Monthly Make 2012 and Time to Craft!

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas.
After lots of preparations, celebrations and entertaining (thank goodness for the dishwasher!) I have finally paused for breath and a bit of crochet, felting and blogging.
Aaaahhhhhhh..... there's the the pause...... and it feels good! Even better when accompanied by by a fresh latte and homemade lemon cake!

I've joined Annie The Felt Fairy 's Monthly Make 2012 and joined the flickr group to share our makes.

I'm really excited about it! I have loved following some other blogger's monthly makes and I'm sure it will motivate me to get creating!  Why don't you join us - the more the merrier!

I have made a little more progress with the Japanese flower cowl, 14 flowers so far (almost!) and I'm aiming for 20-24. Here it is with 13 flowers (no. 14 still on the hook!).

I have a new winter coat that it will look amazing with if I can get it finished before Spring!

I also want to get this done so I can go back to my little (hem, hem) ripple crochet blanket. It has been weeks since I have added any new rows and I'm really quite missing it. Too may projects, too little time.

I received two new crochet books for Christmas. I knew they were going to be good as so many of you have recommended them on your blogs and given me a sneaky preview into their contents.

I haven't seen this scarf in any of the previews however and have completely fallen in love with it.

Yesterday a spot of wet felting was done and it did feel good to get my hands all soapy with the fluffy stuff. I forgot to share my new supplies with you, didn't I?!
Here are my lovely new fibres.

OK, in the bag doesn't show off their beauty at all so here are a few pics out of the bag!

Spring Green - a merino tops and silk mix

Strawberry Sundae - a merino tops and silk mix

Raspberry Chocolate - a merino tops blend (good enough to eat!)

Lagoon - a merino tops blend

White, turquoise, deep turquoise and citrus merino tops 

Damson - a rich purple dyed merino top

All gorgeous. I haven't used any yet, I'm saving them for some special projects - don't know what yet! I also couldn't resist this Gillian Gladrag kit which had been reduced from £25 to £16.

She is a brilliant felter. I have one of her books and follow her blog - quite inspirational.
Yesterday's felting was a little experiment I have wanted to do for ages. My Mum's birthday is mid-January and I noticed that she has a raggedy old cover on her new iphone so I thought I would have a go at felting one. What do you think?

I used a blue shell button and elastic for the closure. The lining is bright pink like the ring around the turquoise spots. It's beautifully soft and quite thick so it should protect the phone well.

Well, I have rambled on for long enough now, thank your for your patience and well done for making it to the end of this blog post!

Hope you are all finding some post-festivities time for a little crafting too!

Becky x