Christmas Cheer

All done for another year!

Here's what Christmas morning looked like from the Magical Wishing Chair. Don't look too hard at the front garden - we've just finished the hard landscaping and haven't planted out yet. The scrubby little natives that remain have toughed out 7 years of drought and are staying, as I don't have the heart to do away with them. I'll just put nicer things around them.



As it turned out, the kids loved their little presents and the cash. My brother's Fletcher Jones vouchers were what he ordered, my SIL was pleased (I think) with her scarf and Mum was happy with her requested cotton socks (bought not knitted) and Dad with his VFL history video. The dogs were just happy.

Lunch turned out well and I managed to time the vegies just right this year (let's not talk of the rock hard, barely cooked, potato incident of 2004). Can highly recommend Father Mac's Christmas puddings, too.

Made it home without incident, although Dad and I came close a couple of times. Glad he and Scott will be away for a few days at the cricket. Give us all some breathing space; Mum most of all.

Home by 4.30, fairly whacked. Put "Last Orders" on DVD and took up the challenge of the leg bands on Rosie's Punishment Jumper. Another FO, thank you very much. :)

Rosie's Punishment Jumper

Materials: 1 x 50g pouffy novelty yarn in raspberry; an amount of Crucci angora and lambswool 8 ply in raspberry (bought 20 years ago when I worked at DJs); some cream chenille stuff I got a large cone of at Reverse Garbage years ago. (I REALLY miss living within walking distance of RG)

Equipment: 3.25mm bamboo needles; 4mm bamboo needles; 3.25mm Aero circular needle; 3.25mm Aero steel DPNS.
Pattern: Basic Sweater from Patons "A Dog's Life" book. This is what the basic pattern looks like on a miniature Schnauzer knitted by someone without the sadistic desire to make her dog a laughing stock. The pic of Rosie's jumper doesn't really show the true horror of that vibrant raspberry colour.

The girls are deep in the chest, so Rosie's is a Large chest and a Medium length. As suspected, I didn't have enough of the rasberry angora, so there really aren't enough rounds of the body band, but I'm sure Rosie won't mind.

The cream chenille is quite nasty stuff to knit with. It has no give at all and I'm sure it will run to ladders. The only other thing I've ever knitted with it was an opera scarf for Connor's toy lambie last January. It looked lovely with the jeans I sewed lambie (long story, but naked sheep are a motif, even among the non-knitters of the family) but stretched like buggery.

Going back to knitting the jumper for Kelly the Kelpie now.

FO, FO, it's Christmas time you know....

Whipped up 6 santa sacks this morning (photos later): 1 for each child and 1 for each fur child. The picture is of the Quality Control Supervisor's sack, complete with stunt present (she had to give it back - it's part of the soft toys I collect for our breeder).

The big sacks for the kids are huge - 75cm wide and 100cm long. Size is important here.

The sacks for the dogs are from the off cuts. 37cm wide and 50cm long. I've already been told it's not big enough for Lochie's presents. Needless to say, Lochie lives with my brother's family! He is the son of my Quality Control Supervisor, born July this year.

Anyway, I'm rather pleased with the way the bags turned out. Bought the 100% cotton fabric in the Home Yardage closing down sale. Must have been about April this year. The ties for the kids' sacks came from the sacks my SIL bought at Clint's last year and which disintegrated as soon as they were used. The ties for the dogs' sacks are old shoelaces that Mum had in her sewing cupboard and which were never going to be used in shoes.

Also finished the "Fozzy" Feathers Scarf for RC.

Materials: 4 x 50g balls of Patons Feathers in variegated brown and gold
Equipment: 6.5mm hand made timber needles (bought them at the local Steiner school fete in November)
Pattern: Cast on 30 stitches. Garter stitch until yarn runs out. Cast off. Darn in ends.
Finished measurements: 190cm (75") long, 16cm (12.5") wide

Also spent some time watching (well, mostly listening and doing other stuff) Pearl Harbour on DVD and sorting out knitting needle central. It's a set of library card catalogue drawers that I was given a couple of years ago and which is perfect for craft equipment storage. I will photograph, promise. I labelled most of the drawers so I can find what I need quickly and put orphans into pairs. I find twist ties the best way of keeping needles in pairs or DPN sets.

Oh and Pearl Harbour is tedious in beyond belief.

Peggy's gone to bed early so that Father Christmas will come sooner. :)

Merry Christmas to one and all.

FO! London Baby Jumper

At last, a finished object. The London Baby Jumper is all sewn up and ready for despatch.

The colour is glorious and the wool is beautifully soft.

Now, what's next? Socks?

The Cleckheaton 8ply from eBay arrived today - yes, packages on a Sunday! It's a gorgeous green with a rust fleck - kinda tweedy. Yum.

A serious stash reorganisation is fast approaching. My mother gave me a sneak preview of her stash yesterday - I may never need to buy 8ply again! Room must be found. What a terrible dilemma - more wool ;)

FO! SIL's "Old Shale" Shiraz Scarf

Woo hoo! Finally finished the mohair scarf this morning with about a metre of wool to spare. Now to finish a few other projects!

The intention is to finish a few before I start anything new, but left bereft of a no-brain and portable project, I grabbed some scrap wool and made a mouse from Patons "Big Book of Little Projects". I've knitted one and started another - all in traffic light and other little gifts of time during the day. Mind you, the woman beside me at a pedestrian crossing who asked me what I was knitting, looked daggers when I replied, "A mouse". I'm sure she thought I was taking the piss.

Very excited that my ebay green homespun arrived today. It's a gorgeous colour, but not as soft as I expected. About 1350g - so almost exactly enough to make Folly! I'll knit the sleeves shorter anyway. PLEASE let there be enough. Now I've just got to find some odd balls to knit all those flowers.

I cannot believe that I actually BOUGHT a jumper today. Called in to my local Vinnies between meetings and picked up a few things that fitted (quel suprise!)for me and for my SIL, including a cotton mesh jumper. I think I'll cut it down the middle of the front and bind in some velvet ribbon - it will be more useable as a cardi than a jumper. It's a soft brown colour, so will be perfect for this season's fashions. Damn, in danger of being fashionable as well - what a day!

Also picked up some extra double ended needles for wire knitting - must get back to that soon. There's a sweet bracelet on the Spun site, although I think I prefer the one I made in August, and a fantastic keepsake box on AntiCraft.

AntiCraft is great. Makes my inner goth glad. Lord, was it really 20 years ago I flirted with Gothdom? The approach of my 40th birthday is spinning me out, just a little.

FO! Sabavana's "Feather & Fan" Jacaranda Scarf

Sabavana's having a special birthday. Being cash poor and yarn rich, I pulled out the needles and created this for her.

It's an original design, but not particularly so - surely lots of people have knitted one just like it. Gauge is unimportant. I just knitted until I'd had enough.

Materials: 3 and a bit 50g balls of Crucci Raw Cotton 8 ply (DK) in a lovely jacaranda blue.

Fantastic texture, although after knitting in wool, it felt quite rough on my hands. Soon got used to it, though. I picked up a bag of this yarn in jacaranda, ecru and mauve at a market stall. Paid $10 for the lot (about 15 balls).

Needles: 4mm bamboo

Pattern:
Cast on 42 stitches

Row 1 Knit (the right side).
Row 2 K3, purl to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 3 K3, *(k2tog) 3 times, (yo, k1) 6 times, (k2tog) 3 times. Repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 4 Knit.

Continue until desired length is reached and cast off in knit on row 1.

FO! Sidewinder Hat

Beige Sidewinder Hat, designed by Celia Ng.

Materials: 50g ball of Patons Totem (8ply/DK), beige.
It was the only ball of Totem I could find that didn't have a putative project attached to it! Not a particularly inspiring colour, but fine for an experiment.

Needles: 4mm vintage faux tortoiseshell.

Pattern: Sidewinder hat, designed by Celia Ng, on the Southern Cross Knitting site.

Knitted sideways in garter stitch with a simple cabled band. Utilises provisional cast on, short rows and grafted seam, all techniques new to me, as well as cable. A good pattern to for beginners to learn techniques on.

It only took a few hours to complete. I was home sick and couldn't settle to anything. It looks good on Jejune who is petite, but looked hideous on my boof-head. If I were to knit it again, it would need to be longer and bigger and the cable band deeper..


Pics courtesy of Jejune.