Post Christmas post

Another festive season safely out of the way and once again, despite being a very good girl, a distinct lack of Hugh Jackman or Fernando Torres to unwrap on Christmas morning. Ggrr. But seriously, as always I was blessed in many other ways - I have few true friends but what friends they are - generous, thoughtful and kind beyond belief.
I intend to dedicate a post or two to share a couple of the Christmas presents I made for these special people. For my wonderful friend Rosie I made a cushion cover, choosing a simple hexagon/flower arrangement in lovely ditsy cottons. It has a simple envelope fastening at the rear.

The cushion cover itself was quick to whizz up. The most time-consuming part ( other than the patchwork itself ) was placing the design just so and then stitching it in place with invisible thread - which as the name suggests can be tricky stuff to work with because it's er, easy to lose sight of! I'll definitely return to cushions as gifts - watch out people you have been forewarned. Read and forget.....

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For Kath I ran with the Leeds Rhinos theme, which never seems to fail, and I made a large tote bag in blues and yellow. I used the Patchwork of the Crosses design which was new to me, but I totally fell in love with how effective it turned out. I would love to make a quilt with this block but just this one took quite a while to put together, so not much chance of using it on larger scale projects unless I sprout extra arms at some point.

I couldn't resist adding to the theme by knitting this hot water bottle cover in Rhino colours. I like the challenge of coming up with handmade items in these colours! Already thinking of her next birthday/Christmas gifts.....