There is a knot in the aran yarn!  Worse there is another knot about two feet further on.  This apparently occasionally happens, I gather it is if snaps during the spinning process or needs a new bit adding on.  When knitting the best thing to do is to cut the yarn before the knot at a row end (even if this means taking the row back to the beginning) and then treat it as if it is a new ball.  Some people,  Aunty Biscuit included, pull out a length of yarn before starting a row which then saves having to take it back if one appears.  This I believe is what happened on this occasion.  What a relief!  I  also have to report that the other foot has now been chewed off my duck toy.

The pattern phase on the aran has now been passed with all its complicated sounding (but relatively straightforward) stitches successfully executed so we are now motoring with the plain stocking stitch until the armhole shaping.  Mum meanwhile has been putting together a thing.  This when completed turned out to be a fireside log holder and companion set.  Fortunately as she is somewhat handy with a screwdriver and adjustable spanner the finished item is sturdy and did not require any swearing at during the assembly phase.    

The pattern phase on the aran has now been passed with all its complicated sounding (but relatively straightforward) stitches successfully executed so we are now motoring with the plain stocking stitch until the armhole shaping.  Mum meanwhile has been putting together a thing.  This when completed turned out to be a fireside log holder and companion set.  Fortunately as she is somewhat handy with a screwdriver and adjustable spanner the finished item is sturdy and did not require any swearing at during the assembly phase.    

We are up to the border pattern on the aran jumper.  The first four rows of the pattern are knit which is straight forward.  After that we will be into the realms of random mutterings such as slip one, knit one twist the slipped one in front of the knitted one and knit it, one two three four.  This will probably cover the rest of this evening and tomorrow evening before we are then back on to stocking stitch for the rest of the piece.

I may have previously mentioned that Aunty Biscuit had filtered off some plum brandy.  What I won’t have mentioned is that the plums were retained.  This evening some of them were used as an experimental stuffing for baked apples.  I believe that the experiment was a success.  There is still another bottle to be filtered……

The part ball of spare yarn from the pony jumper has been deemed insufficient to create anything specific so has been crocheted into a rectangle which will form part of a charity dog blanket..  As Aunty Biscuit is not the worlds most experienced at crochet, she tends to do one row of double crochet followed by a row of treble.  This ensures that there is both a bit of give in the finished piece and a neat side edges.  She has in the past done some flowers and the like but from what I understand can follow a written pattern but struggles with the patterns where they diagrams as being left handed she crochets in the opposite direction to the diagram.  Perhaps she ought to use a mirror.

I was somewhat baffled by the presence of a broom in the living room with a vegetable strainer sellotaped to the handle.  It turns out that it was involved in the hunt for a wasp that suddenly and inexplicably appeared yesterday and then took up residence on one of the beams inconveniently out of reach, suffice to say it has now been dealt with.  The pony jumper has now been finished but there are mutterings about an ear being a stitch too short but which one is unspecified.  The front of the aran jumper is in the process of being cast on.

Having chewed the foot off one of my favourite toys I had hoped that Mum would put her needlework skills to good use and reattach it but I think that she may have put it in the bin as it has gone missing (the foot that is, not the toy).  As it turns out a one footed duck is just as much fun to play with so I’m not too disappointed.  She has however condescended to mend the strap on my waxed coat so I’m pleased with that.  Also, as it is now December we have our doggie advent calendars, I’m ecstatic about that.  Aunty Biscuit meanwhile continues to shirk from casting on the front of the aran jumper and knitting a dolls jumper size back for the pony motif.

The second sleeve has been cast off so I think Aunty Biscuit is trying to build up the energy to cast on the 105 or so stitches required for the front.  In the meantime she has been sewing ends in on the pony motif which spreads it out so that there are not too many left to do at the end.  These are currently the only two knitting projects that she has on at the moment, very restrained.  I believe that as usual there is also some charity dog blanket crocheting somewhere in the background but I haven’t seen the current one.

I’ve had a busy week and been unable to access the computer so there seems to be loads to catch up on. The gift bags have now all been made including one each for me and Harrier, mine has little pink paw marks over one side and a frieze of little deer galloping across the middle of the other side with a backdrop of clumps of little pine trees, finished off with a little ribbon bow on a handle.  Harriers has little blue paw marks on the one side and silver snowflakes and ribbon on the other.  Hopefully they will both contain something exciting.  We are now onto the raglan shaping of the second sleeve of the aran jumper so it is possible but unlikely that it may be finished before Christmas.  That said we are still on the first ball so there will likely be a hat to go with it.  Mum has been varnishing a couple more bird boxes and has also finished painting the bathroom.