t h e s k y i n s c o t l a n d

A lovely, sunny day today, and the sky even seems to be promising another one tomorrow. A treat after such a rainy December, and a relief when most of the day we're trapped indoors, appropriately enough today with Henry James' In the Cage -- a very odd book. But good, in the way that What Maisie Knew is good.

p a t t e r n s t i t c h

These are a couple of gifts I made recently. The tank-top was for my very handsome godson, and the hat for a dear friend. The latter came from a pattern in Sarah Dallas' Vintage Knits, but I made up the pattern for the tank top. Using chocolate brown, cream and cornflower blue yarn I just chopped and changed the working yarns as I felt like it -- some were just stripes of different widths, others I used a Fairisle technique to carry patterns along the row. A tip for the beret is to use very fine elastic thread at the end to run through the hem edge -- this makes it sit more securely on the head.

s l o w c o a c h

I started this vintage-style vest, from Erika Knight's lovely Classic Knits book, about 3 years ago (....), but only returned to it over Christmas just now -- there are always so many other things on. But I'm very pleased that I did. I knitted it in Debbie Bliss' 100% silk yarn in a pearly-grey colour, which is very scrumptious, and left out the cabling detail (the yarn is so beautiful that I think it works better when very simple). It's really snug, soft and comfortable to wear, and the fit is surprisingly perfect. Although it's not a knit that everyone will see, it feels very nicely indulgent to wear this as underwear, more particularly at this time of year when indulgence is frowned upon.

w i n t e r w a l k s

The sun came out today, for the first time in about a month... Very nice walk indeed, along the river. Lots of fallen trees though -- some were huge. These are some pictures from other winter walks in early December. There are memorials to the war dead, and to Captain Scott. Which is to be expected, although where are the memorials to the usual park users? -- Women with children, whether their own, or charges. Hmm. The doglet liked it.