A New Year - and new beginnings!

I know the title of this blog refers to 'Knitting' but there are other 'crafty' things I'm interested in. So, I'm looking forward to embarking on new projects in patchwork and quilting (see previous blog-post) and I'm delighted with the tools 'Santa' delivered for me at Christmas! I now have a cutting mat, quilter's ruler and a rotary cutter! :-)

I'm hoping to pick the brains of some friends at our soon-to-be-formed crafting group at church, plus the 'quiltery people' whose blogs I follow here; hopefully I'll be able to get some pics posted to show progress.

Meanwhile, through this new crafting group, I'll be continuing to knit blankets to be sent out to various charities. Apparently, some of the other knitters haven't come across 'mitred-square' knitting, so I have to give them a demonstration - it's much easier than sitting sewing lots of sqaures together, in my opinion!

Other craft things I've been up to recently:

We had a new kitchen fitted shortly before Christmas (....I've only waited through 33 years of marriage to get to having my FIRST fitted kitchen to MY design rather than making-do with whatever we've inherited in our various house-moves!) 

This, of course meant that all our white-goods/appliances are hidden behind wooden doors - so what to do with our collection of fridge-magnets........?

Well, I got inventive with punching a couple of holes in the rim of a baking sheet and slotting some wire through by way of hanging up, and voila......

Another thing I managed to do before Christmas, was to make up a kit I bought at the 'Sewing For Pleasure' show at Birmingham's NEC last Autumn:

I'd often wondered how these 'pinecones' were made - and now I know! So, I made a few and strung them from a garland:

I expect we may be making these up for fundraising at our new church craft group.....!

And back to the kitchen - someone in the family presented us with a new clock for Christmas:

Rather apt, I say!

In the meantime - I have 4 more squares to complete on the current blanket, so it's time to get back to the needles!