I have so many lace patterns I want to knit. Unfortunately, things are conspiring this year to stop me doing any lace knitting other than socks. My Dolphin Scarf has barely grown and the list of patterns I am coveting just gets bigger. As does my stash of laceweight yarn…

I think I’ve found my shawly nemsis now, though. I have bought The Princess Shawl pattern from Heirloom Knitting.

It is absolutely beautiful. And terrifying. Seriously, it tells me so on the back:

The Princess Shawl is inspired by one presented to Alexandra, Princess of Wales by Shetland in 1863. It is one of the most challenging projects for lace knitters available.

*whimpers*

The pattern comes in a 24 page booklet AND with four A3 charts. The recommended needle size if I knit the pattern in the suggested yarn is 1.5mm. Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Probably! But when I do knit it, it’ll be the most rewarding knitting I’ll ever do.

My house smells of fruit cake. When I was younger, my grandma always used to make her cakes in the Autumn half term to allow them plenty of time to mature and be fed copious amounts of brandy in time for the festive season. Though her reason was practical; school holidays were her holidays and it was the only chance she got. Whereas I’ve picked up her tradition purely because now it isn’t too uncomfortable to be thinking about making food to eat in December. And my huge and fruity cake is cooling in the kitchen and will soon be wrapped up after a good boozy drink, ready to be iced in the easiest way possible a couple of days before eating.

So with the Big Day looming ever closer, I’m cracking on with my gift knitting. The Skull Illusion Scarf is over the half-way mark, so for a change of pace and needle size, I’ve started another pair of socks.

The pattern is Child’s French Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks and I think this is one of the very rare occasions where I am using the yarn specified in the pattern. Better make the most of it, after all, because soon there won’t be any Jaeger Matchmaker Merino to be had anywhere. I also think this is the only time I have ever used the same colour yarn as is used in for the pattern. But I just loved the combination in the book, so why not? Actually, in real life, the red isn’t nearly as rich, but it’s still very pretty and it’s called “Strawberry” which reminds me of squishy softness and that’s what anyone would want from a comfortable pair of handknit socks.

I think someone is making their feelings clear about the amount of time I am Ravelry-ing and not cat stroking:

“Stop looking at Ravelry and start looking at ME!”

I’ll sneak on when she’s asleep.

I started writing this post yesterday evening, but gave up after about two minutes because I was just too flippin’ exhausted.

Yesterday I met up with Diane, Kai, Meeta, Ali and Jacqui and our little band of eager knitters went to the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace.

I will never go on Saturday again. I need to have that tattooed on my forehead or something because it it VITAL that I don’t forget. It was fine when we got there, but after about an hour, suddenly every other crafter in the universe arrived and it was packed.

I wanted to get lots of photos, but instead, you’ll have to be content with one of my haul:

I bought 150g of denim blue hand-dyed bamboo silk and wool blend from The Handspinner Having Fun. The secret parcel (bwahahaha!) and Folk Knitting in Estonia (which has been on my wishlist for ages) are both from Socktopus – who eaily win the award for most beautiful giftwrapping, if there is one. The purple cashmere laceweight is from KnitWitches and was my early Christmas present from Kai. Well, it saves her carrying it all the way home!

Not in the photo is the bag of sweets bought from the stand in the entrance hall which cost almost as much as a skein of sock yarn. Still not entirely sure I wasn’t conned. After all, fat people will pay a fortune for sweets, they are so desperate. Well, ha! Because I didn’t eat any of them. Um, yes…

I also picked up a copy of the new Yarn Forward magazine, which contains the pattern for the Pomegranate Shawl I designed back in Februrary. The Interweave Holiday Knits magazine wasn’t strictly in my haul, but Diane gave it to me on Saturday so it counts as far as I’m concerned.

I should add at this point that despite being overcharged for sweets, aching in places that I didn’t know it was possible to ache, etc, etc, that I had a BRILLIANT time. Highlights include spinning with a potato!

I will be spending today fondling my haul tidying the house ready for a VIP visit tomorrow. Send very overpriced chocolate.

And that’s about the limit of my French. Apart from pain au chocolat, of course.

Pattern: French Beret from Hats, Gloves, Scarves by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Fiddlesticks Country Silk Demi in “Eggplant”, about half a skein
Needles: 2.00mm and 2.5mm

This is a pretty plain and simple beret and it’s totally made by the cute picot cast on (which took hours).

The yarn colours are beautiful, too.

Hope it meets with approval now! *worries*

Santa Cat would like to remind you that there are only 75 days left until The Big Day.

But no panic for me this year!

After previously knitting gifts which didn’t really get the reception I had hoped for (Pi Shawl = lead balloon) I have pretty much crossed off most of the people on my knitted gift list, and they can have an M&S voucher instead, which I think would be far better appreciated anyway.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t give ANY knitted gifts. Despite being perfectly able to knit something for themselves, knitters still love receiving knitted gifts. Possibly because knitters appreciate the time spent knitting a hat or pair of socks? Or maybe because they like woolly things. In any case, I have already knit one present, which will remain secret for now because the person may read this blog and it’ll spoil the suprise. And my sister has promised on pain of death* that she will wear a Skull Illusion Scarf if I knit one for her. So I am.

I’m using Rowan Pure Wool Aran because it is soft and – very importantly – machine washable. Though I’m not sure how well the tassels will stand up to being machine washed, I think it’s just better to be safe than sorry. This is my first venture into shadow knitting and it’s really very simple, as long as I remember to purl and knit in the right places. I had to frog one row twice because I had a stupid moment and forgot how to read charts, but other than that it is just a glorified stocking stitch stripe scarf. Sadly, with 200g of yarn attached to it, it’s not the most portable of knitting, but it’s not as if I don’t have something else to keep me occupied while travelling..!

* or possibly just a poke with a very sharp stick

…it saves time. A brief break in the postal strikes meant I could get my Wollmeise order today.

Wollmeise Superwash in Vergißmeinnicht, medium intensity. I was also sent a tiny gift sken of this colourway:

and I need to find out what it is, because I adore it. (ETA: It’s Indische Rot. Now I just have to stalk the site til it’s available!)

This yarn is destined for my festive knitting. I don’t suppose anyone can guess who it could possibly be for..?

I found this on Lindsey’s blog and thought it was a lovely idea. I’m all for Random Acts of Kindness, even if they’re not quite random!

Here is how it works, according to the creator of this exchange: It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So the first three people to comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me (which will be knitted, let’s face it!), but, by commenting, are also promising to do a post like this on their own blog. For my part, I promise that I will send a gift to each of them within the next six months – so by mid-April next year. Let the gifting commence!

Diane, Cairi and yours truly are taking part in what could be the world’s smallest hat swap. Tis very simple: we each choose a pattern and yarn and send it to another person, so we all knit a hat and get one of our choice back. So Cairi has got my Baby Cashmerino (that’s where it went!) and I have got Diane’s choice.

The yarn is Fiddlesticks Country Silk Demi, which is 50% wool, 30% silk, 20% nylon. It’s lovely, with a nubbly texture, a bit like the yarn version of Raisin Wheats (!) and knitted up the colours blend together really well. Definitely a sophisticated yarn and not for wee white bunnies.

The pattern she has chosen to go with the yarn is a beret from Louisa Harding’s Hats, Gloves, Scarves book. After spending a ridiculously long time working the picot cast on (and the more I do it, the more I want to use it in a design, even though it takes three times as long as a regular cast on), I am speeding along. As much as a person can with 218 stitches on 2.5mm needles..!

And it will be all finished by Saturday or I’ll eat my hat.

I think my brain is beginning to leak out of my ears, so I’m taking a break from this morning’s task, which is writing out in full a 24 row lace pattern from the chart I’ve already done. Every row is different, including the wrong side, so I can’t even cheat and write “as row 4″ or cut ‘n paste.

Mainly, it’s worry that I’ll mistype and a purl will jump into the pattern instead of a knit, or too many yarn overs and the whole pattern goes loopy. That’s why I love charts. I followed a chart for the very first time when I knit Trellis from Knitty, but it wasn’t until I knit Branching Out that I really appreciated them. That project was the first lace I ever knit, so a steep learning curve and also the start of my lace addiction! Now I can’t imagine ever knitting a lace pattern using the written instructions. A chart helps me to visualise what I’m doing, far more than row upon row of k2, yo, ssk, etc. (BTW, for anyone who wants to write their own charts, I use this free font in conjunction with Excel.)

But I do appreciate that everyone has their own preferences, so now I’ve had a break, it’s back to typing out the rest of the pattern! Send chocolate.

With waves of lace cascading down the leg and foot, these socks are unashamedly feminine. To be worn with a ballgown and tiara or just whenever you need to feel girly!

The pattern directions contain both charted and written instructions for the simple 8 row lace design and is easily adjustable for longer or shorter feet.

Size: to fit UK shoe size 4-7 (US size 6 to 8½)

Yarn: Tess Dawson Merino 4ply (100% merino), 2 x 50g, shown in shade #01 (Cream), or up to 400m of another 4ply/fingering weight yarn

Tension: 36 stitches x 48 rounds to 10cm/4” in stocking stitch with 2.25mm (US size 1) double-pointed needles, or size need to obtain correct tension

3 page pattern is in pdf format, dowloadable immediately after purchase via Payloadz.

Price: £2.50