Pentagram Wreath

Just a quick post to show you the wreath that I made for Yule. I used some beautiful yellow/orange willow, five wands for each side. Cable ties and twine hold it together. It adds a nice splash of colour.

Winter Solstice

This year the Solstice has brought some freezing temperatures.When I went out with the dogs first thing, hoping to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse, and being disappointed due to cloud cover, it was a chilly -10. The winter Solstice has been marked and celebrated by humans for as long a they have existed on Earth. The significance of the return of the sun,longer days and the promise of spring is deeply rooted in us all. We all rely on the sun for our food and wellbeing. Its the absolute life source of our planet.
The ancient traditions celebrated in paganism allows us to find some real meaning in Yuletide celebrations. The dark days of winter are a time for us to renew ourselves and make plans for brighter days.
I am taking a break from crafting for the next couple of weeks to concentrate on making the holidays as relaxing as possible for my family. But I will also be thinking of the direction Pixie Pegs might take in 2011. Solstice greetings from Pixie Peg Crafts.xxx

Creative Genes

A week rarely goes by when my Mum doesnt come visiting bearing knitted gifts for the family, including our two Greyhounds.

This week was no exception and with more very cold weather on the cards Jodie and Peter were very glad to receive these knitted snoods which can be pulled up over their ears.The snods have a specially customed holes in them for their leads to go through. They have had some good wear out of the knitted coats Mum made for them in the Autumn and are always having them admired around the village.
Margaret is an accomplished knitter, following in the footsteps of her own Mother, Ada, who also loved to knit for others. We are lucky to have fantastic hats ,scarves, gloves jumpers and my favourite, bed socks knit for us with love and personal attention.Today is my Mum Margarets 63rd Birthday. Happy Birthday Mum. We all love your knitting.

Hexham Christmas Market

Today I had a stall at the Hexham Christmas Market,and Robyn and I were busy setting up the stall at 8am. The weather was kind, and very mild compared to recent days and weeks, most of the snow having thawed in the last couple of days. I was just outside the Abbey and a steady stream of shoppers were entertained by choirs, bands and dancers. As the morning wore on I managed to relax and actually enjoy the occasion. My Mum and Dad came to help and Mum as well as being an excellent sales woman, solved a tricky problem we were having with wind blowing things around on the stall, with the aid of a table cloth and some sellotape.

Having lost some confidence in the wreaths I had been making, I was greatly heartened to completely sell out of wreaths. The willow and Alder wreaths were particularly popular, as were the twisted Hazel ones. I have learnt a great deal from today and hope to return to the christmas market next year. I have several orders to fulfill this week and will try to sell some wreaths from the house too.

Winter Wreath

Today I've been experimental with my wreath making and have come up with an interesting winter wreath for our front door. Some fir branches vaguely in the shape of a snow flake and a shiny mirror snow flake in the centre, finished with white organza ribbon. We've had snow on the ground here for two weeks now and it has been bitterley cold every day. I'm sure my wreath will look seasonal for a few weeks to come.




This morning I went to one of my favourite shops, Rosarama Beads in Crawcrook. It would be possible to spend hours in there and still feel you hadnt looked at everything. The shop has a friendly atmosphere and the owner is always onhand with help and advice. I love it!

Christmas Market Countdown

The days seem to be flying by and its less than a week untill the Hexham Christmas market. I am getting quite nervous now and just hope I can get a good number of wreaths made this week. I collected some branches on our walk this morning and bought a bag of spagnum moss at Tom and Joes Nursery this afternoon, We also bought our christmas tree, but it will stay out in the back yard for at least another week. Its a friendly place and we enjoyed a complimentary sherry the whilst choosing the tree.



From the map you can see I am on the end of a row of stalls on Beaumont street, Hexham....not sure if its a good spot or not. Santa and his reindeers are going to be in the park so there should be a steady flow of passers by. There will also be the Farmers Market in the market square so heres hoping for decent weather.Please pop by and see me if your in Hexham on Saturday.

Wreaths...what Wreaths?

The kids have spent only one day at school this week due to all the snow and ice we have experienced. I had planned to make loads of wreaths this week for the Hexham market and to sell outside the house, but as everything is blanketed in snow I haven't managed. I did make one pine cone wreath and have plodded on with various felt decorations. I enjoyed making a couple of Christmas tree Pixie Pegs as well.

The snow has been unbelievable this week and not knowing if school is going to be open from one day to the next is very disconcerting, especially if you have to decide whether to let your child travel by bus to school on icy roads. It annoys me that teachers have had so much criticism this week for closing schools and having days off....well why don't those people who obviously think teaching is such a skive come and have a go at it. In my experience, teachers work extremely hard to the detriment of their own well being and family life to do a job that is very under valued. The education system is not a child care system as many parents seem to think.

I have reserected the advent calendar I made last year and filled each envelope with a photo from the year gone by. It's a nice way to remember the events of the past 12 months.


We've had some lovely snowy walks and lots of sledging this week as you would imagine. Even in -10 conditions this morning the Greyhounds Jodie and Peter enjoyed the snow. The river Tyne was covered in ice today for the first time all week.