I like handmade cards and this year for Valentine's Day I thought I'd carry on the tradition I started last year (with the lino print handmade card) and make my own. I originally thought I may try something I'd seen on Pinterest which involved putting wool in glue and then shaping the gluey-wool into hearts and bought some wool in preparation, on eBay no less. However it seemed a bit messy for me and as the day approached I started to have second thoughts. Left looking for alternative inspiration, would you believe it an email popped into my mailbox from Love Knitting urging me to knit a quick heart - well, it seemed just the inspiration I needed so I dug out my knitting needles.

The heart was quick to knit - intact I knitted eight of them in a couple of hours last Thursday afternoon, and for the record I only sent one Valentines Card! I had hoped to make an impromptu garland with the remaining hearts but was stumped for the actual garland part as I didn't want to use a length of wool, or string, or ribbon. On Friday morning I knew exactly what I wanted to make the garland and that was a crochet hook... I can't crochet, well not anything that is recognisable but my forte is a crocheted string. Or it would have been if I'd found a crochet hook. I looked in all of the usual places and some of the more unusual ones too before giving into the thought that I'd put the small selection of hooks that I did have in the charity shop bag, because I never used them. So my garland was scuppered for this year, next year I'll be more prepared!

So I chose my best heart-shaped heart and weaved in the ends. I'd left them long enough that I used one of the ends to sew the heart to the card. I used a darning needle which was sharper than I expected so real blood, sweat and tears went into the production of this card.

It's quite a simple design, but it's the simplicity that I like. That's clearly a theme because if you remember my 2014 Christmas cards they were simple too. I decided to add a kiss in the bottom right corner, though I was conscious of how it would look on the reverse.

I like the detail of the running stitch heart visible on the inside of the card

And I think it held it's own alongside the card MOH bought me. Actually I think he does well choosing cards I like and I was spoilt this Valentine's Day with a pink champagne afternoon tea to be booked for a future date and a pair of pink cycling gloves, which I shared on my Facebook page. In return he's now expecting two new tyres for his bike - how romantic - for the other love of his life!

For the hearts destined for the garland after weaving in the ends, I added a loop to attach them to the garland. It's just that I'm saving the garland for next time!

Did you make anything for your Valentine?

Yes, that's just what you need for the current weather... Actually it's the last thing I want in this 25 degrees-plus spell we're having but, the hat I started knitting back in February is now finished! Ta Dah! This is the pattern I chose from Ravelry, which is a great place to get started. And I fell in love with this hat by Grace Akhrem as soon as I saw it:

Actually it's been almost finished for a while now. It came to Derbyshire with us in March/April unfinished (with finishing accoutrements, like needles and buttons) but as the weather was good there I didn't feel compelled to sew it up. As that was all that it needed. Now if it had been cold...

And d'you know what, because it was knitted "in the round" (oh, get me with my knitting technical terms) there was actually very little sewing to do...

[blushes furiously]

When I bought the wool (yes, back in February when it was very cold) I couldn't decide between a navy and pink multi-colour wool or a lovely plain cream. I always like the multi-coloured skeins on the shelf but often am less keen on them when they're knitted, but I really liked this colourway and there wasn't a plain navy which I'd planned to buy. So as I often do when faced with such tricky decisions I bought both!

I decided to start with the navy and pink multi-colour version as I thought that might be more forgiving as I started to knit again. And the doubts about the multi-coloured wool crept in but I persevered.

I used to knit a lot back in the early nineties but haven't done any for a very long time. Luckily a video on the internet reminded me of how to cast on (and cast off again later on) and I remembered the basic knit and purl stitches so I was well away. I couldn't believe how quickly reading the abbreviations on the pattern came back, and how quickly my hat grew.

MOH couldn't believe I was knitting, there were regular shakes of the head... But knit I did, and it was great fun. I've already lined up my next project - I've decided to knit a summer top but didn't want to start that before this was properly finished. So expect that some time in the autumn!! So onto my finished hat - I like the multi-coloured wool pattern, I think it's better on the brim section than the crown and as that's the bit I think I'll see most, that's a good thing!

The next problem I faced was how to photograph it; photographing it on a flat surface did nothing for its looks, I'm not that good at selfies and I couldn't see MOH agreeing to model it either! So hopefully my plan worked:

A flatter version!

All in all I'm pleased with it, and glad I've actually Properly Finished It so I can start with that summer top. The only problem is this time I've a choice of three colours: a beige, a pale pink and a pale green. And I'm still undecided. Choices again y'see!