Extra Christmas present

I've no crafting to show at the moment as the next knitted project i'm working on is taking quite a bit longer than the little preemie tops. Same pattern just for a 9-12 month old. Add to that the fact i've not been sleeping at all well and therefore not able to settle to much during the day, I think it will be the end of the week before i've anything to show.
However.......
the week before Christmas I received  a lovely delivery of carnations through the post, sent by a family member from a well known supplier in Jersey. I've had them before and the blooms look lovely and usually last well over the Christmas period. This year though 2 of them stayed in bud and rotted away rather than opening out. 
I noticed the supplier had a fb page so I contacted them to thank them for the delivery and commented about the 2 failures.
A week later I had a message from them apologising and explaining they would like to make amends. After a few details were sorted I was told I would be sent another delivery and the person who sent them would be getting a voucher. 
This was very unexpected and not the reason I had contacted them but hey i'm not going to say no to free flowers. :-)
These arrived this morning in perfect condition, they are beautiful.

The 2 which are more open at the bottom of the pic and the large leaf greenery are survivors of a bouquet bought on Christmas eve. I can't believe they have lasted so well.

Preemie knits

I found a cute free pattern on a recent trawl through some websites for a simple but very pretty little preemie sized top. It's knit from the top down which means no sewing up - always a bonus.
I've finished 3 of them in total and am now working on one in the larger size.

This is the first one and the one I struggled with as I realised the pattern gave instructions for the buttonhole on the wrong side. I'd already knit up to the 2nd one when I found out and had to undo almost back to the beginning. 

This pretty purple one was very straightforward as I knew to correct the error.

 On this last one I did the ribbed version but also knit ribbed button and buttonhole bands instead of the garter stitch as instructed.

I used James Brett Magi-Knit and am pleased with the way the yarn has worked with the design of the tops.

 The pattern can be found on Marianna's lazy daisy days blog (here) Have a look through the blog if you visit as there are lots of other designs to be used, all them them kindly given free.

Further into the blog there are instructions given for a larger size, this is what i'm working on at the moment. It's going to take a little longer to finish than these little ones and I hope i've got enough of the purple yarn left to complete it. I've done the patterned yoke in white so should be ok.

Again thanks for looking. Most of the items i've shown are available to buy on my fb page Swardy's Knitted Creations - pop on over if you've not been before, new likers are always welcome.