Slacking?

No as it happens, I may not have shared any of my knitting projects lately but that does not mean that there have not been any.

With the run up to Christmas, I have been busting my stash with small one ball items to augment peoples Xmas prezzies.  I tried to think of things which would be useful, (no point in making a crochet bikini for someone who lives in the North East of Scotland) unusual and attractive.  I've been doing quite well with the women and children but the men are a real pain in the rear.  Every man I know has mega large feet, so socks are out of the question as I would still be knitting rounds in July, I can't find a gents glove pattern I like and hats are dull! (end of rant)

So, to share what I have done so far:

The Flower Scarf   

These scarfs are great, you can have one knitted up in an evening using a single skein of yarn. I used double knitting yarn (worsted weight 8ply) but the pattern calls for 4ply (fingering) I like the DK version, it makes the finished article so cozy yet still retains a modicum of style. I can see a few of these in my immediate future

The Tamarind Cowl

Another easy knit, this time using aran weight yarn. The yarn I used is Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton which I reclaimed from a tank top I knitted and hated , so never wore. Its amazing just how many projects I will get from the reclaimed yarn from my frankenknit.

Knotty Gloves

I rather think I missed the point with these, I should have used a plain dye yarn instead of the self patterning so that the cable work on the wrist could be seen. They are a good fit though and I will be making further pairs in the near future when I lay my hands on a suitable yarn. These are made using Wendy Happy 4ply in the Pisces colourway, I only used half a skein because of its generous length so I may make another pair of Knotty but miss out the pattern section.

So as you can see, I have been working away quietly trying to make a stack of stocking fillers before Santa comes.

Gotta Love It

OK, take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a second, and let it out

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

Can you smell the sea air, hear the waves lapping upon the shore, feel the crisp bite of the wind stinging your face?  No, well we could. 

You really do have to love Aberdeen.  There are not many cities in this world where you can walk for 10 minutes from the city centre and be greeted with scenes like this.

Yet here are the little stars sledging, and the only footprints we can see are our own

Its not often that the North Sea looks like a mill pond either but it did on Sunday.

  The little stars had great fun sledging, they were given these Ski-Doo boards last year for Christmas and never got the chance to use them.

It felt like there was not another living soul for miles around, yet there is a huge housing area right behind the hill, thousands of families going about their daily lives yet from this side of the hill you could be in the countryside not in the centre of town.

It was good for the little stars to get some fresh air into their lungs and some healthy exercise running back up the hill every two minutes only to come whooshing back down in under 5 seconds. 

It was a Happy Hallowe'en

Thought I'd share the pumpkin photos:

This is my sons pumpkin, its a skeleton looking out from behind a grave stone.

and my daughter made a spider in its web.

The kids had great fun making these, and my thanks go to 

http://www.pumpkinlady.com/pattern.htm#2008

for the terrific patterns.