Christmas Market and Spree Socks

One of my dreams is to visit the Christmas Markets held in Germany each year. However, with the job I have I am never able to travel in early December.  The closest I can get is the Toronto Christmas Market held annually in the Distillery District.  It is one of the Christmas activities that my family enjoys doing together each year.   I think the best time is to go in the evening to see all the amazing lights.  This year the event seemed better than ever.

every Christmas market needs a fabulous tree

an orange snowman!

a lovely outdoor bar

a forest of pink Christmas trees

And as for knitting this week I needed a diversion.  I ended up digging into my stash and whipping up this crazy pair of socks.  This is a great free pattern for using up the variegated DK or worsted weight yarn in your stash.  It would be a perfect gift since it is a fast knit and creates such a cozy sock to wear on those cold days.

Pattern:  Spree Socks 
Designer:  Kemper Way
Needles:  3.25mm and 3.5mm
Yarn:  Madelinetosh DK Twist
Colourway:  Electric Rainbow
Notes:  Instead of the 18 rows suggested I knit 25 rows for a bit of a longer sock.

I hope you all had a great week and had time to do something fun for yourself. Cheers!

November Inspiration and an F.O.

November can be a challenging month to enjoy.  Once the beautiful leaves blow off the trees, the damp cold settles in, and the longer hours of darkness increase, I often find myself looking for inspiration.  One rainy afternoon I decided to look through some of my photos I took recently and they cheered me up.  I hope you don't mind if I share just a few of my favourite ones with you today:

Peace Fleece:  Marigold

Fibre Optic Yarns Paintbox Gradient

Julie Asselin Piccolo:  Arlequin & Voolenvine Wolke:  Faerie Hair

Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles:  Bramble

Of course November is the perfect month for knitting too.  Here is a pair of mittens just off the needles ready to be wrapped up for Christmas.  These mittens, knit in a bulky weight yarn, and knit up very quickly.

Pattern:  Antler Mittens
Designer:  tincanknits
Yarn:  Madelinetosh Chunky in Smokestack
Size:  Adult M
Notes:  This is my first time using Madelinetosh's Chunky yarn and I have to say I quite like it.  The knitted mittens are quiet warm and the variegation in the colourway is beautiful.

Antler Mittens by tincanknits

Now I am debating how much Christmas gift knitting I should do.  I have several bigger projects on the needles that are not intended for gifts.  Do I leave them aside for now and jump into more Christmas knitting?  That is the question of the day : )