Christmas is over. I survived just fine, my hand-knitted gifts (a Palindrome scarf for dad, and a Coronet for mum) were very well-received, and I got some lovely knitting-related pressies. Hurrah! To be honest, there wasn’t much to survive. My holiday has been quiet and comfortable, which is just the way I like it. I’m glad I restricted myself to only two small knitted items, as it cut down on stressful knitting time (though I must admit I was knitting on Xmas Eve!) and it meant that I could splash out on some really delicious yarn for the scarf and hat (RYC Cashsoft Aran and Cascade 220, respectively).

Now, of course, I’m free to knit for whoever I please, and at the moment I’m pleased to knit entirely for myself! One of my presents was “Heartfelt”, the new pattern book from Kim Hargreaves. (It’s available from her website and eventually should be in stock at amazon.co.uk.) This book is my pattern Mecca. It contains twenty-one patterns and so far I definitely want to make fifteen of them. This should come as no real surprise to me, because Kim is my favourite knitwear designer, but I think she’s outdone herself here. The shapes are classic and flattering, chic and sleek without being too avant-garde. Everything is wearable, even the asymmetric poncho, Nightshade. I have a horror of ponchos, but I can imagine myself wearing this one (it really is more of a capelet in my mind). The garments all have little touches of femininity—delicate cables, hints of lace, the occasional flounced hem—but don’t descend into frou-frou.

So, armed with a bag of RYC Cashcotton DK that I snatched up in the Liberty sale, I’ve cast on for Erin. The recommended yarn is Rowan Calmer, but Calmer was not on sale in colours I liked, and I can meet the gauge requirements with the Cashcotton. I am a little concerned about the width of the back at the moment, because it seems awfully wide! The ribbing will pull it in and there are some decreases later on, but I’m worrying more about the shape than the pattern. I think it will be flattering on me, but I don’t know for sure. (I should perhaps mention that I’ve never knitted anything for myself bar a pair of fingerless gloves, so I’m a little nervous!) It’s a pretty big ‘first’ for me.

The other ‘first’ would be the colour… as shown in the photo above (taken when I was swatching), my Cashcotton is a rather luminous turquoise-blue. I like it a great deal, but I have this tendency towards a monochrome wardrobe that I’m trying to break out of. It’s taking some doing. Black is a safe and flattering colour-stroke-absence-thereof. I like black. I have been wearing mostly black for years and years. Introducing colour—in fact, even realising that there were colours I liked—has been a slow process. I realise I’m jumping in the deep end with this yarn and the eventual cardigan, but it’s quite fun. (Every so often I find myself glancing at my knitting and thinking “Turquoise! Wow! You rebel, Rhian! You daring, adventurous person!”. I am clearly in need of much, much more excitement in my life.)

I’ve got another cardigan on the needles too, but I’ll talk about that one another time.

I don’t like to make Christmas into a big, all-consuming event, and I only celebrate it as a non-religious family-oriented gift-giving festival, but I am (rather surprisingly) feeling very festive this year! A trip into London last weekend helped this along, I am sure. I despise shopping centres with piped-in Christmas hits — Slade, Wizzard, and Wham! have a lot to answer for — but wandering around lots of individual shops, looking at gorgeous window displays in the large department stores, and visiting special Christmas events is a real pleasure.

First stop was the Winter Wonderland event in Hyde Park, which consisted of a small German market, various fairground rides, and ice skating. The market was pretty, but not especially inspiring, and by far the best thing there was the food. There was also mulled wine (which really took the edge off what was a freezing morning) and delicious sausage.

More shopping ensued, as did a necessary stop for coffee (it really was bitingly cold, sub-zero with the wind chill factor, and I was very glad I’d worn a scarf, hat and gloves). Covent Garden is always a favourite haunt of mine, and this year their event is called Christmas Deluxe. It was a little early for the food market to be properly open but I was still full from my sausage — and the queues would have been epic, anyway, judging from the number of people already there! The decorations in the piazza were beautiful, probably even more so at night.

And then, quite by chance, we stumbled across a sea of Santa Clauses in Leicester Square.

I did a little checking when I got home, and this is apparently a big pub crawl, possibly called “Santacon”. Brilliant.

There have been a few ‘perfect’ winter days recently; I mean the kind with clear pale blue skies and crisp, invigorating air. I love going out for walks when the weather’s like this. Of course, the fact that the sun is shining doesn’t preclude strong wind… and I’ve decided that hats are the key to Winter Hairstyle Survival. There’s nothing more irritating than walking outside and having your hair rearrange itself on your head after a particularly vicious gust – it makes me feel like a poor relation of Susan Sto-Helit. I’m a fan of the cloche (which seems to be ‘in’, but it’s a classic hat that should, frankly, be worn whether it’s in or not) and own one, but I recently bought a trilby and really like that too. (There’s a photo of said trilby here.)

I’ve been thinking about knitting a hat, but there are so many patterns to choose from! I’m not sure what would suit me, either – only certain things look good on my head, and I haven’t figured out what those things are yet. Some hats I like:

• Estella, by Ysolda
• Gretel, by Ysolda
• Bonnie, by Kim Hargreaves
• Soul, by Kim Hargreaves
• Katie Cap, by Staceyjoy Elkin
• Ice Queen, by Rosemary Hill (this isn’t actually a hat, but does potentially cover the head)

I really can’t choose between them. I’m edging towards “Bonnie”, which is in the Kim Hargreaves pattern book (Heartfelt) that I’m getting for Christmas. It’s knit with just a couple of balls of RYC Bamboo Soft, which I’ve wanted to try for ages… I had a fondle last time I was in a yarn shop and it really is silky-soft. (I’ve also heard it’s splitty, but I think I can cope with that for one hat.)

My own knitting efforts are drifting between doll sweaters and secret Christmas presents, and I can’t show the latter here in case someone’s being naughty and peeking! I can show off dolly knits, though. I like the colour pink more than I used to, but only in small doses… so I’m knitting thin stripes of it into this plain black sweater. I love horizontal stripes, but I’d never wear them myself because of the “person looks bigger than actual size” problem. (Living vicariously through doll fashion? Moi?)

…are not good for taking pictures! The bad weather has finally taken over and December has been full of grey skies, incessant rain and sunsets at 3pm – at least, that’s what it feels like. I hadn’t picked up my camera since October (a long time, for me) but a few days ago, despite the lack of light, I managed a photo of some recent creations, which you can see here.

I’ve been knitting/crocheting up quite a storm in the past few weeks, with a particular view in mind… I’m going to open a web shop to sell my creations! This idea’s been in my head since summer, but it’s only now that I’m truly confident in my skills and know-how. My opening date is set for some point after Christmas (probably January), when I’ve had time to build up stock and sort out things behind-the-scenes. I will take commissions, but on a small scale to start with, and I’ll write more about that nearer the time. (A few people have previously contacted me about custom knits, and I’ve not forgotten you – I’ll be in contact with you nearer the time also!).

So, despite the poor weather and abysmal light, over the coming weeks I’ll be posting a few sneaky peeks at the clothing I can offer your dolls – and much clearer peeks than the one in this post, I might add! I may even have to start getting up earlier to catch the light (perish the thought!). ;)