December and there's still plenty to do

I was born into a family that knitted. My mum, granny, aunts and cousins always 'had something on the go'. If they were sitting they were usually knitting and I never remember a Christmas when my sister and I didn't receive knitted dolls' clothes or a pretty sweater and hat from at least one of our relations. Most of the knitting relatives I remember from my childhood have now sadly gone but they have hopefully found a happy place to knit and natter together as they did in life. I'm sure they would be pleased to know that their enthusiasm for all things woolly has rubbed off on me and over the years I have amassed a large selection of yarn into which I frequently dip.

 

Nothing is wasted and I always squirrel away the smallest lengths of yarn. I'm particularly fond of odd balls like these. Dozens of different colours which provide dozens of different knitting possibilities. Here are just a few examples that I can show you.

Striped gloves with extra long cuffs, just right for chilly days. 

Striped shawl with multicoloured tassels, warm and cosy.

Striped jumper and woolly beret for teddy. You wouldn't think he'd need it with all that fur but he assures me he does.

Traditional  Fairisle. I always like use 'traditional' real wool for this. Shetland wool is my favourite.

A crochet blanket. I have to confess I did buy the black yarn for this as I needed more than the amount I had in my woolly stash. It was great fun to make, one square at a time in any colour combination that took my fancy.

 

From very large to very tiny. These knitted toys are for a dolls house and measure 4 cm (just over an inch). The arms and legs only required 4 stitches. I used my finest yarn (4 ply) and and my finest needles. Fiddly but fun!

I prefer making something just a bit larger than 4 cm. These two friends measure approx 12 cm (just under 5 ins)

 

And these happy sailors are about the same height (the teddy is shop bought but his togs are handmade).

 

And for Christmas, what better than Santa bringing a tiny doll for a little girl in a red dress, woolly coat and beret. Doesn't she look pleased.

Time to make the Christmas cake, but first the rum must be poured over the fruit and left overnight. It looks like there is no lack of volunteers for the rum pouring! Santa takes charge... "Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum".