Grafting on the shortest day!

It's the shortest day of the year today.  There were Winter Solstice celebrations at Stonehenge, and here it rained and blew hard all day.  Damp, grey and dismal, but in my mind I can look forward to the days ahead getting longer, even if it is only by a few minutes each day.  And when I was in the garden yesterday, I caught sight of a daffodil shoot just breaking the surface of the soil - in December, for goodness sake!  But it is yet another little ray of hope that Spring follows the dark days of Winter.  We also give a thought to our 'second' home of Orkney, where the daylight is even less.  

So, onto the 'grafting'.  Hard work?  Well, yes, for me, as I'd not done this before.  I've finally reached the point of dealing with the shoulder seams of N's jumper, and as the body was done in the round, I felt the shoulder seams should be grafted, not sewn with a seam.  I had to look this method up, and after a couple of false starts (I really do need to pay attention!), I got the hang of it and have ended up with two grafted shoulder seams I am happy with.

I want the sleeves to be knitted up in the round too, but at the moment I'm trying to decide how many stitches to pick up around the armhole.  It's all very trial and error, as the whole jumper has been, and I think in future I ought to stick with a printed pattern; I'm finding the whole uncertainty surrounding the project rather unnerving =:o

We had a lovely time yesterday with friends, enjoying their hospitality and good food.  We seem to be on the same 'wavelength' about many things which is probably why we get on so well.  Without going into details, our get-together yesterday did all of us a lot of good - a bit of a kick-start that we were all looking for but had yet to quite find.  N and I so appreciated the effort that our friends had gone to - the decorations and attention to detail on the dinner table were beautiful, and made us realise that those little touches are important, and really do make a difference.  We both felt that is something we want to make more effort with at home.  It started us thinking about quite a few ideas and we feel that we will start the new year with many positives to take forward.  We have our friends to thank for that.  

We had Grandson No 1 with us this afternoon; he did a sterling job of keeping the two of us entertained!  Several rounds of I-Spy, Ludo (although that seems to go by a different name these days), a bit of footie on the television, and the afternoon whizzed by.  

We're keeping fingers crossed regarding the weather for tomorrow as my daughter is travelling to us for Christmas.  We'll check the ferry websites for any cancellations, but hopefully we'll see her tomorrow afternoon :))