Twas the Night Before Christmas Socks.....Christmas Eve Cast On.

I'm so excited to let you all know, my friend Dani from Little Bobbins Knits has just released her very first sock pattern, just in time for the Christmas Eve cast on. The pattern is aptly named Twas the Night Before Christmas.

If you haven't heard of the LBK Christmas Eve cast on, it's an annual event that takes place on Christmas Eve where thousands of knitters from around the world cast on a pair of socks.

It all started in 2014 when Dani told us about her special tradition of casting on a new pair of socks every Christmas Eve. Knitters embraced this wonderful festive tradition and so many of us look forward to casting on with Dani.

I was lucky enough to test knit them and they were a dream to knit, each Tiny Tree you finish you want to finish the next one so this is a fairly quick knit as you don't want to put them down.

I used The Wool Barn Sparkle Sock Gold in Single Batch 37.

If you want to take part in the Christmas Eve cast on, you can find all the details over on the Little Bobbins Knits Ravelry Group. I would love to see everyone's socks on Instagram, there is a hashtag #lbkchristmasevesocks2017 so it's easy to find all of your wonderful socks.

Thank you for stopping by and happy knitting.

xxxxDebxxxx

Do You Want To Build a Snowman..... wearing handknit accessories.

Hello there, this week the U.K. has seen a lot of snow, it hasn't snowed like this for many years. Caiden and Darcie have never seen snow like this before and couldn't wait to get out in it.

We were supposed to be going to see Santa last Sunday but everything was cancelled and we were basically snowed in.

Here's Little Miss Darcie wearing her Tchaikovsky Hat by Curious Handmade from this year's Knitvent 2017, knitwear has been an essential this week.

Of course, you have to build a snowman when you have this much snow and the kids were so excited.

I think he is one of the best dressed snowman wearing my Velvet Rose Shawl and Ice River Hat both by Helen Stewart.

I hope your week has been a good one and happy knitting.

xxxxDebxxxx

Knitvent 2017....... Clara's Cape

 Hello, I hope you've all had a good week. We are at the end of this year's Knitvent 2017 by Curious Handmade and what a great collection. I have loved all of this year's patterns with the most adorable Nutcracker theme.

The final pattern is Clara's Cape, a gorgeous bulky weight cape, perfect to fit over your shoulders to keep the chill away.
It's a great piece for wearing underneath a coat for that extra layer or over if you prefer, though most evening I sit at home wearing it whilst knitting. It keeps the chill off and is very cosy.

I used Drops Andes, a soft blend of alpaca and Peruvian Highland Wool as this is what I had in my stash, I would like to knit one in a more luxurious yarn maybe held with a strand of mohair silk to make it extra soft. In saying that the Drops Andes is very soft and squishy plus very economical. I used 2 balls which cost me less than £6!

I hope you all have a good weekend, it's been snowing here in the Midlands and is forecast for the next few days so I don't think I'll be moving far from the house.

Happy Knitting
xxxxDebxxxx

A Trip to London......

Hello there, I hope you're having a great weekend. Last Sunday, I travelled down to London for the annual Curious Handmade Christmas Party. After much confusion about the trains not running and where they'll be stopping because of a strike, my husband said he'd drive me to my friend's Dani's and we caught the Tube from her local station.

Of course, I needed some travel knitting so I cast on some Knit Picks Felici, a self-striping yarn which reminded me of Christmas. It even matches my Little Bobbins Christmas project bag.

Once we arrived in the city we headed straight to Islington for a drink, as we walking down Camden Passage we spotted the Bluebird Tea Co. I love tea and looking at all the different blends, we were offered a drink to sample when we entered and got to smell many different blends which was fun.

They had a small cafe at the back of the store so settled down with our knitting for half an hour and enjoyed a Jack Frost latte. They also do Mixology classes once a week which I'd love to do.

Next up was a visit to Loop, you can't go into London without stopping by, can you?

This is one of my favourite shops to visit, it's like an Aladdin's cave, full to the brim of stunning yarns. It's very well curated with some commercial yarn plus yarn that's hard to find in the U.K.

The staff are so friendly and helpful and always happy to take a photo of you with you holding your purchases.

Our friend Paula arrived who we were meeting there, it was so much fun to shop together and ooh and aah over the yarn.

These were my purchases from Loop, after seeing the Pinwheel Mitts by Ella Austin and the Isager Highland Wool on their blog, I knew what I was going to buy before I entered the shop.

After our little shopping spree, we headed over to the Paternoster in St Pauls where we were meeting for the Christmas party. I didn't get any photos as I was too busy chatting and knitting, sadly not many people could make it because of the trains. We still had a great time and it was lovely to catch up with friends who I don't see very often.

Dani and I headed back and went to dinner at Wagamama's which was amazing, I don't get to go very often as my husband isn't a fan so this was a treat for me.

I can't believe this was a week ago now, time flies when you're having fun! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Happy Knitting,
xxxxDebxxxx