A few finished items

I've been trying to catch up with a few projects over the last couple of weeks. I have far too many things on the go at any one time, and consequently, I don't seem to get very far with any of them! I think that one of my New Year resolutions ought to be to limit the number of projects I have on the go at any one time. Anyway, I have finished a couple of Christmas presents. And they are wrapped up and ready for giving! (feels smug!)

The first is a Rib and Ruffles scarf from Misti Alpaca, that I knitted in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky. It was a super quick knit, even though I made it wider than the patter stated. I started off with 108 stitches, which after 2 rows of knit togethers, gave me a scarf of 27 stitches. The second scarf is a Wavy scarf from Knitty. I used some almost antique yarn that I bought when I was working in Strasbourg, way back in the mid 1980's! Apologies for the dark picture, but it shows off the wavy pattern of the scarf much better than the one I took with the flash. Both of these scarves are Christmas gifts for my two classroom asistants, Charlotte and Rachel. The 3rd item is a pair of socks, using the Violet Green sock generator pattern, and a Trekking yarn, made for Mr Josiekitten's cousin, Monika. We are off to Bremen to see the family in a couple of weekends time, so I'm glad to have got them finished well in time! I still have numerous washcloths on the go, and have just started a cowl for Monika's mother, Tante Gerda. It's growing pretty quickly, so will be finished in a couple of days. I'll post a picture when it's done.

I've put my Feather and Fan scarf into hibernation until the Christmas holidays. I've decided that lace knitting isn't my forte, and I really need to concentrate hard on this. I think I shall use lifelines when I start it again, as it's so hard to sort out mistakes.

I've also bought some Noro Silk Garden to make a Noro Striped scarf, as tempted by the Yarn Harlot in one of her recent blog posts. I am desperate to cast on and see how the stripes develop, but will resist until I've finished off all my Christmas present knitting. But here's a photo of the yarn colours I've chosen, just to whet your appetite.............

Nice, don't you think? I'm hoping for some really earthy stripe combinations.

We had snow today too, so it was the ideal day for staying at home in the warm and knitting. This was the view out of the front window.


Sadly, the snow has pretty much melted now, so no day off school tomorrow for bad weather!