2010.  To enter just leave me a comment on this post, making sure you leave me some contact details especially if you are a 'noreply-comment@blogger.com' commenter!

I will make the winner an amigurumi of their choice, so just click on my amigurumi link on my sidebar and make your selection and let me know in your comment.  If you like something from my new book that I posted about here, don't be shy - I'd love to make something (anything!) from there.

Look what came in the post...

Look what came in the post today!  Not one, not two but three exciting parcels, deliciously wrapped in owlishly tissue paper.  I was the lucky winner of Gina's book giveaway.

I missed my name being drawn due to the festivities of Christmas and the New Year and had to be given a gentle nudge by Gina to let me know!

I loved this little book so much and was so thrilled at the wonderful tutorial that I'd even bought the exact same paper from Paperchase in preparation for giving it a go myself.  So here it is:

Not just the book for me though, oh no - inside were lots of Gina's other goodies.  It was stuffed full!  Plus the other two pressies!  Want to see?

Take a closer look at that gorgeous little apple on the top left...

How gorgeous is that?

THANK YOU SO MUCH Gina, I love it all.  What a brilliant start to the year.

*****

I should have taken heed of the red sky this morning, you know, the one that is a shepherd's warning? 

Having got totally distracted by a goldfinch flying across my path while I was out walking Pippin this morning, I slipped right over on a huge patch of ice on the footpath through the allotments and fell badly on my knees...

...ouch!

FMF surprise...

My FMF obsession is gathering pace and I have had a lovely, lovely surprise through the post all the way from Australia.

I am now the proud owner of this:

I'm not sure if I will ever be able to use it, which seems a waste really, but at the moment I am just enjoying seeing it neatly folded! It was wrapped up in purple tissue with a little thank you card enclosed which read:

Well, I just ripped that paper apart! And look what was inside!

An extra piece of fabric from the collection! Thank you so much Kelly! I absolutely love the grey colourways because I am building a quilt for my loft bedroom in greys and greens and so these are fabrics that I will definitely cut in to!

My collection is steadily growing and these also arrived from here.

I am a happy bunny today!

A quick update on my neck for you: I went to see my surgeon yesterday and as it was still quite swollen, he aspirated it for me - yep, needle in the neck again! Thank goodness it's still numb! Anyway, I have managed to massage all of the glue off now and can concentrate on making the scarring fade. It looks much better now, not gory at all, but I suspect I may need it aspirating again... We'll see...

And the winner is...

Thank you for all your comments and congratulations for my blogoversary!

The names were put into my lovely Sophie Conran glass bowl...

...and the winner is: Julia B!

Happy knitting Julia! Do email me your address so I can post your yarn out to you!

Talking of winners, last month I had an email from my Flickr site telling me that one of my photos had been short-listed for inclusion in the Schmap London Guide. I posted about it here, when I'd been to the zoo.

Then on the 31st August, I had another email saying that my photo had been selected! How exciting! You can see it here. To tell you the truth, I'm a more than a bit lazy with my Flickr site. I should put my photos over there for sharing more often, but you know how it is... It's on The List, but not quite near enough the top for me to do regularly.

My blogoversary...

It started here. Tentatively! And here we are 182 posts and 2 years later. My first anniversary passed by without me really realising it - I was busy preparing to go to university.

It has been 2 years of changes of direction and of coming to terms with things. I still feel like I'm on a roundabout, not ready to get off yet into something permanent. Other than being mum to No2 of course. Perhaps I shouldn't worry too much about the other stuff yet...

Anyway, by way of celebration, I thought I would do a little giveaway. I've never done one before although I've entered many and won 2! I have just ordered some more gorgeous Jitterbug yarn for my next pair of socks (it is addictive) and so there is an extra skein of kingfisher for the lucky winner. Just leave a comment and I will draw the winner in a weeks time.

My feet feel warm and snuggly just looking at this yarn. It is wonderful to knit with, so if you've not attempted a pair of socks yet or are an old hand at it, I know you won't be disappointed with it.

Prizes...

After ploughing through the boredom of holiday washing, I was thrilled to see this little package waiting for me on my recycling bin the morning after we returned from Lincolnshire.

I could hardly believe I'd won another giveaway from Pebbledash. This time from Diana's 100th post celebration.

I have to confess to ripping it open in my excitement, only to rewrap it to photograph it in it's woolly packaging!

And look what was inside: not just one beautifully wrapped package, but 5 beautifully wrapped packages...

Diana - I absolutely love it all. Thank you soooo much. I have found the perfect excuse to send 2 thank you cards already, although really, I could hardly bear to pop them in the letter box.

Nestled in amongst all that papery goodness, was one final tiny little parcel. A perfect little nugget of sea glass, painted with a tiny heart. I LOVE sea glass - how did you know Diana? Have I said thank you?

Looking back over my post listings, I am shocked to find that my 100th post and 1 year anniversary are looming...

Did you hear that? That was me gasping...and putting on my thinking hat...

Granny Squares and Giveaways...

Do you remember the lovely new books I bought a few weeks back? Since buying them, I have been slightly obsessed with crochet blocks. I thought I'd start small, with a cushion. I've never made a Granny Square before and it is soooo easy!

After studying the book, I decided to use the 'granny-in-the-corner' block as a basis to the front of the cushion. I had 3 colours of Rowan Handknit Cotton, so I started with purple on one...

...then pink on the other.

I made 2 of each colourway and then joined them together by double-crocheting the edges, which leaves a raised seam that I thought looked OK.

Then I did a few more rows of half-treble crochet around all four edges until I'd reached the size of my cushion pad (40cm)

For the back I made one huge granny square - I just kept going!

Until I had almost matched the measurements of the front, then finished off with a few more rows of half-treble again.

Finally, I joined both sides together with a row of double-crochet along 3 sides. I've just got to find some buttons to fasten it at the bottom and it will be finished. The colours were inspired by my Urban Garden Quilt.

This week also saw my first giveaway dropping through my letterbox. Diana, over at Pebbledash, got all creative after reading about Wordle on one of my posts last week and I was lucky enough to land myself the result of one of her creations.

Isn't it great? I shall take it on holiday with me and try to get a bit of sketching in while I'm away. I don't often get the chance to sketch, but I love to draw leaves and twigs or anything else connected with nature. Nothing major, just some pencil drawings. And look at the lovely dragonfly tags as well - lucky me! Thank you so much, Diana.

Now, to get down to that list...