Mammoth crafty update part II

Hello again everyone! As promised, here is part II of the mammoth crafty update, a little later than planned. I've been delayed by a chest infection, among other things. I wouldn't be here, blogging, on New Year's Eve (not that there's anything wrong with that), but having asthma and then getting a chest infection is pretty bad news, so I've had to cancel my plans for the evening.

Never mind, at least it gives me time to catch up on my blogging!

One other project I've finished in December was my purple vintage flower cushion.

Here you can see it getting cost with the original cream cushion I made using this pattern.

If you look closely, you'll see a slight difference between the purple and the cream cushions. The purple cushion has several rows of treble crochet bordering each side. This was because I used a 4 ply weight yarn instead of the dk weight used for the cream cushion. I couldn't quite get the shade of pastel lilac I wanted in Rowan Cotton Glace, so I decided to use Rowan Siena instead, and simply modified the pattern slightly. I'm still happy with the result!

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Well, 2013 is drawing to a close. I have to say it has been a heck of a year for me. Good things and bad, stresses and strains and moments of joy and celebration too. I guess that's like any year, but somehow things have seemed magnified this year. I've finally been able to sort out some long carried personal baggage, with some help from some very supportive people. I have to say that has made a huge difference to me, and I feel I am ending the year as a much stronger person than the person that started the year! Here's just a few of the positives that I've been lucky enough to experience in my personal life in 2013:

1. Finding out that I had passed the Postgraduate Diploma I took in 2011-12, with merit!
2. Getting a place on, and starting a PhD course (so far, so good)
3. Getting my flat! My own space at last - it feels so extravagant to have all this space to myself, and it's only a 1 bedroom flat!
4. My wonderful, wonderful boyfriend S, who has given me another year full of happy memories and laughter.
5. My fantastic family (and S again) who have all pitched in and helped me with moving, hefting boxes, doing DIY jobs, providing advice, stopping my tearing my hair out with stress over it all and generally standing on my own 2 feet!
6. Of course all you fellow bloggers and crafters out there who take the time to read and visit this blog, and leave such kind and supportive comments. Every comment is valued and it's so great to feel part of a community here.

Well, that's all for now folks, the sun has set on 2013, and now we await 2014. I hope to see you all here and on your own blogs in the coming year. Very best wishes and a Happy New Year to you all!

p.s. I have received several requests for patterns recently - I'm not able to respond to them at the moment, but please believe I will do my best to share my makes with you as soon as I can.