Wee little shoes

I do feel slightly sad whenever I celebrate Christmas away from my family, but Christmas around here did go well. The kids behaved. The Christmas dinner that I cooked was the closest that I have ever come to my mum's standard (even my husband said it was great, which is, well, a rare comment when it comes to my cooking...). All my worries about my Christmas cake tasting like pure alcohol were unfounded (2 weeks ago, it did smell rather strongly of sherry...). My husband didn't even try it. Americans seem to be convinced that all fruit cakes are awful, no matter how much you try to persuade them that they can be moist and delicious. It's probably not a good thing that I have already finished it, is it? and the mince pies. and the chocolates...

My husband went all out this year and gave me a digital camera. He has managed to forget about Christmas in the past, so normally it's just a nice surprise if he remembers. So, there goes my excuse for being slow to post things on the blog. I guess I should just come clean now and tell you that I am a procrastinator, so that you keep your expectations low...
I do have a few things to show you, though: Itty bitty wee shoes. The theme wasn't planned - I must just have a subconscious leaning towards small footwear.

In the past few years I could never find time in the run up to Christmas to make any ornaments and this year was no different (excluding those that my kids have made). This year, however, I decided that there's still plenty of time left before the 12 days of Christmas are over and the decorations must come down. Here's what I've been making:

Wee ice skates:
Apparently these are an old idea, but I first saw them on the Montessori by Hand blog at http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/11/paper-clip-ice-skates.html.

Wee elf clogs: I found this pattern on the Allsorts blog at http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2007/11/ears-to-your-el.html. I added a loop so that they can be hung on the tree, too. My daughter, K, found one and tried putting it on her foot and stretched it, so I decided to stretch the other to match it. They looked better before...

And wee 'suede' booties:
Pattern by Candi Jenson found at http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/na_knitting/article/0,2025,DIY_14141_3148516,00.html. Ok, so that description should be singular. Confession #2: I started these ages ago, but chickened out of giving them as a baby shower gift (I worry about giving home made gifts) and put the solitary bootee to the side. I've only just started knitting the second one, although I don't know what I'll use them for. I'm using a different yarn to the one that is recommended and it is bloomin' awkward to knit with... Ok, I had better go and cook some dinner. I hope that you all enjoyed the holidays too and that the New year is a great one for you. Take care.