Just what the Dr ordered - a civilized weekend in Mid- Wales!
We drove through miles of beautiful countryside, and whilst I spent 2 days at the show Matt got to visit family and spend an afternoon at the Red Kite feeding centre. He has some fantastic photos
I got to meet friends from all over the UK, Europe and Australia; learnt to use my drop spindle and how to ply the yarn I produced; found some new food sources; worked on the crochet reef; and I have some great souvenirs!
I'll just whisper a few of my purchases...
baby camel/silk
cashmere/ silk
wensleydale
baby alpaca
ebony circulars
a drop spindle
merino/tencel tops
mohair tops
and here is one of my favourite show characters
After a long and hectic day yesterday it was great to get home and find the new Yarn Harlot book and the Big Girl Knits 2 - even more enjoyable as I had the day off today so read and swatched until I was sleepy.
Today saw a minimum of effort at some outstanding chores and then a visit to I Knit London tonight for some more hyperbolic crochet. I lured Dawn down there with the promise of the Big Girl Knits book and managed to churn out a shape using a 1:5 ratio - it was looking a little flat but soon perked up when I found some red sparkly yarn in the donations box.
IKL had had a new delivery of books so two more came home with me - this time Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting and the Melissa Leapman cables book - that took care of my Grand National winnings!
It's been a while since I posted so I'll try to make a quick summary of the highs and lows...
Work has been stressful with end of year paperwork and the anxiety of waiting for the inspection report. I've had a few visits to the dentist for more work to be done on my teeth - the diabetes is playing havoc with my bank balance!
I've managed to visit I Knit London 5 times in the 3 weeks since they've opened - does that make it my LYS?
I did 2 days on the Relax and Knit stand at Olympia and got to play catch up with old friends and meet new ones. I also witnessed the most compulsive buyer at the show - I've never seen anyone clear the Black Sheep bargains quite so quickly - thank goodness I got there just before her to buy my bargain cashmere! The show was better than last year, I also spent more money! Some of the items were for gifts and others for experiments so you'll have to wait to see the outcome.
A few knitting projects have been started and have fallen by the wayside as I've fallen under the lure of hyperbolica so here's a selection of some of the bits I've created.
My latest book purchase arrived on Friday and I'm dreaming of lace charts - Sharon Miller has excelled again this time with The Lerwick Lace Shawl
I had plans for how to spend Sunday and then woke up and found this view
at least someone was enjoying it!
