I started to write this just over a week into February and winter had not left us yet. On that day there was an almighty rain/sleet/hail shower battering the window and a ‘howling hoolie’. Orkney has some famous gales and with a weather station near the DL lair it’s easy to check up on wind speed, direction etc. Sometimes the line goes completely off the top of the graph!

Warm and cosy inside, I managed to finish the grandson’s jumper and get it posted away. The great news is that it fits and he loves it. Knitting my own sweater has taken a back seat as I started a hat at the ‘Cakes and Yarn’ knitting group last Friday and decided to carry on with that at home.

The  BIG TASK for the next week or so is the poor headless Viking. I have finally re-done the head and it now looks less like a Lego man but I’m having difficulty with his face. He needs to look a bit fierce and at the moment he is definitely not! I’ve sorted out the material for his clothes and made a start on his accessories (shield, axe, helmet, boots etc). In the photo he is wearing a short linen under-kirtle to protect his modesty!

Some of it is very tricky work having to use small stitches and sew through leather. I don’t think it is all that surprising that the smaller the piece, the more hours go into it.

I did say I would maybe show some photos of the crafts my friend and I have been trying out. We haven’t actually got any finished pieces from our laughable attempts at rug-hooking but have decided we might like to give it another go making it rag rugs the next time. Guess that will mean photos of the better attempts next month.