New year, new projects

Half the fun of Christmas is, for me, planning and making gifts for friends and family. It always gets a little hectic, but I love the challenge of thinking of what people would like and trying to match it with what I could feasibly make. That said, come January, it is fun to be selfish and think only of what I would like to make for myself. And there’s no deadline!

After much umming and ahhing on Ravelry, I’ve chosen a beautiful pattern designed by the talented Kate Davies. The pattern is, inevitably, far more ambitious than I’d initially realised, and as you can see I have yet to get beyond swatching! But, the pleasure of selfish knitting is that if it takes ages or goes a little awry, it doesn’t matter a stitch. Wish me luck!

Wovember

I know I can be fickle, but I think November must be my favourite month. It’s finally got cold enough to start layering up the wool, and a little fibre appreciation is inevitable.

Wool, oh stuff of wonder! What a pleasure it is to choose from any myriad of colour and texture, slubby or lacey, bright or heathered. Howies do fantastic merino wool for tramping off into the cold, and Etsy offer enticing wooly goodies for any number of uses. Nothing is as warm, wearable, and pleasing as a big woolly jumper, and if you fancy knitting one yourself, Ravelry is a good place to start. With the winter holidays fast approaching, I’m getting my knitting speed on amidst gifting plans. Now that it’s colder I might have to admit to getting a little excited about Christmas.

This is the month for wool, in all its wonders. No wonder some call it Wovember.)

Paris à l’automne

I’ve just returned from a girl’s trip to Paris, filled with so many good things. I loved the myriad of little shops, with their inviting displays.

Books, bikes, and yarn; a few of my favourites! There were plenty of unexpected moments for craft appreciation, like the crowd knitting hats outside of Saint-German l’Auxerrois, the enormous display of old sewing machines in the window of a fashion house, or the art at the Petit Palais.

The weather was perfect for wandering and we appreciated every autumnal, golden moment.

Seeing Stripes

All this sudden summery weather has got me seeing stripes; on the deckchairs at Ventnor Beach, winding through pebbles at Steephill Cove and in the Minghella’s ice cream I simply had to have two scoops of.

At home I’ve been playing with stripes in fabric and yarn. The folks over at Design*Sponge have done a great sewing 101 on making cushions, which finally spurred me on to turn this lovely Backstitch fabric in to something useful.

And Jane Brocket‘s indefatigable knitting of socks got me making my own. They took three months, two unpickings and one mighty strop, but I got there in the end.

They took so much time, I’m not sure I’ll ever want to walk on them. So I might just lie on the couch and admire my feet instead.

PS You can find more of my knitting over at Ravelry.