Advent is upon us

Well, that may sound a touch more gloomy than it meant to...

The Christmas songs have started, lights are appearing in the gardens around the estate and I've bought the advent calendars for us all (I'm so happy that Wainwright do biscuit ones, Missy isn't allowed dairy so its always a bit of a struggle to get one for her!). I've also been ploughing on with my Christmas crafts.

I would show off a lot more of the bits I've made, but just as my sis (and knitter extraordinaire) has been lamenting, it would spoil the surprise for a lot of people! So here is one of the peices I can show off:

front

For my eldest neice - she wanted a dress that was both sparkly and purple. I promise that here is much more sparkle in real life, the camera really doesn't do it justice! As she is at the awkward cusp-of-tweenhood age, I really tried to make something that would appeal just as much to a young teen as it does to her sparkle-obsessed current self. (I kid you not, I've seen the sassy eye rolls and pouts and sighs, any day now and those hormones are gonna hit her hard, and anyone else in a subsequent 20 mile radius!)

My other big craft project is for Missy and some of the doggy relatives in the family. She had a giant of a vizla for a daft old uncle (I stress the daft in that comment) and a little tiny King Charles for a cousin and the plan is to make bathrobes for them all. I made one for Missy a while back, and I can safely say it is the most useful thing I have ever made - she's one of those dogs that stays damp for hours no matter how much you towel her. Now I just wipe the mud off, pop the bathrobe on and let her sleep on her pillow by the radiator and no harm done to anyone!

I've even modified it into a little fleecy pyjama set for her! The nights are getting very cold (its set to hit -5C this week) so she needs a little something to help stay warm at the moment.

Well, hopefully I'll fit in a nice interesting walk or two and post again soon!