Inspired by the ‘Under the party tree’ mitts I was knitting in September, I designed a hat to use up the last of the skein from the mitts. And then I adapted the hat to work in a larger gauge as well.
Fingering weight version (silver) £2: 
Worsted weight version (green) £2:
Both hats, £3:
I got out my spinning wheel again for the first time in *cough*years*cough, and made this rather uneven yarn! Think I might do some more spinning, though, and hope to produce better next time.
Purple chain plied yarn
And then I went to Yarndale with Frax, and restrained myself from buying fibre, because I’ve already got loads. But we saw sheep:
And tree decorations:
And I did buy a fairly large quantity of yarn (for a jumper, a cardigan, a pair of gloves, and a load of hexagons), some beautiful buttons, and some needle tips for my Chiaogoos.
Just before Yarndale, I fell in love with the Under the Party Tree mitts, and bought the pattern and cast on within about two hours of first seeing it. Lots of knitting time at the weekend, and I’m nearing the end of the first one:
And I’m already planning for my next project, using some of the Yarndale haul. Look! A swatch! I’ve even blocked it, and it’s sitting drying next to me as I type…
Violet’s dragon is the sister pattern to Dylan’s elephants, now available to buy for £2 from Ravelry:
I’ve been working on these socks for such a long time that it seems impossible that I’ve finally stopped faffing with them and published the pattern 
I cast on for my first pair in December 2008, and finished the third (and the prototype of the properly-written-up pattern) in February 2014. And now the pattern is available, and I can stop fiddling with them:download it from Ravelry here!
These are two-at-a-time double knit socks, worked inside out, which means you don’t need to keep moving the yarn backwards and forwards (using English and continental knitting techniques). The fraternal rather than matching colour choice is partly because I like that, and partly because that makes it much less likely that you’ll accidentally twist stitches. So these should be a much easier, less risky version of doubleknit socks than the standard one.
I’ve just uploaded the update of Dylan’s elephants to Ravelry, now available in sizes from newborn to 3 years, and with yarn requirements for each section, making it a great stash buster to use up ends of sock yarn (not that this is what I did with my second knit of it, ahem).
Making progress with test knitting a larger size of Dylan’s Elephants – just starting on the first striped sleeve, after careful yarn weighing and calculating to decide which sections to do in which colours. Just crossing my fingers that the blue holds out for two striped sleeves!
I finished Ralph’s scarf (pattern: Clincher by Ash Kearns; yarn: Malabrigo sock in Ravelry Red and Knit Picks Palette in black), and he’s been wearing it around the house even though the weather is warm
And off the back of publishing the one-size version of the Dylan’s Elephants pattern, I’ve written the sized-up version (four sizes: 0-3m, 6-12m, 12-24m and 2-3y) and am test knitting one of them in an assortment of bits of left over sock yarn. If anyone reading this knows doubleknitting (or wants to learn) and has someone in their life who’s under 3 and would like an elephant cardigan, email me – I could do with another test knitter.
I designed and knit this cardigan a couple of years ago, for Dylan, who is the second son of my oldest friend. The pattern’s been lurking in my not-quite-finished pile for ages, but today I suddenly felt inspired to finish writing it up, so it’s now available to on Ravelry, for £2 – this is my first paid pattern.
Even so, there’s more to do. This is currently one-size, for a newborn, and I’m planning to add more sizes to the pattern, and there’s a ‘sister’ pattern, called Violet’s Dragon (designed for the daugher of my third-oldest friend), which is still in that unfinished pile. But for now, the doubleknit elephants are on parade!
Pattern: Clincher by Ash Kearns
Yarn: Fyberspates Vivacious Four-Ply in Tweed Imps (MC) and Five Moons Luna Plus in Chateauneuf (CC)
R likes this scarf enough that he’s asked me to make one for him
Pattern: Wingspan by maylin Tri’Coterie Designs
Yarn: Zauberball Crazy in IndischRosa (Christmas present from J)
I have a bit of an addiction to interchangeable needles. Yesterday I bought my fourth set, and I’ve already started lusting after the set which might be my fifth.
I started with Denises – the only ones easily available in the UK at the point I was sure enough that the knitting bug was going to stick. The idea was revolutionary for me, but the physical objects never melted my heart — there’s no joy, or luxury, or fun in the way they look or feel. I don’t use them at all any more.
My second set was KnitPro Harmony (then called KnitPicks) — such a difference! Beautiful coloured wood, smooth surfaces, sharp points, purple cables. The case broken and I replaced it with a roll-up multi-pocketed pencil case, the needles aren’t size marked, the joins sometimes come unscrewed, and several of the cables have snapped or pulled out of the join, but I do still love these, and still use them a lot.
The third set was Addi Click. The click join is clever (needs no key!) and has never yet come undone for me, the needles are size marked, and so are the cables. But the join is a bit bumpy, and the tips aren’t as pointy as I like. I use them a lot, and particularly enjoy the ease of swapping needle tips without hunting for they key, but they’re a teensy bit disappointing.
So the fourth set, bought yesterday at White Hart‘s Purlescence birthday party, are ChiaoGoo. This presented a bit of a dilemma, because they make two sets: the Twist have metal needles and tough plastic-covered-metal cables; the Spin have bamboo needles and cables with swivel joints. I wanted metal needles and swivel joints, so I bought a small set of Twist (I rarely use needles bigger than 5mm, and couldn’t quite justify the complete set), and supplemented with some Spin cables, since the two types are interchangeable. Early indications are that they’re going to be my favourite. I love the swivel joints, the joins are smooth, and they’re pretty pointy (not quite as pointy as the KnitPro, but way more than the Addi). Both needles and cables are size marked, and the case is both pretty and well designed.
(Now to start scheming for how to get my hands on the Lantern Moon set.)