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On my birthday trip to London, last week. I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the Loop, Islington . I had lots of plans but managed to narrow it down to a reasonable amount. I received Fair Isle Style, edited by Mary Jane Mucklestone from Mr for Christmas. There's lots of patterns in there that I'd like to make.  The first one is Kulli Cowl by Ysolda Teague . I'm not normally one to go with the exact yarn that the pattern calls for but since I was going to Loop and they stock the yarn. They ended up at the till with me. Though different colours to the original. Incidentally, I seem to have ordered the yarn from Jamieson's of Shetland to knit the Babsie Bird from the book too. I really liked the colours. I bought a skein of Wollemeise Pure 100% in Silberdistel. An unusual colour - a cross between a pine colour and a deep teal. The plan is to make an  Imagine When  shawl by Joji Locatelli . I got Juju's Loops book too. The patterns are gorgeous but what really ...

That was a long holiday break. My birthday falls near Christmas too and it was a special one this year, so we've been away for a bit. I did get some lovely knitting-related presents this year. Some special skeins of yarn from my lovely mum - waves"Hi Mum" Two skeins of Quince and Co Chickadee A skein of Brooklyn Tweed Loft in the beautifully named "Button Jar" shade. And a few knitting books. My birthday weekend was a trip to London, which was just fabulous. One of the places we visited was the Natural History Museum (I've been plenty of times but Mr has never been). Not only are the exhibits fantastic but this time around I really appreciated how gorgeous the building is. The little details are just incredible. Here's just a little sample of photos. Ceiling of the Central Hall (Natural History Museum) Carved columns (Natural History Museum) Central Hall (Natural History Museum) Stained Glass Windows (Natural History Museum) Huge decorative lights (Victo...

Last year, I showed you all the Christmas Tree decorations . This year, it's the turn of the fabric decorations. There is quite a bit of Christmas bunting around the house but found it difficult to get a good photograph, so you'll have to imagine how pretty it looks! I did make some shelf bunting for the mantlepiece in the lounge.  The tree is in a different position this year, which gives us a bit more room but big downside is I can't easily get to the knitting books in the case behind it! I made a Christmas quilt that comes out a lot earlier than the rest of the decorations (at the start of Advent). It was hand pieced from lots of Christmas fabric scraps and machine quilted with a radiating star. The most recent addition to the tree is a wee cheesy Christmas jumper - decorated with beads, sparkly thread and embroidery. The mini coat hanger was a struggle to make but it had to be done. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

A while ago, I made a photo tutorial for the Estonian Cast On . The Double Estonian Cast On is a simple variation of this. The edge is thicker and more decorative. It is ideal for 1 x 1 and 2 x 2 ribbing, as it wraps the base of the ribbing columns. It is firm, but stretchy - this makes it a great cast on for socks. My Little Duck socks that I blogged about last week used the Double Estonian Cast On. The actual cast on is the same for both the single and double Estonian Cast on. It's just the starting bit that's a little different. As for any long tail cast on, measure out a long tail. I tend to use 1 inch per stitch for thicker yarn and 1/2 inch per stitch for DK weight and thinner; plus another 6 inches for luck!  Instead of making a slip knot, fold the yarn again to the same length that you've measured. You should have 3 lengths folded instead of 2 for a long tailed cast on. Leave a bit extra at the tail end for sewing in the end. Make a slip knot about 6 inches in fro...

I showed you a work in progress photo of my Little Duck Socks recently. Blogged here They are now finished with plenty of time for Christmas. The duck stitch pattern is from Mary Jane Mucklestone 's 150 Scandinavian Knitting Designs. I did her workshop a few months ago. This is the first of lots of project ideas from the book. The rest of the sock is my design. I reversed the ducks for each sock (just for added cuteness!). Mainly the socks were worked on 2.5mm needles - my new Nova Cubics DPNs, which I really enjoying working with. The stranded sections were done on a 3.00mm, so they didn't pinch in at that point. The change in gauge is obvious to me, especially on the toe but it does make them fit better ( I suppose I could have increased stitches instead - maybe next time). I used a Double Estonian Cast On for the ribbing. I've been using the single Estonian Cast On for most ribbing at the moment, it makes a firm but stretchy cast on - plus it's quite decorative. I m...

Just tying up a few loose ends here. These are few projects from the last couple of months that I haven't talked about much. Remember this big Pile O' Knits , I'll show you a few that were in that pile. The first is made from Paulina Popiolek 's Orion Belt pattern, made from Katia Kiss. I really enjoyed this one. Even though it looks complicated, the majority is TV knitting, i.e. mainly knit and purl so I can watch TV at the same time. The Katia Kiss has a luster to it, so quite an interesting shawl in the end. I love the little celtic knots. Kiss Orion project page . Secondly, a Bandana Cowl - Purl Soho , made from just 1 ball of Rowan Cocoon. I loved the Cocoon, it's very soft and squidgy. Cocoon Bandana project page . Finally, the sweetest little Grampa cardigan. The pattern is Gramps  by tincanknits , made from Rowan Felted Tweed Aran. I love the little details of the pockets and the elbow patches. The blurb for the pattern is brilliant -  "And YES, despit...

The reindeer jumpers are finished. You may remember, I blogged about them. Well, now I have two very cute jumpers. The phrase that keeps coming to mind for the little one is "mini me".  Both have little pompom noses, but it's the reverse of the jumpers which is the best! That's two little people with their wardrobe ready for Christmas.