Knitted dog jumper

So I know the title gives it away, but could you guess what this is from the above photo?

What about now?
Its a dog jumper for my sisters little dog, Ellie.  'im outdoors says it looks like a weird big sock.  Its taken forever to make! (a good 6 months)  I even had to visit my local knitting shop for help on a couple of occasions.  And very helpful they were too - you wouldn't get that in Hobbycraft.  My main problem was keeping the ribbing going round the leg holes, but I got there in the end.

The only problem with Ellie is she is a very black dog and impossible to photograph.  But I think you get the idea.  I'm not sure how much it will get used, but it was cool to make something with a purpose in mind and have it work.

Novembers writers group

So today was the last writers group meeting for me this year.  There is a meeting in December but I'll be somewhere else (more about that later).
Only three people got to read their work out as there was lots of discussion, but that's the point of the group and I think we all found it useful.

All three pieces were great, Avril's made me cry, but I loved the poem best of all.  A cheeky, rhyming, shocking piece which made us all laugh.

I didn't have anything to share today, and as I've got a bit of a cold, that's probably for the best.  I can't help but wonder if my writing phase is done?

This months homework: 

Use the following as either the starting line or the inspiration for a story or poem: Bah humbug!

Passing on the knowledge

I'm very busy at the moment.  Lots of different crafting projects (although nothing I can report on just yet) and a honeymoon to prepare for!
So it was really nice to spend a lunchtime this week passing on my knitting knowledge to a work colleague.  Her ultimate aim is to knit matching cardys for her little girls, and with a little practice I don't see why she couldn't do that.
But what was so nice was this was how I learnt to knit.  This time last year my very good friend Katie, sat down with me and some wool and got me started.  Before long I had myself a hat, and I haven't really stopped since.  I think one of the things I really love about knitting is how I can do it sat on the sofa while 'im outdoors watches TV or plays on the xbox.  I don't have to put down newspaper or wait for anything to dry.  I don't have to take a day off work to do it, I can just knit a single row while waiting for something to cook, and put it down again.
This year I have finally learnt to knit, and I can't really see me stopping any time soon.

Halloween pumpkins

My sister threw a halloween party last night.  Its not really my thing, but she needed some help with the decorations and as I love a bit of painting I agreed to help her out.  
It was pretty straight forward really - she supplied papier mache pumpkins from Hobbycraft and left me to get on with it.  They didn't look too bad and were a lot lighter than real ones.  I hope she keeps them for next year.