It's a dull grey and damp afternoon in Ely so what better to cheer the soul than some knitting?

It was hibernating for a while over the frenzied knitting of the Ravelympics, but my criss-cross sweater reached completion last weekend. It's very soft and cosy, perfect for a day such as this, and I'm really pleased with the result. My own pattern, it's hip length with a basket weave cable hem for the body and sleeves, saddle shoulders and polo neck with the same cable. The main body's in stocking stitch; the cable pattern used up huge amounts of yarn. Worked mostly in the round, the yarn is Lang "Zoom", a 60% merino 30% cotton 10% nylon blend that I bought at Ally Pally 2 years ago. Each 50g ball has 135m, not bad for aran weight, so it went a long way, even with the dense cabled areas.

The other photo is of my final Ally Pally buy from this years show - 4 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug, colourway Venezia. I wanted to get 6, but this was the end of the day and I'd spent out so had to settle for 4! The pattern I wanted it for was a long sleeved rib sweater, but I'm sure I'll have enough for a sleeveless version anyway.

I've also made a scarf in hyacinth stitch with the Fyberspates mix but my photos are rubbish (blame the poor light!) so I'll do that next time, along with the thing I've just cast on.