Snood and Earrings Competition - Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of my first competition. I'll refresh your memory regarding the prizes:

A snood crocheted by me:

and a pair of earrings, made out of buttons, again by me:

As it is coming up to Easter, I thought it was appropriate to use my glass chicken for the prize draw. Here it is with the entries:

And the winner is......

La Sophia!

Brilliant! I'm sure she'll be able to incorporate it into one of her fabulous outfits. Sophia, send me your address, and I'll make sure your goodies get to you as soon as possible... And for those who didn't win, I'm sure this will be the first of many giveaways, so check back for more. In the meantime, have a look at Sophia's blog, and her creative way with a thrifstore find.

Take care!

Happy Friday - It's the First Needles Giveaway!

Hello all! I realised I've been blogging for well over a year now, and did nothing to celebrate. I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and have learned so much, and now it's time to give some thing back. So, it's time for :

The Fabulous Nicole Needles Snood and Earring Giveaway!

As a thank you to the community of bloggers, I have crocheted a special blue sparkly snood, as seen below:

I know these photos make it look a bit like something a lady would wear while working at a deli counter, so here's a picture of one I made earlier in action:

But wait - there's more!

As well as the snazzy snood, there's also a pair of fab sewing machine earrings, made by my own fair hand, out of buttons:

Of course, the lucky winner will receive a fresh pair, not the pair I'm wearing - hygiene, and all that.

To enter, I'll keep it easy - you must be a follower, or become a follower of Nicole Needles, and leave a comment below. No restrictions on where you live - I'll post anywhere! Entries will close on the 30th of March, when I'll pick the lucky winner!

Good luck!

Christmas Swap Loveliness

Look what the postie brought for me! These lovely parcels came to me from Liz at Ginger and Shortbread, arranged via Lakota's blog. Mr. Needles told me I should wait until Christmas to open them, but rules are for breaking, and I don't have that kind of willpower.

So this is what was in store for me:

A whole bunch of crafty, vintagey loveliness, with a bit of a Scottish theme!

There was some gorgeous smelling soap, a little tin heart (that's going straight on to the tree), and a box of Edinburgh Castle rock sweets:

 Next up was a copy of the Simplicity Sewing book from the 1970's:

 Now anyone who knows me will know that I'm mad on sewing books and diagrams, so this was perfect! I already have an early 1960's edition of this, but this one was completely re-vamped, with some great images. Here are a couple:

 And last but not least, this brilliant tea cosy made by Liz herself:

Tea cosy in use!

I love all the colours, and the 2 little pom poms on top are the perfect finishing touch! Mr Needles kept trying to wear it!

Finally, a bit of Scottish cheekiness in the card from Liz:

Love it! 

A HUGE thank you to Liz for all the brilliant presents, and all the effort and thought she put into them. Everyone should look at her blog - she takes some beautiful photos of her local area, and has that special charity shop luck I just don't seem to posess. And thanks to Lakota for organising it all.

Happy Christmas, and see you all in the New Year!

Crazy Crochet Lady

I've re-re-discovered crochet. I'll explain: I grew up in 1970's in the San Francisco area, with a mother who was VERY keen on crochet, so my whole childhood was smothered in the stuff. Totally put me off, until the 90's, when it got cool again. I had collected quite a few vintage patterns by then, so I taught myself a few stitches, and made a lacy white top for wearing with my Madchester baggy jeans.

Then I went off it again. 

Until recently, when I had an irrational need for a snood. I bought some purple lurex wool from All the Fun of the Fair on a whim (it was on sale; go check it out, it's a cute shop), and decided it would have been perfect. Trawled the net for a pattern, and also pulled out my 70's knitting book, then got going!

Brilliant knitting and crochet book!

This was the result of the pattern from the net:

But purple doesn't go with everything. I need a black snood I can wear to work. (I improvised this one with a stitch from the Encyclopedia):

 What about when I'm feeling a bit Busby Berkeley? I need a silver snood:

 Now I need something nautical - a red sailor hat from the Vogue Knitting Book of 1950:

The version in the book...

......and my version. Can you tell the difference?

And now I've done so much crocheting, I have repetitive strain injury in the fingers of my left hand. I'm typing with one finger! I wake up every morning with a throbbing pain in my knuckles. But I can't stop! I'm especially enjoying crocheting on public transport - better than Sudoku, and people don't sit next to you because they think you're nuts.

A Butterfly Bearing Gifts

 

 

 

The postman delivered a lovely surprise for me today - a prize from Wendy at the Butterly Balcony! Inside was a beret crocheted by Wendy herself, as well as a copy of 'Stitchcraft' from 1937.  It was beautifully wrapped, and she'd even included some spare wool in case I wanted to sew the bow on the beret in place. How thoughtful!

I had the day off, so I chose a top to complement it, and wore it all day. Here are some pictures:

 Now I'm over 50 followers, I'm going to have to think of something to give back - giveaway coming up soon!