Fetching Fingerless Mitts

This is my favourite pattern for fingerless mitts. It is a free pattern from Knitty.com and they are called Fetching (click the blog title for a direct link) They are really quick to make. These are made from Patons Diploma DK on 4mm needles. I adapt the pattern slightly and make one extra set of cables and 2 rows of K1 P1 rib at the top as when I made them exactly to the pattern I found that the palm curled downwards and they were a bit too short. I also added a couple of rows of rib to the thumb to lengthen that.

I am still battling Internet problems. I get disconnected every couple of minutes so I hope that I can post this blog today without any problems. My cordless phone upstairs has stopped working and when I plugged a normal phone in the phone socket came away from the wall. It just doesn't seem to be my week! Too bad I didn't ask for a new set from Father Christmas. I guess I will be buying myself a new set of cordless phones after Christmas. Let's hope that there are some great bargains in the Sales.

I am still knitting bits and bats for Christmas but if they don't get finished then I am not worried.

Happy Christmas to everyone. I will try to post again tomorrow but just in case I can't then I hope that everyone has a wonderful time.

Mother Christmas is knackered and needs a lie down

I am in the process of wrapping the last of the completed presents up. Last night I had a minor hiccup when I discovered that I had not knitted the belt to the aran cardigan for my niece. I managed to make that and complete a second pair of Moroccan Slippers from the Fabulous Flirty Crochet book by Katherine Lee. I think the ladies of the US must have wider feet than my family. I adapted the orange pair to be a little narrower on the soles but they have still turned out a bit wide despite my changing the pattern stitch sightly and altering the lacing up to make them resemble ballet slippers.

Today I am totally wiped out. I woke up tired and am desperately trying to do some cleaning and tidying as well as wrapping the last of the presents. I still have some more bits and bats to finish off and possibly start but I have got to the stage where I am not going to beat myself up about what I cannot finish in time. Everyone will have got something - it's just that some have got more than others when I come to count up.

The pile is just some of the things that I have made for presents this year and does not show the things that I have bought. Every year I say I will cut down and this year I have. I have cut 3 presents this year as I have not seen them since before I had my operation nor have they contacted me since to see if I am OK so I don't feel guilty about axing them from my list.

I am off to half heartedly finish off my cleaning and hopefully do a bit of knitting later tonight. I am just not on form today. Maybe I should have an early night instead of burning the midnight oil.

Where are those Elves when you need them?

I wish those parcel wrapping elves would make an appearance at my house soon. Today I have a table full of gifts to wrap which will turn out to have all the appeal of a brown paper package tied up with string. I finish up with a carpet full of paper strips, bits of sellotape stuck all over me and lumpy awful parcels. we all have our talents and mine obviously isn't making pretty packages.

That reminds me of a compliment I had once (well I took it as a compliment) A long term boyfriend who had previously had a younger gorgeous trophy wife dated me for 9 yrs despite my being overweight and 13yrs older. One day I asked him what did I have that she didn't apart from the obvious. He said well she was like that present under the Christmas tree that is decorated so beautifully that you can't wait to see the present inside only to open it and find there is nothing that you want inside. You on the other hand are like that present that tends to get overlooked because it isn't wrapped as nicely but when opened contains the best gift of all - a warm generous loving heart. OK so he was a charmer but it was still a lovely thing to say. When I met him I had no self esteem and was at my lowest ebb after my marriage ended and he made me feel like a princess no matter what I looked like. Everyone should have a Charlie in their life. I wish I could still have him on tap for those down days.

As you can see the red Cinnabar crochet cardigan is finished with the added touch of a clasp that Vicky kindly got for me from Hobbycraft to finish it off. I still have half of a fingerless mitt to finish tonight. Last night I made a pair of crochet slippers and photos will follow tomorrow.

I am off now to wrap presents. If you don't see me on here for a few days please check that I am not stuck up with my own sellotape.

Curly borders - but it's finished

Baby Charlie's jacket has been blocked out and looks marginally better but I am still unhappy with the borders. I haven't got the time to unravel and re knit them so I just hope that the mum (a non knitter) will be happy with it.

The Cinnabar is on the last stretch now. Two sleeves completed and just another inch or so to crochet on the body and the edgings to do and then another one is finished.

I photographed the earrings this morning but as the weather is very dull and dreary I am afraid that I haven't done them any justice at all with my photography. I can assure you that they look far nicer in real life than they do on this blog. Thanks once again Jen.

I plan to start some more fingerless mitts and after looking through all my new books I think I will go with my favourite Fetching mitts from Knitty.com.

My niece has informed me that she is going to an 80's party for New Year and if possible would like a pair of leg warmers. I have just e mailed her and said if she is up in Manchester for a few days over Christmas I will try to rattle a pair off. I can't see me starting those before Christmas Day. I am turning into my mum - knitting away on Christmas Day whilst watching TV!

Another one finished

I have just finished the baby jacket for baby Charlie but by the time I had sewn it all together and picked up the stitches for the front and hood border it was too dark to take a photo. I had finished all the pieces last night and thought that it would take just an hour or so stitch it together and do the borders. Wrong, It took me ages to get it just right.

The pattern instructions for the knitting have been less than perfect and a novice would have given up a long time ago. The stitching up instructions are practically non existent and a less experienced knitter would never have worked out which way around was the back seam of the hood and which side to sew it to the body. I am not impressed with the bands either I think that they are a bit loose and wavy. I am attempting to correct this with blocking but if I had time I would re-do the bands and pick up at least 10 sts less per front and work them on a finer needle. I guess I am a picky knitter. I won't be rushing to make any more from this book (Chic knits for Stylish Babies by Patricia Wagner)in the future unless the instructions are a lot clearer. Plus patterns in the book only go up to 12 months which means the book has a limited use for babies already here.

I received a surprise in the post today. A pair of Swarovski crystal earrings as a belated birthday present from Jen. I tried to take a photo but they don;t show the purple colour in artificial light (the postman didn't come until the late afternoon) so I will try to take a photo of those tomorrow.

I feel that I am running behind now with my projects as I hadn't expected the jacket to take me so long. On with the crochet Cinnabar tonight I think. I have finished one sleeve but still got the other sleeve, the rest of the body and all the edgings to do. Another late night for me I think!

Not much progress to report today

I seem to be knitting away merrily but not really making a lot of headway. I have finished the body and 2 sleeves of the jacket for baby Charlie (sorry about the dark photo) and a few more rows on the red Cinnabar. It now has 5 rows on one sleeve done (not seen on the photo. I haven't finished the body yet so quite why I decided to start a sleeve I am not sure. I guess it's the wacky in me that likes to do things out of sequence.

Today I decided to do a bit of pre Christmas food shopping so I went into Iceland for a few bits and came staggering out with a trolley full. Why do we always think that masses of people are going to descend on us demanding food? I am going to my brother's house for Christmas dinner so I can't even use the excuse of catering for the family. When I came to unpack I seem to have lots of biscuits, a bottle of wine and some brandy and some pseudo Irish cream and not a lot in the way of actual food unless I can count the bags of chips, onion rings and Yorkshire puddings as food. The daft thing is that I will be there in Tesco filling my trolley again before the weekend with fresh food as heaven forbid that I forget to buy some sprouts!

When I weigh 2 stones heavier after Christmas will you remind me that I bought those biscuits in case people called and not as an excuse to eat them all myself. Hmm I must remember to buy a box of crackers and some cheese just in case. Oh boy I can foresee some serious dieting in the New Year and I didn't have to look in a crystal ball to deduce that!

I am going to try to put a spurt on tonight and finish off the hood and pockets for Charlie's jacket and then I can say another gift it finished.

One gift finished - another one started

Not much blogging but I am still knitting and crocheting. I have finished the gauntlet mittens for my daughter in law. They are from Sirdar Country Style 4ply with a little fair isle made from a ball of Opal Sock yarn. The pattern is from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin. I changed the pattern slightly by adding some double crochet to make a thumb. The pattern just has a slit left in the side seam but I thought that would not be warm enough so added a thumb.

Last night I went to the Kings Arms knitting club with Charlie. Hopefully she is feeling a bit better now and just in time for Christmas It was lovely to be back there. We had such a laugh with Rachael and Sarah making pretend beards with some white tinsel. It doesn't sound funny but I promise you that you had to be there and it was really funny.

I have started a hooded jacket for baby Charlie for his Christmas present and have done a few more rows on the red Cinnabar jacket.

Yesterday I went up to Bury to see the BEATS exercise guy and so should be starting back at water aerobics in the New Year. I did a bit more Christmas shopping and I think I only have 2 presents left to buy now. Still got plenty more knitting and crochet to do but thankfully I have left all the hats, mitts, gloves and possibly scarves until the last.

My old car has finally gone from my driveway. My son came with a couple of friends and took it away tonight. It has been parked up since the end of April but it started first time with a set of jump leads. It looked very battered but it was a really reliable car. I hope that the new owner has many more years from it. It will feel funny having an unrestricted view out of my front room window. One of my neighbours who has been here longer than me moved away today. Another of the older ones gone. This street has changed greatly over the last couple of years. The residents are all getting younger and we are having a new generation of babies in the street.