'Twas the day before Christmas...

So it's Christmas Eve. Not feeling a lot of Christmas spirit this year, but to be honest, 2010 was a pretty draining year. 2011 is looking to be way better already, but more on that at the end of the post. (I'm having fun with that! You have to stay until the end ;)

And once again, I handed Em a finished project and the camera. The colchmumblemumble scarf is done!

I"m really happy with this one, although I can't count apparently, and that gave me a few headaches!

Pattern: Colchicacae by Angelika Luidl (free pattern downloaded from Ravelry)
Yarn: MadelineTosh Pashmina in Tart, purchased from The Loopy Ewe
Needles: 3.75mm
Mods: Where do I start? I only had 360 yards, and the pattern calls for 500 yards. I went ahead and cast on, figuring that I could do less short rows in the garter section or something if it looked like I was going to run short.
Halfway through the short rows, I thought I'd have plenty of yarn, and was a bit surprised. It took until nearly the end of the short rows for me to realise that my short rows were *very* unbalanced.
When I went back and counted my stitches, I realised I'd made a major stuff up way back when I'd cast on. (Which had taken about 3 attempts, I might add!) Instead of casting on 345 stitches, I'd only cast on 325. The pattern repeat is 20 stitches, so I had no idea until I was near the end and my short rows were way off centre.

So I ripped out all the short row shaping, recalculated and just redid the short rows. It all worked out quite well in the end, because if I'd cast on the 345 stitches, I would definitely have run out of yarn.
But I'm very happy with it! And the Pashmina is just gorgeous! 75% Merino, 15% Silk and 10% Cashmere. 100% divine! It will be awesome in Winter!

And my other good news? A few days after my interview with Calico & Ivy, I got a call from one of the local council libraries. I had applied for a job as a casual library assistant way back in July. Because I hadn't heard back in 5 months, I'd more or less forgotten about it.
They called me in for an interview! And on Tuesday morning, they called me to tell me that I'd won the job. So after 9 1/2 years of being a stay at home mum, I suddenly have two jobs. Hooray! I figure the library job will help subsidise the spending I'll do at Calico & Ivy!

Happy holiday season to you all! We're trying for kind of lowkey here this year. Just us for lunch, with a family visit after lunch, then a trip to Manly on Boxing Day to sit ion the sun and relax while we watch the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. With a spot of knitting!