A Non Needlework Post and a Late Christmas Recommendation

I'm not a big nails person, but every now and then I like to make an effort. The excellent Wah Nails opened down the road from me last year, and since my first visit in February, I've been a lot more interested. The pictures above are from my most recent visit, on the 10th - aren't they fab! And they seem to be lasting - the pictures above were taken after 3 days of washing up, sewing, cooking, and generally being clumsy with my hands. They're starting to wear out now, after a week, but I think, overall, not bad for wear and tear.

Also, while surfing the net looking for Christmas presents (mostly for myself......), I found the most brilliant publisher on Ebay. I wanted to treat myself to a copy of 1940's Hairstyles by Daniela Turudich to replace the PDF I downloaded from Vintage Passions Just Like Mine (thanks La Dama!). But there is no way I'm paying £99.00 on Amazon (approx $150 USD)!!! After following a few leads on various blogs, etc, I found out this book is an abridged version of a book by Ivan of Hollywood, originally published in the 1940's. And guess what -you can buy it from Bramcost Publications for about £12.00! Maybe I'm the last person to find this out, but I ordered one straight away. It hasn't arrived yet, but if it goes well, I shall definitely be ordering more, as they specialise in re-printing vintage craft books. There are loads of tasty titles - I like the look of the 'Chic Hand Knitted and Crochet Creations' from 1932. Check them out!

I should stick to sewing......

I recently finished these gloves after working on them on and off for about a year, and I have to admit they are not my best work. They're warm, and the long length is great in this weather, but they're a bit lumpy and baggy. I just don't have the patience with knitting that I have with sewing, and become too eager to start, therefore neglecting to get my tension just right. But I vowed that this blog would be a document of all my projects, good and bad, so these will be the first on the 'less than perfect' list.

Well, back to the drawing board. I'm going to try these fingerless numbers from The Butterfly Balcony - the finished results look pretty good. Wish me luck!

Check out Dama's giveaway!

Check out La Dama 's blog - she's always inspiring, and now she's doing a cool giveaway:

I want the compact!   X X X X

I need some elves!

As usual, I've decided to take on far too much for Christmas, resulting in scenes like those above - that's me passed out on the sofa, surrounded by a multitude of knitting projects. As well as finishing off my neverending gloves (I think I've been working on them for 2 years), I've resolved to make armwarmers for both my mother and mother in law, a snazzy new dress for Christmas, and my warmest winter coat is on it's last legs, so I'll need to replace it. But for now, it's all about wool!

I found a great site that compiles patterns from all over the web - Knitfinder. Last winter I made these great armwarmers, called Spirogyra, which you can get here. And this is what they look like:

Armwarmers in action!

And they're really quick to make, with no sewing up because they're knitted on 3 needles - perfect! I will sew anything, but sewing up hand knits drives me crazy!

So, as the title of this post suggests - if anyone has any spare elves, pixies, trolls, or even gremlins, send them my way, 'cos I'm gonna need 'em.