Even More Hectic December

One week today it'll be Christmas folks, but far more importantly to me, only six days 'til THE BIG DAY- my sister's wedding!
As I mentioned in my last post it's all go and I was right that I'd be hard pressed to blog, sorry!
I'm really enjoying all the making, however I still can't share most of it. I'm almost done, just need to do the alterations to her dress, which she bought, so no pressure there! That's the task for the weekend. Then the fresh flowers for the table decorations and her bouquet but that'll be the day before/morning of job.

In between the preparation for the main event I've managed to finish a few homemade gifts although I have bought Christmas cards this year, say whhhaattt? 
I know but what can a girl do when's there's only so many hours a day and the day job takes up a lot of them?!
I did find some I liked with owls (can't go wrong) which were just right to embellish, out came the glitter glue and the ever trusted buttons and they're now just a little more special....

I also managed to fit in a trip to Cardiff's Christmas Market and picked up some lovely pressies from local makers, always good!
 http://www.cardiffchristmasmarket.com/

My "go to" present when time is ticking is the always reliable cowl....
For the first one, I used super cosy Rowan Polar yarn (60% wool, 30% alpaca, 10% acrylic) which is sadly now discontinued :-( 
I used a scrummy, purple colour and crocheted three bands approximately 7cm wide and 60cm long. I then plaited them together and joined the ends with a few more rows of triple crochet and included a couple of button holes on one end. I used lush, chunky buttons on the other end and the result is a rather snug cowl.

For the other cowl, I used James C Brett's sumptuous Monsoon yarn (70% acrylic, 30% wool) but knitted this one. I simply knitted 5cm of double moss stitch then continued in stocking stitch. The wool produced lovely bands and lent itself to being symmetrical. Again I included two button holes which were made over two rows. I then attached two vintage buttons to complete it.

Although the cowl is 65cm long and 22cm wide, one ball was plenty with quite a bit left as you can see from the picture.
Hopefully the recipients like them!

Thanks so much once again for taking the time to read my post, it means a lot.
I hope you and your family have a wonderfully festive Christmas. Be prepared for wedding overload in the New Year ;-)
Until next time, craft in earnest! Craftin' Ernest xx