I finished these yesterday.

Both knitted in 4-ply acrylics. The mad coloured one was bought when my local shop closed down a few years ago, it's the first time I've used it for anything. It's a bit loud so perhaps just as well I didn't make anything larger out of it. It's also not very environmentally friendly, so I wouldn't buy that type of yarn today, but now I've got it, I'll be using it up.

Ooo, you just have to love a knitting machine. When you need something cranking out, without too much fuss, the knitting machine is your friend.

These are leg warmers knitted in blue Bramwell 4-ply acrylic, which is from the huge stash of cones that came with a machine I picked up in a charity shop.

And these are made from 4-ply acrylic bought when my local yarn store closed down. Hmm, does that make them as environmentally friendly as they could be? Possibly not. They do get me noticed as I'm riding my bike around town though, so that has to be good. You'll note the sneaky cat trying NOT to be in the picture!

Ooo, it's been a mad couple of days, hence no blogging, because no knitting. I suppose I could post a blank picture...

So what have I been up to? There's work going on here:

The sock continues.

There's work here too:

The scarf is moving along, and growing quite rapidly.

I have been doing a little tidying.

This is a needleroll made for me as a surprise Christmas present by my friend Gill. You can find her stuff over on Dawanda.

If you want to look at really exciting things that have been knitted though, whizz on over to Mason-Dixon and check out their teeny project runway. It's hilarious, mad and brilliant all in one.

This is the last of my finish it off in February projects. I'm not sure I will actually finish finish in February, but at least I have started it.

That's not the cast off I'm doing there, that's the cast ON. I have already knitted up this jumper once using my brilliant and genius method of knitting so you don't have to sew the seams up (modest aren't I?). The only problem is that since then I joined my local cycling club and have lost so much weight from all the cycling that when I put the jumper on it threatens to just slide straight off.

So I am left with two options, donate the jumper to a charity shop or reknit it. Hmm, I don't think the first one was an option really. According to the knitting powers that be you are supposed to unravel a sweater and wash the yarn before you reknit it. Knitting rules are not always something I stick to, mainly because most of them seem to be there to make you look stupid. The yarn is really, really hairy and catches and sticks every few stitches, it was a right pain to put together to start with so I am taking an extreme option with this one and knitting one jumper straight from the previous one.

I'll probably end up in some sort of knitting hell for committing cardinal sins against knitting for my troubles - I can see it now a life-time of beige cardigans!

In a bid to get ahead for Christmas and build myself a stash of presents to dip into at the last minute, I am knitting the odd thing that perhaps I wouldn't normally at this time of year.

This is a classic mistake rib scarf in recycled (as in "I don't want it, you have it") Rowan Kidsoft yarn. I really have no idea how anyone can not want to knit with this themselves.

The rib is a traditional pattern. Stitches are a (multiple of 4)-1, so 31 in my case, K2,P2 to the last three stitches then K2,P1, turn and repeat until your scarf is long enough. I've discovered that it's quite easy to lapse into K1,P1 rib so a little concentration is needed.

The yarn is just heavenly. 35% extra fine merino, 40% kid mohair and 25% nylon. What's not to like? A 50g ball gives 135 yards of just fantastic feeling yarn. If you're ever lucky enough to spy some in a charity shop whisk it off before you even try to think twice.

I've now put together the brown leg-warmers (although still working out if it's hyphenated or two separate words).

These are for my friend Nita. They are knitted in 4-ply brown Ferndale yarn, 85/15 acrylic/wool taken from my over extensive stash that I really do need to get to managable proportions again.

I've no idea how it grows.

I've really got the hang of these leg warmers now.

I managed to make the blue set in an hour and a half yesterday, although sewing up the seam seemed to take just as long. The yellow set are 4-ply Bramwell acrylic and the blue set are 4-ply Ferndale 85/15 acrylic/wool mix. The fit is very good and I'm surprised they work so well without elastic, although they need an extended test.

In yesterday's post

These from my friend Leanne, Preston and Feathers McGraw. I am still looking for a knitting pattern for a jumper of Wallace and Gromit, but I shall consider this a step in the right direction.

Finished the sock.

This is knitted from Woolcraft Superwash SockYarn. It's imported to the UK from Germany and sold under a British brand name. I bought it brand new so I think the only thing that makes it ethical is that I bought it from my local small wool shop. These people deserve a lot of support as they are lovely and really are trying to sell the more ethically produced stuff when they can.

So I cast on for the other sock, the second half of the yarn is now in the space hopper.

Also in progress

A mistake rib scarf, knitted in an oddment of unwanted Kidsoft. Ooo, how can anyone NOT want Kidsoft, it's so nice to handle, never mind knitting with it.

As well as my hands, my machine has been busy.

This is an experimental pair of leg warmers, knitted from a magazine pattern. The white section on the inside is actually waste yarn and will be removed. I had a lot of problems as the machine wasn't set up properly. I am really out of practise with it, so I'm glad I did the experimental ones first.

The real ones came out eventually.

I do sew, but it tends to be the fix it, mend it sort of sewing, where you can get away with not quite the right colour or wonky lines. So why I volunteered for a year long quilting square swap is beyond me really. Perhaps it's like the Chinese restaurant where your enthusiasm gets the better of your appetite.

This is for my friend Leanne. It's the first time I've attempted triangles, and it's wonky. As it's my second attempt it's a lot less wonky than it used to be.

This is the Angel dishcloth from FrogiezPlace, in a cream from the unwanted DK Rowan bag.

I knitted this up in about two hours last night, it just goes to show that a straight forward pattern really can be turned out quickly.

The sock is nearing the end.

I'm onto the K1, P1 rib now and I've only got a few rows of that left. I'm going to try and be clever and fold the rib over and attach it on the inside to make a nice stretchy cuff. Then I shall have to knit the other one!

It's a sewing day today, so don't expect knitting pics tomorrow!

No! It's Bagpuss.

My knitted version is taken from a magazine, Woman's Weekly or something like that from about 2006 I think. When I finished it last night I was a bit disappointed with the way it looked but in the photo it's not so bad. I didn't realise just how big he was going to end up though, that's one huge puss.

All the wool for this project was leftovers taken from my stash, and the stuffing was donated by a forum friend, so he has ended up being made from totally recycled and unwanted bits which I'm very pleased with.

The great dishcloth knit continues. You've just got to love a dishcloth. Simple, easy, quick finishing time. There's that sense of completion and satisfaction of a job well knitted and a good looking finished product to show for it in just a few hours.

This is the oak leaf dishcloth design from Knitting Heaven on Earth. There are loads of links over there to all kinds of cloths, especially with names on, handy for that quick present idea.

Lots of bits on the go at the moment. Here is a picture of the current work in progress.

In this are my current sock in progress, a new dishcloth and a very old Bagpuss. Bagpuss was knitted over a year ago from stash odds and ends and has been sitting in a drawer waiting to be sewn up. I really hate sewing things up. The pattern was taken from a magazine, and I remember the knitting instructions had mistakes, and the making up instructions are virtually impossible, so I have decided to take the obvious route and have been searching out pictures on the internet.

Hurrah!!! It's finished. The Advent adventure is over.

This has been sitting around for at least a year or so, waiting to get sewn up after the knitting was finished. All the yarn is from the stash and much of it was purchased from my favourite charity shop so is also recycled.

Now roll on December so I can use it!

Ooo, sometimes it's a long hard slog to the finish. To make matters worse it's all sewing. I love knitting but I'm not so keen on the sewing element. Below is the result of yesterdays hard work.

The two trees and the reindeer at the top are completely finished with Swiss darned tinsel and eyes respectively and I am up to number 17 on the pockets.

While I was working, other members of my household were sunbathing.

Thank you to poetryman69 for the comment yesterday that my dishcloth was cute. Several other people also saw the biology lesson diagram resemblance.

This is the love dishcloth from Knits by Rachel.

Although I ran out of yarn about halfway up and so had to cut it short. Is it just me, or does it remind anyone else of a diagram from a biology lesson?

Coincidentally, this is the second cloth I have done from this website, and I have to mention the size, they really do come out very generously proportioned, which I think is great.

The numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5!

This is my knitted Advent calendar. I've always wanted an Advent calendar. I'm not exactly religious (like Nick Lowe I think I qualify as a failed christian), it's the getting the things out of the little boxes that I like, the surprise element because you don't know what's behind the door.

The pattern is taken from an old knitting mag I found in a charity shop and now passed on to a friend and the yarn was all bits from my stash.

This is my friend SandyBeth's mantra at the moment, "I finish things". It looks like it might be catching on.

This is the lacy fourleaf clover dishcloth from KnitsbyRachel. I think I may have to block it to make the holes more prominent as it looks like they aren't even there in my version.

My sock yarn dried out! Yeay!

I am now past the heel on this. I am using the toe-up sock pattern from Wendy Knits, which is one of the best patterns I've ever seen.

You know the one.

"Here, there and everywhere,
It's hip, so hip to be square"

Except my square doesn't appear to want to be square.

This is taken from the pattern used by those marvellous folks at Mason-Dixon, where they are putting together and auctioning blankets made of these delightful little squares. The one above will be used to make a blanket for one of the many at Lluest Horse and Pony Trust.

I'm also knitting a sock at the moment, but I can't take a picture of it as when I was knitting the heel yesterday the yarn rolled under my chair and straight into the cats water dish. Gah! Got to wait for it to dry out before I carry on with that.

The efforts to reduce my yarn stash to managable proportions of wanted yarn continues. I managed to complete the apple dishcloth with no further mishaps yesterday.

I think the apple motif shows up quite well.

I also finished this.

Technically this doesn't count as a FIIF as I only just got hold of it from the box Aine brought round the other day, but I knitted up the last square last night and it'll go towards another blanket for the horses at Lluest horse and pony trust in Wales.

I love a good book, it's even better when you get given three!

These are Left: Classic Knits for Real Women, which I remember borrowing from the library last year. I haven't had chance to study it in detail yet, but there's bound to be something I want to make in there.

Centre: One thousand Sweaters by Amanda Griffiths. A really clever book explaining all the different design features of a sweaters that you could ever want, body, arms, neckline, pockets and even a couple of belts. A really helpful looking book.

Right: One Thousand Great Knitting Motifs by Luise Roberts. I'm not sure how helpful this will be as I done do much intarsia but you never know when you'll need something like this. A great little treasure house of ideas.

So thank you to the universe for sending these my way, I shall make lots of use of them.

This is the Apple dishcloth from knittingknonsense.

Knitted in recycled (that's recycled as in "I don't want this, you have it") Rowan DK cotton.

It would be a lot further on, but having to knit the moss stitch border three times because I kept making mistakes put me back a little.

Ever had that problem where you find a hole in a pair of jeans and so you fix it and then it develops another one, precisely 0.0002 nanometres under the edge of your patch and you have to put on a larger one?

This is the Tightwad Gazette solution to the problem.

The one on the right of the photo is the one I have finished this morning, the left I did a while ago. The patch covers the whole knee and protects the area where the rip is so it's unlikely to get any worse. I am also reliably informed that they help to keep your knees warm!

This is Red Hot, a pattern taken from Machine Knitting Monthly (December 2006).

Which is why the front panel is hand knitted!

The wool for his was originally a charity shop purchase and has already been reknitted into one jumper. That became too large to wear so time to reknit it again into something smaller.

My friend came round earlier and brought a box with her that she had won on Freecycle.

The first thing she fished out was this

This was actually found by Aine and her family in a charity shop one day and her daughter had decided to recycle it, so now Wendolene lives with me!

Then I emptied the box out onto the floor, the only space big enough to cope.

Wool, wool, and more wool. All sorts of stuff here.

The roll of needles in the purple at the back is actually a Pringles tin enclosed in material. there are stitch holders, a neat gadget for keeping your wool under control and some sort of knitters trellis. No idea what it really is though. Anyone?

A hand made lace handkerchief with "A present from Middlesbrough" stitched into one corner.

Most of a child's top.

Something we thought might be a scarf or possibly the beginning of a blanket.

Some brilliantly knitted squares.

Yes, it really is a sock. Just at the heel turning.

An amazing assortment.

I got a set of these today in the post from a friend. It's a knitted stingray facecloth to go with my sea themed bathroom. She also sent me some wool to knit some squares that will be made into blankets for the horses at Lluest.

A new spot to catalogue all that is knitting and other planet friendly things as I go through life.