Frisian Frillies

Is progressing nicely... With my head being so busy, it's nice to just knit something mindless... The sofa is almost covered now, but I'm continuing until it is really big enough to wrap myself in... And yes, it is upside down... :D

Sometimes it's not in what you receive, but in what you give that you find joy. And with that in mind, my knitting friend Aal had a give-away on her blog a few weeks ago. She asked her readers who they would want to give a pair of handknit 'by Aal' socks. After some hesitation I left a comment, as sometimes when you have a story to tell, a story to be grateful for and proud of, it can be very painful and intimate to actually write it down and share it with people. But I'm glad I did anyway. Because I won ! Well, not me, exactly. My mom did. My glorious yummy mummy, who will turn 64 tomorrow. And really, had you asked us a year ago whether we thought we'd see this day, well... I'm not sure whether we could've in all honesty have said that we were sure it was going to come. Exactly one year ago, the day before her 63rd birthday, we had the dreaded appointment with the gynaecologist, who confirmed that what we thought was indigestion, some kind of bowel proble...

And ended the year as I started it. Knitting socks... On our weekend away in Rotterdam (a city break I can really recommend, even in mid-winter!) I finished off the socks for hubby... A sock and hotel linen The yarn was a gift from my Sinter-RAK early December. The Lana Grossa Meilenweit yarn was a stretch cotton, a new 'feeling' for me. At the start, it was a bit weird to knit with, but I quickly got used to it. I used a simple 5x1 rib and large Dutch heel. They turned out a bit on the big side, but as hubby will be wearing them in boots mostly, that's not a problem. And he's a size 44/45/46, his feet can never decide what they are exactly, which is very annoying! :D Socks up close and pesonal I cast off just after the fireworks went off and we uncorked the champers... And then, the next day cast on a new pair: some Flying Saucers, for me! The unwinding had been a bit of a pain. The yarn is wound on the skein two threads together, which means you have to unwi...

Almost all of my projects... There were some more, but these were the main ones... I see a colour pattern emerging... This year, I'm trying more colours! Promise :D In total: 7 pairs of socks 4 hats 5 pairs of mittens/gloves 2 baby bibs 5 stuffed toys 2 Xmas ornaments 7 shawls/scarves 2 bags (1 sewn) 5 sweaters/tops 1 baby dress One scarf I hadn't showed you properly: it's the one with the lovely girl in it. I had quite a lot of yarn left after knitting my Haruni, so I decided to knit our Mermaid a mini Annis: It only needed 18 grams of yarn. Which means I have enough left to knit another one. (Just in case she looses this one. Ahum, ever the pessimist...) I had intended to use beads, but the holes of the beads I had were just too small, ending up ripping the yarn. So, I ended up knitting nupps after all... And the shawl in all its glory... I used quite a large needle compared to the yarn, but that made it possible to make 7-loop nupps, which stand out nicely...

Happy New Year everyone!!!! Before I start boring you with pictures of the socks I have been knitting this weekend, a few pictures of my walk this morning... Walking along the frozen canal Turning a corner and being greeting by the most beautiful of sunrises. And coots walking on water And hundreds of more coots, ducks and herons swimming and standing about A few of the herons. And those dots on the other side? More herons. About 40. Amazing! I'm walking my imaginary dog every morning from now on. Time to get properly fit. Properly! No running as of yet, as my knee needs some care and attention, but walking I can do, and will. Right, back to socks: Hubby's socks finished just after the stroke of midnight in the hotel. Simple 5x1 rib, made from the SinterRAK yarn And my 'flying saucers'. I've turned the heel now and they look pretty funky. Shame about the lack of colour at the start of the yarn...