A bit of this and a bit of that

I was rather pleased with myself this morning as I got up bright and early - well bright and early for me as I have really been struggling of late to get up in the mornings, with the exception being Tuesdays as I have to been in at work ready to start at 8am! So taking advantage of the wonderful weather we had again I managed to get a couple of loads of washing on the line and dried.

I've done some pottering and some experimenting with patterns today from my 'Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle' book. I made the teddy and a cone - the cone may be slightly promising but the teddy was just too..., well just not right for my liking, so I don't think I will be making him again.

I then got distracted while looking for some buttons and discovered I had rather a lot of these:

Thimbles!

So why didn't I use one when I was making this little fellow:

It would have saved the blood stains on his back...from where I pricked my finger with the needle and didn't realise I was bleeding!

This rather cute pattern I found today via Emily Pickles blog from Bit of a Whimsy Dolls which sells patterns for quite a collection of different stuffed toys, but of course it was the guinea pig that took my eye! I can see me making some more of these for friends for Christmas!

I started making a granny squares blanket some time ago, but then decided I didn't want the colours in my bedroom after all so it ground to a halt. However, on hearing my MIL saying how lovely Peanut's blanket was I thought why not finish this one as a lap blanket for her for Christmas. I hate the joining so I can see this taking quite a while - hence preparing now! Once joined I will crochet a border and it should be just right for her to use in the evenings.

On another note, I would like to thank all my readers for the lovely comments and encouragement they have been giving me - it means a lot :-)