Something to make you smile

I dug out all the Christmas decorations this morning and look what I found lurking in the bottom of the box - some of last years knitting, aren't they cute?
Well in an ugly sort of a way :D They are of course some of the Alan Dart Christmas gnomes. The pattern was originally published in Simply Knitting's 2005 Christmas supplement but I managed to get hold of it when they reprinted it last year. I wish I had time to knit more of them this year as they'd make fab presents.

They're a great way of using up odds and ends as they don't take a great deal of yarn to knit although, knitting with the eyelash for the beard was a bit of an eye opener as I'd never used it before. It definately has it's place in the scheme of things but I couldn't contemplate knitting a whole garment in it, it'd be a nightmare!

for Kai: I'm using Sirdar Bonus DK for the BSJ with various odds and ends from my "tail ends" bag for the stripes. The DK isn't as dark as the picture shows and has three different shades of brown plyed together, it's rather nice actually and I don't usually like brown :)

A BSJ at last

So here's the first of my Christmas knits. I have finally managed to get my grubby little mitts on a copy of the Baby Surprise Jacket pattern by Elizabeth Zimmerman. A few months ago a lady, who I've never met again, brought a couple of these along to our Stitch and Bitch meeting. One already stitched up and another unfinished to show how it was constructed. It's such a simple idea to make a cardigan completely in one piece and so completely unlike anything I'd seen before that I was hooked.
It was my first ever introduction to EZ and I've been trying to get hold of the pattern ever since. I've got a couple of her books now but I've never managed to get hold of the Opinionated Knitter, even my library (my favourite source of knitting books) was unable to get it. I have found a couple of sources in the US but the price of getting it shipped just made it unworkable. So you can imagine my delight the other week when I discovered that KnitnCaboodle are now stocking it and two days later the pattern was in my hand.
I have to say it was all I could do not to cast it on there and then but I was in mid bag making swing so I couldn't. As soon as the craft weekend was out of the way though I dived straight into my stash to find something suitable and cast straight on. This is actually the second version as I cast it on initially in blue but it just wasn't working for some reason and after all my excitement, it was becoming a chore to knit. So a change of needles later and a new ball of yarn and the rest is history. Dexter's BSJ is growing and growing, this picture is from a couple of days ago, I'm already past the first mitred corners and I'm increasing again. It's actually almost starting to look like a cardigan now. If it keeps growing like this, it might even be finished by the start of next week.

Wow it's the middle of December already!

Where has the time gone? I seem to have gone from knitting manically for the craft fair to suddenly realising that I'd barely started my Christmas knitting. Anyhow enough of that later, so much has happened over the last couple of weeks but I guess I'd better start where I left off... at the craft fair.

I knitted, felted and dyed like a demon and made it to the craft fair despite the last minute intervention of a puking mighty midget. There we were, mum and I, (with the still poorly mighty midget in tow) unloading the car. We went inside to set up the stall and realised that we'd left most of the bags I'd made at home in a box on the dining room table. So, it was back in the car for me and a last minute dash home to collect them. All was set, we were ready for the off. Which to be honest, never really happened.

Talk about a damp squib, especially after all the stress and the panic beforehand. I don't think I have ever been to such a quiet event in all my life. Still, we stuck it out and made it to the end and sold a couple of bits. Covered the cost of the table but not a lot more. So, lesson learned, don't rely on the organisers to publicise an event, you need to do some shameless self promotion as well.

So anyhow, I still have several bags left and some rather lovely yarns too. I've already got plans for a couple of the yarns once the Christmas knits are out of the way but I think several of them might make it as far as Etsy in the New Year.

Here's a little taster.