Winding cable scarf; grey and brown

This is a scarf I finished last year, but never blogged about for some reason, which is peculiar since I have worn it once or twice... just never got around to photographing it, I guess.  I discovered it anew in my recent winter woolies sort-out.
I knitted it using a pattern that was just on two photocopied, typed sheets stapled together, from Calico and Ivy from where I bought the wool; so I expect it was probably designed by one of the talented ladies at that store.  The design is a cable but instead of twisting over and over the same way to finish up with that classic barley twist cable design; in this design the cable was twisted first one way then the other, so you end up with a meandering cable, that loops in and out of the scarf in a lazy snake-through-the-grass kind of a way.  It is cleverly reversible, so both sides look pretty much identical; thus satisfying a slight pet peeve of mine about right-side-and-wrong-side scarves...  The ends are tapered to a lovely curved arrowhead point, quite an unusual feature.  I should wear it more because I always get compliments for it, but I have this feeling that being of an eclectic mix of neutrals that it doesn't end up going with any colour much except for other neutrals!  Yup, I am very strict about how I mix my neutrals and my colours; I have quite firm views on which colours go together and which colours don't, and the shade is so vital and just has to be taken into consideration also... I know, pretty neurotic huh?
 Anyhoo, the long and short; this scarf looks great with other earthy neutrals, but I don't tend to ever wear it with any actual colours.  So perhaps not as versatile as I first envisioned when I selected this wool!
The wool is a Noro yarn, hand-dyed in Japan, and I'm afraid the tags with the type of yard and the colour  has long been tossed out.... so I cannot provide you with this info.  Sorry!


Details:
Scarf; hand knitted by me, using Noro yarns, to a design by Calico and Ivy
Brown top; Metalicus
Black top; Sexy Woman, found secondhand
Skirt; my own design; charcoal jersey knit
Tights; Spencer Lacy
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

Blue and pink hand-knitted cardigan

This is another thing unearthed in my winter woolies sort-out, that hasn't been photographed or written about here...
I do feel a bit silly for having forgotten about all these things... but here we go.
I started knitting this cardigan while I was expecting Sam, and then managed to finish it shortly after he was born, thus making it now exactly seventeen years old.  It's been worn a tonne, as you can imagine, like any casual garment is... I think I've even taken it camping.  Which now I think of all the work I put into making it immaculately and perfectly finished seems kind of sacrilegious... woops  Since this sort of big patterned knitted cardigan became very unfashionable some years ago I kinda stopped wearing it so much.  Although I think as I am wearing it today with a mini-dress and textured tights moderns it up a touch, brings it acceptably into this decade, yes?
It is knitted in the intarsia method, so each of those strips and little triangles of colour is knitted with its own separate little ball of wool.  I can remember knitting it; with masses of little balls of wool on their individual cardboard winders dangling off the back, occasionally getting caught and twisted up with each other, and painstakingly sorting them out, looping the old ball over each new one as each new colour block came up.  I was such a DIY-er (er, still am, I suppose!) I even made my own winders, cutting them out of old cereal boxes, refusing to buy the little plastic ones you see in knitting shops... they had little slits cut in them for the wool to sit through so the balls stayed neatly wound up and wouldn't unravel while I was knitting... 
In the best hand-knitter's tradition the cardigan has no knots in it.  All the loose ends are either spliced or woven in, or stitched in an interwoven method in the closest joining seam.  I learnt these finishing methods from my friend J, also a keen knitter, who had taken on work knitting for some big Australian hand-knit range... not sure which now, it might have been Jenny Kee, maybe not.  She had been sent instructions on how to properly finish off a hand-knit garment, and obviously knots were one of the biggest no-no's.  I'm ashamed to say we had both been knotting up until then... but we learnt from these fantastic instructions.  Since then I've always scrupulously stayed away from knots in any hand-knitted garment.


Details:
Cardigan; handknit by me, from various shades of Patons 8 ply pure merino wool.  The pattern was from a Patons pamphlet, no. 1105
Dress; Burda 8511 with modifications, purple raw silk, details here
Tights; Metalicus
Shoes; Francesco Morichetti, from Zomp shoes

below: the "wrong" side showing the intarsia knitting method with each block of colour a distinct and separate block with no loops of yarn across the back.  All the ends are interwoven into the joining seams, and there are absolutely NO knots!

Bluestone socks, and a new pet

Normally if one of my children brought home yet another new pet I would gently but firmly manoeuvre said pet back to where it came from.  Our house already passes for a menagerie.  However our new house guest is quite welcome, as he is economical on food, undemanding as far as expensive veterinary visits and vaccinations go, and will not add wear and tear to the garden and furniture.
I don't know what this little guy's name is, or whether he even has been given one yet.  He just turned up on our sideboard one day.  Unknown origins or parentage notwithstanding, he is already creeping into my affections with his gentle quizzical little face and sweet nature, not to mention the cheerful colour of his low maintenance coat.
Above, he is asking quietly and politely if we can go walkies now.
Below I am complying with his request.  Isn't he sweet?
In other new things, I have knitted some new socks... but I concede that that is small bickies compared to a new pet.


Socks; adapted from the pattern for Ladies Sockettes, from Patons Knitting Book C11, a 1960's publication, using Morris Empire Superwash Merino 4 ply in Bluestone (col 408) and with Beluga (col 430) heels and toes.