This is RELAXING....

socks on the beach, a photo by amazing_podgirl on Flickr.

No - they are not my feet nor is it even my photo (I borrowed it from Flickr - and might I add that I was heartened by the breadth of choice I had when I searched for "knitting on the beach").

For me, it's less about the sand and sun and more about knitting the socks.  Or at least catching up on all the half-thought dreams and designs I have for various non-work-related crafting.  All year I look forward to this time of year, when I shut down and shut out the work-related world... and play.

I brought home a few books, in the hope of trying a few new things. 

 And now the small girl has a bunch of thoughtfully-gifted books that are hugely inspiring.

Santa brought in this one (below)  for the wee girl, but I have an inkling of an idea that it was meant for ME.  The girl and I have alrady made a version of a little puppy (in the background of the photo of my books, above) from this one.

The baby cardi I was knitting in bamboo sock yarn was deemed too small, ripped out and the yarn allocated to toe-up sock experiemnts.  A cap-sleeved top was quickly made in its place... but not quickly enough to meet the xmas deadline.  It is yet to be finished and have its co-ordinating garments sewn.  Grand designs in an unfeasible timeframe....

 I finally found a pattern (on Ravelry) for a single-bed knitting machine sock  that made sense to me.  I had a little play with scrap yarn last night and then bought new sock yarn today to try it out properly (ahem.... I wasn't going to use the good stuff from my stash, now was I?!)

There is also another knitted cat in the works.

 

Oh, and I've been playing around with quilt blocks (forgot to photograph).  And yes, my dining table really does look like that..... as does the kitchen table.

And I still have some FELTING books I'd like to sink my teeth into.

There are more Grand Designs at the bottom of the garden.  Behind the back shed, there is a cubby-house in construction.  I'm keeping out of it.  And I'm trying to keep the smallest architect in the house out of the way of the builder (not always succeeding with that one).

We're planning a bit of gardening, too.  The house and cars survived the xmas day hail-storm without damage, but the veggie patch came out the other side resembling a large coleslaw.

We gathered up the damaged vegetables and made a big soup with stock from the xmas turkey carcass.  Waste-not-want-not and all that.

I don't want to go to the beach.  I don't want to go anywhere, really.  I'm like the proverbial piggie in muck....   My biggest concern is whether to quilt or machine-knit tonight.