A Gentle Start to 2016

All too soon it was time to pack away the Christmas decorations, but I like to make sure they are down before Twelfth Night.  

I have arranged some pine branches, twigs, fir cones and lichen in a couple of lanterns so that the living areas of our home don't seem too bare.

We finally started eating the Christmas cake!  

And J enjoyed some hot chocolate topped with cream and marshmallow snowmen.

My husband went back to work after the new year holiday and one day J and I took a walk to see if the snowdrops were in bloom.  We only saw a few; I don't know if we were too early or if the large pile of green waste someone had dumped covered any more of the snowdrops!  It makes me sad to see  the way some people treat our countryside.

The snowdrops might have been thin on the ground, but we were rewarded with a double rainbow after a light shower of rain.

After all that Christmas cake I have been getting my Om on - literally with my new yoga outfit! :)  Now that my back is improving I have been back to the classes at the gym and have been swimming too.

Before J returned to university we took a couple of trips out.

My husband declared this a successful shopping trip ... we didn't buy anything! :)

And we went to see the new James Bond film, Spectre.

At home I decided that January would be my month for completing a few WIP'S, so I continued working on my Winter Wander Shawl by Helen Stewart.

I have now added the copper-lined beads to the Maiden Hair yarn section of the shawl and plan to add a few more rows at this point.  Unfortunately I then fell down a rabbit hole and cast on another project!!

I have often considered making the Beekeeper's Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits and when I saw that Lisa and Karen were starting a knit along on this quilt I couldn't resist! I don't have much 4 ply leftover yarn, so I took a trip to my LYS and was soon casting on my very first hexipuff.

The plan is to knit one a day, but I had some catching up to do.

They make a great travel project and I knitted a few as we drove J back to uni.

That day it was my Dad's birthday, so when we returned home I beaded another hexipuff.

My plan is to add beads and buttons to hexipuffs to celebrate special days throughout the year.

I have also added some Debbie Bliss Angel yarn to some hexipuffs to make them fluffy and added texture to others using seed stitch.

Yesterday I attempted duplicate stitch for the first time.  I'm not sure about this one, but will decide whether or not to add it to my quilt later on.

As you can see they are quite an addictive make! :)

I'll have to stop making them soon and finish off my other projects ... maybe! ;)