Strike 2!

PSst, I wrote this yesterday because I actually am busy today. So much to read.....

So guess what? No internet at home. It didn’t work *shock*. But after all I have just started a new job (day 2 and counting) and so it’s not like I have any actual work to do yet or anything. In fact people keep asking me how it’s going and I keep saying ‘fine’ but actually I don’t see what I’m supposed to fill my time with. The stuff he asked me ‘to start investigating’ I wrapped up this morning with about 2 hours of googling and some well placed emails. And he seems rather over-worked to talk to me much. Plus the whole point of the job is that I am a self-starter so really I shouldn’t be abusing the IT facilities by just randomly writing my blog in a word document while it might look like I’m working. A*n*y*w*a*y….

So yes, knitting huh? Actually let me get a grip because I did go to knitting group last night in lovely golders green and had a ball. Nikki gave me the full rundown on sugar and why byrne-must-not-eat-it and she actually made it make sense and made it seem practical. Anyone wanting any nutrition advice go seek her out. Laura was there just being lovely as always. Julie has kicked her husband out, her daughter is now a crochet and knitting master (mistress?) despite abhorring the sight of her mum knitting up to about a month ago. Liz was on good post-wedding form. Joanne and the two women who’s names I can’t remember were there too and also f.a.b.. Feel like I’ve forgotten someone but not sure who. Anyway – I learnt bucketloads, and not just about sugar. Woo ha! It was basically a good evening because earlier on I had met up with lovely friend Louise and given her the curlywhirly scarf I made in james c brett marble and it looked wonderful on her and she seemed to really love it. She has asked for another in peacock blue and I admit I just happened to be on the woolly workshop website earlier and just happened to spot some cherry tree hill in a shade called ‘peacock’ and might have just happened to have bought a skein. Bad byrne but then she is my bestest friend and I’ll love doing it for her knowing that she’ll love receiving it.

Have been thinking many crafty thoughts recently – a lot of which revolve around fimo clay. Making crochet hook ends out of it. Covering cutlery handles with it. Fashioning circs with it (darling Pooch bought me some dowel rod as a kiss-and-make-up-present so I will be able to get going on my large, short circ experiment). Basically going to be a fimo weekend (I haven’t forgotten SP5 that I promised you a knitting badge from the next batch too!).

So anyway….my little sister who is 17 came and stayed the night with a 14 year old girlie mate on tues and do you know what? Neither of them had ever seen an episode of the A-team, or Dallas! How is it possible to live like that? I was trying to explain something to them and found we basically had no cultural references in common (yes, the A-team is cultural by god). They just didn’t do the 80’s at all and now they keep saying words I don’t know and everything is ‘random’ and there are specific groups of people. Chavs I knew about, pikeys I had heard of, but emo’s? Apparently they wear drainpipe trousers but there’s more to it than that and I just don’t get it. It was on this visit that the scales fell from her eyes and I have been unmasked as the ‘totally not cool older sister’ that I always feared I was.

OK, two more things. One: I got heavily into making stitch markers again but check out these little darlings….

I got the beads from ebay (where else?) and they are little glass cats. Got a couple of other things from her actually. If I can find the seller ID I will link to it but no promises. I have bought some leather cord or thong or whatever it is so I can wear them like a necklace pendant. They are just so cute.

And the second thing? No, I can't go on. Fatigue hits again. Will keep you guessing....

Pictures!

Pooch and I have just had another loving conversation that ended in swear words so I have exiled myself to the spare room and decided to blog my little heart out – for – friends – I have managed to coordinate laptop-at-home-with-camera-and-found-cable-and-have-downloaded-photos-so-can-load-them-up-tomorrow-at-work. Woo ha!

So where was I? Of course, the amazing ally pally. I seriously loved that show. I kept within budget and everything and everything I did there was fun fun fun. I started off on Thursday on the Relax and Knit stand. In fact I started there but by the time the show started I was looking after Silkwood’s stand as Les, Tess and Nic were all caught in traffic. So that was fun (and later earned me a discount on the spellbound bead co stand!). They all arrived in time poor things and started doing things properly so I beetled back to Yvonne and did a swatch in the splash stuff in rowan’s new range. I am seriously happy I never bought even one ball of this to try.
The splashy stuff is only on one side of the yarn and it really is very acrylicy. Just not good so let’s not talk about that again.

The number of pics I actually took there comes to a grand total of…..two. Yes, folks, not one, but two. The first was of Liz’s gorgeous mask that she was exhibiting on one of the stands.

And the second was of three girls in the queue for the toilet. You see they all looked so fabulous and I know they look like Sloane rangers in the making but they were actually very nice and bubbly and just looked so fabulous and exotic.

I spent hours wandering round and talking to people and bumping into lots of people I knew from blogging or other knitting events. I looked at *everything* and bought bits of almost all of it. Want to see the whole haul? Well, wait no longer….

When I first laid out this lot I just stood there and looked at it all. In fact I think ‘gloating’ is the word. I would occasionally move forward and touch something or pick something up and then carefully put it back again. This went on for quite a while. I even negotiated an evening of having it all on the table overnight with Pooch. So let’s have a look at it in more detail. Starting from the bucket shaped bag at top left…

I saw this bag last year at AP on one of the stalls and have spent a lot of time since then lamenting the fact I didn’t buy one. Can you make out all the pockets? There are tonnes. All over the outside and layered up and more inside – perfect for putting all sorts of silly things in. So what this means is that I now have a knitting bag. Yippeee! The little pots in front are red, yellow and blue kemtex acid dyes. Ooooh yeah Nickerjac, here I come in the whole dyeing thing! Have tried them out all ready but more of that later! Next we move round in a clockwise direction to….sock wool!

You can blame webof wool and Sue at …goddamn forgotten it’s name but they do lorna laces and cherry tree hill. Oooooo lovely stuff. Got some more of the Louisa Harding ribbon there too. Thinking ‘hat’ but not sure which one. And then on to….Colinette!

Yes, the Giotto got me at last. But I am really not going to attempt the colinette stand again at AP as talk about ‘scrum’. Quite nuts. Got two skeins in the monet and another one in creams and reds. Both fabulous and both crying out for me to finish the xmas knitting so I can get the hell on with stuff I actually want to do.

These are the lovely little clover bits I treated myself to. I have never actually had any clover accessories before so splurged on the chubi darning needle holder as I keep losing mine when they’re loose and a button making kit. Thing is these packets of buttons were all £4 on each stand but then was on the KCG website the other day and saw them for £3.20 and that’s pre-discount. Dear little KCG. I really must use them more. And on we go to….buttons!

I *love* buttons. No seriously. I really love buttons. I got all these ones and have been enjoying their loveliness ever since. I need to think of more to do with buttons. I just love buttons. Buttons, Mmmmm. Then…actually do you know those places where you buy something and then you try and go back there later you can’t find it? Terry Pratchett always descriobes them as ‘travelling shops’ and apparently the owner has been cursed by a wizard to potter about in time and space until something or other is in stock. That bis exactly how I would describe the Japanese fabric stall.


I got three fat quarters and here you get a better (?why?) view of the dyes as well. No, I don’t know what I’m going to do with them but I am sure something will occur to me. You can also see some of the magazines in the top left corner of that picture. I got two sandra’s and have taken out a three month subscription on the back of them. I have seen Sandra before and quite like the patterns (although admittedly am yet to knit something from one – hence only a three month sub as I want to see whether I’m getting anything from them.)

So is that it….? No wait, check out this bad boy.

A skein winder. And a really nice one too. New, wooden and spins like a dream – very balletic. And did I get any use out of it….well let me tell you!

22 balls later and I was done. So many skeins and all went so quickly and smoothly. Can’t believe I ever managed without one in the past. Combined with my ebay ball winder I was unstoppable. It was all getting a bit manic and obviously went to my head with the obvious result.

OK, am knackered and sure you can’t be arsed to read anymore so more another day….