Ginger Knits UK

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Remember the scrummy Misti Alpaca Sock yarn I showed you yesterday? Well this is what the knitting fairy turned it into. Cosy socks as a belated Christmas present for Mr G's mum. I've got over half the skein left so I might have to make myself something with the left over yarn. For those of you who are into the technicalities of knitting here are the specs: Needles: 2.5mm bamboo DPNs for the main body. 2.25mm britanny DPNs for the toes and heel to give a tighter fabric. Toes and Heels made from Lang Jawoll Superwash Solid Sock yarn which is stocked by the ever friendly I knit . I really like this plain yarn, it's not as cuddly as the Alpaca but hopefully it will make for stronger heels and toes. Worked toe up to 44 stitches (MIL is a UK size 3) and used the Yarmando Evil Sock Genius pattern for the heel.

There's not much gong on in GingerKnits Land as we're still flu bound so here's some yarn porn. Misti Alpaca Handpainted sock yarn from Arequipa in Peru. El Misti is the name of the volcano which sits beside the city. Here's the blurb from Loop's online shop "Gorgeous hand painted 4ply sock yarn. Peace, Love & Misti Alpaca represents the finest yarns from Misti's private handpaint studio in Peru. All collections from from Misti's handpaint studio carry this special label, representing Miguel's commitment to preserving the artistry of handpaint yarns and his mission to provide good jobs and fair wages and benefits to the people of his hometown, Arequipa." Nom nom nom.

I needed to make a Christmas present for Mr G's mum as we were going to her house in France for Chrimbo. Doing some seatching on the magic that is Ravelry I found this hat pattern on knitty.com. Other users on Rav had said how quick it was. Due to my steroid induced insomnia and having to be up at 4am to catch the Eurostar to Paris I decided to stay up all night and whip up this festive little number. I had some GGH Belair left over from my Mum's Yorkshire Rose hat and combined this with some Rowan kidsilk night to give a bit of fuzz and sparkle. I cast on at about 10pm and had finished by 2am, knit while watching Father Ted. I wove the ends in on the Eurostar. Great pattern. The Belair yarn is lovely and soft with a lofty feel to it. I'd use it again for hats, especially as I got 2 hats out of 2 skeins with a bit to spare. Mr G's mum was very pleased with it. She didn't want her face in the photo so I got in her outdoor Christmas decorations in shot instead as t...

Our wee tree decorated with creatures from our travels.

sent to me.... So much for aiming to post everyday in December. Mr Gingerknits and I have been struck down with a vile lurgy. It's the first time he's taken sick leave in 8 years so it must be bad. All my knitting projects are at stages where I need to think what I'm doing, not hard normally, but with a head full of fuzz its not possible without cocking up. Back to bed with a hot water bottle and a hot lemon drink. Bah humbug.

Or why all my fingers feel like thumbs. I want to make my BIL an Uncle Argyle Scarf for Christmas which uses a technique called double knitting, where two sides of fabric are knitted at the same time. Trouble is I don't own Stitch and Bitch Nation and as the scarf is the only thing I'd knit from it I'm not forking out £11 for one pattern. Using the magic of the interweb I found a couple of tutorials for Double Knitting . It's a great video but the continental knitting style looks much easier for double knitting. I sort of got the hand of knitting continental when I tried my hand at fairisle but I had one hand doing the familiar english style so I only had to concentrate on one hand. With this I'm trying to do something unfamiliar with both hands and two stands of yarn. Following the example pattern I've sketched out a smaller pattern for a small facecloth which can be a stocking filler if it turns out OK.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me... I found a super fast crochet pattern for Premie hats on Ravelry so I'm going to try and make one a day til I've made 5. Here's No.1 made using the acrylic yarn I picked up in France.

I've been a domestic goddess this week. Inbetween knitting my Dad's Christmas waistcoat and faffing over what to knit for other relatives I've been making marmalade. One batch of grapefruit and one of orange and ginger using this recipe. Bloody hell, marmalade is hard work. I've made jam before. Easy peasy. Put fruit and sugar in a pan. Boil. Done. Not so with marmalade. The cooking part is straightforward but separating rind from pith is thirsty work. It's worth it though as I've got a couple of stocking fillers ready.

Two tiny booties I finally made the buttons for Phoebe's new booties by felting some Merino balls and cutting them in half. The sewing was a little tough, I had to make a few passes with increasing needle sizes but got there in the end.