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Good to See You 2016, Come On In

Welcome in 2016 with a Crocheted Cocktail
Happy New Year! Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and adventure-filled 2016. I'm most pleased that
my first new make of 2016 is a crocheted cocktail, start as you mean to go on I say...!  I love the start of January with all it's forward looking optimism, the potential to get new things moving after Christmas, and the cheerfully naive hopes bound up with resolutions. It's a refreshing and invigorating time, ripe for planning and scheming.

2015 generally and especially the run up to Christmas seemed to hurtle past in a bit of a blur, with a sense of chasing deadlines which were either looming or whizzing past. This year, I'm aiming for a bit more control over everything and time to explore new ideas and work. Change is in the air: I move studios this month, I'm starting to work on new art pieces for open exhibitions and there's lots of plans buzzing around my head. Dishearteningly, I also have a riotous chaos of paperwork and general stuff to wade through/ sort out before I embark on my shiny new plans. I'm planning not to get to bogged down in this and sapped of energy!

Advent Calendar 2015-some favourites
Back to Christmas for a moment. I was relieved but pleased to complete my daily Advent Calendar challenge on 25th December. The aim was to create a little scene using crochet and needle felting to depict each date. It was a fun exercise but required a lot more work than I'd initially imagined! I did however really enjoy pushing myself to create the twenty five little scenarios, it encouraged me to be playful and inventive. The complete set can be seen on my Facebook and Instagram pages. I'll aim to turn them into cards/ prints for next year.  Here's a few of my favourites.
Advent Calendar Countdown 2015- A Few More
Christmas Knits & Cake @ Lovecrumbs
Christmas itself was an especially lovely one, spent as always in Edinburgh. Family and friends were caught up with, lots of food consumed, the Boxing Day trip to the theatre enjoyed, glorious festive lights were appreciated AND I was ridiculously excited to be the owner of some festive knitwear! I've never owned a Christmas jumper, and this year, thanks to my brilliant, indulgent Mum, I have two. Here's me in my rather splendid Christmas cardigan with a big slice of white chocolate and cranberry cake (which coordinates in a satisfying way) on the Christmas Eve trip to favourite cake stop, Lovecrumbs (155 West Port, Edinburgh).
Fab paper by Dupenny,Mimi's Bakehouse
For the sake of balance, I  went a few days later to Mimi's Bakehouse (The Shore, Leith) for a birthday afternoon tea. As well as enjoying the amazing food, I was left with a severe case of wallpaper envy for the burlesque style suggestive cake ladies (see pic). I've traced it back to quirky Brighton based illustrator Dupenny. 

Though presents are not important, they can be very nice. This year I received many lovely Christmas & Birthday presents but top honours go to my hubby who was clearly been paying attention all year. He selected gifts from some of my favourite makers: fabric deer head by A Wooden Tree, Bad Sheep by Nameless Wonders, card by Kate Jenkins,  and glass hedgehog by Rachel Elliott.  Shop independent indeed.
Fab Birthday Presents
Ok, that's quite enough for now, in the next blog post I'll show you the gorgeous necklace made for my lovely Mum by jeweller Angela Evans & a very bespoke present I created from my writer brother-in-law. Stay tuned...
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