Gingerbread Train.

This years gingerbread offering is a train. Once again we cheated; kit from Aldi. This was a bit trickier than the house to put together but still a lot less bother than the agony of starting from scratch.

Christmas Cake

I finished icing the cake on Christmas Eve. The cute marzipan Santa and tree are from Dunn's.

Christmas Outing

As Pauline was leaving us for the USA, the Foyles group had planned a day trip to a lovely National Trust Pub. Weather reports said the snow would hold off til the weekend but conditions changed overnight and so we decided to cancel. We met at Adrienne's house and were enjoying a cup of tea by the fire when the first flakes fell. very quickly there were several inches on the ground and so we drove to Nest. Once again, i was unbelievably good and resisted the yarn but I did buy some Drops pattern books and some Addi Lace needles. It is such a lovely shop I want to support them.

Pauline arrived carrying Koji's skateboard which she'd kindly lugged all the way from new York. After a quick browse, we headed to Crouch End for lunch. The food was amazing as ever and we swooned at the cake selection and educated Jenny in the ways of meringue. Then Pauline educated us in the authenticity of a Pavlova.

Although it wasn't the day we had planned, It was very enjoyable. Foyles will be very strange without Pauline.

Stopped at Dunns before getting the bus and bought these fabulous cakes for the boys.

Secret Santa

Santa was very generous again this year. A Just Enough Ruffles scarf and fingerless gloves in cashmere, some wooden needles and a pincushion. Lovely!

Bulgarian Socks

The boys returned from their ski holiday to Bulagaria with a present of these hade knit socks. They are really thick and warm, just what I need to wear in my snow boots. Brilliant choice.

Unfortunately, the holiday wasn't such a hit. They ended up sleeping at Gatwick due to the snow disrupting flights only to find that Bulagaria was having the warmest winter for 90years. The ski equipment was dated, there wasn't much snow, Hiro and Akira missed two days skiing because they caught cold and Koji had an allergic reaction which left his face so swollen I didn't recognise him when he arrived home.The food was so salty they couldn't eat it and my boys eat anything! Yet, inspite of it all, they still say they had a good time.

Spring Forward Socks

I finally got round to grafting the toes of my socks. I love this pattern as it is only two rows and so really easy to memorize. I hate having to keep checking charts but am bored with plain socks. These socks were made with Lorna's Laces sock yarn. I bought some odd skeins on one of our trips to Get Knitted which is why the cuffs, heel and toes are in a different colour.

Fruit Salad Citron

The Citron pattern on Knitty must be the most popular pattern since Clapotis. Of course I had to join the crowd and knit one. I had this yarn in by stash. it is Eva by Posh Yarns. The silk content makes it really soft, just perfect for round the neck. I would have loved to have made it larger but of course I only had one skein.

I call this my Fruit Salad Citron because it reminds me of the chews by Trebor. I had to buy some to prove the point but found they'd updated the packaging and the sweet wasn't as bright as I remembered in my chemically enhanced childhood.