Mother hen

One of my colleague is expected his first child (a boy) at the beginning of May. He and his wife have chickens, so as a gift, I thought a knitted one would be a good idea.
On FB, I've posted the building up steps of the hen, and my friends loved it so I thought I should post it here as well:

Finally, this is how it looks like:

I can't wait to see their faces when I'll give it to them!
Have a nice weekend...

Tic Tic Tic

As promised, an overview of the knitted projects I've completed this year so far...
The latest one is for CraftHope project 16 (Lyon hat, free Ravelry pattern here)

A simple crocheted blanket for my friend Lisa's baby, Matthew. I've also made a matching mouse. I shall bring these to its owner in Amsterdam in a couple of weeks...

 Ribbed baby jacket (free pattern on Ravelry here). I still have to buy a button for this one!

Easy fingerless mittens (free Ravelry pattern here)

One of my ongoing project: a hen (Alan Dart pattern). This one is for my colleague's baby (due in May so I have some time to complete it). I've changed the pattern slightly...I am knitting it in the round because I don't like sewing!

I also have a pair of socks on the go but this is for another post...

Happy New Year

I wish you all loads of happiness for 2012!
I haven't made any resolutions, I never do them! Instead, I've decided to show you some pictures of my trip to Germany at the beginning of December...

Aachen, a nice little city at the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands, well known for its Christmas market.

Aachen cathedral:

Dusseldorf:

And Cologne:
I love Cologne, I hope I'll have the opportunity to go back. The city has 7 Christmas market in the centre, each with a theme. I had time to do only 3 because I spend some time in the chocolate museum...yumyum...

 

Cologne cathedral and view from the cathedral:

 

Next, I'll show you what's on my needles....

Brussels

Three weeks ago, I spent a few days in Brussels visiting friends.
I love this city and we spent a lot of time wandering around. There were some amazing display in the streets, spectacular at night:

We also spent a morning at "le chien vert", a wonderful fabric shop....

After Brussels, I headed to Germany, to visit another friend...

Markets

Here are some pictures of our stall at the makers market:


It was a good day. We were at a very strategic place: next to the coffee and cakes!!!! I don't know if it boosted our sales but it was very handy and helped us to keep warm. The day was bright and dry so it was not too bad to be standing outside all day!

D-day!

Today is the Makers market in Newburgh! I've been selling my stuff there for the last couple of years but I never been! So, as a revenge, my friends are planning to let me man the stall on my own - LOL. Our stall is outside so I am warmly dressed up. We are lucky, the weather is supposed to be dry and sunny :o)
This year, I learned how to make granny squares and turned them into coasters and needle cases using 100% wool felt:

Needle cases (11 x 11cm):

Off I go! I'll report later....

Makers Market

Christmas Markets.... It is this time of year again!!!!
This year, as usual, I am doing the Makers Market in Newburgh and my work Christmas market! The makers market is only 2 weeks away (5th November) and my crafting mojo is no where to be found! I am rummaging through my cupboards to find things I've made in order to sell them...
I managed to do a few stained glass suncatchers though. Here they are:








Luckily there are 4 of us sharing the stall so we might have a few things to sell...;oD

Cardigan

I am slowly, but surely, using my stash. These past few days I used up nearly 2 balls of Rowan 4-ply cotton to knit this cardigan:


Silver cardigan (Free Ravelry download)
Size: 9-12 months
It will travel to France to its owner who was born last month.

Now, I have 2 Christmas markets to prepare, 5th and 9th November, and I haven't done much so far!!!

Socks

I usually knit socks only for myself but I made an exception for a friend. She had been very generous when I went to visit her in Sicily, and because she is the same size as me, I've knitted her a pair of socks to thank her.

Pattern: Selkie by Janel Laidman published in The Enchanted Sole.

Treat

I wanted one for a long time and finally, I decided to treat myself!

A wooden swift :o)

I bought it from Stash Fine Yarns.

It has been very useful already to wind 2 skeins of lace weight merino (1400m each!) bought in Florence a few years ago.

I have started knitting it into a jacket: Daydreams in lace.