A Crochet Christmas!

I've been having a crochet Christmas. On Christmas Day I finished the scarf I've been working on for the last couple of months. I did 10 variegated squares and 10 solid squares and 10 mixed squares.
The pattern is motif no 113 from Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs. it's quick and easy to make. The variegated yarn is an old Posh Yarn Eva 4ply (cashmere/silk) from my stash and the solid is Lotus Yarns solid cashmere.

I started with a group of 4 solid and variegated squares then 2 mixed ones.

But finished with 2 mixed ones:

So I'm going ot make 2 more solid ones and 2 more variegated ones so the end looks the same as the beginning. I did the two solid ones last night.

I wore the scarf to watch the Hunt at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor on Boxing Day. Everyone liked it apart from Simon, but then I didn't think he would like it. I love it though. It's different, fun and colourful.

On Boxing Day we went to my in-laws for lunch after watching the hunt start. I'd brought a skein of Angora/Merino 2ply from Peachy Knits. It's been in my stash for a while and I've never managed to decide what to do with it. It's gorgeous and soft and fussy. I love angora and mohair yarns but the shedding drives me mad. I've been wanting to make a Curly Wurly Scarf for some time and decided to start on with the Angora/Merino yarn.

I started with a foundation chain of about 300 sts (I gave up counting). Then did one row of trebles, one row of 3 trebles into every st, another row of trebles. One row of double trebles. One row of 3 double trebles into each st. This is the row I'm halfway through now. As you can imagine I've got rather a lot of sts to crochet now.

Not sure how wide I'll make it. I'll keep going until I'm bored. Whether I'll wear this or not I'm not sure. I'm getting covered in angora fuss as I'm making it and I'm not sure if I want yarn fluff all over my clothes when I wear it. Perhaps I should have made it in Kidsilk Haze instead. Does that shed less?

I had a couple of crochet related Christmas presents too. My friend, Marianne, gave me this beautiful book by Melody Griffitsh, who recently passed away. The book is full of gorgeous blankets. I'm not sure which one to start with but I'm thinking about starting with a circular lace coverlet.

Emily gave me another crochet book, 20 crochet blocks, which is full of gorgeous and fun squares to crochet. The good thing with this book is that all the squares end up the same size if you use the same yarn, so I'm thinking about making a mix and match blanket using stash yarn. I think they suggest dk yarn but my stash has very little dk yarn in it. It's mostly 4ply/sock yarns.

The only hting I don't like with either of these books is that they don't contain charts. Now I've gotten used to crochet charts I prefer them.

Simon got me a Bette Midler CD and a Jenson Button book. I'm a big formula 1 fan and I was very pleased when Jenson Button won the championship so i'm looking forward to reading this book.

Vanessa bought me an Indian cooking book. I love Indian food but tend ot use sauces in jars so perhaps this will make me do more homemade stuff.

My friend, Helen, gave me Trinny & Susannah Who Do you want to be today? I think it's based on a TV series which I've not seen but the book looks very interesting.

I also got money (for a laptop) and chocs.

Last summer my parents brought over my old national costume which I was given for my confirmation at 14. Vanessa has been desperate to wear it and it fits her fairly well although I need to get it taken in under the arms. She decided to wear it on Christmas Eve although we did not have the correct blouse as my old one has stains on it and the white apron which should be worn with it is still in Norway. She's also not waring some of the jewellery which should go with it. She was very happy to wear it though.

No Christmas seems to go by without someone in the family getting ill. Last year Emily had really bad flue. This year Vanessa got a bad cold a few days before Christmas and last Wednesday I came down with it. I was okay to Boxing Day. But after lunch at my in-laws on Boxind Day I was feeling so rough and had to go home and to bed. I felt lousy yesteray too and went to bed in the afternoon. This morning I thought I was a little better but now I'm feeling rough again. Not sure whether to accompany the rest of the family when they walk the dog later or not. I've not been sleeping very well either as I've had a very badly blocked nose and keep waking up not being able to breath and dreaming that I'm being suffocated. Not very nice. Emily has got the cold too but she's not been as bad as me. As a result I've not managed to do much knitting. As well as starting the Curly Wurly scarf and crocheting together the square scarf, I've done some knitting on a friend's Christmas present which I failed to finish on time and a secret project whihc hsould have been posted last week. It is nearly done and I need to post it asap. I've also got another magazine design to finish off and post. So that's my priorities over the next couple of days.

I've included some new yanrs in the Big Winter Sock Sale. Go and take a look. they're incredibly cheap. Sock Variety Club willbe going out on New Years Eve so there is still time to sign up.

God Jul!

That's Norwegian for Merry Christmas. I'm finally ready. We finished packing up the last parcels at 10pm last night. an hour later Simon's sister and her husband arrived after driving down from Scotland.

This morning we started the day with a proper English Breakfast. simon cooked eggs, bacon (I don't like bacon), sauages and toast and we had a leisurely breakfast. Then Ipopped into town to get a couple of things. Town was mad, crowds everywhere. After than I went to a friend to drop of some presents and stayed for a chat. When I got home Simon and hte girls went out to meet his sister and her family. They were all off for a walk. As I've got a bad cold and I'm tired I decided to stay home and relax. I've done some knitting, cleared up hte kitchen (Vanessa quickly mixed up a Madeira cake before they left) and I've done some computer work. I prepared all the veg and potatoes for tomorrow this morning so I can relax for hte rest of the afternoon and this evening. All I've got to do is write some Christmas cards and deliver them to the neighbours.

I've taken some pictures of our Christmas decorations. Here's the tree with some presents underneath it:
A Santa door stopper (Sam's baket is next to it):

Father Christmas which a friend of my grandma's made years ago:

Two little 'shelfsitters' to brighten up hte hallway:

And a Christmas decoration from Norway:

We've got a few other bits and pieces too and I'm pleased with how the house looks. I've got my grandma's crocheted lace doilies and table runners on the table, some lovely decorations around the place and the house is tidyer than it's been for years. Everything is under control and I can relax. Apart from those Christmas cards.... Better go and do those then I'll do some more knitting.

Tomorrow we're off to church in the morning. I love going ot church on Christmas Day (or Eve if we're in Norway). I used ot like going ot church at Christmas even before I became a Christian but now it's very important for me to remember the real reason we're celebrating CHRISTmas. It's so easy to forget that in all the stress, cooking, shopping and cleaning in the run up for Christmas. But the reason we do all this is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. He was born to be the perfect sacrifice for OUR sins so that we can have eternity in heaven with God. If you don't already know Jesus then I pray that this will be the Christmas you get to know Him.

Have a fantastic Christmas!

Christmas is comine

and I'm feeling a little more in control and ready now than I was last week. We spent yesterday having a mega tidyeing up session. Simon brought the Christmas tree in although we've not decorated it yet and this morning we did our Christmas food shopping. I think I've got all the presents done now too. Got to wrap them though. The presents I sent to Norway have arrived safely although I sent them a little late.

I've done a small update today. I dyed the sock club yarn for January over the weekend and included a kilo of Silky Merino Lace. I'd planned to do some more but was too busy to fit it in. So a small update of some gorgeous lace yarns today. Look at the stunning colours. You can find them all here.
YarnAddict is open all over Christmas and i'll be posting yarns right up to Christmas Eve. I may do a small update some time next week.

I've still got Christmas knitting to finish. i'm knitting something for a friend and I'd hoped to have it finished by today as we're seeing her this afternoon. But I'm not done so it'll be a post-Christmas present instead. HOpefully she won't mind. I'm also thinking about knititng up some scarves on the knitting machine. I came up with a really nice tuck stitch pattern over teh weekend suitable for a man's scarf. All I need is time.

Emily had a friend around on Friday. They are both big Sylvanian Families fans and transformed the upstairs hallway into a Sylvanian Familes wonderland. This is what they built on the window sill halfway up the stairs. I's the moon apparently.
and my fleece (grey and white merino) from my spinning basket features as moon dust apparently. Cute isn't it? I just made sure they didn't take too much fibre.

this evening we're off to Totnes for their Christmas market. We're meeting a friend for a meal, some knitting and a bit of late night shopping.

Enjoy your Christmas preparations. And in all the madness and business of getting ready for the big day don't forget what Christmas is really about and take time to relax with some knitting. Christmas should be enjoyable and the preparations shoudn't be so stressful it ruins all the fun.

Club yarns revealed

I don't very often remember to show the sock club yarns on here. I don't want to show the yarns when I send them out in case members read the blog but then I forget. So today I htought we'd have a parade of club yarns. First up, December's Sock Varety Club yarn which is the brand new Exotic Sock in a gorgeous 'steel' colourway. I love this grey, it's a little bit darker than the silver colourway I've done recently. The colourway suited this yarn beautifully. I'd hoped there would be a skein left for me but unfortunately there isn't.
November's Sock Variety Club yarn was Merino Plus (I think, or was it Super Merino - the two yarns are so similar). The colourway is a gorgeous lilac and violet. I've kept a couple of skeins of this colourway for myself. For some reason I ended up dyeing far too much. I must have mis-counted. I don't normally put club yarns in the shop but as I had several left over I did put some of these in the shop and called them 'Dazzle'. YOu can find them here.

The last Lace Varity Club went out in November and was a gorgeous blue Silky Merino which was perfect for the SnowQueen pattern that accompanied it. I love this colourway.

September's Lace Variety Club was Angel Lace in a gorgeous green/teal blend. I love this colourway and managed to keep a skein for myself.

If you fancy joining one of the clubs you can do so here. There are 3 and 1 month options, international and UK. You can also join both clubs. I'm dyeing January's sock club yarn tomorrow but won't be sending it out until the end of December. I'm using a base yarn I've not used for a while.

The next Lace Variety Club parcel will be going out middle of January.

Today was the last day of my crochet class. We learnt how to do broomstick crochet which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. It was too dark to take photos when I got home. After that we were supposed to spend the rest of teh sessions working on a chosen project. As Vanessa finished school at lunch time and needed a dress for a party tonight. I left the crochet class at lunch time and picked Vanessa up. Shopping was much better than I thought it would be. Not very busy at all.

I've really enjoyed the crochet classes, much more than I thought I would. I decided to learn to crochet so that I could use it in conjunction with knitting if needed. But I've got quite hooked on it and I'd like to get into crochet design in the future. I need to build up some experience first though. Although I've already got some ideas for future designs.

I'm currently working on my last magazine commission before Christmas. I'm hoping to have it fnished by Monday. It's fairly easy and quick to do. I also want to knit up a present for a friend this weekend. It's my only knitted Christmas gift this year but I know she'll appreciate it. I've been struggling to decide what yarn to use and have settled on a gorgeous purple Fantasy skein. I'll get pics next time. I'm thinking about doing a cowl and hand warmers. I 'd thought about doing a new design but I'm going to re-do the Scrolls cowl which I originally did in a laceweight yarn. I did knit some handwarmers in that pattern last winter but I never finished the pattern so I thought this would be an opportunity to finish that. I did think about doing cables and include a beret but I think I'm going to run out of time to do that. I need to get it finished by Monday or Tuesday.

After crochet and shopping today I'm tired. I'm planning a lazy evening knitting and probably an early night.

Summer Designs

First, do you like my new logo? I was playing around a few weeks and finished this the other day. I love the colours. It's one of my pink Bambino sock skeins. The title of today's blog post is summer desigs. No I've not skipped 6 months or moved to the southern hemisphere. And yes, I know it's nearly Christmas but many magazines are currently looking for summer designs. I struggle with designing with 'sumery' yarns. Being Norwegian where knitting keeps you warm in the winter I'm used to knitting warm stuff in wool. I love wool and other warm fibres like cashmere and alpaca. So to get some inspirations I've collected a variety of summer yarns lately, like bamboo, various cottons and linen blend. Below is some of the yarns I've been stocking up.

I've started swatching. The blue ball at the back is Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo which looks gorgeous and feels gorgeous and has fantastic stich definition but it feels squeeky when I knit with it. In fact several of the yarns feel squeeky but this one is the worst one. My favorite so far is the dark blue skein at the front, it's Rowan Lenpur Linen which is a linen blend. I did a swatch with it late last night and I love it. It feels great to knit with and has great stitch definition and lovely drape.

I've finished my latest secret project today which is my first design for Knitting magazine and will be in their March issue. I've enjoyed knitting this garment and I'm very pleased with the result.

No rest though, I'm straight on to the next one. I've got one more fairly quick but quite big project to finish before Christmas and I need to get cracking on this one tonight as I don't have much time.

I'd like to do some crocheting before Thursday, which is the last day of my crochet course. I'm hoping to find some time to practice Tunisian crochet which we learnt last time. I want to make sure i can remember what to do so that if I need to ask the teacher any questions I can do it this week.

I dyed some yarn yesterday and because it's cold and I've had the heating on all day some of it is already dry. I've been lising some Silky Merino Lace this evening and i'm currently working my way through some Exotic Cobweb Lace. There will be more of both yarns to come tomorrow as well as some Fantasy sock yarns.

One Fantasy skein I dyed came out of the dye pot looking rather different. See how it's got a tweedy appearance. I dyed it with another skein and the other skein looks completely differnet (and it's not quite dry yet). I love this skein and have decided to keep it for a pair of sock for myself.

And here it is with another Fantasy sock yarn skein I'm keeping for myself. I'm desperate for some new socks. I've currently got 3 pairs of socks. I'm hoping to knit up one pair over christmas.

Here's a taster of some of the Silky Merino Lace yarns I've listed. I love this 'Water Splash' colourway.and 'silver' is always popular, this one is a little big lighter than the last ones I dyed.

and 'Damson Jam' - a gorgeous purple.

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I was panicking last week. I did my first bit of proper Christmas shopping on Friday. Then Simon and I went shopping again on Saturday morning. I've got most of the presents bought now. I just need to go though everything and double check I've got something for everyone.

My big problem is Christmas cards. I'm hopeless at writing Christmas cards. Last year I wrote very few and I'm aiming to do better this year. My problem is the ones for friends and family I hardly ever see as you need to write a bit about what you've been up to in the last year in those and I don't really like writing letters. Perhaps I should just suggest they read my blog.

Last day for 1st class post for Christmas is Monday so if you want to order some yarn for last minute Christmas presents for yourself or someone else there is still time. Now, go and check out those new arrivals.

Montain Peaks Scarf and Handwarmers

ETA: Sorry some photos have been removed because of copyright issues.

Yarn Forward landed on my door mat this morning just as I was heading out to knitting group.

This is a men's special issue and the grey cardi on the front is designed by Tina Barret who is a friend and member of our Liskeard Knit & Knatter group.
And yes, I had a design in this issue. It's my first design for Yarn Forward for a little while and it's been great to design for them again. I've got stuff coming up in the next 2 issues too.

This is what the pattern looks like in the magazine. It's called Mountain Peaks and is a uni-sex handwarmers and scarf set which a very interesting stitch pattern with great texture.

I'm very pleased with the magazine photos.

I didn't get a chance to take any modelled shots before I sent it off but here are some 'flat' photos.

The stitch pattern is fabolous and very interesting to work. It's fairly easy in the scarf but very challenging because of the way the increases and decreases are worked when kntiting in the round and it took me ages to work it all out for the handwarmers. I got to hte point where I nearly gave up but I conquered it and I'm pleased I did.

The yarn is Organic Merino 4ply which is incredibly soft and gorgeous to knit with and it's spun in Devon. You'll need 2 skeins for the handwarmers and scarf. I recommend knitting the handwarmers first then using the left over from the first skein and the whole second skein for the scarf. If you only want to knit the scarf you can use one skein for a slightly shorter scarf.

You can find Organic Merino 4ply here and there are some colourways listed in a 2 skein deal here for the Let's Knit Mystery Baby Blanket but you can use it for this scarf/handwarmer set too.

I had a bit of a disaster with my current secret project last night. All the way along I've had a feeling mytension was a bit out. The stitch pattern looked bigger than my swatch but did I double check my tension? NO. unti llast night when I decided to double check and decided I was way out. So a quick trip to the frog pond. Had to rip out several days worth of knititng. The good think is that I have a lot less stitches now and it's knitting up very quickly. I'm hoping by the time I go to bed tonight I will have caught up.

I'm just listing the Bambino Lace yarns in the shop and I'm hoping to get it finished but my grocery order hsould arrive any minute now and Emily has swimming this afternoon and I have a massage this evening so there is a chance I may not get time to finish the update.

New Design

The new issue of Let's Knit arrived today and I've had another design published.
Here's my King Cole Alpaca 'Megan' sweater. I took some photos of it on my dress form before I sent it off but have not had time to edit them today so I'll show some next time. A year ago my impression of King Cole yarns was that they were a bit 'cheap and not very nice'. When a King Cole rep arrived last Januayr when I was at Spin A Yarn I think I sad another word beginning with n. But he showed me some of their samples including the alpca yarn and the merino blend and they are gorgeous. The alpaca comes in all natural colours and is fabolous to knit with. So soft and gorgeous. So I take back what I said about King Cole a year ago. I now like their yarns very much.

'Megan' features subtle waist shaping and a big cowl neck, which makes it the perfect sweater for snuggling up to on cold winter days. I could certainly have done with a asweater like this over the last few days. Our boiler broke down on Sunday morning and we've had no hot water or heating since. We've had the fire lit in the evenings so the lounge was warm but the rest of the house was freezing. the boiler was fixed this morning so it's nice and warm now and I've had a hot shower.

Back to Let's Knit. Part 2 of the Mystery Baby Lace Blanket was published. Don't forget I'm still doing a special price for two skeins of either Bambino Sock, Fantasy sock or Organic Merino 4ply for anyone who wants to knit this blanket. The special offer page is here. I'm really looking forward to when I can reveal the complete blanket. Roll on next month.

My 'Amazing Cashmere Lace' and 'Luscious Lace' was mentinoed in the the magazine too. These are gorgeous, luxurious yarns and 'Amazing Cashmere Lace' is used in a design for Let's Knit in next issue and you only need one skein. I promise you, you'll want to knit the design next month so grab your skein of luxury now. You can find Amazing Cashmere Lace here and Luscious Lace here.

I finished the first half of my silver Organic Merino shawl on Saturday. Here's the first half. On SAturday night while I was watching Strictly come dancing, I decided it would be nice to have a pair of handwarmers to go with this shawl. I think this is the kind of shawl that'll work well as a scarf during the winter so a pair of handwarmers would be perfect. I got carried away and nearly finished hte first one on Saturday night. I finished it on Sunday morning, then although I'd not planned ot cast on for the 2nd one yet, I couldn't resist and finished the 2nd one Sunday evening. The edging needs blocking.

I cast on for the 2nd half of the shawl too but have only done a couple of repeats. I'm back to working full-time on my secret project as I need to finish it soon.

I'm introducing a new sock yar - Exotic sock yarn. This is the same blend as Exotic Cobweb Lace which is very popular nad Exotic Lace which is a little thicker than the cobweb lace. It is a blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere and is gorgeous. I've only got a few skeins for now but I'll be getting more after Christmas. So if you want to get your handson a skein of pure luxury be quick. You can find them here.

Here's a taster:

I'll also be listing some more Bambino Lace, either tonight or tomorrow. I've got more yarn on the way so I'm hoping to do an update on Monday with some Silky Merino Lace and some Fantasy Sock Yarn. Any requests for colours?

Here's a preview of the rest of today (or tomorrows) update:

Now I've got to get on and get some other jobs done. I've had a relaxing day today, recovering after teaching continental knitting at Spin A Yarn yesterday. The newsletter with next year's workshops is nearly ready so contact Spin A Yarn to be put on their mailing list as workshops book up very quickly - within days often. I'll be teaching continental knitting, easy lace knitting, advanced lace knitting, beginners sock knitting and advanced sock knitting next term. There is a huge selection of workshops taught at the shop so there's bound to be something for everyone.

Crochet & knitting groups

I've had a week of knitting groups. Tuesday I went to the knitting group at Spin A Yarn. It was great to catch up with everyone there. On Wednesday evening I went to the Christmas meal at the Modbury knitting group. They were a great group of ladies and I had a lovely evening. It was my first time there and they all made me feel very welcome. Everyone was wearing an item they'd knitted so we were all admiring each other's knitting. I wore my Midnight Stole which was admired by everyone. The perfect shawl for an evening event. Good value too as it only takes one skein of Silky Merino Lace or Exotic Cobweb Lace. I've just put in an order so there will be lots more laceweight in stock by the end of next week hopefully.

One lady (sorry cant remember who now) wore a gorgeous, frilly crocheted scarf in Kidsilk Haze. I've go some gorgeous Kidsilk Haze colours and I'm really keen to try out one of those scarves.

On Thursday, it was time for our weekly LIkseard Knit n Knatter. There weren't very many of us this week but we had an enjoyable time anyway. The room was a little cold which made knitting difficult.

I've been doing ltos of knitting but it's all secret knitting so can't share any pics. I'm working ona new secret sweater now and it's going well. I did a couple of repeats on my silve Organic Merino shawl earlier when a friend came over but not enough for another progress pic.

Occasionally I tkae a break from knitting to crochet a square or two. This pile is getting bigger. They'r all the same motif and I'll be sewing them into a scarf when I've got enough.
I'm using two different colours. The variegated one is Posh Yarns Eva 4ply from my stash. And the solid is Lotus yarns cashmere/silk 4ply. I've done some squares in separate colours and some mixed. i like hte look of the mixed ones:

Here's a selection of the squares I've got so far. Think I've got about 14 of the variegated ones, 3 or 4 of the solid ones and 2 mixed ones.

I'd hoped ot do an update today but it'll be Monday before the yarn is dry enough. So Monday's update will be a brand new Exotic Sock and some Bambino Lace. I've got some stunning colours.

Have a great weekend.

Silly mistake!

I made a classic, silly mistake earlier. Kind of embarassing really. This morning at about 5 am (yes I was up at 4.30am again - bad neck pain and headache) I cast on for a new secret garment which I'd hoped ot get going on over the weekend but that didn't happen so this morning I wanted to cast on so I could get the rib done today. I'm working in the round. And you know how most patterns knitted in the round start with something like: 'Join to work in the round, being careful to make sure stitches are not twisted...' or something along those lines. I'm sure I checked my stitches were not twisted and got kniting. I hadn't done that many rounds but I'm doing a twisted 1x1 rib and i'm always a lot slower when I knit through the back loop. When I got home this afternoon I realised I had a twist in my knitting. I had to rip out what I'd done. I cast on again and double checked my stitch count and started knitting and then halfway through (I had about 240 sts all together) I realised I'd mis-counted, so I cast on again. I've caught up with what I had to rip out earlier. But what a silly mistake to make.

Today was knitting group day at Spin A Yarn. I used to go nearly every month but I've not been to the knitting group since July. SEveral times i've planned to go on the 1st Tuesday of the month but something has cropped up like sick kids or car breaking down. So I was really pleased to make it today. I had a lovely time and it was nice to catch up with hte ladies there. I helped my friend, Marianne, sew up her Noro waist coat. I'm hoping I'll get a picture of her wearing it soon and that she'll allow me to share them with you. I left her to sew on the buttons.

After knitting group we popped down to hte Devon Guild of master craftsmen for a quick cup of hot choc before i headed home. Done very little since I came home apart from knitting. After myearly start and day out I'm very tired.

I spent yesterday with Marianne too. We went to a nearby town called Launceston to visit Just FAb, which is a fabolous fabric shop. Marianne was looking for some fabric for her new garden room. Afterwards we drove out to Cowslip workshops, which is a patchwork shop but they have a lovely coffee shop there and sell some other nice things in the shop too. they also have larg workshop area and run regular workshops. The location was fantastic with lovely views. I wish I'd brough my camera yesterday. We drove across the edge of Bodmin Moor and the views and visibility were just amazing. A nice day out.

Tomorrow i'm off to join the Modbury knitting group for their Christmas meal. i've not been to their group before but Marianne goes and asked if I could join them. i've met one of hte ladies there and talked to another one online so it'll be nice to meet them all. We're all suppose to wear somthing we've knitted so I'm thinking of wearing my Midnight Shawl.

I finally managed to get the Fern and Fame handwarmers listed on my website and Ravelry this morning. The pics are not that great and hopefully I've managed to get some better pics of them today. Marianne modelled them for me but I've not had time to edit them yet. The handwarmers (I've knitted Marianne a pair of both) were passed around the table at knitting group and most people seemed to like them.

Here are the Fern handwarmers:

and Fame:

Better pics tomorrow hopefully.

Orders have been flooding in this week and the shop is starting to look a bit empty but there are still some items left in the BIG WINTER SOCK SALE. Go and grab your bargain before they go. I'm dyeing yarn tomorrow and there will be a new sock yarn by the weekend and some Bambino Lace. I've got to order some more undyed yarns and hopefully I'll be getting an order by the end of the week or early next week, so I'm hoping to get some more yarns dyed for a bigger update towards the end of next week.

I'd better go and get the girls' advent calendar ready. My Grandmother mad a beautiful advent calendar for me and my sister when we were kids and i attach a present for each day and the girls open it every other day. Finding stuff to put on the calendar is a big of a pain but I got some good stuff today. I'll get a picture of the calendar tomorrow. Can't quite belive it's December already. After sorting out hte calendar I'm off to bed for an early night. I'm tired and I picked up a copy of hte newest Knitting mag today and it looks really good. Some great designs in there. One I might even try to find time to knit for myself.