Back from Christmas now! Lots to blog about, but I think I'll start off with a Christmas gift that I didn't have time to blog about before I left...

mummy, in scarf, with stockings

The Specs:
-Pattern: Branching Out, by Susan Pierce Lawrence (from Knitty).
-Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool; one skein for each scarf.
-Color: Charcoal grey (color 19).
-Needles: Size 7 birch.
-Start to finish: December 10 – December 29.
-For: One for my mum and one for Thunk’s Grandma Betty.

Notes: This was one of those presents that works out just right. I started by buying two skeins of the Silky Wool to knit my Mum a nice Christmas scarf. When I got home I poked around a bit online and chose the Branching Out pattern before I realized I’d bought the yarn the pattern calls for. How often does that happen?

I had such a nice time knitting the first one (which only took one skein) that I just went ahead and knit another one for Grandma Betty.

The Yarn: This stuff is great. It has an interesting, slightly nubbly texture but it’s still nice and soft. Plus it’s a bit tweedy (yay!).

The Pattern: You know if I find a lace pattern easy you can knit it too. In fact, I had such a nice time with it that I’m thinking of going back and having another go with the Flowerbasket Shawl (the “easy” lace pattern that kicked my tookus and rendered me lace-meek). I’ll let you know how that goes.

Mods: The only thing I changed was to leave off row 10 of the last repeat so that the ends match up a little more nicely.

Final Verdict: Two gifts + one contented knitter = lotsa winners!

[Bonus shot: Mummy works it for the camera.]

Posted by Elli at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)

Thanks for all the very nice comments on Beau, everybody! You do realize that Thunk is going to be nearly impossible to live with now, right? If he leaves me to run off to New York and start his modeling career it will be All Your Fault. I’m just saying.

In other news, I’ve still got a few smaller projects to finish up before I take off for Christmas...and exactly one week in which to finish them. So here’s what I’ve got going:

Korknisse, the advanced guard

hello. we are a boy band.

There are actually more of them now…I took the picture last Sunday. I still need to add little eyes and things…maybe some spangles. The goal is to have the whole army ready by Saturday.

Branching Out

This will be Mum’s Christmas scarf. I started it on Sunday and I’m currently about a third of the way done. The yarn is Elizabeth Lavold Silky Wool. Nice stuff. Good pattern. I am pleased.

Heirloom bag:

Sorry, no picture of this one. But I'm finished with all the knitting and just have to figure out how to line the danged thing. And here you thought it was a permanent fixture on the WIP list. How wrong you were...

And in the finished category we have...
Etched Glasses for Rosser

Nearly impossible to photograph, but you get the idea. These are for the other BIL. In case you can’t tell what the pictures are supposed to be, they are: the Greek flag, the four suits, his initials, the Parthenon, a skull and crossed hockey sticks, and a cricket.

They were a lot of fun to make…who doesn’t like playing around with acid and an exacto knife? The hardest part was deciding what to put on them. Instructions for making your very own can be found here.

That's it for now! Back to work with me...

Posted by Elli at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)