I cannot believe February is almost over! Two months of 2013 are gone in a blink of an eye. Being so preoccupied with my knitting, I hardly realized it.
The biggest project this new year so far has been a sweater that I knitted for my son. After a failed attempt with finishing Point Gammon Pullover last year, I still wanted to use that yarn for a sweater for my son. Looking all over the Internet, knitting books and magazine for a pattern to knit, I found the one that I liked. My son liked it too. And so, it was knitting only for about a month. The choice was Mossdale sweater by Martin Storey.
The almost-finished front. I thought the Aran design was pretty impressive.
Here it is all finished, washed and stretched on my new woolly block (that is a dehumidifier behind it). The stretcher is made in Maine, USA. I really love this sweater stretcher, easy to put on and the wood has been polished to its smoothest, so no yarn would be pulled off accidentally while putting the sweater on the stretcher.
The recipient of the sweater :)
I had to make one change from the pattern though. The collar. I’ve never liked it when it is just bound-off stitches on a collar.
This is how I knitted my collar. With circular needles I picked up stitches around the neck line, knitted (in a circle) double the height of my collar using some waste yarn on the last row. Then I folded it in half and sewed on stitch by stitch to the right side of the sweater while removing waste yarn slowly.
It looks more sophisticated this way and has no seam on the side of the collar.
When I’m working on embroidery I have to have some breaks. During those breaks I knit. Always. It slows down completing embroideries but there is a reward. At the end I have not one but two projects completed.
I usually look for a not-so-big knitting project for my embroidery breaks. A pair of mittens, socks or a hat. I’ve always loved over-the-knee stockings too. I knitted a pair of Norwegian black&white stockings several years ago and thought I would knit a pair of lace stockings one day. When I saw Frost Feather Stockings by Deborah Newton I had to knit them!
I really would love to have my own-made collection of over-the-knee stockings. I even bought a vintage 24″ long stocking stretcher on ebay since this is the case and more stockings to be knitted in the future.
So here it is, Frost Feather stocking that was my parallel project during Christmas stockings embroidery main project. I’m adding them to my newly started collection. Two pairs, many more to go :)
Christmas time is my favorite holiday season. I love the atmosphere and traditions and am still getting exited, as in my childhood, around this wonderful time. I’m constantly looking for inspirations on decoration and food for this holiday. I’m filled with joy when my family gather at the beautifully set table. The pop of a champagne bottle, the vintage and antique silver all out, the linen tablecloth and napkins, the shimmer of candles, the twinkling of the Christmas tree at the background. And of course the food.
The main dish I cooked for our Christmas dinner this time was seven-hour leg of lamb. I used Anne Willan recipe that comes from her book From My Chateau Kitchen. The lamb turned out really good, everyone in my family loved it. It is such a great recipe, not too labor incentive. And as it’s cooking in the oven for seven hours it’s the right time for a chilly weather here in Hong Kong.
After dinner we had the table set up for tea. I was not planning on making any cookies this year, but somehow went off track and ended up spending two days in the kitchen with making and decorating them. I made two kinds of Christmas cookies – sugar and gingerbread.
Here are some of the cookies I made.
And now I can reveal the two stocking in full that I was embroidering lately. They were for my two step daughters who live in the US. They received them before Christmas and have told me they liked it. I hope they will enjoy them for many Christmases ahead.
Here are all the stockings I’ve made for the family.
Photographing them all together before Lisa and Valerie’s stockings were packed to be mailed to the States. Really love how they all look together.
I had to use heavy books to stand in for hooks as I’m still looking for (and cannot find) the Christmas stocking hooks I have in mind.
Aren’t they cute?
And here is our Christmas tree one more time.
Busiest time of the year for me. The Christmas tree went up yesterday. We’re going to enjoy it till January 7th, that is when Russian Orthodox Christmas is. I like my tree traditional with ornaments from my childhood and my son’s, and those that were brought home from different places I’ve visited. I buy an ornament or two every year. Dorothy with her Toto is this year’s new addition.
My oven is working almost non-stop too. It started with sugar cookies. Gingerbread cookie dough is in the fridge over night. Can’t wait to start baking them to fill the house with lovely aroma of spices. And to decorate them of course. And then Anne Willan’s 7-hour roasted lamb leg as the main dish for Christmas dinner.
My son’s rocking horse made its way from Ukraine to our home in Hong Kong this past fall after all those years waiting patiently to be reconnected with his owner again. The rocking horse was a present from his God parents on his birth 22+ years ago and is under our Christmas tree now.
Here is my home decorated for Christmas.
Just finished embroidering these two Christmas stockings!
This is what I’ve been doing since I came back from my trip to Eastern and Western Europe about a month ago.
I can breath easily now as I’ve made it on time before Christmas. One afternoon of sewing and they are done!!
Will resume blogging soon :) And I will show you pictures of these finished stockings later.
PS. After not opening my worlpress for a while, I’ve found a gazillion spam there and somehow while deleting the spam I accidently deleted some of your comments. I wished there was ‘undo’ button :(
