A couple of years ago, I knitted the boys a stocking each to fill with sweets “from Santa”. They proved to be totally useless for the task as they stretched as soon as anything heavier than a penny chew was put inside. So they were added to the box of decorations and last year were hung from the fireplace, completely empty but nicely decorative.

So this year I thought it would be nice for Rose to her her own one added to the fireplace. I wanted a different colour for the main stocking, and the only yarn I had to hand was some Cygnet Aran which is called crimson, but is really magenta. Crimson makes me think of rich, deep, red, but it was different enough from the other stockings at least. And now I have a little family of stockings:

Perhaps next year, MrB and I will also get our own stockings to admire and leave empty.

To mis-quote Jo March, “Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without any socks.” So I whipped up a very basic pair of manly socks using my favourite method of knitting until the leg was long enough, brief pause for the heel and then more knitting until the foot was long enough to begin the toe. Not very snazzy, but it keeps up the sock-giving tradition, which is the most important thing.

It feels very strange to blog again. After so long, I had a million updates to do in WordPress, couldn’t remember my Flickr password and Ravelry seems to have new widgets on the project pages that I know nothing about! I broke up from college for the holidays on Friday, so now I can get into full festive mode and bake for England. So far there’ll be nine of us for Christmas dinner, and that means A LOT of food.

Going back to learning has been interesting. We are studying World War I literature and poetry which, unsurprisingly, is not a barrel of laughs and as a topic doesn’t fill me with excitement. But it’s going well and having those few hours each week to be “me” again is wonderful for my self-esteem and confidence. I have tried to keep up with my blog reading, but I apologise for not commenting very often! I don’t really have the luxury of spending time twiddling my thumbs for a few weeks, either, because I have a 1,500 word essay to make a start on. But a bit of pre-Christmas blogging won’t hurt anyone.

Hurrah for quick projects! I finished off this hat in less than a day and now I’m all set for the winter, possibly.

I chose this pattern purely because after a Ravelry search for chunky hats, this was on the first page of results and also in my library and I liked it! It’s a fun pattern to knit, started off with an i-cord and then increased downwards, a bit of shaping at the back and then cast off.

I’m not entirely sure it suits me, though. MrB was a bit about it, and though it looks cute on everyone else, I’m not sure about me.

But it will do for cold winter days, and I will find something more stylish to knit as well.

I figured it would be quicker to just sew the underarms and add buttons to this sweater than to do a WIP post first. It’s been a hectic week, and I apologise for being horribly behind on responding to all your comments. I will get around to it!

For now, let me rave about the Owlet pattern, because it is adorable. I knew it would knit up quickly in chunky yarn, but didn’t reckon on it being such a quick project. To save time while on holiday, I cast on and knitted the ribbing, and then with nothing to occupy my hands during the Olympics opening ceremony, I finished the entire body and ribbing for the first sleeve! So although I did do a fair bit of knitting while away, I had a pretty good head start.

The pattern is very simple, as it’s mainly a stocking stitch sweater. It’s only when the sleeves and body are joined that any kind of concentration is really needed for the owl cables. They were great fun to work and it’s amazing how just two types of cable can be arranged to look exactly like an owl. I wonder if it would work with otters?

Unfortunately, despite swatching and measuring and believing it to be fine, my tension was off and I ended up with 14 stitches to 4 inches rather than 13. As I was knitting the 3 to 4 year size, I hoped this wouldn’t matter too much and the sweater does indeed fit. However, it’s not going to last much past this winter, I’d think! I noticed from the other finished Owlets on Ravelry that it seems to be worn with minimum ease, but I did want a baggier look (not too baggy like a Debbie Bliss sweater, but with a bit of wriggle room!). But it was such a quick knit that I can easily make a bigger one next year.

I didn’t have enough buttons of any type to give all the owls eyes, so went for a minimalist look. I may get more buttons to do the rest of them, but if I do, I will also get some contrasting yarn to sew them on. I split the chunky yarn to sew on the two buttons I did add, which I though was clever, but it ended up being pretty weak and pulling apart if I tugged on the needle too hard.

Special Chunky is lovely to knit with, like its DK weight sibling, and will be great for chucking into the washing machine when it gets various things spilt on it. Because my tension was off, I ended up with one whole ball of yarn leftover, so I’m snaffling it to knit myself an Icing Swirl Hat.

Most importantly of all, Rose approves of her pink (grrr!) sweater.

Before I start – remember just before I went away, when I bemoaned the lack of a green in Stylecraft Special Aran and Chunky? There is now a green (and silver grey) in both, and the 4ply. Clearly I have complete influence over Stylecraft’s yarn colours.

But back to today’s FO. The cushion pad I ordered finally arrived today, so I took the opportunity to photograph an actual FO. Cushion covers are much better when they’re all plumped out than flat as a pancake! I finished the cover just before I went away on my jollies, but didn’t bother getting the insert before I came back because there wasn’t enough time, and it would have ended up sitting on the doorstep, tempting thieves with its polyester goodness.

This is actually the easiest of all the cushions that I have crocheted this year as it it’s just two squares joined together along three sides. However, I loved the colour scheme when I first saw the book and knew I wanted to make it. The fact it will coordinate nicely with Rose’s curtains is a bonus.

I deviated from the pattern for the back. The cover in the book has a plain creamy yellow back with a final round of mauve, but I decided to continue with the three colours, working alternate rounds of each.

I slightly regretted this when it came to weaving in the numerous ends, but I like the effect and it makes either side suitable for public viewing.

I also made button loops for the first time with this pattern, which makes it easier to clean, something I hadn’t considered when making the previous cushions, although I imagine the whole thing can be machine washed. The buttons were freebies with a past issue of Mollie Makes and look perfect.

I am a bit worried that the square is slightly wonky. I don’t know whether it’s just my eyes, but it doesn’t look quite right. If it is actually wonky, then this is completely a design feature and absolutely intended…

It’s also getting to the time of year again when I am sunk into nametape sewing-on misery, so next week might be a bit of a washout knitting-wise, depending how motivated I am to get them done! Think of me, please, surrounded by shirts and trousers and trying to sew the right name into each!

Firstly, a quick thank you for all the sympathetic comments on my too-wide cardigan. I really appreciated all the advice and will try a) tumble drying then b) finding a wide-shouldered person and finally c) donating it to charity. But I did enjoy then knitting, love making leafy patterns and that’s what I should concentrate on.

But now to a FO that is simply perfect because all small people look splendid in whatever they wear.

I’ve knitted this shrug before, anyway, but even so it is such an easy and quick knit. However, I had the same problem as last time in that I had the wrong stitch count after dividing for the sleeves. I imagine I had the wrong stitch count beforehand, but one absolutely tiny complaint I have with this pattern is that none are given other than the number of stitches across the back at each stage. When you’re increasing all over the place and then casting on stitches for the front bands, there’s lots of scope of error and though its only a couple of stitches, it’s a bit annoying.

I knitted the ribbed edging this time because I didn’t do it before and fancied a change. I think I actually prefer it; it ties with the sleeve and neck edging and looks rather sophisticated. The wee daisy button was from my stash and hopefully looks cute but not too babyish. It makes a change from sticking wooden buttons on everything.

Because it is (FINALLY!) such a gorgeous day, we had a little photoshoot in the garden:

“I won’t get out of bed for less than ten bags of chocolate buttons a day.”

“What do you think of my new shrug?”

though it’s already getting too hot to spend much time out of the shade. I am NOT complaining, though, absolutely not!

The yarn was really nice to knit with. I did knit it at a tighter tension than recommended for this pattern; ideally it should have been a DK-weight yarn. But it isn’t stiff. Helpfully, it will be a breeze to wash, as I’m not under any illusions that a white cardigan will stay pristine for very long.

This time next week I will be halfway out of the door as I leave for a couple of weeks. About time I sorted out the holiday knits!

Done, although no modelled photo for this one as I hate it. I know that cardigans that button at the top and hang downwards look dreadful on me, but with all the excitement about leaves and knitting a cardigan in just over a week, I didn’t stop to think about whether I’d actually like the end product.

It doesn’t help that what is a wide collar becomes even wider after being worn all day. By the end of yesterday, I was sporting an off-the-shoulder, come-hither look because I got fed up with adjusting the shoulders every five minutes. I would blame the yarn, but as the original pattern was designed for Sirdar Simply Recycled DK which has the exact same fibre content, I’d have expected someone to take into account the fact that it will grow through being worn…

Also, the body of the cardigan is just a bit too short on me to balance out the illusion of width caused by the shoulders, so I look something like this:

I am 5’8″ – not willowy tall but not tiny, either. I just look like a square leafy blob and it makes me sad. So I’ll stick this cardigan on a shelf until I can find someone with very wide shoulders to palm it off on.

Lamour, how much do I love you? Let me count the ways. I love your leafy lace which was so easy to memorise but looks ever so pretty.

I love your fancy little collar tag, topped with a wee wooden button.

I love that you fit first time, unlike the last vest I knitted, and are neither too tight around the arms, nor too long in the armpit, and that your lace stretches enough across the bust to allow me to knit a smaller size that wouldn’t be too baggy everywhere else.

I must confess that I didn’t love seaming your sides, and if I ever need to replace you (perish the thought!), I will knit your body in the round, like I did with your neckband and around your armholes.

And the yarn I made you with was a huge pain in the bum to sew up with as it unravelled into a million strands. I had to make sure I sewed the ends in very firmly and just hope they don’t unravel as I wear you. It’s a lovely yarn, despite this, and is soft and a little bit silky. A shame it’s been discontinued, apparently. I seem to have a habit of finding yarns I like just a bit too late!

All in all, you are a brilliant vest and I hope that we will have many happy hours together.