If you have miraculously finished knitting, purling, blocking and sewing up your Christmas gifts, why not head down to the Southbank in London, to join Knit for Peace in the gallery@oxo. They’ve set up until 24th December so you can go in and knit things to be sent to children in Afghanistan… If you don’t have time to knit, you can always donate your de-stashed yarn or needles! Thanks Ysolda for flagging this up

More info:
Knit for Peace is an initiative of the Charities Advisory Trust that
encourages women (+men) from different, often historically hostile
communities to come together informally to knit (or sew or crochet).
With a shared common goal, differences in race, religion or caste are
irrelevant, and individuals come together to knit peacefully.

The annual Southwyck Christmas party went well yesterday; caught up with a lot of friends I haven’t seen in a while, ate and drank in a festive fashion, and even had an unprompted singalong!.

This year’s theme was to make a paperchain to be strung in the living room; each person contributing a link decorated and made however they wanted out of whatever they wanted. If people couldn’t be there yesterday, the link acted as Christmas card and they sent them along in the post. There were some fabulous ones made including the prerequisite one with cotton-ball snow, a sewn fabric one containing dried lavender, a möbius loop one from a scientific uncle (heh) and lovely crocheted link with a dangly snowball pompom! This one I confiscated from the chain and wore..

New Year – New Teapot… Mum gave this to me for Christmas and I have to say it makes drinking tea a real joy… It almost feels like a tea-handbag as I carry it about from room to room; the tea following me around

Getting to the end of all the things I have to get done before our trip including making these little dingle-dangles for the Ornament Swap… must… keep… going…

Am all done with the cuffs for my mum – and only a bit after Christmas too… These were actually a good way to get over the fear of dpns… they’re still a pain, but less so especially switching to bamboo ones…

This year squeezed in between Christmas and New Year, and even then some people couldn’t make it…
Apart from that, there was mulled wine, musical crackers (fabulously conducted by M), 3 types of baking, T’s Quiche and A’s magic sausage rolls.. yay!

Well, I am cheating a bit because these don’t have to be finished until the 29th… But the Mrs Beeton wristwarmers were a great surprise in the latest issue of the mag. Having, only a week before, understood how to put beads onto yarn before knitting and also seeing some Norweigan wristwarmers that were beautiful, these were perfect to make. Also they are cute things to do to use up ends of wool too pretty to go in the bin, but too short to do anything with!
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Pattern: Mrs Beeton (Knitty Winter 05 issue)
Yarn: Cashcotton DK Quartz sh 606 / lot 29L4 and Kidsilk Haze Dewberry sh 600
Needles: Suggested – 4.5mm & 4mm dpns / actual – 3.5mm & 2.75mm dpns
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