A tender moment between husband and wife

Today saw a trip to Taste of London in Regents Park. It was disappointing -the stalls and people behind them were good but it was disorganised and too crowded. The organisers were hostile and despite an entry fee of £35 a head we got thrown out at 4pm so the next load of punters could be jammed in. The food I had was great but the crowds put me off going to quite a few stands. We spent quite a lot of time drinking cocktails at some vodka tent. I won't go again. This was one highlight though...

Don't they look amazing? We bought a pouch of them and Pooch is going to make risotto. I love mushroom risotto. As well as mushrooms the dream team was also present, a la Meado and Denning.

Ladies, they're available and 50% of them are actively looking for love. The other is kind of passively open to opportunities as long as I don't set them up. He hasn't done too well at the end of my cupidesque activites in the past.

Getting out of SE london was a bit epic today as the jubilee line was down. Getting back thought was worthy of a 3-page saga with supporting chorus. Had to wait 45 mins to get on the third boat that arrived because of the crowds. Only thing that kept me from garotting someone with my circular was having gone to the Liberty sale beforehand. Rowan Silk Cotton £25 for a full pack.

Am trying not to instantly cast on this since I just spotted it on Ravelry. Think it will be perfect. Also a full pack of Rowan Summer Tweed also £25.

They also had tonnes of kid silk crack for half price too. Never really liked it though myself so left it alone. Lots of other cotton though and a fair few other bits as well as masses of japanese tourists taking photos. Definitely worth a visit if you are nearby.

Today made me wonder, how many photos are we each in the background of that we don't know about? Or even in the foreground. Look at this guy for instance.

I was a bit squiffy by this point and so taking quite a lot of photos but there he was sitting in the middle of a space on a bar stool looking pretty suave and so on yet undoubtedly alone. The stool was in no man's land between the proper tables and the bar. Definitely not at the bar. Just standing there all by itself. Intrigued me. I once had my photo taken in Camden for a japanese fashion magazine (streetwear type thing they have nowadays in one of those free london evening papers - the yellow one, not the purple one.) I was with my sister Sian and I like to think she was impressed at my stylishness but I think maybe she saw it as further evidence of how fricking weird I looked. I never saw the magazine (in retrospect, was it a fashion mag or did I have my skirt tucked into my pants or did I look hairy or something more specialist?) just as I'm guessing that guy isn't into knitting blogs so will never see himself in public view. Er yeah, no conclusion to come to on that one.

Answers to questions in recent comments:
1. Yes, they are real.

2. Where is the baby cardi pattern from in the last post? It is from "Impact Moda Issue 7" available from McA Direct or their shop in Edinburgh. It is something insane like £7 (for one book!) but does have some lovely basic pattern in it for babies and toddlers. Are at least 3 other things I want to make and am teaching a beginner class (at work!) next week so will be perfect for that. Pattern is on Ravelry here.

3. Tawashi patterns. The octopus isn't by me - I got it in a swap but there is a list of Tawasi pattern on Ravelry in the Tawashi Town group forum. It may be one of those? The ones I made are the furry mitt (my own pattern) and the flower.

4. Whether or not it is summer in the UK at the moment is the start of a discussion likely not to end til the rain stops. And that could be some time. Actually it hasn't been that bad but apart from some lovely sunshine at the beginning of May we haven't been doing so well so far. Today being the first day of summer of course means that it is all downhill from here so expect a return to thermals any minute.

Librivox, Swap-Bot, ... and some other stuff (picture heavy)

I have finally got on with my part in a collaborative project on Librivox. It is a knitting book from 1800 and something called Exercises in Knitting by Cornelia Mee. Project Gutenberg freetext version is here for anyone to look at but it is written in old-school words and certainly isn't easy to decipher for modern knitters. Plus no pictures. So the Librivox group is updating the patterns and swatching and then recording. Deadline is 1st Oct and I am really excited about it! I've taken number 30, swiss pattern for edging mittens. Initial swatch without matched decreases...

Second, and my favourite, pairing k2tog and psso.

Lastly I tried pairing k2tog with k2 tog through back of loop.

I'm going to record on sunday. Woo ha!

Other things making me happy are the packages I've had from swap-bot. The all things red swap...

The socks are awesome - have worn them already.
Pants swap (well, we all need them right?) (mostly)

Newbie swap

I also took part in a swap on Ravelry for Tawashi. This is what my partner sent me.

So cool!!! Check out this little buddy...now lurking on the side of the bath looking menacing but cute at the same time.

I have been doing some proper knitting too though. I had a bit of an anticlimax when I finished the main knitting on Mermaid. I'm still not sure about it. I haven't sewn in ends or sorted the bottom edge or the fastening yet. I've bundled it up to think about for a while. This is it on me.

and then Pooch took a fancy to it.

Bit gappy at the back though.

I've also been to Edinburgh this week and so used the most useful google map in the world to see where I should go. Jenners is basically John Lewis when it comes to knitting. But McAree Brothers (also online as McA Direct) is another kettle of fish. That place is basically what every knitting shop should be. 3 charming staff, one male (shock), helped me out. Great selection. Good prices. Lots of specials. Lots of notions. Lots of buttons! i.e.

They also had a good selection of models knitted up and there was one I just fell in love with. It doesn't happen often to me but I immediately bought the pattern book and even the recommended yarn. Here it is.

I have cast on but not having swatched I think I need to go up a needle size so am going to frog and start again.

So yeah, phew, hadn't realised how much I'd done since I last blogged. Almost forgot - I also went to the stitch n bitch world knit in public event. Here we are in Soho Square.

It was good but as I joined later in the day it seemed a bit of an anticlimax. Didn't know anyone there but soon got chatting - you know how an enquiry about a sock pattern can bring people together!