Snowman

Awwwh! I just wanted to show you this little cutie. Yeah, I know it's early, but I needed a quick softie to knit and the first stash yarn I grabbed was white so, I had to knit him!

I knit him last week whilst watching Raw and his scarf & hat whilst watching Iron Man 3, so he didn't take long at all.

I used the Angus the Attic Monster pattern for the body and made the rest up myself. The hat and scarf is knit out of GnomeAcres Superfine SW Merino, Silk and Stellina DK Sparkle in the Mistletoe colourway from last years Christmas collection. I'm quite excited to see if there'll be more this year.

All knit on 3mm needles.

And now he's just being cute, sat on top of a clock, waiting, waiting for those Cola Lorries to appear!

Weasley is our King

That's why Gryffindors all sing; "Weasley is our King!" 

So, I've decided to knit Ron Weasley's blanket, y'know seeing as I'm a sucker for any replicas from the Harry Potter films, even though they piss me off sometimes.

Anyway, so you're going to want the good stuff. The pattern is The Ron Weasley Blanket by Penguineer (Ravelry link).

I figure it's a good idea, seeing as I'm on a quest to knit up my acrylic stash oddments. I love this pattern for the detail it goes into. I mean, I can look through the squares and identify the yarn from other knitting projects in the films. Then there's the Hogwarts House colours, which I think is sweet. I can just picture Molly Weasley finishing one of the Christmas jumpers then knitting a square[s] with the leftovers.

Ugh, I love Molly Weasley.

So, my plan of attack:

I'm using 5mm needles and DK yarns, mostly Robin brand, seeing as when I started knitting I only bought the cheap yarns.

I have written a list of all the recurring colours and how many squares I'll need of them. I'm starting off with the solid block squares seeing as they're simple t.v knitting. I'll go on to the fun stripes last.

If I knit some that are next to each other, I sew them together. Simple. Seeing as sewing up is my least favourite part of knitting and this is the problem I seem to be having with my bee-keeper's quilt.

Single squares are good pallet cleansers too.

I've drawn up a little grid, and can cross off squares as I knit them, so I know which ones I have. I also seem to love cross referencing. Odd.

Other project updates: I have finally finished Craig's Christmas sweater and only have a sleeve left to knit on my nephews.  I've knit a stocking, just need to weave in ends and I've knitted 4 mini sweater ornaments, they're so cute! A bauble. Been working on some socks. Knit my first afterthought heel. Knit hats. Knit gloves.

That's all I can think of for now!

Christmas Stocking

I started this yesterday afternoon whilst watching It's a Wonderful Life with my mom. The pattern is from issue 1 of Knit Now magazine and it's a chunky/bulky weight yarn.

I knit this for my fiance, and I'm going to fill it with chocolate and he can have it at Christmas.

I am knitting other things and I'm really bad at this blog, so I'm sorry.

Christmas Trio

I got the patterns for the snowman and reindeer from "Christmas Gifts and Decorations" that came free with KnitToday magazine. But I created the Santa using the base pattern of the snowman/reindeer but altered it enough for mister Claus!
I knit his nose in the same way, but on a smaller scale. I also crocheted his beard, in a novice like fashion.

These guys are all knitted from my odd balls of yarn. The reindeer is actually a very dark brown with felt antlers and eyes.
The snowman is knitted in 3 different types of white yarn! his head/body is a yarn spun with a shimmery thread through it, his hat trim is a fluffy yarn, bit like sidar snowflake, but a smaller brand, and his scarf is a simple DK.

The reindeer's scarf was knit in the round whereas the snowman's was knit flat in garter stitch.

Check them out seperately on my deviantart account: Snowman Reindeer Santa

Little Christmas Pud

I knit this for my mom. She's been ill and has barely left the house in months, because it's nearly Christmas she's sad that she wont be able to look at all the decorations in the stores, which is something we usually do together.
So, being the brilliant and caring daughter that I am, I made her this. It's nice to see her smile.

If I can remember how I did it I'll edit this post with a pattern.

I Heart Winter

I've just been having a discussion with a friend of mine, he lives in Australia and it's winter over there and he doesn't like it at all, but I love it!

Even my taxi driver commented on how the nights are drawing in, and I can't help but feel glad. Summer's great, and seemingly everyone elses favourite season, but I'm definately a winter bunny. I guess winter is the best time of year for a knitter to feel the benefit of their hard, but enjoyable work. Though I've adored winter for years before I picked up needles.

Most people will know that here in the U.K we've had an amazing and uncommon amount of sunshine and heat this summer, an I have made the most of it, as long as I was heavily covered in factor 50, plus I'd spent too much money on new clothes, so I've had to wear them. A picnic in a park (sunscreen and sat under a tree), a day trip to Dudley Zoo & Castle, shopping trips, walking around, BBQ's (I've never eaten to much BBQ in my life in such a short space of time), but all of this, even just running errands, has left me tanned, which I cannot stand, I'd rather go for the 'pale and interesting look', though I'm happily not as dark as so many people that I know.

This all adds up to how much I love winter! There's no accidental tanning, there's no unstoppable sweating and I can snuggle up to my cuddly boyfriend without fear of over heating. Believe me, there's nothing worse than not being able to cuddle. There's the added bonus of layering, practical accessories, and knit wear to die for! Cute cabled hats and mittens with sequined snowflake motifs. Then there's snow. I love snow, I never get tired of it, not even earlier last year when we had it for weeks. Every time I stepped outside I got the childish glee of finding a crunchy part no-one else has stepped on. I even built a snowman with my boyfriend. I love the colours of the winter pallet. But, of course, winter means Christmas, which means decorating the tree, and that is my favourite part. Glittering baubles and twinkling lights, wrapped in a duvet watching a Christmas film (I have several on DVD) and drinking hot chocolate.

Nothing beats winter.