On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me ...

... some decent light for photography. And on the sixth day I even got some time to blog about the stuff that I photographed.

I got such a lovely surprise when I opened my parcel from Felix.



I love the little birdie buttons ...



... and wool fat soap happens to be one of my favourite things. So much so that I bought I whole load more of the stuff to store up for knitterly gifts when I saw it in the Low Sizergh Farm shop last Saturday. If you know me and you like sheep you can be fairly sure that you'll be getting some of this over the coming year.

Other highlights among my Christmas presents included Mmmmalabrigo sock yarn and a set of Knitpicks Harmony dpns from Socktopus (along with the customary complimentary sachet of Eucalan)





The Harmonies are a delight to knit with, I just love watching the sharp little points dig into the stitches. I've already knit half a glove and one and two-thirds socks with them since I unwrapped them. Unfortunately, despite being really really careful about putting the needles back in their little case when not using them, I've already managed to lose one of the 2.75mm needles when I dropped it into the innards of my mum's friend's car on the way to Manchester last night. However, since the set includes six of each needle size this hardly qualifies as a disaster and I'm trying hard (although not entirely successfully) not to dwell on it.

My haul of goodies also included Free Range Knitter by Stephanie Pearl McPhee and It Itches by Franklin Habit, both available for borrowing, should you wish, as soon as I am back in Oxford. I also added another practical knitting book to my library today. I went into Waterstones to spend a Christmas gift card and didn't think that I'd be buying a knitting book given that they had a miserly three shelves devoted to craft (although to be fair it is a small store) however, I spotted a copy of Design Your Own Knits in Five Easy Steps by Debbie Abrahams. The main selling points for me were the comprehensive sizing charts for men, women, children, and babies (no more scouting through pattern books to work out the circumference of a 18 month old's neck) and the detailed instructions for designing and knitting various types of sweater (raglan, saddle shouldered, set-in sleeves, etc.). I'll try to write a review in a couple of weeks or so once I've put it to use.

On the knitting front I've been working on a pair of gloves for my Mum in Artesano Alpaca 4 ply to match the scarf I gave her for her birthday (this was the present not finished, or indeed started, in time for Christmas) and a pair of man Monkeys for Jon, my brother-in-law in navy blue Rowan 4 ply soft.



There are just one and a bit repeats to go before the toe on the second sock so they're a bit further along than the gloves, which are missing one hand, two thumbs, and seven and a half fingers.



I thought of writing up the pattern for the gloves but as they're really knit to fit my Mum like, well, a glove I'm not sure that they'd fit too many other people. So long as I remember enough of the details to knit the second one that'll be just fine.