The dark cold days of January

Winter is really hitting full swing this month, the first snow of the year arrived on Monday and it's not been above freezing during the day all week. Getting motivated to get out from beneath the duvet during dark and freezing mornings has been hard after the luxury of free time over the Christmas period. Despite the snow, there has been very little sun, the skies heavy with cloud or shrouded in freezing fog, these are times when I question why we don't hibernate! To combat the cold, meals have been hearty stews of cannellini, pumpkin and sausages or lentils, lardons and kale. Cheap, filling and most importantly of all, warming, served in big steaming bowls with a spoon.

On New Year's Day I started my very first Knit-a-long (or KAL). The pattern, a free Ravelry download, was for fingerless gloves with a cable down the centre. I used some sock yarn I've had for ages and finished two weeks later. I'm really pleased with the result, they are very pretty and fit perfectly. The pattern was very well written and simple to follow too. In addition I've also been practicing some crochet. Making some 'granny squares' to send to Tasmania to be sewn into blankets for those affected by the recent bush fires. These people have lost everything they own so I hope that these help in some small way.