Is it Wednesday already?

Time for another Year of Projects update!

I'm lagging behind a bit with my Spice of Life blanket. Not desperately so, but yesterday a new pattern piece was released and I haven't quite finished the previous one yet... It's not too dramatic, though, I 'm only about 6 rows behind and I'm hoping to catch up tonight.

Autumn always seems to fly by around here. It might have something to do with the three (!) kids birthdays, and Halloween, and Nicholas Day and then of course there is Christmas too. We are hosting it this year, and since we are an English/German household this might well mean not one but two celebrations - one on Christmas Eve, as is the German tradition, and another one on Christmas Day. The boys obviously think it's fantastic...

With Christmas in mind I've turned my attention more firmly to Christmas presents. I'd like to give quite a few handmade gifts this year, in particular for my step sisters, because we have agreed to not get into the habit of spending lots on each other. In previous years this has translated into little gift sets of cupcake forms and recipe book, or mug and hot chocolate mix, but once you've done that you can't really gift the same again, can you? 

This year I decided that instead it's going to be pottery and knitting. I've already introduced the chunky hat that I'm hoping to give to one of my stepsisters, and I've also completed my niece's little flower hat:



Boy #1 thinks it's a 'granny hat'. I'm choosing to take no notice...

Yesterday, while binge-watching the work of a director I'm working on (I love my job...) I managed to get a little production line going and made a number of little houses for tea lights or incense cones:

Cute, aren't they? D thinks they look industrial, like old Victorian factory buildings. I quite like the idea. By glazing them in different colours you could achieve a very different look - black or grey for a slightly sinister Halloween look (Haunted House!), or white, for a more Christmassy feel. I think I'll go with white, since they are supposed to be Christmas gifts.

I'm also contemplating a Tunesian Crochet scarf for my step mom. When I opened my email this morning I found an email from Purl Soho with a free pattern for this scarf:

Isn't it lovely? I'm not sure I'll get away without ordering some yarn, since most of the wool yarn that I have left is a bit too scratchy for a scarf, but you never know... 

My dad will also get a handmade gift this year. About 10 years ago, when I last took part in a pottery class, I made a platter which he liked and he asked me if I could make him a bowl that was large enough for his big dining table. I agreed, and then promptly had three babies and went to pottery class no more. ;)  Since I've now taken it up again I thought I was running out of excuses, so I made this bowl:

I wanted to recreate the ripple effect you get when water drops into a still pool. I'm hoping to glaze it a simple matt white and have already ordered some glaze for it. Unfortunately, when I rang Potclays this morning to enquire why they hadn't sent the glaze yet, they informed me that it's out of stock and only expected back in on 21st October, but since right now the bowl is not even fired yet, this shouldn't hold me up too much. Hopefully it will be ready for Christmas!

Shared with:

A Year of Projects

Yarn Along

Keep Calm Craft On

Stitch Along Wednesday