November draws to a close

..and with it, the end of Nablopomo and the pressure to post every day.

I can't say I will miss it, as it has been quite a struggle. I've managed to put something up every day, but sometimes I've cheated by posting something the day before and setting it up to publish on the right day, and other times the quality of the post has been rather lacking. Although I'll let you be the judge of that, naturally!

But on the other hand, I've enjoyed the pressure - it has given me the impetus to write about some things I might have let slip by, and also made me think more about the blog and try to keep my readers interested.

I've been chuffed by the number of comments I've had over this period - regular posting clearly keeps you coming back - and want to single out Pixlkitten (another Nablopomo-er) and Colleen for their sterling support and comments over this time.

I'm also delighted to be able to introduce you to a new blogger who has taken the plunge in earnest this month. Leez and I have known each other for many years through work, but also share a love of crafting. She freely admits that knitting is not her forte, but wanted to have a craft that she could do in front of the tele, and recently resurrected her needlepoint skills with very colourful and impressive results. You can read more about it on her blog - please do pop over there and give her some support!

As for me, the extremely wet weekend we endured was just the stimulus I needed to spur me on with my weaving efforts. Unfortunately the gloominess was not conducive to photography so I can't yet show you the completed sampler which I started earlier in the year and which had been gathering dust ever since.

I pulled a whole lot of odds and ends out of my stash and set about trying different combinations of yarn and weaving patterns and ended up with a rather colourful sampler which I believe will prove very instructive for future projects. I tried thick, thin, textured, coloured, hairy, smooth varieties of yarn in different weaves, some with quite startling and unexpected results.

Now I have a couple of ideas for future projects, the confidence and enthusiasm that I need to pursue them, and a few hours more practice that has improved my technique. I can't wait for the christmas break...!