Halloween stitch markers

The clocks went back last night and I was interested to see the my tv, phone and laptop could sort themselves out but I have to interact with my alarm clock, 3ds and oven. Since I bought ringOs in the summer, I've been looking forward to the halloween seasonal special sets.

I've started crocheting amigurumi and knitting stitch markers aren't useful at all so I bought some split rings too. They are not the main event.

Three sets of ringOs!  I only bought one tin which comfortably fits 30 standard size markers.

Jack O Lantern are black and orange and orange and black.

Wicked Witch are black and green and green and black. Both of these were available last year so I was planning to combine them with the Vampire's Kiss red and black set I already have.  However, a third set was created:

Poison which are purple rings with black and green beads.

I'm not just buying things, I'm also knitting.  I'm up to 110 out of 150 on my dad's xmas present so I'm well on the way to finishing before December.  I'm also correcting several pairs of socks which are painful to wear.

Paralympics and Christmas knitting

Back when everyone else was still fighting over Olympic tickets, I went straight for Paralympic tickets and ending up with three days full of paralympic greatness. I'm going again tomorrow, but here are some pictures from the park venues from Wednesday.

When I booked the tickets, there was almost no interest in the paralympics but I thought more people would want to join in once they'd been unable to get olympic tickets.  I didn't expect it to be the first paralympics to be sold out though.  I think Channel 4 have done a great job of promoting it even if the coverage hasn't felt as comprehensive as for the olympics.

Having seen the stadium so many times on tv, being there in person felt amazing.  After about an hour of cheering, I was already hoarse.  A few more hours trotting around, including spiralling down the orbit, and I felt like you needed to be an olympian to survive a day at the paralympics.  

My legs are still sore but whining about sore legs is probably a faux pas when surrounded by super athletes.

I'm making great progress on my dad's xmas present.  It's Tiger's Head Illusion by Steve Plummer.

At this early stage, about 40 rows (20 ridges) in, I can't really see the pattern yet, especially as my needle is too short for it to lie flat.  There's a fluffy bit in the acrylic which may need removing at the end.  I had to buy two 100g balls each of brown and cream but I expect to use about 150g of each colour.

I was supposed to finish an existing project before starting a new one, but I keep wanting to use my stitch markers and choosing projects accordingly.  This project has 150 main stitches with three edge stitches making a total of 156. I've marked each edge, with dusky sunset ringOs, every odd 10 sts with simple solid oval markers, every even 10 sts with breakfast at tiffany's ringOs, with the 70th and 100th st marked by and XL ringO.  See, I did need all sorts of millions of ringOs after all.

Dilemma

I've finished my Mum's Christmas present (aside from blocking)and here is a sneaky peak. I thought I might run out of yarn and have to use another colour to finish it off, but I had a little left over to spare.

I have tidied up nicely - there is far less of a yarn explosion feel about the living room now, although there is still plenty of yarn debris around.

So my dilemma is was this: do I start my Dad's Christmas present or finish a WIP? I think we all know the answer to that.