Thursday 22 December 2011

A Christmas Mouse and Some Luxury Yarn

Hello Lovelies,
Hope you are feeling prepared for Christmas....I am...ish !! still some wrapping to do , one or two prezzies to buy , a food shop and lots of housework to do.....sigh.
Still , I know we are very lucky to have extended family close by  to visit , and who visit us ,over the Christmas period.

 As well as foodie goodies I like to take a small lasting gift when visiting , I generally   crochet an ornament for their tree. I posted about last years here. The year before that ( pre blog ) I made this cute reindeer.Both such great patterns  I was struggling to come up with something as cute this year.
 Thankfully spotting Dawns sweet little mouse , with a link to the free pattern , gave me this years ornament, Here he is, temporarily living on my little conservatory  tree.........





Like last year, the dark weather has forced me to take him into the garden to get a clear photo.......



I think his face turned out O.K. ....always the trickiest bit........



He has a cute tail and in his little paw he is carrying a thank you message ......



I love having a stash of yarn in just about every colour so that I can easily complete a little project like this without having to venture out to the shops.Indeed I have LOADS  of yarn around the house. There's all kinds of Acrylic yarn...some nicer than others . I am so grateful for the quality  acrylic yarn that makes my hobby so affordable.
 I also have quite a bit of cotton which I love ,but I don't have any "luxury" yarn. By luxury I mean cashmere or merino wool .

 I have always been put off by the price but I loved Heather's idea of building a stash slowly. Buying the odd ball or two as a treat or asking for some as a gift at Christmas or Birthday times. Yes , this could be a way for me to build a stash ...to be used for an ,as yet undecided, special  project.
Ooooh what a looooverly thought :0)     2012 could be the year of my first "Luxury " project !!

I'm excited to tell you lovelies that yesterday I made a start on that stash building ...yipee.
 Outside my LYS I spotted some luxury yarns reduced to £2 a ball . A luxury bargain.....what a great way to start. It will made further purchases at full price a little easier to smile about :0)...........



The yarn I got was mostly Sirdar Sublime . It's a  gorgeously soft  blend of merino, silk and cashmere. I also ended up with one ball of Rowan  Cashsoft Baby DK which is merino, micro fibre and cashmere.
Being new to using these blends I'm hoping it will be O.K. to combine then in one project but I'd love some advice from you lovelies on this subject .

Thank you all for your comments on my latest makes ...they really make my day:0) and in case I don't get time to post again before Christmas day....here's wishing you all a very HAPPY CHRISTMA
Jacquie x

31 comments:

  1. Happy Christmas to you and your family as well and thank you for all your wonderful posts and ideas! It is great to follow your blog! Simone

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  2. i love the hand made tree decorations ;0)x

    merry christmas xxxx

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  3. Lovely mouse decoration and gorgeous yarn!

    Happy Christmas and wonderful New Year to you! I have loved reading your posts in 2011 and look forward to reading more in 2012!

    Love and Best Wishes

    Vanessa xxxxxxxxx

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  4. Sublime yarns are gorgeous to work with. Have you heard of Black Sheep craft barn? They often have good offers on sublime as well as other luxury yarns. If you visit their website you can subscribe to emails when new offers are introduced.
    Cute little mouse!
    Happy Christmas x

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  5. I absolutely love Sublime, its my favourite wool of all - I also love the idea of building a stash slowly, so I might join you!

    The mouse is adorable!

    X

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  6. You ask about combining - I think when you're mixing and matching these gorgeous yarns you'll be fine if you look at the needle guage on the band and if it is similar say one size either way they'll combine well.
    Well done on finding such wonderful bargains :)
    Merry Christmas and thanks for a year of colourful blogging.
    Lynn.

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  7. Your little mouse ornament is just adorable
    Have a wonderful Christmas

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  8. That mouse is so adorable! I so agree about the convenience of yarn on hand to fulfill our desire for instant gratification! Merry Christmas to you! Hugs, Annette

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  9. Ohh woww...Lovely X'mas decoration and gorgeous yarn!

    Happy Christmas and wonderful New Year to you!!! hope coming 2012 will give us an opportunity to read more from your blog...Thank you so much for sharing...

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  10. What a lovely idea to slowly build a stash of luxury yarns. I too am put off by the price. And I am going to pinch your idea of a wee tree gift for those Christmas visits for next year. I love your blog. Thank you! Belinda

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  11. Merry Christmas and a Luxurious New Year xxxx

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  12. So sweet! I have a gorgeous crocheted owl hanging in pride of place in my Christmas tree! I'll show you in a blog post coming soon. Think you'll recognise it!!

    I've asked many people the same yarny question and it seems to be that as long as the washing instructions are the same then the yarns will work together in a project just fine. I my granny balnket was crocheted in 4ply and Dk and it's totally fine, you really can't tell that there are different weight yarns in there as I used the same size hook.

    Merry Christmas to you and yours,

    xxx

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  13. Jacquie,
    Happy Christmas to you!!
    And Thanks for all the inspiration you bring to my life all over the year! :)

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  14. Your little Christmas mouse is so sweet.
    The idea of slowly building a stash of nicer yarns is good. To this point the extent of luxury yarn for me has been cotton and I have very little. I would love to see what the others feel like. :0)
    Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

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  15. I too was inspired by Heather & am building a luxury stash. Am keeping a close eye on the local knitting shop...Merry Christmas x

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  16. What a cute little mouse! That Sublime is my favouritest yarn ever, it's so soft. I bought some when one of the online yarn shops was having a sale. I'm keeping it for a project for me, but I have no idea what yet!

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  17. Your little mouse is very cute. Good luck with all your last minute preparations. Wishing you and your family a lovely Christmas.
    Anne xx

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  18. I love the ears on that little crocheted mouse!

    About combining yarns...I do it frequently and, as someone's already commented, just try to be mindful of the prescribed gauge.

    Have fun with your luxe yarn. Cheers!

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  19. aaahhh in loving the crochet mouse he is so sweet ;-)) Enjoy your lovely yarn to. Have a great christmas, dee xx

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  20. Oooh I love the colours of your sublime yarn, a real bargain too. Have a lovely christmas
    Best wishes
    Pene

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  21. Love that little Christmassy mouse ~ he's cute! Hope you have a fabulous Christmas too :O)xx

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  22. Your stash is coming on great, Sublime merino is my favourite too.
    Happy Christmas lovely!
    Hugs xx

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  23. We have a new knitting shop in my area this year and I have finally started buying "luxury" yarns - what an incredible difference they make to my knitty pleasures! xx

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  24. Oh Jacquie you have the same thoughts as me, I would love to always use the gorgeous luxury yarns but like you budget doesn't allow. So like you I sniff out bargain yarns form everywhere and squirrel them away for special projects! My eyes are always peeled LOL!
    Have a super Christmas, maybe you'll get a stash from Santa LOL.

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  25. Have a wonderful Christmas Jacquie!
    Best wishes for you and your family...
    and a lot of beautiful yarn and projects for the coming year :)
    Big kisses,
    Angie
    http://www.lemondedesucrette.com/

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  26. Happy Christmas and New Year Jacquie.

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  27. I think as long as the gauge match is good you'll be fine mixing those yarns.
    Happy Christmas to you and yours x

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  28. Wishing you all the best for Christmas and the New Year!

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  29. I like this yarn toys. Its looking very nice and its yarn is a too best as compare to the other yarn.

    scrapbook album

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  30. Love the little mouse. Thank you.

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