UK Swap Questionnaire 2 and a brief update

Am I the only one racing around like a headless chicken trying to catch up with myself? I spent twenty minutes in a baskets only queue in Iceland today and when we did the Asda supermarket shop this evening, there was still no let up, we happened to choose the till that the belt just broke down on the customer before us causing massive delays and eventually, having to move to another till. Still, with luck, there should be minimal shopping between now and xmas... fingers crossed!

Still no photos, what with there being less light about and by the time I get to blog there's only night light, but I'll catch up eventually. Nowadays, it's a pretty frantic turnaround in the mornings to get the dogs walked, breakfast eaten, shopping done, sorting office visited on a daily basis 'cos I'm out the house when postie calls (I heave a sigh of relief when it gets left with a neighbour or actually fits through!). Then it's off to the shop, picking up lunch on the way (or not as the case was today) where I can actually sit and relax and knit for a bit.

At least all prezzies have been duly knitted, arranged, purchased but not yet wrapped and I have continued to clear out the corner that the tree will reside in. It'll probably be a late Xmas Eve touch but better that than not at all! Why do we do this to ourselves?

Anyway, there's not a lot of photos to show you right now, as the latest stuff is either swap related or xmas related sooo...you'll just have to read the swap stuff instead (if you need to!).

UK SWAP QUESTIONNAIRE 2
What is your favourite neck warming pattern?

Ooh, I love the Noro Striped Scarf, Brooklyn tweed wrote up one version, such a simple idea but so effective. Tudora and Ice Queen from Knitty are two totally different but still beautiful patterns. The Boteh scarf (rav. link) looks a piece of crocheted art whilst the Celtic Cable Neckwarmer is one of a number of fab cabled patterns. Lacy Orca Tails and Anne Hanson’s scarves and neckwarmers like this and this and Spiraluscious, I adore her designs!
Once again, I like so many, there are too many patterns to list!

Do you have a favourite FO?
I’ve not really been a fan of knitting scarves/neckwarmers in the past, the idea of hours of straight knitting without something to entertain me didn’t appeal and if you’re doing a more complex pattern, why no expand it and make a stole or shawl? I have a commercial alpaca scarf which is lovely and warm but during my last cold, I was forced to knit a mini scarf with buttons to keep my neck warm and stop me coughing. Since then, I’ve got much more respect for this element of the craft! Stephanie Pearl Mc Phee’s got a lot to answer for too, with her recent addiction to the Noro Striped Scarf!

Is there a style of neck warmer you particularly like?
I’ve recently found use for both scarves and shortie scarfettes/cowls to protect my neck/breathe through in the cold weather. It's good to either have a button or two so I can get a close fit or a reasonable length to wrap around for the same reason.