Sunday 13th January

Hello friends, here we are already nearly halfway through January. I hope all your new year's resolutions and crafting is going to plan. I have had a mixed week with a visit to the Doctor and yet more antibiotics, this time for a skin abscess which slowed my knitting somewhat as my arm movements caused a great deal of pain. Despite that, I have a finish to share with you.

My last pair of socks for Operation Christmas Stocking is done and these will be added to the parcel and posted off tomorrow. These are Dumbledore's Christmas Stockings, a free pattern on Ravelry and I chose to do all chart A for this pair. The yarn is Ripples Crafts Reliable Sock in Early Morning with the cuffs and toes in Drops Fabel in Mustard. The pattern is written for top-down but was very easily adaptable to toe-up.
This is my first completed project of 2019 and has been named Aberdeen, a Royal Burgh, in my Ravelry notebook. Here is a link to the Wikipedia page about Aberdeen.
It is also my first contribution to the Sock Knitters group KAL of 2019. Each year we try to collectively knit 5500 pairs of socks. Last year we didn't quite make it amassing only 5202 pairs. If you are a sock knitter please join this friendly group and help us hit the magic number this year.

The next pair I have on the needles are for a good friend's daughter. I decided to make up the pattern as I went along and I am pleased with the result so far. I am on the cuff of the first sock and it will be finished this afternoon.

The yarn is Stylecraft Head over Heels in Sugarloaf. I am loving the colours of this yarn and am really enjoying knitting it up. As I said I am making it up as I go along and hopefully you can see the garter rib waffle pattern in this picture

Now for some incomings.
A while ago I mentioned my new found love of Bath and Bodyworks hand cream and how it cannot be easily gotten in the UK. My lovely ex-colleague Elly, who lives and works in Doha, kindly sent me some as a gift when she came home for Christmas. Thank you, Elly.

A new year means new exciting things and yesterday was full of these when two mystery boxes from Rosie's Moments arrived.
First is the monthly sock box which this year features world landmarks. January's landmark is the beautiful and majestic Matterhorn.

The box is filled with goodies of a Swiss theme with chocolate, hot chocolate, a bath bomb, goats milk soap, a cheese-themed note card, a measuring pen, a little Swiss cottage progress keeper and beautiful sock yarn with a pattern to knit. It was like Christmas all over again opening this up.

The second box from Rosie was just as magical, this time the theme for the year is Beatrix Potter and January's box just had to be Peter Rabbit,

It is packed with Peter Rabbit goodies, yarn and a pattern, carrot-shaped sweeties, a napkin, a collectors 50p, little tin, labels and progress keepers. it also contained a gorgeous Peter Rabbit pin badge which is now firmly fixed to my sock project bag.

This coming week I will be out and about with my sock on Thursday morning at Merryhatton Garden Centre for coffee and cake with my friend Sheena. We are meeting at 10.30am. If you want to join us feel free to pop along and say hello and bring your knitting.

Until next Sunday, take care and happy crafting

Mary

Rows knitted 445