knitting, mitts and cowl

The yarn I bought on the last day of my holiday in Lofoton, Norway this summer and below the fingerless mitts I made with it. I am pleased with them and am enjoying wearing them - very practical with my fingers free for taking photographs.

The mitts took over half of the yarn. I have a box of left over yarn, many part balls of yarn from sock and glove knitting and sometimes a couple of balls when I have bought extra for a jumper or cardigan just in case. I don't have large quantities of any one yarn as I tend to buy for a specific garment and then knit it but after many years of knitting the oddments box is full to overflowing.

With this in mind and as this yarn was exceptionally soft and pretty I decided to make something with it rather than hoard it!

This cowl is the result. I based the lace pattern on the Everglade hat by Woolly Wormhead. I made an Everglade hat two years ago and am knitting another one this winter. The lace pattern works equally well on a cowl and shows of the colours of the yarn.

I used all but a few metres of the yarn so two items from one ball of wool and only a very small addition to the "stash box"!

Ravelry links to my Everglade hat, mitts, and cowl.

December picnic

Yesterday was a bright, very breezy mild day. It felt like a good day to be outside so since eldest son also had a day off we packed up our lunches and headed outside. This is Ladle Hill in Hampshire, one of our favourite places to visit. At this time of year when so much time is spent inside it seems particularly appealing with its open views over the countryside.

A bank provided some shelter from the wind - this was our view.

We could see for miles in all directions,

a lovely sense of space and openness.

I tried to photographs the many Red Kites that were swirling round in the sky,

this was the best I managed, beautifully coloured birds.

All the leaves have fallen from these exposed trees, the branches and twigs outlined against the sky. The large tree below is a sycamore.

The low sunlight caught the beech trees on the hill, I like the way you can look through the mass of trees at this time of year and follow the shape of the hill.

More photographs of beech trees as we walked back to the car,

looking elegant in the winter sun.

In the garden

One good thing about working in the garden in December is that as things grow very slowly, once a job is done,it stays done for a few months. This weeks job was to trim the ivy which was trying to enter the window

back to neater finish away from the sill. Pulling ivy off brickwork is not easy (and ruins your nails!) so its nice to think that I won't have to do it again until spring. This time I noticed that the variegated ivy seems to be reverting to the plain green type which is a shame. I chose the variegated to add some light to a dull spot and also the green version grows more vigorously and so I will have to cut it back more often. Perhaps I will dig it up in the spring and replace it with variegated Euonymus, the golden one on the right of the window seems to be doing well.

Noticing a few more details in the garden, early daffodil shoots emerging and a few celandine leaves

and here, lots of tiny cyclamen seedlings. I am wondering whether I can move these to another part of the garden without damaging them. They look very fragile but they will need more space if they are to survive.

The sweet box is covered with shiny black berries and the new flower buds are visible. No scent yet but soon once the flowers open.

One flower blooming now, Iris unguicularis, 

is very reliable, flowering during the winter yet always seems unexpected, as if a summer bloom turned up in the middle of winter. Always a welcome sight.

December sunshine

After a spell of grey windy days todays sunshine made a welcome change. It was still breezy and I managed to get three loads of washing dried outside. Also I gardened, mainly picking up leaves and enjoyed the mild temperatures.

The weather was so nice, I made time for a walk with my camera around mid-day - here are a few photographs.

 The sun, low in the sky, shining through the remaining leaves

and adding a touch of brightness to the landscape.

The oak leaves were the brightest

but even the humble moss seemed to shine in the sun.

The hedges have been trimmed now but the slanting rays of the sun slip through the normally dense growth.

With the hedges at their shortest, little views emerge that would be hidden when the hedge is in full leaf and several feet taller. A glimpse of the church across the fields.

In the bright sunshine against a blue sky, the remaining oak leaves were the star of the show

though as it is December I've included some seasonal holly.

counting down

The advent calendar, counting down to Christmas. Our Christmas is very quiet these days and we don't really have any Christmas traditions but I still fill the advent calendar with chocolates and the weekend before Christmas we will decorate a Christmas tree.

The chocolates in the calendar have changed over the years. when the boys were small there were chocolate coins, now we are grown-up and have after dinner mints!