Nice Gestures

People know I like bears. Could it be something to do with the fact that they're in every room here at home? I mean, you can't even go and sit in the "little room" without a bear looking on!!!

But, I do so love bears. There's something about them that's warm, enfolding, cuddly and, most of all, cute, but if ever I meet a grizzly, I may well change my mind.

This one (the 3-D bookmark on the left in the photo), from Sue at the office, really cheered me up the other day when I was feeling a bit down. Nice gestures can do that. Just little things but they can make all the difference to what might otherwise have been described as "a bad day". Thanks, Sue! Sue reads my blog now and again so she might see this. The bear pencil on the right was given to me by MIL last time she came over. She nearly always brings something small and beary so when there's no room left at Hawkley Lodge for us to sit or sleep or eat, etc, because the bears are taking up all the space, we can blame her.

I've almost finished MIL's clapotis but ran out of yarn for just a tiny bit. However, Kerrie from Hip Knits has come to the rescue once again and is going to send me a bit more yarn so that I can finish it. When it's finished I'm going to wrap it in the tissue and place it in the box shown in the photo to make it just that little bit more special.



My second Ruffles in double stranded Kid Silk Spray is finished.


Thanks to a suggestion from Sheila of UKHK, I learnt how to do backwards knitting so that, this time, I could avoid all the turning involved due to the short rowed formation of the twirls in Ruffles which got really tiresome last time. I also found some links to backwards knitting tutorials (both English and Continental styles) and have put these in the sidebar of Curly Whirlies blog in case they're helpful to anyone else.

I may have to knit another Ruffles now because I discovered, after reading the pattern properly, that the gauge was such that I could have knitted it singly and it would have looked all floaty and ethereal. I had it in my head that it needed to be done double stranded so it's cost an arm and leg to make, too. I've still got one more curly whirly on the go and after that I'm going to give the addiction a break for a while though I have promised Sue at the office I'll make a Floribunda for her daughter which won't take very long.

Outside is dark and cold and not very camera friendly which is why I had to take the photo of the beary things on the window sill. Inside though it's nice and cosy. DH is watching the rugby while doing cross stitch and I'm about to start on a Yuletide Gnome. I'm really looking forward to Xmas and cold winter evenings cosily ensconced with DH, both of us satisfying our creative urges to do crafty things. Think I'm mellowing with age . . . . .