Socks

Design: Regia Socks Pattern (60 stitch)
Yarn: Regia Jacquard 5269 Las Vegas
Needles: Knitpicks DPN - 2.5 mm

These were the socks I challenged myself to finish for Christmas - and I did it! I grafted the toes on Christmas Eve and wore them on Christmas Day. And then my mum gave me a pack of plain black cotton socks - LOL!

These were the very basic recipe that comes with the yarn, although I make them slightly shorter than the pattern calls for, both in the leg and in the foot. For this pair, I did make the attempt to match the stripes, but that could be because of my perfectionist tendencies ...

Lizzie*Kate Exchange Received

And what a lovely piece it is - and so appropriate!



Angela chose the Cross Stitcher in Residence chart - surprisingly, one I didn't have :o) - and finished it as a beautiful pinkeep/scissor pouch - you can see a picture of the reverse on her blog. I especially liked the cheerful ribbon on the top.

Angela also crammed in a heap of flosses, both DMC and Six Strand Sweets as well as a new Lizzie*Kate Snippet chart too - Good things come to those who stitch - and they certainly did today!



Thank you Angela!

PS Loved the Canadian Flag parcel tape - and so did my partner - he was a native of Ontario before moving to the UK!

WIPs

I have been busy, honest - it's just that a lot of my stitching and knitting has been for gifts, so I haven't been able to share.

Add to that a camera that just doesn't want to hold a charge and adding pictures to this blog has become a bit stressy!

The good news is that my parents are going to buy me a new camera for my birthday next month. The bad news is that I'm getting a 'bigger' present than usual as it's a 'big' birthday - I'm going to be 40! But I digress...



This is how close I am to finishing Prairie Schooler's O Christmas Tree. I really like this - it's seasonal without being over the top, although The Hermit hates it because it mentions the "C" word. Tough - I'm in charge of decorating and come next Christmas, this will hopefully be framed and on display!



This are my current socks in progress - the yarn is something Little Sister gave be for Christmas - it is Regia Wool Cotton and it's lovely and soft to knit. The colourway is a bit too blue for me but it looks very pretty. I might ask my LYS if she is planning to stock this yarn in addition to the other Regia.



This is my mindless knitting project. Underneath all the fluffy bits is a basic garter stitch scarf, like the one I made my Mum for Christmas. In fact, it is the same yarn, just a different colourway. The picture is a bit blurry because the camera is having trouble focussing on the scarf due to the metallic threads. That's my excuse - otherwise I'll have to admit to just being a rubbish picture taker!



And finally, this is my latest shawl project. It is a pattern called Kiri, which can be found here. I'm using a Noro yarn to knit it and I love how it is looking. My Dad asked if I was making a Technicolor Dream Coat... The lace pattern is so easy to knit, too. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be smaller than I thought so will need more pattern repeats ... already it takes me 15 minutes to knit one pattern row, so it might grow very slowly from here on in - but it has only taken me just over a week to get this far.

Paying it Forward

Cathy had a PIF offer on her blog which I signed up for.

Cathy is going to stitch something for me in the next 365 days. In return, I promised to post this on my blog and "pay it forward" to two other stitching bloggers out there. So, if you are interested in receiving something stitched from me within the next 365 days AND you are willing to post this on your blog and "pay it forward" to two other stitching bloggers out there, leave a comment on this post. I will draw two names on Thursday 29 January.

Christmas Exchange

Meg organised the exchange and this is the lovely ornament I received before Christmas from Amy. Amy enclosed a chart, thread and some Hershey's Kisses in different flavours, which I gave to The Hermit as he misses North American sweeties :o)

Thank you ladies!

Snowman - Lizzie*Kate

Design: Snowman (from Tiny Tidings IV)
Designer: Lizzie*Kate
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

The snowman originally had white metallic snowflakes, but I don't think they stood out very well. Rather than frog them. I stitched white beads on top before making the ornament up as per the others.

Noel - Lizzie*Kate

Design: Noel (from Tiny Tidings IV)
Designer: Lizzie*Kate
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

Another ornament made up - done in exactly the same way as the snowman, but a few threads different in size.

Sheep - Lizzie*Kate

Design : Sheep (from Tiny Tidings IV)
Designer: Lizzie*Kate
Threads: DMC
Fabric: 28 count evenweave

This sheepie had been hanging around for a while, and finally this Christmas, got beads on the wreath and finished into an ornament. I used the method that The Drawn Thread use for their fobs, as there was a lot of spare fabric round him.

Interview

This interview comes courtesy of Stitch Bitch - thank you!

1. The local news media shows up on your doorstep. It turns out your neighbor is a serial killer. You cannot say, "He was so quiet. This is such a shock. This kind of thing doesn't happen here." What do you say? (You can choose the neighbor.)

" Really? I did wonder why she was always digging around in the planters. She's 91 you know. I hope to be that active at her age. She always looks so smart too, mascara, lipstick ... er, I think it's lipstick..."

2. What's the greatest invention created in your lifetime?

Although silicon chips pre date me by about ten years, I suppose I ought to say the computing revolution - in particular the world wide web (the pre cursor of which was created in 1980, so it is younger than me!)

3. What was your best job?

I think my last two have both been pretty good, working in the arts. I currently work for a community circus theatre company.

4. Over the next 18 months, we're all likely going to have to cut back. Where will you make these cuts? What luxury will fight to save? Will you actually come to blows? (That last one is a joke.)

Fortunately, we're used to frugal living here, so we probably won't see much difference. The Hermit works in a care home for the elderly, and they always need care. And it seems likely that the project I'm working on will get funding for the next 2 years - hopefully I haven't jinxed that by saying it.

That said, I am watching more carefully what I spend, and trying not to get more 'stuff'. So I'm not buying books (even second hand) and reading through the huge library I already have. And I'm not buying needlework stash until I complete a few more projects.

I think the 'luxury' that I would miss most would be the monthly meetings of my knitting and book groups - being able to order a nice hot chocolate at the meeting place, or having a meal there.

5. Are you a good speller?

Yes. And I always have been, I think because I have always been a reader.


1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (And your e-mail address if I don't already have it, please.)
2. I will respond by e-mailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Christmas Ornament Exchange

Design: Joy Needleroll
Designer: Jeannette Douglas Designs
Threads: DMC (own choice)

Fabric: white evenweave

This is the needleroll I sent all the way to New Zealand to Margaret. Margaret does such beautiful work, I was rather nervous about my half of the exchange - I wanted something a little 'more' than just cross stitch and this mini needleroll seemed to fit the bill, as it has a number of other stitches in it.

The design is from a JCS ornament issue (2002?) but if you don't recognise it, it is because I radically changed the colour scheme!

Oh, and I don't think the pictures are playing nice today, so apologies if you have to crick your neck!