Happy Solstice and merry Christmas in the not too distant future. But I thought I would get it in now since I seem to be having a few technical difficulties.

It's been a busy few months when all is said and done, but unfortunately most of the photos of activities and achievements are trapped on my phone and inaccessible as the laptop has decided not to recognise the USB device. I will try.

Mainly I have been knitting. I designed a hat and knitted it five times before I got it right, then I had to write out the pattern and then knit it from the pattern (a necessary step as I discovered all manner of problems with the way I had expressed myself). I then discovered that I have to work out how many metres of yarn went into the damn thing which means a lot of complicated mathematics that I have yet to gird up my loins to address. Once that is done I will be printing it on pretty paper and selling it via local shop which will also be dyeing yarn suitable for knitting it, and selling it as a kit. The sample hats are currently for sale in another local shop (I know! They are popping up everywhere here).

As well as that hat, I have also been knitting keps (well, two keps - they are a fill-in occupation), and a vest which I sold to a local lad who had commissioned it, and another hat which was (in my opinion) hideous, but the recipient liked it. It had a Pug dog on it. The pattern was hopeless, and the recommended needle sizes too big (the first version rested on my nose) but it was eventually done and she was so pleased she paid me vast sums of money for the work!

I have sent all the photos off the phone to Facebook, so I will see if I can upload them from there ...

 Well, no that didn't work - these are from the other phone, but a good start. This is the vest I knitted - as a work in progress in this shot.

 This is another hat I had forgotten about - I knitted it as a prize for the Parattah Jubilee Hall raffle

 This is the first - failed - pug hat. The dog is done as Intarsia which is not as simple as you expect it to be when you are knitting in the round so I gave up on the head and tail, thinking I would duplicate-stitch them on, but the duplicate stitch on the legs was so ugly I just stopped and put it aside.

This is a little bit of nonsense I am messing around with at present - it was some 5 ply yarn I dyed some time ago but decided not to use for the intended purpose. I am adding beads as I go so it will be quite pretty and utterly useless.

I think I will see if I can get into the blog via the phone and then perhaps I can upload the images from there. Bear with me.