I can't believe it's over half-way through January already! I had a break from blogging and spent a month doing far less on the computer, more time making art, playing with wool, and making some plans for the coming year.

I'm kicking off with an old love (knitting and crochet) and a display of some of my recent woollen adventures:

Remember my red shawl? Well I had some Alpaca left over and decided on a matching beret by knit designer Ysolde Teague called Rose Red.

Reclining Mahonia Beret!

Here are some shots of a Jacket I made from Noro. I love the colours, though I'm always cross with the quality of their yarn; tiny gaps in the colour here and there, and with knots midway through balls; this should never happen in a quality yarn!

Anyway, I struggled on with it, and am rather pleased with the result, though I can't put my hand on the pattern at the moment to give details as it's buried somewhere.


Last autumn I started planning a new blanket inspired by the vivid colours of the leaves. I started off by buying 14 skeins of Colinette  (ART yarn in Moss) for the grid that holds all the squares together. Then I examined the stash for any that had the right weight, sufficient meterage and  in the colours I had in mind. Then I had fun browsing the websites for the missing yarns. I got quite obsessed and it took ages to plan, but I finally started on it on New Year's Eve. Here is a sneak preview, although it's not yet half-way finished.

I agonised over whether to knit or to crochet, but finally opted for crochet because both sides are the same. The Moss of the grid is much greener than this photo suggests, so I'll try a better shot when it's finished.

And to end with something completely different............well it's not made of wool and I didn't make it, but it will complete my autumal ensemble

I don't buy a lot of jewellery but I've got a thing about acorns and oak trees, so when I saw this on Etsy I just couldn't resist. It came in a lovely little box with a red ribbon (how apt!) seen here against one of my old crochet hats.

Oh, and I nearly forgot the bit about my plans! No New Year's resolutions for me this year (though I did fulfil my last year's resolution to sell some work).

To build on this in 2012 I plan to overhaul the website. I'm tired of the format, the images on the pages, and the white on dark print. I also want to add prices on some of the work for sale and put a means of purchasing on. It won't be soon as I've got too much on in the spring, but as long as it's all up and running by the end of the year, I'll be happy.

That's about it for now; more soon on a recent painting I've completed.

And belated warmth and prosperity to you all for 2012!