What are the chances!?!?!??????

I have started knitting the bridesmaids wraps for Isabel's wedding. I am using some Kidsilk Night which I bought in the John Lewis sale in the summer - 2 balls - not enough for one whole stole!! Panic!! Well I just looked on Ebay and found enough to finish the one and knit the other 2. 'Wait!' I hear you cry..it's bound to be a different dye lot and it will look so silly with a slightly paler stripe down the middle! But No!!!! I enlarged the picture and I could read the dye lot and it's THE SAME!!!!!!!!!
I must appologise for the excessive use of the exclamation marks. I just feel a bit exclaimable at the moment. I have already stopped a passing library assistant to share my news!

Millie's Hat

As I still haven't quite decided how to add a picture when I am not on my own PC you must trust me that I have knitted a hat for Millie for Christmas. It is in a lovely space dyed Mirasol yarn which was so soft and lovely to knit. I have made it to accompany this lovely book .A blizzard is forecast and mummy rabbit offers to knit her child a hat to keep his ears warm. So delighted is he with it that he asks her to knit hats to suit his friends and so comes an antler shaped hat for the deer, one to keep a gooses neck warm and so on. There is a large aaaaahh! factor here. I love it!

Lost

On Wednesday evening between the checkouts at Ikea and Rosemary's house I lost a little card wallet. I've stopped my cards but I'm still feeling really sad about it. Rosemary and Isabel bought it for me some years ago and it also held photos of Millie, Rosemary and my Dad. There were also some labels from an old Grocers store which used to be next to Dad's barber's shop which a friend found and passed on to me. My loyalty card at the coffee shop was due to give me a free coffee and I had only to buy 1 more meal deal at Boots to get a free lunch! I know in the great scheme of things it is unimportant but...........I cannot fathom out where or how I lost it and it is puzzling me. I keep looking in the car and stupidly in my bag but it just ain't there. I am going to have to move on.

Rosemary's Shop

Rosemary has started a shop on Etsy. Please go and take a look.She has some lovely things - just in time for Christmas and I'm not even on commission, just the bag making assistant!

Harrogate

So that's another year gone by..... The Knitting and Stitching Show at Harrogate took place over the last weekend and Isabel and I chose to go on Sunday. Saturday had been an okay day but the weather forecast for Sunday was very worrying, however despite a bit of a snowy flurry before we left it was a lovely, if chilly day. The show was brilliant! We always really enjoy our day out. There is so much to see - not just trade stands but inspirational textile artists and students, fashion shows and workshops. Neither of us bought much but we were full of ideas. We went to the '50 minute fascinator' workshop but I'm not sure I shall be making one for the wedding - what if it collapsed during the service???
I have finished Rosemary's jumper and remembered to photograph it. I now have to work out, in the absence of the Internet on our home computer, how to get it on here.

SP13

The new round of SP is set to run and for the first time in my membership I have been paired in both directions with people in the US. Looking forward to making and receiving parcels again. I have been keeping a low swapping profile as the postage was getting so dear but I miss the postal excitement.

Special Saturday

What a lovely day I had last Saturday! First it was the Rowan coffee morning at John Lewis in Nottingham which has happily fallen on my Saturday off the last several times - it can't last. It's a really enjoyable couple of hours of peaceful knitting and Danish pastries. I had lunch in the coffee shop then crossed town to the Bead Shop where I met Rosemary and Isabel for a workshop in Chain Mail jewelry. What a challenge that was! I haven't done any kind of jewelry making for many years and then it wasn't much so to learn this completely new technique was a really big thing especially as I had just watched someone trying to teach a left hander how to crochet and felt really frustrated. My compliments to the patience of the tutor for the fact that I came away with a wearable bracelet and an urge to do more.