Reindeer Hot Chocolate

 

This little reindeer is the second in the CAL as the little mouse.  The reindeer is designed by @lexinstitches for the #merryamichristmas.  I did a couple of things different from the pattern:  wrapped ball nose, and the antlers are slightly longer.

No. 42 Snowflake

 

This week's block in Arne & Carlos' SiT and KNIT for a BIT.  This will be the last block until the new year.  An advent calendar of knitted Christmas balls begins next week.

Little Mouse

 

This is Noel the Christmas Mouse.  Designed by @littleaquagirl for TheLittleHookCrochet.  Noel is part of the Merry Ami Christmas CAL, over seven weeks seven designers are sharing pattens to make for the Christmas tree.  He is crocheted and sits about 10cm high.  

The Big Gnome

This very large gnome was made to top a tree full of handmade smaller gnomes for the Christmas window of Can Do Books in 2016.  I was rather pleased when he didn't sell and he could come home and live with us.

No. 41 Pressed Flowers

 

Yesterday was a good day.  This week's block from Arne & Carlos' SIT and KNIT for a BIT.  I knit it before going out on my first non-essential outing, lunch with my friend Janette in Richmond.  We also went to Granny Square, a yarn shop.  Really nice walking around all that yarny goodness.  I was fairly controlled:  in the second photo, the yarn to the left was from GrannySquare.  The red was what I went in for, the purple and two next skeins are the restrained bit.  When I got home a parcel from the Woolly Thistle (another lovely yarn shop in the US), a late night in September purchase, the three skeins on the right.  Time to get the yarn winder out.

Christmas Balls

 

Arne & Carlos are having a Christmas knit along, an Advent Calendar of Knitted Christmas Baubles.  Starting on December 1st knitting a ball every day.  I made a start on the knitted balls early, didn't know what I was going to make next.  I started knitting with DPN's and found I really like using a circular needle for knitting in the round.  Also my colour work on small items in the round is not very good, the tension is terrible.  So I decided I would just knit each ball and then duplicate stitch the design, which is good, satisfying knitting and stitching work.  When designs are symmetrical, for me they have to be absolutely symmetrical, no one stitch over here and there, it drives me nuts.  I'm more an asymmetrical girl, quite like a bit of random.  But if something is subbed to balanced and alike, it really needs to be.  So I spent some time riffling the pattern and the charts, so all is balanced where it needs to be.  Much happier now.  I am also knitting in 4ply, not 8ply as the pattern suggests.  

No. 40 Old Flower & Lofoten Wool

 

This week's block from Arne & Carlos' SIT and KNIT for a BIT is an old flower pattern.  Earlier in the year Arne and Carlos holidayed and made videos from Lofoten Island, and island in the north of Norway.  They visited a farm where the sheep were so sweet.  They all had names and looked like they were asking to be patted.  Ooo, I wanted some of their yarn.  It arrived yesterday, two skeins of Lofoten Wool.  

UK Parcel

 

I bought some fabric and a few other things from Katie Green an illustrator, and lots of other talents, from England.  Started watching her podcast at the start of the year and loving each episode.  The fabric has different British sheep breeds, and no plans yet for a project.  The parcel was beautifully presented and included a hand written note and cards.  Thank you Katie.  On parcel stats, it took 21 days to get from the UK to Melbourne, then 14 days to get from Melbourne to Melbourne.

Christmas Cards

 

I finished making my Christmas Cards.  And they have been sent off in the mail.  The post has been particularly terrible for non-express post times, so I thought I should get ahead of the usual Christmas mail rush.  I'm hoping they all arrive before Christmas.

Advent Calendar

 

I bought myself my very first advent calendar.  I arrived yesterday from Yarntrader, a lovely shop in Port Adelaide.  Mini skeins of hand dyed yarn each day.  Lucky I'm a patient person.

Penguin Christmas Card

 

I am still working on this year's Christmas cards, which I won't show yet.  But here is the card I made for Christmas of 2015.  That year lots of little penguins were made for the Christmas window at Can Do Books.  I took photos of all the penguins I made and puts some in a card.  (Sorry, the photo is hard to see, the card is small and to fit them all in I had to go wide, and then crop the photo so you can actually see them on the bookshelf.)  They were printed on card stock, cut out and stuck onto a strip of black card.  

No 39. Acanthus

 

This week's block for Arne & Carlos' SIT and KNIT for a BIT.  Based on Norwegian folk art flower design.  Mine looks a little lizard-like.