Belated happy new year

Hope this year is going well for you all so far, our family have been succumbing to the usual round of sniffles which my younger son very gererously brings home from school to share with us, but it hasnt stopped the knitting.

I've joined in the 24 in 2009 challenge on the Crafty threads and yarn forum, here are my first two items.

Socks for my stepniece knitted in the leftover opal rainforest from my ravelympic socks with a wee bit of neon on one toe as I ran out of yarn

and crochet dishcloths using the patterns in '200 crochet blocks' by Jan Eaton.

I have also joined NaKniSweMoDo on Ravelry where you aim to knit a sweater a month. I am 3/4 of the way through my first one, a mitered sweater in Wendy Fusion but no pics as camera batteries have died.
I'm on stashalong again too so hopefully my stash should be much reduced at the end of this year though I am hoping to add to it at Skipnorth. I'd better get knitting now to make some space.

We three kings.

Well the kings for my nativity are finally finished,

so now its all complete.

I have also sewn up a hoodie for my younger son and reknit the border of the goddess knits anniversary shawl, just need to block it now.

Christmas knitting

I knitted these cute little baby socks as stockings for all the kids in my sunday school class ( I teach the 3 & 4 year olds). They each had a sweet and wee toy inside and the kids loved them.

The rest of my christmas knitting ground to a halt, the nativity kings still aren't finished, but I suppose they could get done in time for January and the hoodie is still waiting to get sewn up.

I decided to dig out the goddess knits mystery shawl, I ran out of yarn while doing the border on this so I ripped back the border last week and restarted it using black Jaggerspun zephyr (left over from MS3), so have been knitting that all week and finally finished last night, just got to block it now.

I'm now going to spend the rest of this year finishing off some of my outstanding WIP, so hopefully I should have some more finished things to show you this week.

NOvember update

Well after vowing to cast on no new projects in November, my knitting ground to a halt thanks to DS2 very generously sharing all the germs he brought home from school. I also was invited to a wedding at the end of November so made a cross stich sampler for the happy couple, forgot to take photos but they loved it.
I have been knitting this month though, finished the aran hoodie for DS2, just needs sewing up now, and the chunky jumper got frogged and knitted into a cloud bolero and urchin beret, my kings are almost done too, need to knit the hats and presents and then sew them all up, guess I'm going to be busy with a needle this weekend.

NOvember

Yes, its nearly November already and after looking at the piles of WIP that I have I have decided to repeat what I did last year and make November the month for NO casting on of new projects. Currently I have OTN :-

Great American Aran Afghan (I am ashamed to say this was being knitted last November too)

Spider Web shawl from VLT

MS4

Goddess Knits Anniversary Shawl

Nativity - just the kings to do now.

Aran Jumper for DS2

Chunky Jumper for DS2

Socks

Crochet hat

and have just signed up for Woolly wormheads mystery hat.

Hopefully I should have made a dint in these projects by December.

Anyone else up for the challenge?

Guess who got a spindle.

Yes, I succumbed at last after seeing all the lovely fibre on various blogs . The spindle was from the Yarn Yard with some lovely fibre as packaging too. The fibre I spun here was part of the hipknits project club, and was intended to make felt beads.

Its a bit thick and thin and isnt spun very tightly in places but I am so proud that I made it.

Its a mystery !!!!!!!!!!

Yes, its been a month since I blogged, I have spent all last month working on 3 mystery shawl KALs.

I started the Goddess Knits anniversary shawl in July, but have been knitting it on and off, finally got to the edging this month to discover this

yes, I ran out of yarn 5/6 of the way around the edge, think I will have to frog the edging and reknit it in a contrast yarn, I have about 40g of black Jaggerspun zephyr which should do.

I have also been working on Secret of the stole III, I am knitting this in Baruffa cashwool, in denim

This is clue 4 just finished, I am behind on this as clue 8 has just come out, however I am hoping to have this finished by the end of the month.
I am also taking part in MS4, using yarn from ebay, I have done up to clue 3 so far and clue 5 has just come out

I also took part in a swap on the crafty threads n yarns forum and got a lovely package from Linz, I was very well stalked as she had read somewhere that I love the gingerbread men that you get from Greggs in Yorkshire.

The socks are monkeys in opal prisma and fit perfectly.