Five on Friday (on Saturday!)

Hello, thank you for popping in, especially if you have come here via Amy at Love Made My Home.  The temperatures have been so warm this autumn that it came as a shock when they dropped yesterday, but the bonus was that last night, there was snow.  Tipped off by Facebook, we opened the curtains at 10.40pm so that we could watch the white flakes swirling around in the air as we sat by the fire.  It looked and felt beautiful and it was ephemeral - by this morning it had gone, but the sun is shining and the sky is blue, a different kind of beautiful.

 

So, today I would like to share with you the WIPs which are sitting in my knitting bag and making me feel guilty.  Like most knitters, I love the knitting and can't stand the sewing up, especially the sewing in of ends, and so these Works In Progress accumulate as I move on to the next piece of knitting.  Naughty, I know.  I am hoping that by sharing them with you, I shall shame myself into finishing them off.

 

1.  Muffatees

 

 

A couple of winters ago I discovered the wonder of the muffatee - it's a knitted tube with a slit for your thumb and it keeps your wrist and hand warm when you need to use your fingers and thumb.  I have several pairs and wear them a lot.  Peter Rabbit's mother earned a living by knitting them from rabbit-wool but I knitted these from sheep's wool and I am really looking forward to wearing them once I have sewn in those pesky tails.

 

2.  A Gift Bag

 

 

At the moment it's a tube but once I have sewn in the tails and sewn up one end it will be transformed into a little bag to be tied with a ribbon.  Honestly.

 

3. A Mystery

 

 

I'm afraid I can't tell you what this is yet because it's a gift and I don't wish to spoil the surprise.  I was really keen to learn how to do stranded colourwork and this was my first attempt.  It may well turn out to have been my last - not only does it turn out that I don't hold the wool properly so it took ages to knit, but have you seen how many ends there are to be sew in??  And this is only about half of them!  That's why this beauty has been a WIP for two years.  I DEFINITELY need to grasp this nettle and finish it off.  (I hate to even think about this, but I am making this for The Teacher so I really should make another for her sister...)

 

4.  Baubles

 

 

These are little jackets for some rather plain and scruffy Christmas tree baubles.  I plan to make a string of them and hang them up, not necessarily during the festive season.  I know, it's a bit bonkers.

 

5.  Santa's Jumper

 

 

Well, only if Santa is very, very small!  These are Christmas tree decorations - I sold some in September to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and have been asked to make a few more.  Fancy that, people paying real, actual money for my handiwork!  It takes me about six hours to knit one, in the round on 3mm DPNs, and it's a labour of love, but they are very sweet and I promise to show you this one when it's finished.

 

So there you are, the contents of my Bag of Shame.  I'm off now to visit the other Five on Friday posts and then find a bodkin, and could I just point out that in my mother's knitting bag there are pieces of a jumper which has been on the needles since 1984?  Could I?

 

See you soon.

 

Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x