mirgraphy

The rather unfortunate result of flying in the wrong direction on Christmas Eve meant that I sort of spent Christmas on the plane. Sort of as in reality it was a non day which I guess meant it was a non Christmas as well. On the other hand the plethora of left over Christmas decoration made it feel as if the festive season was still very much alive as I pass yet another inflatable santa perched on someone’s rooftop or plastic reindeers planted on another house’s lawn.

It was definitely a different type of Christmas compared to the one in London!

I haven’t been as active as I thought I would be once I am back in Sydney. Time seemed to crawl at a slower pace and the warm air was making me decidedly sleepy almost all the time.

I am very close to finishing my Anne Elliott cardigan with only the sleeves to knit up. It’s probably one of the most half baked pattern I have used, having to improvise stitch count and the overall measurement to get the correct fit, fingers crossed it will turn out. I am loving the fact that I have only used a single skein for the project so far. Then again the 200g ball of cotton from Bendigo Woollen Mills was bigger than normal. Not quite sure what possessed me to buy this particular shade of green as it was out of my usual colour palette. I noticed that Bendigo no longer stocked this particular colour or any shade of green in their cotton range which was somewhat a shame, though I wouldn’t mind to try out their shade of new ochre or oxford for another cotton project…

The rather doubtful joy of being jet lagged is the odd opportunities of waking up at 5 AM and not being able to go back to sleep, lending itself to be a perfect time to update my blog regarding all Christmas matter before the day arrives.

Last week was the last Stitch N Bitch London meet up before the new year and true to form, the Stitchettes organised a Christmas party that confirmed why I loved this group so much. As part of the fun, (should they wish to) each person were to make a Secret Santa gift they knitted themselves that will be placed in a giant sock. The rules were simple

S&B London Guide to Secret Santa

1. You are to make one present.
2. Your present should cost approx £5.
3. Your present can be ANYTHING, as long as it’s knitted or crocheted.
4. You must make your present before the S&B London Christmas party on Tuesday 16^th December
5. Preen yourself, then arrive at the S&B London Christmas party looking fabulous with your present wrapped up.
6. Place your Secret Santa present in the giant Christmas stocking.
7. At present-giving time pick a gift out of the giant Christmas stocking.
8. Open your present and weep with joy.
9. Sing Christmas carols and fine Christmas pub food.

Those who knows me would realise that I am a rather selfish knitter and am more likely to teach someone to knit rather than knit them something. At the same time for some reason I really wanted to knit a random someone something. With terribly good planning I started knitting fetching the Sunday before the actual event. Reasoning that last time it took me an afternoon to knit I should be able to finish it in a weekend with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately I forgot to factor how being ill would change the equation. A few hours before the party I elbowed hapless passengers out of the way on the overland train so I can find a seat and to knit in peace, continued to do right until I arrived at the pub and  (just) managed to cast off moments before everyone picked their presents from the giant sock.

The quality of gifts that night was incredibly high and everyone ooh and aaahed whenever someone took another present from the pile. I managed to score a knitted gray beret made from a super chunky soft yarn that I absolutely love and was an absolute godsend in the cold NY winter.

Looking around the room it amazed me how many familiar faces and names I now recognised from this lovely, cheerful and always friendly group. From the first week I arrived in the country the group became my lifeline in settling in and discovering various places in London. Life in London would have been poorer had I been too intimidated to attend the first meeting and I can gladly say that I will continue to turn to more meet ups in the coming year.