Excitement!

I've just ordered a huge parcel of various yarns on Black Sheep Wools.  Not massive amounts of each yarn - just enough for a hat, Hippoo, bag or batch of rosettes - but I'm so looking forward to it.  Pretty, pretty yarns in gorgeous colours and lovely textures!  What more could a girl want?

It's just what I need to get me through the last few performances this term.  Only so much Jingle Bells a person can take, you know.  I wake up mentally playing it.  XP

BTW, Black Sheep Wools have free P&P until tomorrow morning, and I thoroughly recommend their service.  Go here - http://www.blacksheepwools.com/

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Tis the season...

...to start using my special Christmas icon.

Trouble is, the chorus uses exactly the range of notes the beginners have learned by this stage.  It's perfect.  Especially as the verse uses the range of notes the second year players have learned.  *grits teeth*

Only three more assemblies to go.  I can do it.

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Rosettes and a Hippoo stampede!

This was my present for my best friend, that I didn't want to post before her birthday, in case she saw it.  I did give her the cushion to go with this cover, but I handed that over before I'd finished this, because that was when we met, and cushion pads are hard to post!  So, the front of the cover...

And the back.  Because plain white is just boring, right?

I'm stocking up on certain other items too.  A lady bought a whole batch of rosettes off me at one go, so I made a new batch for my Folksy store (available http://folksy.com/items/3924166-Handmade-Crochet-Rosettes).  They've been sitting around for a week, waiting to be photographed, but I've finally got it done.  It is the season to be jolly, to get up at the crack of dawn to play Jingle Bells in various school assemblies and to stay out till all hours singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (a special bluegrass version this year).

Here are my new rosettes!  (Backed by the lovely craft paper printed free in Craftseller magazine - I knew they'd come in useful!)

Carnival Cherry.

Deep Waters

Silver Linings.

Strawberry Cream.

Wine and Roses.

My other current projects include stitching the lining for my Spice Dots Bag.  I've sewn the dots on, sewn the linen spotted lining together, and I'm stitching the webbing to the straps now.  I've got some gorgeous buttons for the straps too.  

This is a close up of the other bag - pink and purple Rowan Revive - with the fabric I'm using for the lining.  Not yet sure what decoration I'll put on this one - flowers?  Circles?  Maybe a lacy square?  Jury's still out.

And new Hippoos!  I'm working on one using the same yarn as the Spice Dots bag.  I just can't seem to keep Hippoos in the house right now!  Only a couple of weeks ago, there was a small but thriving herd of Hippoos in my stock drawers, but then there was a stampede off up to the Ever After shop in Lincoln.  Another Hippoo followed them quickly for my Dad's birthday present - he lives there too.  And then the last one trotted off to an ex-colleague in Birmingham.  They were, in order of mentioning, Rainbow, Delta, Rosalie, Algernon and Lily.  I'm going to have to get a baby names book at this rate!  Not to mention keeping a rogues gallery of Hippoos past and present, so they're all truly unique.  Any suggestions?

Just time to stuff a Hippoo before bed, I think.  Or maybe search my stash for the yarns for the next one.  Or maybe just a glass of port and a cuddle with the cat...

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