Comes but once a year

I've actually managed to get the photo up this week!

This is a scarf (surprise!) - a commission for DD, though she may change her mind about it. It's the scarf from the Christmas 'Knitting', weighted with 3 rows ofbeaded stocking stitch, instead of beads on the fringe.

The yarn is Kidsilk Haze from my stash. Think it's looking rather pretty, though very PINK.

The last week has been spent knitting, with lots of false starts. After Christmas I really am going to try and stick to making my own things, rather than choosing someone else's pattern for the sake of speed. I want to make a pi shawl, if my copy of E Zimmerman's book ever arrives from Amazon. I get the general construction idea, but I'm not at all sure what patterns to put in each tier, and I don't want to waste nice yarn on something that ends up looking silly.

Christmas fever seems to be all bound up in knitting this year, partly because I've retired, and partly because of the knitting forums, where everyone is frantic to finish presents. But this week end I went to 'Dick Whittington' in Oxford, and got a full dose of magic. The actors were good (mostly) with a surprisingly young and totally infectious dame, but the real pleasure was the audience. Having had an overdose of other people's children for 30 plus years, I don't much like children in the mass, but this lot were amazing! They were quite young - one even had to be taken out, terrified by the good fairy's flash! (Reminded me of Gareth's fear of the Demon King when we first took him to the pantomime) But their faces, and their total absorption in the story! The cast were brilliant, going along with their versions, and it was two hours' total pleasure.

Current reading includes 'Hogfather', put into my head by the fact that it's on the television at Christmas. I can't imagine how they are going to do it justice. All those little jokes which depend on words must be lost, I suppose. And the ironies, and the footnotes. I shall watch it - or some of it - hoping that they bring it off.

Meanwhile, there are films to see: haven't seen the James Bond yet, and then there's 'Happy Feet', and others with pretty men to enjoy.

Back to the scarf!