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That's what I like, an easy title!
I originally intended to round up my FOs and think about last new year's resolutions, but that will lead to a very long post. So I think I'll just mention the FOs. Small, clickable photos!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday! We've arrived back today, and I'm so pleased to be back. We spent Christmas (and the weekend before) over at the stashflat. I thought I'd get loads of knitting done, but forgot about the boring stuff, shopping and cooking and washing up. Drinking, late nights, even later mornings.
I started a new project as planned. Ali, a Kim Hargreaves kit.
Friday evening knitting was minimal. 
Boring garter stitch. Have you seen how deep that garter stitch border is??
Saturday was not much better (but we had an afternoon of shopping as well)
I finally finished that garter stitch and then ... it's basketweave. Another no-no here.
Sunday I sucked it all up and got on with the basketweave.
Monday I reached the underarms. Decreases at last!
And finally, on Boxing day, I finished the back. It seems to have taken ages!
This is officially the stashflat knitting. I have so many things that I want to start, but I'm going to be more disciplined and stick to just a few (major) knitting projects. Socks don't count, of course.
Wednesday we packed our bags and went to visit Chris's parents. And the new baby.
Here's a Billy with his newest cousin. We spent the afternoon poking and prodding the baby, until her parents were forced to flee to the safety of Southfields. She didn't need any cardigans as the house was overheated, but was spotted wearing her Dale baby hat!
(Sorry, this had to be quick before the baby was snatched back by Oma)
The knitting over the past few days has been a scarf for Chris, knitted out of Jaeger's shetland aran, a wool/alpaca blend, lovely and soft. The pattern was from Myrna Stahman's Shawls and Scarves book (but I can't remember the pattern name - it's a fake basketweave).
Here's yesterday's photo. I'll try to get a daylight shot tomorrow - this yarn is dark and won't show up any sort of pattern after dark!
Now finished, which leaves me free to do a little more striped stocking stitch. 
and a little sock knitting.
I've three days left before I go back to work, and it's Chris's turn to be domestic goddess - which means no cooking or cleaning and more knitting!
Guess who's caught a cold just before Christmas? What I'm more concerned about is that we'll be going up to Chris's parents next Wednesday, where there's a 6 week old baby and two elderly grandparents, one of whom is starting radiotherapy a week later - I do not want to pass this cold on! I'm sure I'll be over this by then, but what if Chris catches it? I've been staying over at the stash flat to get out of the way so (fingers crossed) he may escape the lurgy. The cold lasted two days, but now I've got the cough keeping me awake at night. Let's hope it goes soon!
Because I've been ditching projects left, right and centre, I've not a lot on the needles at the moment. It's normally a very dangerous time, when I start casting on multiple projects, but because of this cold I've been sleeping and not knitting much. A few more inches on the striped Mission Falls cardigan (you expect me to be organised enough to take photographs??) and another sock cast on and discarded (horrible colours again) and that's it.
Hopefully over the next week I'll sort out a new wip over at the stash flat.
I've already cast on the Four Panel Jacket from Jamiesons, but it's not really very practical for this time of year; it's more of a Spring outerwear jacket than a Winter indoors jacket, and it's far too bulky to wear under coats. So watch this space next weekend - I'm toying with the Kim Hargreaves kit in wool/cotton (if I can find the buttons and yarn) or something in felted tweed (if I can find any felted tweed pack). A sock is obligatory for the post Christmas travelling, and some lace wouldn't go amiss. Christmas day could be a big deciding factor, depending on what I get from Santa!
Have a lovely Christmas!
I've finished the matching baby bootees, from Interweave's free pattern here. 
This officially ends the Christmas knitting, hooray!
We've had an exhausting weekend.
Friday was a mad dash from work to see a film and go out for dinner.
The boys.
Saturday was a mad rush around the shops and then an afternoon spent knitting (instead of Christmas shopping) at Stash.
Sunday was Christmas Shopping, an absolute nightmare. I went to Wimbledon, which is just a few tube stops away. There's a handy shopping centre (everyone at work gets Whittards gifts!) and across the road are the essential shops, Game and HMV.
Sunday evening we wrapped up the gifts and sorted them into piles for various locations. I've a few things to be delivered from Amazon, but they're for Chris and we have until Friday to receive them.
I'm so looking forward to stress free knitting again. And with the year end approaching, I've been spring cleaning my wips.
I've ditched the Meilenweit socks (too big), the Jaywalker socks (couldn't cope with the colour), put away out of sight Martha and the Debbie Bliss bolero (Spring knitting) and ditched the Japan Jacket (stopped loving the design).
Which leaves me with:
Orchid Pi shawl
Red bird knits Christmas socks
and a new wip!
The Mission Falls 1824 wool for a striped cardigan.
Based on the Aimee Jacket in the MF Recollection booklet.
I've changed the colours slightly.
I'm knitting the body in one piece, with some shaping.
When I reach the armholes I'll knit the sleeves up to that point, then put the whole thing onto one circular and knit a raglan shaping rather than the one in the book which looks a bit odd to me.
This yarn is lovely. It's an aran weight, washable yarn, very soft and pleasant to knit with. I'm already a third of the way up to the armholes, with hardly any knitting done today, that's what I like.
Another pair of socks finished, for AC.
Yarn: Opal Petticoat (hurray, the label was still attached)
Stitches: 64
Heel: heel flap and gusset type
Needles: 2.25mm dpns
Now racing through the baby socks
These will be finished today.
That leaves on the needles:
I haven't started the Mission Falls cardigan yet, probably because I've put the yarn away where I can't see it! My major problem is the sock yarn that's falling out of the cupboards and is on most surfaces, breeding. Out of sight, out of mind; in sight, on the needles it seems!
just waiting to be felted now. It joins the queue, as this
is still waiting to be finished (it's a noni bag).
Whilst this wrister on the right 
was accidentally felted today after it jumped into the wash. Must felt the second one and give them to a small child. One Christmas present less now.
We had a great time in Stash yesterday and a whole bagful of just-in Mission Falls 1824 wool came home with me to knit a striped cardigan. It's based on this design
but the colours are slightly different 
and I'll probably be changing the design slightly; maybe a raglan rather than a drop shouldered design, and I'll either have all the stripes matching up or none. I must hold off and finish some more projects first, I have too many socks on the needles!
It's Chris's 
birthday today! Which means that after today I officially start the Christmas cards and shop for those Christmas presents which aren't handmade. He's sitting here playing with his wii and wearing his new socks
Happy Birthday!
Oops, December 8th already and I haven't really started on the December Goals.
Which seem to have fallen by the wayside.
I'm still knitting gifts.
I've not picked up any of the UFOs which I intended finishing.
But I have finished another pair of wristers.
Fetching, in Malabrigo, for me.
I've started a few things too!
Jaywalkers. My first pair. I'm not sure yet if I'll carry on with these, as the yarn looks a lot better in the ball than on the needles. That yellow is very bright! I'm hoping these can be a Christmas gift, it all depends on whether I can tolerate these colours.
I've lost the label, so we may never know who planned this horrible colour combination.
The colours are rather bright now that it's coming together. At least it's small!
More plain socks
This time it's labelled: Opal Petticoat. These are destined as a Mother & Baby gift set for AC and baby O - matching socks!
Of course, the Hoxbro Japan Jacket and the Debbie Bliss Silk Bolero are sitting untouched, but I will get back to these next week, it would be grand to finish these off for the new year. I'm finding that I haven't as much free time to knit as I want. We have five birthdays to celebrate before Christmas, which means less knitting, and I've not started on the soapmaking, nor started Christmas shopping. In fact, I'm off shopping en route home to buy the last few bits and pieces for Chris's birthday this weekend. I haven't even bought a card yet.
Here's baby O in one of my knitted cardigans (not looking too happy, hope it's not the cardigan!) with her maternal grandma, who's visiting from Germany until after Christmas.
It's the cardigan from Knitter's Almanac, always goes down well with babies and is knitted top down, nearly seamless.
I've finished my Christmas knitting! I didn't quite make the November deadline, and finished the socks on 1st December. I ran out of yarn, despite knitting the heels and toes in contrast colour. That means there's a half knitted sock hidden somewhere, as there's no way I should have ran out of yarn, it's Stahl sock yarn with a good yardage. I had to use the remnants from the other Stahl socks for the final inches. What a pain.
Gift #14
Sinfonie socks for Chris
Note the yarn shortage! At least Chris doesn't wear socks and sandals.
The Acrylic Doll.
I took it into work to post, wrapped it in bubble wrap and loads of brown paper and wrapping tape, then remembered that I'd not taken a photo. 
Yes, that's an end poking out behind the doll. I did all the stuffing and piecing together late on Tuesday night, after rather a lot of vodka (work evening out) and missed that end. As I've mentioned before, this is for my niece and is a replacement of her stuffed doll, which is 13 years old and falling to bits (it was her big sister's doll). The doll arrived on Saturday and she loves it, which is a relief as I had no idea what the original looked like.
The rest of November:
Misti Alpaca scarf, used one skein, free pattern here.
Two more chenille wash cloths, free pattern here.
Regia silk socks
The third Feza scarf
Wristers using some Joslyn's fiber farm wool and this pattern
More Wristers, this time with thumb and twisted stitches on the ribbing in Malabrigo
The colour is much richer, more like the photos in Polly's post - lovely stuff. It seems that there's a lot of other Stash knitters knitting Malabrigo fingerless gloves at the moment!
Finally another baby cardigan
From cashmerino2, in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. Now that I know the baby wears my stuff...
Lots of little things, not many big things for November, and it's 3 days into December and I can't quite stop knitting small stuff!
