Countdown to Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well almost. Since becoming a knitter, I have started to slowly start planning for Christmas knits well before the date appears on the horizon (by which I mean 4 weeks... oops). But because my birthday is right at the end of November, before that date it's definitely NOT Christmas! I'm heading into London later today to go ice skating as a delayed birthday social. I spotted this ad at an underground station and couldn't resist despite a historical lack of affinity with the ice. I'm about as able on ice as a newborn bambi so if you fancy a laugh, feel free to come along and watch. Amateur gymnastics on ice coming to a rink near you!

Birthday gift stash enhancement

My lovely mum went to Peru for a three week holiday and came back just before my birthday. I asked if she could bring an alpaca back with her and although she couldn't bring back a whole one, she came close! She bought 10 50g balls of luxury DK baby alpaca in cloud grey. So squishy....

I cannot wait to choose a project for this. Interestingly baby alpaca isn't from young alpaca, it's the inner layer of their pelt which keeps them extra warm in the chilly Peruvian mountains. I've heard alpaca has a lot of drape and stretches massively during blocking so will have to be careful when choosing a size. Any tips?

I also received two cakes of 4ply yarn in unknown fiber. Definitely part alpaca but less soft than the grey yarn. It's still soft enough to wear next to the skin.

There's about 150g of each and I'm thinking of a shawl maybe? The yarn doesn't break easily so I could also weave with it. Decisions, decisions...

I have another yarn gift from my boyfriend's lovely mum but that's back in Plymouth. I will add a quick post when I head back to the coast. In the meantime, here is the parcel as it arrived:

Is that the end of it? No no no....

Back in April, yarn dyers started advertising their advent calendars for this year. Despite being ridiculously in advance, I know advent calendars sell out really fast. I hadn't bought a yarn advent before and after researching a few, I pre-ordered a DK advent from For the Love of Yarn. I have a kit from this company for a Stephen West MKAL from last year which I still need to finish. The box arrived a few weeks ago:

I was strong and didn't open any of the individual parcels but I couldn't resist opening the box. It's like a mini sweet shop for yarn. Yum!

And today I could finally open the first bag!

And now, I can safely say - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hope you're having a great weekend, Charlotte and Harvey x

Lost on the Moorlands

Do you ever buy yourself Christmas or birthday presents? I know I do! I like treating myself and usually with something creative. Last Christmas I bought a gorgeous mini skein pack from The Knitting Goddess and a crochet-a-long kit for the Moorland blanket designed by Lucy from Attic 24.

I was still relatively new to knitting and crochet last Christmas and only cast on my first sock near the end of 2016 (post here). So while I got just as excited about yarn as I do now, I knew even less about how to use it. Fast forward about 11 months and I have finally found the perfect project for the mini skeins - the Surprise Party Shawl by Helen Stewart! Although I now have other minis so I may change my mind. Stay tuned for that one.

However, except for the boyfriend scarf, the Moorland blanket has been my longest languishing WIP. The CAL finished months ago and I haven't even finished the first clue. The colours are gorgeous and I know I will use the blanket a lot when it's done. The main problem is that I have moved around a lot for placements and its not a very portable project for commuter knitting. But all that yarn makes it look like I have a huge stash! And it's all for one blanket! So the time has come to try and put a dent in this WIP. I crocheted one colour line over the weekend and I forgot how mindless and relaxing the pattern is. It has a simple stitch repeat and doesn't require too much thinking. 

This is where I got to earlier this year:

Look at those colours! Don't they remind you of walking in the countryside?

And this is where I got to over the weekend:

The lighting in my room isn't great but you can see the progress! It looks like a cosy scarf at the moment.

My plan is to add one row a day. How do you run a marathon? One step at a time, so that's what I'll do with this blanket :)

Have you got any mammoth projects hiding among your WIPs?

Charlotte and Harvey x

Flax 2

Gift knitting number 2 complete!

I'm living in hospital accommodation during the week at the moment but I remembered to take a quick photo before I left home yesterday. I'm really missing having all my knitting projects nearby! 

This is another Flax sweater by Tin Can Knits from their Simple Collection. This is aimed at beginner knitters who want to improve using patterns with helpful tutorials. Each pattern has sizes from newborn up to XXL adult. 

I'm a big fan of the Simple Collection as it has made jumper knitting really straightforward. It also includes a shawl, socks, a hat, mittens, a cowl and a cardigan, all with step by step tutorials. I can knit socks and have knit a hat but next on my list is the cardigan. And the best bit? They're all free! If you'd like to knit your first garment, I would definitely recommend this collection. If you're not ready to knit a jumper for yourself then you can make a smaller version for a child. That way you learn the techniques but it's not a mammoth project.

My own flax just has one sleeve to go! Planning to get that finished in the next two weeks in time for Christmas.

Link to the Simple Collection here. 

Are you gift knitting? Including something for yourself?

Hope you've had a lovely start to the week x

Mind Blank

As you may have noticed, I've been off grid for the past few weeks. The main reason for this was the exam I took on Friday. It counts for half of my job application for my first post as a doctor providing I pass my final year. So not a big deal.... The second reason and title for this post is that when it came to writing for this blog I just couldn't put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard to write a whole post. There are a few half finished posts hanging out together in the background but that's it. I've been trying to work out why and I realised as an avid reader of many other blogs I felt lacking. And my mind went blank. The last time I wrote an essay was nearly five years ago and they were science based. I haven't written any literature since school except for a very occasional piece for the university newspaper. So I stopped. I have been working on self confidence in all aspects of my life and after looking at the pause on this blog, I made a decision.

JUST WRITE

The biggest failure in life is not trying in the first place. 

I can't remember who said this but it is so so true. If I hadn't tried I wouldn't have:

1. Passed my A-levels (like a high school diploma I'm guessing?)
2. Got into my first choice university for Biochemistry (my first degree)
3. Applied for medicine at all, let alone got a place
4. Found myself four months away from completing medicine (Eek!)
5. Started anything creative - knitting, crochet, felting etc
6. Started this blog

And if I think my writing skills need to improve? Practice! And how do you practice? By writing more posts!

I have been working on positive thinking as part of my esteem building process. This includes thinking of three good things every day and also at least one thing I did well that day. It is far too easy to self-criticize and very hard to self-compliment and I want to change that.

So...

What have you done today to make you feel proud? 

Thank you Heather Small for such an inspirational song!

I hope you all have a wonderful week x