A rainy walk at the park. Flecks of orange glowing against neutral greys and browns.
The annual collaborative Christmas Card design made by our Service User Group at work. An array of jolly snow-people out for a midnight stroll, one perhaps a little too full of the festive spirit...
A custom-designed, made-to-measure Christmas jumper for a friend's daughter's teddy bear/best friend - 'Dominic'.
Bare trees casting long shadows in the pale winter sunshine at the park.
A city centre meeting near the German market provided an unexpected chance to stop and admire the fabulous over-the-toppery of an old-fashioned carousel.
Prepping this year's crafty gift for family and friends. Little slices of wood, complete with bark, decorated with tiny snow-globe style trees. I used a mixture of acrylics, watercolour pencils and paints, and irridescent acrylic medium to create a frosty moonlit winter scene. Added a couple of coats of gloss varnish and a magnet glued to the back and 'hey-presto!' - seasonal decorations for the fridge!
Two completely different hats from the same pattern - the Antler toque by the fabulous TinCanKnits - made for my two sons. I can't stress enough how much Magic Loop has transformed my knitting life. No more fiddling with double ended needles, no more tedious seams - hats are an absolute doddle these days!
Just to hammer the point home, take a look below at what's currently on the circular needles - a complex, cabled beauty of a fair isle hat - the Norrland hat by Sara Huntington Burch. Now, I'm not normally a fan of fair isle - I always struggle to get the tension right - but I fell madly in love with this design the moment I saw it, and I think the snowflake motif I incorporated into the front of Dominic's little teddy bear jumper gave me the confidence to believe I could at least attempt it. I'm teaching myself to use two handed fair isle knitting which is making my tension a lot more consistent, but working the cables definitely interrupts the flow. Even without those pesky double-ended needles it is still quite fiddly and slow going. Not so much a 'switch off and watch telly as you knit' type of project, more a 'concentrate, focus and double-check' style of thing, but it will all be over soon (I've just started the decreases) and it is absolutely beautiful! I'm making it for my Mum and secretly thinking I might have to make another one for myself...
Just to round things off, here is the picture my friend sent me of Dominic in his festive finery on Christmas Day. He's a bear of few words, but, as you can see, his bestie is delighted by his smart appearance!
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