Acknowledging to myself that second christmas would be far more exciting if I had some presents to open too, I allowed myself the luxury of buying some post-christmas treats for myself.
The first of several treat yarn purchases, 100 g of Noro Taiyo Sock yarn. I love the colours of Noro yarn and decided I may as well splash out now. I have a project in mind for this, Petal Cowl by Xandy Peters, but it may be a while before I pluck up the courage to attempt it!
Following on from my Cambridge Surprise Minor headband, I have plans to knit myself a bellringing themed jumper and bought myself a supply of Drops Lima in Petrol to get the project going. It’s a lovely feeling yarn to knit with and I’m looking forward to getting started, a bit more planning and some test squares to knit yet though!
Margaret Radcliffe’s The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques. A great book full of ideas for colour combinations as well as clear instructions on different stitches and variations. I got it from the library and loved it so decided to buy my own copy!
Loveknitting Special Merino Lace is a hand-dyed 100% merino yarn and was 40% off when I bought it so I couldn’t resist. I’ve been looking as getting a chunkier lace yarn for trying out a bit of more adventurous lace knitting. I’ve been knitting a straightforward shawl using Drops Lace which is lovely but I’m finding it quite fiddly. I’m hoping a slightly heavier yarn will make a more complicated pattern slightly easier to handle!
A pair of 2.5 mm x 120 cm circular needles for sock knitting. I’ve wanted to try out magic loop knitting for a while and it seemed a good time to invest in a circular needle especially for sock knitting! These are KnitPro Symfonie needles, they are lovely to knit with and so pretty too! I’ve used them to finish off one pair of socks now and have cast on for the next already, definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Finally and probably most awesomely, I got myself a stamp from The English Stamp Company. It’s a lovely local company in my part of Dorset and the service was brilliant. You can upload your own image on the website, the instructions are very clear and the stamp came within about a week of my placing the order! Mainly motivated by a desire to be able to put on my hand knitted jumper without having to look carefully at the colourwork to spot the jog I’m looking forward to labelling all my handmade clothes and accessories with this stamp! 
mako makes stuff 