A Happy and Peaceful Christmas to you all

Hello strangers!

There's no doubt about it, I have been a very bad blogger of late. Life has been the thief of time, for which I apologise. I'm sorry not to have visited you all for so long, I promise to do better in 2009.

I have a simple knit to show you, which I finished last month. DD asked for a scarf - "by tonight, if not tomorrow" if you please, in baby pink with twisty bits. This is what I came up with, knitted using Sirdar Click chunky it took about 10 hours all told. There are more photos on Ravelry if you wanted to take a look.

02/08/2009 Back in December, I added this pattern to Ravelry. At the time, I really couldn't make head or tail of what I needed to do in order to make the pattern available as a pdf, and as I really didn't want to sell it I simply wrote the instructions out on the pattern page.

It has been pointed out to me this morning that this is the wrong thing to have done, and so I have transferred the pattern here and provided a blog link instead.

Cast on 27 sts

Row 1: k12, p3, k12

Row 2: ( and all alt rows ) k4, p8, k3, p8, k4

Row 3: k4, C4B, p3, C4F, k4

Row 5: ( and rows 7 and 9 ) as row 1

These 10 rows form the pattern. Repeat until you are fed up with it, and cast off. Add fringing if desired.

It is possible to knit this scarf with any yarn that knits to a tension of 14 stitches and 19 rows = 4 inches (10 cm) on #10.5 (6½mm) needles ( although I used 7mm )

I am quite sure also that by playing with the stitch count either side of the cable section, it could be knitted in any thickness of yarn and needle gauge.

I really would like to apolgise to Ravelry for this oversight on my behalf.

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I had a wonderful weekend at the end of November when I went on a Sock Knitting Retreat with Lucy Neatby. Fab-u-lous and Craig would say, and many thanks to Alice from Socktopus for all her hard work in organising such an inspirational weekend for us all.

Not much more news, other than that my nephew's treatment appears to be going well and that my daughter has a Staff Nurse post all lined up for when her training has finished. Nursing jobs being as scarce as they are, it's great to know that she has her first footing on that career ladder. I have heard glowing reports from the hospital grapevine that she has been a great student nurse, and I am sure she will be a great asset to the nursing profession.

I shall leave you with my usual photo at this time of the year. Knitted years ago by my mum ( who was a wonderfully talented and resourceful knitter ) this is my one true family heirloom.

A Happy and Peaceful Christmas everyone, see you all very soon.