Not a surprise then.

Not so long ago I posted a close up of a secret Christmas project for someone who might look in on this blog. Well it's not a secret anymore as my sister announced at lunch time today that she desperately needed some gloves and was going to have to go out and buy some. As a knitter and provider of woolly garments I couldn't just allow a perfectly good pair of Commuter Fingerless Mittens to sit unworn until Christmas Day while the intended recipient went out to spend money on an inferior alternative.

Luckily she was really happy to receive them and not at all bothered that I had ruined a Christmas surprise. She also thinks they are really cool so I'm patting myself on the back for a job well done. I had planned to wrap up the leftover yarn with the mitts so that Jess could knit herself a hat to go with them, but if I have the time I'll do that myself so that she gets something knitted on Christmas Day too. Aren't I a super dooper sister?!

The yarn is Rowan Kid Classic which is very fluffy and soft. The mitts were a really quick and simple knit and I'd definitely knit them again.

 

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So....

I've finally got myself into gear with the photos of my Christmas knitting and I guess this would be a good time to talk about all of the knitting goodies I got for Christmas too.

In the end I finished 5 projects before Christmas and they all went in the Christmas box until I decided on a recipient.  Only 3 items ended up being given away as it turned out I'd been rather efficient buying presents.  I could have given a couple of people something extra but I decided against it a) because it is so easy to forget the value of handmade items and give them away as a 'little extra' when they represent a huge undertaking and b) because I had rather taken a shine to the cowl I made and rather liked the idea of keeping it!  Last seen modelled on the cat, you can see why I wanted it can't you?

I did however give Rob, my pub landlord this hat
Subtle twist hat (rav link) in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

This scarf of my own design went to Emily, my sister in law to be

It's also made from yarn I dyed so I'm really quite proud of it.  I'll be putting up a pattern for it as soon as I manage to find where I wrote down how many stitches there were before I started decreasing after the point!

Also an improvised pattern in a hand dyed yarn, this went to my auntie.

As well as all that I finished my 22.5 degrees shawl/scarf I've been working on for a while, pics will have to wait til I've blocked it though.  So, that's what I gave but what did I get?  So much lovely stuff, that's what.  Stu's brother got me some Hiya Hiya sock circulars which I have been wanting to try for ages.  I wasn't sure if I'd like them but I've nearly finished my first sock using them (will take pics of that soon too) and I'm getting on just great with them.  I still needed dpns for the heel and will need them for the toe, but I have so many 'loose' dpns floating around that I won't need to hold a set back just for heels and toes when I'm using these needles.  Stu's sister got me Cookie A's latest book Knit. Sock. Love.  I love Cookie's patterns and I love this book.  Em is totally knitworthy so I'll be making her a pair of socks from the book as soon as I can.  She also hand made me this bag for my projects:

See, totally knitworthy!  I also got Vickie Howell's Not Another Teen Knitting Book from Stu's mum and a scarf kit as well - lucky old me.  I didn't get any knitting stuff from my own family though, I think they are all still struggling to understand that it's not just a phase.

Well, that was Christmas, I'll get back to looking forward again from now if you don't mind.

Where's my snow?

So it seems for a second year in a row Britain is in the thrall of a snowpocalpse, schools shut, people having snow days etc etc.  What have we got?  Bugger all!  There was a tantalising dusting this morning, which managed to whet my appetite for snow and then more bugger all.  Disappointment, I has it.

On the plus side I'm actually making some headway into my Christmas preparations.  Lots of stuff is ordered and on it's way, I've nearly finished another scarf for the Christmas box and I've finished the first of three cross stitch thingys for my friends.  The scarf is one of my own devising, made from yarn I dyed myself so is truly a thing of my own making.  Because of this I keep putting off photographing it in case it has to be quietly put to sleep for being crap!  At the moment it is worryingly curly but if I can block that out it will be great, watch this space....(or if you never hear about it again, assume the worst and speak of it no more).  Anyways, I'll be here dreaming of snow and hoping for a snow day to finish off my Christmas knits.