Christmas is Coming...

I did not make this, Betz White did, but isn't it just the most gorgeous thing evah?! I have a dark purple feather wreath on my door, which I've studded with matte-finish dark purple baubles (which everyone knocks off when they come in the door-I need to invest in some ribbon and tie them on), but I'd almost be tempted to replace my glamorous wreath for this girlie one! I love it!Meanwhile I have been a buzy bee making things for Christmas. I've made a batch of soap I'm calling White Christmas, which is a cocoa butter and coconut oil based soap scented with nutmeg, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. I wrapped it all up in white tissue paper and tied up piles of them with white cotton yarn, adding a silver card tree or snowflake to the top. Here they are all stacked up under my beautifully hideous fluffy tree:And two scarves have come off my needles for two very special pals.

Scarf number one was Cloud, by Sue Morgan, knitted in pale pink Kidsilk Haze. I knitted one for my friend Jess last year and had plans to knit one for Suzanne, but life got a way from me, so Suzanne is getting hers a year late - although she wont know its late! ;-)

Scarf number two is what I am calling the Not So Plain Jane scarf and is knit in Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK. It is kind of my own design, if you can even call it that. Jane, my boss at the clothes shop, doesn't like fuss, so decided to knit what I hoped would be almost the plainest scarf possible, but I soon realised I'd have to add some kind of embellishment though. In the end, I knit a basic seed/moss stitch scarf and did a row of four button holes about 8" from the bottom of one end and I sewed shiny gun-metal buttons (that kind of look like screws) on the other end to line up with the holes. This means the scarf can be worn draped round the back of the neck and fastened across the chest, or doubled over and tucked through, like a cravat, with the buttons acting as a detail on the side of the neck. Its kind of cute, even if I do say so myself, and is great for a short person (like Jane) who doesn't look good swamped in scarf.
There are a couple of other knitted gifts to show you, but these might have to wait until after Christmas as they really need to be photographed on their owners to get the true effect.