Yoo hoo! I’m back...

...and writing despite a jet-lagged, foggy brain. I just couldn’t wait another day to return to Blogland!

I’ll be simultaneously unpacking, sorting toys, doing laundry and catching up with everyone’s blogs. I do hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. It seems we fared very lucky indeed escaping severe weather on both sides of the pond – we left England before the horrid storms flooded areas, toppled trees and left our village without power until late Christmas Eve, and we flew out of the States just as the latest snowstorms closed most of the airports in the northeast and record-breaking freezing temperatures roll in! Phew!

So my Christmas...filled with so many lovely, festive, cherished moments with family and friends...

A white Christmas at Grandma’s house!

Santa Claus visits every home in the town before Christmas, and boy oh boy my girls were sooo surprised and happy when the doorbell rang and he stepped in! Little Flower had been worried that Santa might not get our message that we wouldn’t be at our house Christmas Eve, but a personal visit to Grandma’s certainly alleviated those fears!  

But hey, let’s cut to the chase: What crafty goodies did I manage to squish into my suitcase!?! Well, I was very limited with my purchases because I was sharing luggage space with two little girls who spent Christmas with their grandmother, so you can imagine the amount of doting and spoiling that went on! Luckily I found a few great bargains...

These mugs speak volumes, and match my kitchen colours!

I visited a craft store that was about the size of my village. The ribbon section alone was bigger than my living room – and the ribbons were massively discounted. I forced myself to stop at 10:

And that price tag reads 75 cents/46 pence! That is linen ribbon! They were all the same price...

I discovered yet another craft book, I really must stop buying craft books, but I just love all the inspiration!

The three-inch hoops cost about the same as the ribbon. Again, I lament having to tuck these beside Journey Girls, Build-a-Bears and other space-hogging toys! I console myself with the knowledge that the girls will be teenagers one day and will want only clothes, jewellery and small electronic devices, so I’ll have oodles of room for supplies...

I can’t ever leave the States without a few balls of Lily Sugar n’ Cream:

This is the *best* dishcloth yarn ever! You can see I’ve already started one; my old cloths are desperate to be retired. (As per tradition, I share with the four dear friends in my craft group – choose your colours, gals!)

I picked up this Lily dishcloth booklet because it features both crochet and knitting – it might be an easy way to get into knitting again. And it looks so retro...

My biggest bargain of all was a new winter coat, found after Christmas during a crazy sale at the local mall. It is a gorgeous deep plum, quilted, hooded, toggled – all I need for a typical English winter. And best of all, it was marked down down down to $20/£12!

But it gets better: yesterday I discovered that the King Cole Riot Chunky I purchased on a whim because I fancied the colours matches the coat! So I’m working on a more feminine version of the Manly Scarf I made for Darling Husband (I’ll take a FO photo of that soon, he left the house wearing it this morning).

Oh dear, wave of jet lag swooping over me, I must go make a strong cuppa!

Happy New Year to all of you lovelies!

Chrissie x

‘Twas the night before Christmas holiday...

...and all through the house

every creature was stirring except for this mouse.

The stockings were packed in the suitcase with care

in the hopes that BA would fly them swiftly through the air.

Bunny in her pyjamas, Little Flower sitting in her lap,

were reading a Christmas story while last-minute gifts mama wrapped.

Nordicware gingerbread cake tins

Gingerbread house cake with icing sugar snow!

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter,

the girls sprang from their chair to see what was the matter.

When what to their weary eyes did appear

but mama smiling in the kitchen surrounded by gifts of good cheer.

She was dressed in her apron, surely not at this hour?

And her clothes were all tarnished with sugar and flour.

A spice-scented cookie she held delicately in her hand

and she grinned like a queen who ruled all the land.

“I’ve found it!” she cried. “What?” came the girls’ plea.

“At last I have found the perfect Christmas cookie recipe!

“I needed a recipe that was tasty and quick.

“And these fruitcake cookies were just the trick!”

Walnuts, raisins, cherries, figs...

“The ingredients make dough logs that I slice

“into cookies when needed, and they make 60 – quite nice!

“On my list I have so many handmade gifts

“that I’m glad to find a recipe that makes loads and is swift.”

Then a wink of her eye and a twist of her head

gave the little girls warning that it was soon time for bed.

She spoke not a word but went straight to her craft

and filled all the gift bags, tied them with ribbon, then laughed:

“Look at the bags and the jars balanced steady.

“There are so many presents, it looks like Santa’s been here already!”

While papa settled the girls in bed safe and sound,

mama packed up the goodies to deliver all round.

Early next morning they bundled the kids the car

and readied themselves for a Christmas afar.

And she was heard to exclaim as they drove out of sight:

“Happy Christmas to all, I hope we have a smooth flight!”

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! 
Chrissie x

Handmade gifts: Mulled Wine Spice Kit

I’m afraid I won’t have any photos of our Christmas decorations for you this year. The halls aren’t decked, the tree won’t be put up...but the stockings are being packed into a nice big suitcase, because this year we are spending Christmas with my mother and grandmother in America!

Every year I bake Christmas cookies for friends and neighbours, but because we are leaving soon, I don’t have the time to devote to baking lots and lots and lots of goodies. So in addition to the chutneys and jams I made during the autumn, I’m making mulled wine kits:

This is a super-speedy gift that still has the touch of handmade care. Some sugar cubes, cloves, allspice berries, star anise, a slice of dried orange, a few gratings of nutmeg, a cinnamon stick and half a vanilla pod are all tucked into a little muslin bag and hung on a bottle of red wine.

I bought some muslin bags from ebay, but you can find them in supermarkets, cookware shops or even make your own from muslin fabric. The bottle is adorned with the spice bag and a gift tag, with the instructions written on the back:

Pour the wine into a saucepan, add the spice bag

and simmer for 30 minutes.

Happy Christmas!

I added one of my little crocheted Christmas trees to the gift tag for an extra special touch. I’m giving a bottle to our house sitter, as part of a gift bag for Bunny’s teacher, some bottles for wine-loving friends...

Dried oranges are simple to make. Slice one orange very thinly, place on a baking sheet and sprinkle liberally with icing sugar/powdered sugar, about a tablespoon or so per slice.

Bake in a 100◦C/200◦F oven for 2-½ to 3 hours, until dried and deep orange.

I have a tried-and-true Christmas cookie recipe that I will share soon; I can’t make it through a Christmas season without baking at least one thing! These will be for the postman, the bin men and others who work year round helping us in our daily lives.

I will be taking a few treasured ornaments to the States, and speaking of ornaments, let me show you the sweet toadstool that I received from Carol of Tales from Spring Cottage as part of Ladybird Diaries Decoration Swap:

A pretty little house, and there is some pretty stitching on the back as well

Thank you Carol!

Although I’m a bit sad not to be unwrapping all of our tissue-covered ornaments and stringing fairy lights throughout the house, I am over the moon to be taking Bunny and Little Flower to see their grandma and great-grandma for a super-special Christmas! (And, my crafty friends, I will be packing a full suitcase into an empty one, because I want extra space to fill with goodies I will find at JoAnne Fabrics, various craft stores...I wonder what Martha Stewart has added to her craft range since last I visited? Hmmm...)

Now I must get back to packing and making more last-minute gifts, and I’d better test out one of those spice bags to make sure I have the recipe just right...

Chrissie x

Crochet-A-Long: A Little Christmas Tree Pattern

Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to this week’s CAL post! I am so thankful for the blogger community, always so inspirational and supportive...and this week I’ve created a little Christmas tree pattern to share with you:

This year I’m attaching crocheted ornaments to my Christmas gifts. I have yarn for snowflakes, holly leaves, mistletoe...but I couldn’t find a small tree pattern that I liked. So I came up with this very quick, and very easy, pattern.

The tree on the right was my first attempt, but it is a bit too teeny...

I love the simplicity of adorning the trees with just one tiny jingle bell or a few snowflake buttons, but they could be decorated in so many ways...why don’t you make one and share your ideas?

I used scraps of DK yarn and a 3.75mm hook for a close weave, but vary this with what you have in your stash. The triangle is a simple “double crochet two together” at the start of each row. It whips up in minutes!

With the green yarn (or use white, red, any colour, really):

Ch 16

Dc in second chain from hook, 1 dc in each st across (15 sts)

Ch 1, turn, dc2tog, 1 dc in each st across (14 sts)

Ch 1, turn, dc2tog, 1 dc in each st across (13 sts)

Continue in this way until you have only two stitches left, dc2tog, fasten off.

You now will have a sweet little triangle. 

This one was made with scraps of cotton washcloth yarn

For the trunk, with the brown yarn:

Ch 9

Dc in second chain from hook, 1 dc in each st across (8 sts)

Ch 1, turn, dc in each st across (8 sts)

Continue for three or four rows, until the trunk is the size you like. Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.

Now simply centre the trunk with the triangle base, and using the long tail of brown yarn, sew the trunk to the back of the first dc row of the triangle, making sure the yarn doesn’t show through at the front. Weave in all the ends when finished.

And that is it! I envisage a garland of trees, trees fastened onto teachers’ gifts, napkin rings, personalized by children...

What’s on your hook this week? Please link up below!

Chrissie x

Blooming flowers, blooming ideas

Greetings to you all and a happy welcome to my newest followers. We are well into the Bloomin’ CAL with Ladybird Diaries, and I think for most of us the attention has shifted from hexies and blankets to Christmas projects...

I managed a few more rows of this oh-so-manly scarf from the latest issue of Simply Crochet. The yarn is King Cole Riot Chunky, and my dears, is it lovely! Soft, silky, and very warm, it is sure to keep Darling Husband toasty during the coldest of workday commutes.

It is worked in a granite stitch, which I’d never done before but it does sound macho, doesn’t it? I typically don’t crochet for men because, well, crochet usually just works up more lacy and delicate than knitting, but I spotted this and just had to make it. I like the yarn and stitch so much, though, that I am snooping around the other variegated shades of Riot Chunky for some more feminine shades...

Off the hook this week is a sweet collar for Little Flower:

This tiny pattern (and I mean tiny – the flowers are worked in embroidery floss and a size 2.5 mm hook!) is also from Simply Crochet, it’s a great issue this month, chock full of little gifts and lovely projects!

As I was making this collar, Little Flower helped choose the colours for the flowers, she happily stood while I measured the size to fit...so of course now she refuses to put it on, not even for a quick photo. Hmph.

Now, I’m not one to start thinking about Christmas until my birthday has passed on 1 December. My presents and my cake come before the advent calendar! But then we go mad and decorate and create and bake like we were proper Santa’s elves. So although I am not decorating, I’m starting to sort out the gifts, and that means thinking about how to wrap and present them...

And I have a few yarny ideas I’m going to test during the next few days. More to come in next week’s CAL update!

What’s on your hook this week? Please link up below!

Chrissie x

P.S. Thank you all for your well wishes for Little Flower’s recovery, she’s almost back to full health, a few more days of snuggling and back to pre-school next week!