Preparations...

...are well underway for the Christmas Extravaganza at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon! All the yarns and fibre are packed neatly in their bags, and other small bits to make the stall pretty are almost done. There will be a plethora of yarns to choose from, as well as some knitted winter woolies, unique tree decorations and learn-to-knit kits with needles, instructions and a choice of yarn. The weather looks like it may even play ball, what with the forecast of snow (snow!) in the area over the weekend!

I have a LOT of holiday knitting to do. Some of which are to wing their way overseas before Christmas, so I have a lot to be getting on with. My Etsy shop will close over the weekend for the Craft Fair, but shall re-open Monday, full of lots more goodies, and a special offer!

Yay!

Ding, dong merrily on high and stuff

Christmas is but 37 days ago. 37! That's barely enough time to prepare as it is! My handbag and my house and my desk are full (FULL!) of lists of presents to buy, cards to write, groceries, things to do... and on top I have a Christmas Craft Fair and Christmas Farmer's Market to prepare for! So, I also have lists of items I must take and things I must do in preparation. And that's all after my real job. Crazy!

But I love Christmas. I love the cold (when I'm indoors and toasty). I love the smells of baking and cinnamon and nutmeg and the pine needles. I love the unexpected visitors who I ply with mulled wine and fruit-filled pastries. I love the crinkling of paper and the sheen of ribbons; the happy Christmas carols playing in every store and, if you're lucky, sung by groups at the train station; the beautiful light displays adorning street lamps and shop windows like crowns and the twinkle of fairy lights and the coziness of chunky, winter knits and the beautiful glow that a room full of candles gives. The season imparts such a wonderful feeling for me, so to be able to be a part of some lovely events which will help others get in to the spirit is wonderful.

So, in preparation I have been dyeing and labelling and making up learn-to-knit kits for kids and knitting all manner of cozy items to keep people warm and, generally, preparing for a pretty, Christmassy stall!

I'm currently spinning up a second bobbin of some beautifully soft merino and cashmere. I'm yet to decide whether this will be a two- or a three-ply yarn but, whatever it will be, it has to keep the soft bounciness that this fibre has. Hopefully, it will make a lovely soft cowl. I am really hoping for some slightly better weather this weekend so that I can take some photos. It's so dark when I get home that photographing is impossible.

In the meantime, Schnarf is here to let you know what he thinks of all the festivities...

Productivity

The weekend was really quite productive. While I didn't dye as much as I had hoped, (only about 500g of spinning fibre) I did manage to spin up over 200g of Falkland wool, half of which has been plied. It's looking rather lovely, in a sock-to-DK weight. The light was terrible all weekend, though, much as it has been for many weeks, now, so the opportunity for photographing anything did not present itself. It seems absolutely typical that, today, the sun is shining and there has not been a single cloud in the bright blue sky and I won't get home until it is dark. Before the end of this week I will definitely have more photos to show.

Meanwhile, the socks seem to be coming on well enough. While I love the colours and the striping of Noro, I am fast falling out of love with its unyielding rigidity once knitted. There just seems to be no give in the sock I am working on right now, which disturbs me a little. Well, only time will tell so I had better finish it off quickly...

Socks

I love knitting socks. Absolutely LOVE it. The almost-instant gratification of a small project that knits up in such a short space of time that someone will actually wear is enough to make me go all fuzzy inside. I always knit on dpns and tend to stick to top-down sock knitting because it just makes more sense to me (although I have knitted toe-up socks with success in the past). Yesterday, however, I decided I'd see what all the fuss was about knitting socks using the magic loop method on circular needles. I ended up frogging the 3 rows I managed because I had dropped a stitch somewhere and, although I immediately cast on to my double points. I will head back to the circulars over the weekend, possibly for the second sock, although right now I can definitely say I prefer knitting socks over 4 dpns.