Ho ho bloody ho

It is September, is it not? This means that Christmas is more than three months away, does it not?

It is still reasonably warm, isn't it? So, why is Morrisons flogging Christmas coins at the checkout? Will this lot not melt before we actually see a vague hint of frost?

There are Advent calendars on sale. Advent! It's not for another two months. The seasonal aisle has been full of Christmas cards and festive treats since the last week of August.

By the time it gets to bloody Christmas I'll be ready for Mother's Day.

Yes, I do prepare early for Christmas with present buying - but it doesn't mean I want to be listening to festive music or wading through tinsel on a hot sunny day. Bah, humbug.

On a related note... the Christmas knitting remainders comprise of:

Sleevex for the BF's stealth jumper.
A pair of socks for the BF.
Retropolitan Version 3.0 for my Granda, seeing as he liked 2.0 so much.
One sock for Lois (I've done the other one but have a bad case of SSS).
A toy bag for Thomas.
More things for Baby Sumo (aka Talia, and don't worry, I won't be sharing this name with the family. My Mam would have my guts for garters).
A scarf for Debbie.

Possibilities:

Tea cosy for SIL.
Pin cusion for a friend.
Scarves and gloves just in case.

Finished:

Socks for Mam.
Socks for Step-Dad.
5 Jellybabies for Thomas.
Puss in Boots, three pairs of socks and a cardigan for Lois.

Hiccups

So, I was all organised with my Christmas present knitting -including two outfits for Talia. My Mam has just visited and had a look at them, which is fortunate. It would appear that (in the family parlance) Talia is a little "butter lump" (very affectionately meant and in no way an insult if you are unfamiliar with this term of endearment) which in short means... at nearly one year old, in size, she's closer to being nearly as big as an 18month old.

In knitting terms, this means that one of the outfits I made is already too small, and the other one will fit her only just, now. So, the striped hoodie (Hannah) is off to Newcastle for her to get some benefit from, and the cardigan (Alicia) is off to another friend who has just had little girl.

In Christmas Knitting terms... Buggrit!

Happier news, my Granda is so pleased with "Retropolitan 2.0" that he'd like another one for when this is in the wash. That's another Christmas present sorted.

I've finished one of the my new "Opal - Rainforest 3" socks. I love the pattern and I don't think a textured pattern would have looked quite right, but that's just me. Another thought that struck me as I was knitting this is, that I can't find the pattern repeat. I've found it as I have started the second sock, but I really can't see it in this. Everytime I think I have found it, I realise that there are actually some slight differences.

Socking 'Eck

I'm doing battle with "Opal - Rainforest" yarn.

Helen very kindly taught me how to use "More Sensational Knitted Socks" and I've finally got around to using it to knit myself some texture-patterned socks.

I was very excited. This yarn has been in the drawer for a year and I have been really looking forward to using it. So, I found a pattern - a six stitch design...cross hatch. It looks great and will suit the yarn perfectly. I cast on. I ribbed fourteen rows and then the needles caught on my jumper (damn "Twilleys Freedom Spirit"), yanking out all of the stitches.

I ended up frogging the lot, and cast on again.

The same thing happened (with a different jumper).

I cast on again, and made it to the second pattern repeat... when the same thing happened, again.

Poo, bum, willy, fart!



So, I have given up - the yarn obviously doesn't like this pattern. So, I'm knitting vanilla...

...in that yarn.

Below is an "Admiral R Druck" knitted in basketweave.


How chuffed am I? The pattern matches the yarn, reminding me of brickwork and because the pattern is so springy, I was able to knit 18 fewer rows than normal for the foot. Don't be misled by the stumpy appearance.

Picture Update

I found the cable... or rather the BF did, exactly where he said it would be. I'm almost annoyed about that.

Anyway, below, the "Sirdar - Baby Bamboo DK" cardigan for Lois. I wimped out of embroidering a row of lazy daisies around the waist, in a pale green to match the trim at the bottom. I wasn't convinced that I'd get them even and was worried that I would trash the the lilac yarn as I continually made mistakes and pulled the yarn back through.

Instead, Lois is getting a large ladybird button. I keep thinking that it might be a little childish for her, but she is only six. Why rush to make her grow up?



Here is the lovely cream material I bought to make a runner with.




I'm rather pleased with the sewing. Darth Sewing Machine behaved itself.



Evening shot. Sorry. However, it does show off the pattern rather well...



...and here it is from the side. Apologies for the stash of CDs. You can tell I live in my house. It would never make a show home.

We Do Not Have The Technology

The flipping camera cable has walkies, or maybe it has gone 'slitheries'? Anyway, the upshot is that I can't show any pictures of my latest projects.

I sewed a runner for the chest of drawers last week and, on the knitting front, I also finished "Alicia" for Talia. Only, my version is in ivory yarn with white star-shaped buttons. It was a fun and quick knit - not a knit stitch in sight, well, apart from in the ribbed trim.



The pattern is achieved through purling and the odd 'knit tbl' to achieve the vertical lines. I'm rather pleased with it.

Having finished that, I went onto another Christmas knit - this "Sirdar Baby Bamboo - DK" cardigan for Lois (in the same shade of pink as the girl in the picture is wearing). It's knitting up so quickly.



Last night, I gave myself a shock - I'm half way through the second front, and I thought I had run out of wool.

My Christmas knitting is very much under control. The BF's jumper is not far from finished. I have another cardigan to make for Lois, a toy-bag for Thomas, a scarf for Debbie and a few other items for Talia. I'm also planning to knit gloves and scarves from my orphan-ball box... just in case of unexpected gifts.

Chester

The BF and I headed for the wild unknown of Chester last week...



...where we drank numerous coffees and walked around the city walls - which was ace. The hotel we stayed in (Crabwall Manor)...



...was about 2.5 miles outside the city. The BF was very much in favour of me walking back to the hotel to collect the car, and return to get him.

We also went to Beeston Castle which...



...is at the top of a very steep hill.



We arrived at the top, and the BF realised he had left his shades on top of the car.

This was followed by a 6.5mile walk, part of it walking alongside the Shropshire Union Canal. We then got lost, wandering through fields of cows... or were they bulls?

Project

I've decided that it's about time that I sorted out the spare room. It's currently the same off-white/magnolia-ish colour it was painted when the house first went up. The curtains and blinds are the pale blue ones which the owners left us with, which is fine... but I want it all reddy/yellowy/orangey... which sounds vile, but I have a plan.



Above are the pictures, I finally got around to framing at the weekend - about eight of them, and they've been waiting, oh, only over a year for me to do so. Carpe diem, and all that.

The one on the right is one of two (small) posters I picked up in Paris in March. The colour scheme is being built around these (very yellowy with 'blotches' of deep red to contrast) and our bedding (deep red). I plan to paint one wall a deep terracotta and leave the other three walls a creamy-yellow colour, with more emphasis on the cream. (I'm not going for a double yellow line effect).

Next to the terracotta wall, at the foot of the bed is this dark wood chest of drawers and chair. The BF wants to put some of his wooden games on it, and I'm worried the unit will get scratched.



So, I'm going to make a runner out of this gorgeous cream material - to contrast with the wood and the terracotta wall. I'm also going to make a couple of cushions out of it. (£12 per metre and it was a double width, which strikes me as a good price).



I'm in two minds about whether to make piping for the runner, but I don't think I will. I'm definitely going to make piping for the cushions. They look better with piping.

And, then, I found a tip bargain for my curtains. The room has two windows and I'm going to make one curtain for each (as they're only small windows, and a pair for each would just look wrong). I picked up this material for only....



...£14 and there is 4metres of it!! It's thick and heavy and I think it will look fantastic. I'm going to make some Roman blinds for the windows from the left over curtain material from the curtains I made for my bedroom (which are cream).

Fingers crossed that none of this goes hideously wrong.