A Very Merry Christmas to You All

Hello friends, first up may I offer my sincere apologies for going missing in action last week. This was due to a severe toothache which required a difficult extraction that has left me in discomfort since last Thursday. Then our boiler decided to break down on Saturday and it looked like a very bleak Christmas was in store in the Sunday Sock household. Fortunately, the lovely engineers at Lothian Gas managed to get the part and worked late to fit a new heat exchanger, which means we are cosy and have hot water.

Now for what I have been up to on the knitting front.
Firstly I frogged the sock I was working on and re-started it toe up

Then I have been enjoying immensely adding mini skeins into my Adventurous wrap.

I am almost at the halfway stage and I can see more in my future using mini skeins and sock leftovers.
Talking of mini skeins, lookie at what Santa brought me.

Tranquility from The Fibre Fox

 

Harry Potter Magical Mystery Mini Set 

Which came with these goodies

Then remember the pink parcel I teased you with

It was filled with magic.

Hubby also treated me to this beautiful brooch for my shawls,

My amazing Step-daughter and family gave me this fabulous make your own slippers set,

and she must be psychic as I have been looking at this all year

I hope you all had a yarntastic day and I will now raise my glass of fizz to you all

Happy crafting

Mary

Blogmas Day 17

Hello friends, not a lot of knitting to share today as other things have taken up my time. Priority being wrapping the Christmas presents ready for distribution later this week.

We have also been out and about at appointments and I spotted this lovely tree and decorations at the local swimming pool.

I have also been extremely upset at the dishwasher as after nearly 15 years it packed in on Saturday. I now have to sacrifice my EYF savings plan to buy a new one, hopefully by the end of February. It was a strange feeling doing the dishes in the sink after all those years, not to mention that we have no dish drainer and we had to rush out and buy squeezy liquid as our last one was empty.

The only knitting I have done is on the sock

I am now round the heel and 1/3 up the leg. It might get finished tonight if I concentrate just on it.

Now on to something else, what do you all thin of yarn mini skeins? I have become so enamored with them when seeing all the lovely projects on the Ravelry radar. I have been looking on Etsy and there are some glorious ones around, a little secret, I just ordered a Harry Potter themed mystery set from The Yarn Lab UK. I would love to know what you think and who your favourite dyers are so I can check them out.
I have, if I am honest, had a bit of a yarn spending spree over the weekend. I have ordered two mystery boxes for January from Rosies Moments. The first is the sock box, I loved this year's Children in a Sweet Shop Around the World theme and for next year she has chosen landmarks around the world, it will be so exciting to see what comes in the box. The second is a mystery box based on the stories of Beatrix Potter, I have no idea what to expect at all but I am sure it will be fabulous.

I am off now to watch Criminal Minds season 4 and hopefully finish up the sock.

Happy crafting

Mary

Links

The Yarn Lab UK  

Rosie's Moments

Advent Adventure - Day 2

And so the madness continues. As I knitted the second clue of the mystery scarf my imagination went into overdrive. I have my work Christmas dinner on the 20th of this month and a lovely wrap would be just the thing to keep me cosy and stylish. Now this one won't be ready by then but, wait a minute, wasn't there one last year and the year before? Why yes there was! And I have the perfect yarn. Some rummaging in stash later and out comes some Assynt by Moonlight yarn by Ripplescrafts in the adorable Carnations colour. Half an hour later and the skeins are wound and off I go with the 2010 pattern http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/advent-calendar-scarf
Here is my progress as of 6pm.

Now this does not mean that I have given up on the other one, not at all. Day 2 was fairly easy going and here is the proof

So now you must be wondering about the socks, well they are coming along too.
Here are Circle Socks http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/circle-socks which were finished this morning and just need washed and blocked.

I must admit to slightly modifying the pattern by extending the circles down the instep and using my preferred heel and toe.

All in all I would say quite a productive day so far and the night is young so goodness knows how much more will be done before bed.

Stay safe and happy crafting

Mary

Diary of a Knitter - Week 4 Begins

Start Weight - 487
Weight Lost - 2
Weight Gained - 4
Balance - 489

Christmas, been and gone.


So it is all over for another year and whilst the diet took a bit of a hit, both yarn wise and food wise it could have been a lot worse.
I as you can see gained 4 skeins, these were all part of a lovely gift of sock weight yarns from my lovely hubby who encourages my passion for shawl knitting.

Ripples Crafts delightful yarns.

He had ordered this surprise pack from Ripples Crafts who is an independent dyer in the North west of Scotland. Helen the owner had asked him a few questions about what I like to knit and colours and she put together this gift for him. The colours are from the left, Ginger, Assynt Jewels, Very Plummy and Mulberry Delight, these were accompanied by the cute wee project bag and some locking stitch markers.

I also got some knitting goodies from my Mum. She gave me a book I had had my eye on for sometime called Knit Swirl by Sandra McIver.

This is a collection of knitting patterns for jackets all knitted in one piece with if I remember correctly just one seam to sew up.
I must admit to having already cast on one of the jackets, the Strata Sphere using some yarn from my stash.

I will keep you updated with my progress. So far I have managed the cast on of 561 stitches and almost completed the 1st welt.
Mum also got me some cute snowmen stitch markers and a set of Knit-Pro metal needle tips which I had asked for.
These tips are also for a specific project I have in mind. I recently bought my very first skein of lace weight yarn and a friend in one of the forums I read on Ravelry has a design that I fell in love with. It is the Persica shawl,

this shawl looks just divine and when I saw it I knew I would just have to knit it.

So with all the other things I already have on the needles I think I have my work cut out for the beginning of 2012.

Hope Christmas brought you all you wished for.

Stay safe and happy crafting.

Diary of a Knitter - Somewhere in Week 3

Start Weight - 487
Weight Lost - 1
Weight Gained - 0
Balance - 486

Getting Lost

So, I kept the diary almost daily for two weeks, then I have kind of got lost. It has been a busyish time at home. DH had his birthday, I had a cold and felt awful. I did keep knitting though and have lost another skein in weight, so the diet is still on track. Mind you it is now Christmas Eve and who knows if I will receive some yarny goodness from Santa tomorrow. Have I been a good girl this year? Well, I was not out and about much due to illness, so I really have not had much opportunity to be naughty.  I have been naughty on the yarn front though, I do know that. Too many Oh Shiny's have crept into my stash, which is why I am keeping this diary and am on this diet.
I really must concentrate in 2012 on finishing what I start, keeping my knitting ADD under control and of course sticking to the diet. Will I do it? Only time will tell.

So am I ready for the big day tomorrow? Well all the shopping is done, all the food bought, presents wrapped, so yes I think I am ready. No tree this year, so our gifts are piled up under the fire, much to the bemusement of kitten Mysti for whom this is all new,

Is there any yarn in there?

Now back to my knitting and a happy afternoon and evening tracking the movements of Santa on the Norad Tracks Santa website, http://www.noradsanta.org/en/track3d.html Great fun for all ages, okay yes I am a big kid at heart.

So all that remains to be said is a Merry Christmas to everyone, stay safe and happy crafting

Diary of a Knitter - Days 10, 11 & 12

Start Weight - 488
Weight Lost - 0
Weight Gained - 0
Balance - 488


That Work Thing!

Santa & Elf

Yes I have been missing again. This time because a wee thing called work got in the way. I don't have regular work hours during the winter months, but I am always available to help out when required and this was one such occasion when my presence was requested.
It was our annual Supersonic Santa weekend where Santa leaves his busy North Pole behind and comes to meet our wee visitors on board our Boeing 707 in the shadow of Concorde.

We also had a visit from the wonderful local theatrical groups Musical Youth & Encore who treated us to a variety of beautifully sung Christmas carols. Which sounded just divine in the acoustics of the hanger.

We had crafty "make and take" for the youngsters with the chance to print their own wrapping paper or make 3D Christmas cards. Also a look back at Christmas during war-time with toys and recipes  from the era.

Now to Knitting

So the above activity ate up many hours, but I still managed to finish all the knitting on the Daybreak for DH. Still have the ends to be sewn in and washed and blocked, but I am so pleased to have finished the long part. Pictures and finished item to appear here soon. Talking of which DH's birthday is on Wed, so I'd better get a move on!!

Stay safe and happy crafting.

Diary of a Knitter - Days 8 & 9

Start Weight - 490
Weight Lost - 2
Weight Gained - 0
Balance - 488


M.I.A.

Yes, yesterday I was missing in action. With good reason though, I was out with my friends from work for our Christmas lunch in Edinburgh. 14 of us met up and enjoyed a lovely Chinese buffet lunch in the heart of the city. This was the first time I had been in Edinburgh, other than for hospital appointments with DH, for about 2 years. Wow, the sheer amount of people was amazing. I had my trusty wee camera with me and took a couple of snaps to share with you.

Scott Monument on Princes Street

Balmoral Hotel in the afternoon sunshine.

It was fun for me looking at the city of my birth through the eyes of a tourist, and had I not been alone by this time I would have spent longer.

Yesterday was also the first time in about 4 years I had been on a train. What a great way to travel, from our wee coastal town to the center of the city in 15 minutes. No worrying about one-way streets or where to park, just off the train, up the ramp and there you are. I will definitely be doing that again.

Now to Knitting

So even with all that excitement you may have noticed a weight loss in my diet. Yes with my on-going efforts to finish the Daybreak, I have used up another 2 skeins. I am a happy bunny. The knitting of this shawl should be finished this evening, then just to wash and block. So it looks like it will be ready in time for DH's birthday, which might just make up for his sweater not being. There really is not much hope of the sweater being finished before 2012 kicks in. Ah well, the best laid plans and all that!!

Stay safe and happy crafting.

Diary of a Knitter - Day 7

Start Weight - 490
Weight Lost - 0
Weight Gained - 0
Balance - 490

So Near and Yet So Far

Well before the eyes gave up last night I made it to just one row short of finishing the second section of my Daybreak shawl/scarf for DH. This means the stripy section is all but finished. I am making a great effort to finish this as his birthday is next week and there is absolutely no way barring the intervention of the knitting fairies that I will finish his Birthday Boy sweater in time.
Sometimes my knitting ADD is a curse!! I seem too easily drawn to the ooh shiny and new!! And if I have suitable yarn and needles free then cast on it is. I have seen threads in some forums on Ravelry which throughout the year have Cast on Mania, where they cast on a new project every day for a month. Now whilst I could easily do this I have avoided these threads like the plague as I have enough trouble with where I am just now. So I will continue on my personal path to knitting Nirvana through my stash reduction plan and casting on only when I have finished two projects. My aim is to have no more than 4 different projects on the needles at any one time. These will eventually consist of 1 lacy project, 1 easy TV knitting project, 1 scrappy project and 1 other. Of course I may have to deviate from this if I receive any more commission work, which of course will take a precedence.


Other Stuff!!


So away from the needles yesterday evening I made a start on the dreaded (to me) wrapping of the Christmas presents. This year I have only 4 lots to wrap, but I find it along with the writing of cards the most stressful time of the season. I love choosing gifts for folk and hoping that I have gotten just the right thing, but I simply detest the wrapping up. Maybe it is because I am not very artistic, or that I am naturally clumsy, but I simply have nightmares about this part of the process. Also my handwriting is not the neatest at the best of times, so cards written under stress are more like a scribbled mess than written with love.
Anyway, here is evening number 1's effort.

This has all now been squeezed into a huge box and is off in the post to it's intended recipients.
Just 3 more lots to go.

We are also running behind on the decorations, so will have to dig them out and make a start. No tree this year, as we simply don't have the space, and with a 9 month old kitten it would be asking for trouble, but enough pretties to make the place look festive.

Stay safe and happy crafting.

Diary of a Knitter - Day 3

Start Weight - 492
Weight Lost - 1
Weight Gained - 0
Balance - 491


Yay!!! I have a loss to report today. 1 skein of gorgeous black Rico Design Merino DK bit the dust in my Daybreak project for DH.

I may also manage to add to that tomorrow, as I also knitted on the baby shawl yesterday, and just the fact that I could no longer keep my eyes open meant that I did not finish a skein on that.

So if I use up that other skein today, does that mean I will immediately rush out to buy more yarn in my 2 - 1 diet? The answer to the is a resounding NO. I am promising myself that I will not do that. I will treat myself sometimes, but not every time. After all, those 77.000+ yards add up to just over 44 miles. That is approximately the distance between Edinburgh and Glasgow, the two major cities here in Scotland's central belt. And since this year so far I have knitted just over 11 miles of yarn it means I still have enough to keep me going for four more years.

Anyway, there is more than knitting to be done today. I have great plans to finally begin washing and blocking some items from my finishing box. I am a terrible procrastinator when it comes to such things. All the fiddly bits are done, the ends all sewn in, it is just finding the space in this tiny flat to lay out the blocking boards and get on with it. Hope fully tomorrow this Damask,

will be looking much better.

Also there are plans afoot to start wrapping Christmas presents. All are bought, just to be wrapped and sent out. Oh and the dreaded writing of the cards, definitely my least favourite part of Christmas.

Stay safe and happy crafting.