The task of knitting Christmas started in September. It began, as usual, with a perusal of Christmases past.

The Teabag bookmark had satisfied my office colleagues a few years ago. It was brooches another year – flowers, a leaf with a ladybird in situ, pencils for the Clerk to Governors, a bunch of lavender fronds for the gardener. Key rings the next. So, what now? Whatever it was, it had to be not too big, useful, quick to knit up while looking intricate and complicated as though I’d worked on it for weeks! And quirky. Unusual. These were the characteristics I was looking for, as well as making a dent in my stash. It needed to be challenging – a new stitch maybe, or a new skill – but also suitable for working on in front of the TV with minimal chance of error.

Bookmarks ticked all the boxes and while there are numerous patterns to be found online for classic bookmarks, the specifics took a while to pin down. Pretty, lacy, patterned, plain, tasseled – nothing really appealed, though one made as an experiment was snatched off my needles by my DH and put straight into active service. A bird in flight, interesting and delicate in the pattern picture, turned out the size of a budgerigar on my needles.  Bookmark Birds A Claire Garland Knitting Pattern

A wavy book worm grabbed my attention Curvy Bookmarks  found at Frankie’s Knitted Stuff but three or four failed attempts at curves right and left made the decision easy. If I couldn’t manage it with full concentration, what chance in front of Gogglebox?

A Flower Bookmark fit the bill, with a very simple technique for the flower head and i-cord for the stem.  Thank you, Amanda Berry.

After two or three reasonably presentable FOs under my belt, I needed a different challenge. A feather tickled my fancy; the Feather pattern offered four different sizes in different yarns and was repetitive and interesting enough to fulfil my needs. This pattern was yet another freebie from Frankie’s Knitted Stuff, which has been my go-to site for many of my projects over the years and had again come up trumps this Christmas.

The feathers were a great success and even with twenty notched up, they’re still an attractive project.  That’s the mark of a good pattern.

‘Pages, pages everywhere, nor any page to keep’ ……A bastardized line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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