Misty Mountain

Wonderwool Wales 2013

What a splendid day!  I guess it really is an annual highlight, a day I always look forward to and manage to enjoy regardless of the weather, or anything else.  Well after the freezing temperatures and incessant rain of last year this year's Wonderwool was very pleasant.  We had an early start.  I left home at 8am to meet my 'Stitch 'n' Bitch friends at Llandeilo wearing my new cardigan, featured at the end of the previous post, and a newish made Harmony Shawl.  I had been to the Post Office on Friday to get some cash to spend, but decided once I arrived in Llandeilo that I might need more so I stopped off at the cashpoint and my instincts proved to be correct.

We all piled into one car and continued on our merry way chattering and laughing as usual and arrived early.  There was a queue to get in!  It didn't hamper a speedy entrance but we had never managed to be quite so early before.  Anyway, we started with a cup of coffee, arranged where we would meet up for lumch and then off we went on our separate ways to look, and talk and of course spend.

So... here it is... my Wonderwool booty laid out on the bed in all it's glory!

I had gone determined to be disciplined this year.  In previous years I have bought gorgeous yarn, but often only one or two skeins and there is a limit to the number of hats, scarves, gloves and small shawls anyone needs.  So this year I was determined to buy at least some yarn in sufficient quantity to make garments with and I'm a big girl so I need a lot of yarn!

So starting from left to right...

2 lovely skeins from Willow Knits, so soft and silky

Recycled sari silk for making bags and some Opal sock yarn because it was pink!

The usual rainbow of mohair from Mobear and down at the front some sock yarn from Sparkleduck which I love, some lovely soft alpaca in blue and a pink/grey brown mix from Alexandria Alpacas and in the middle of this picture two piles of gorgeous yarn from Jon at Easyknits.  I will admit that this latter was one of the items I had gone specifically to get.  That pink is truly fabulous and I wish I had bought the plain peachy shade to match the variegated Splendour silk mix.  In fact I may just go check out the website and see if they have any...  Finally some more of those fabulous buttons I discovered last year on the far left of the pic.  Jon's partner also let me have a load of their fabulous patterns.  I was a very lucky lady!

Next...

Some Jester yarn with it's added random pom poms, no idea what I'm going to make with it but it just completely intrigued me!  Some more sock yarn, because I liked the colours and a pattern for a domino knitted cardigan that I will have to adapt and then some to get it to fit me (I think the biggest size is 42" bust which a good 6 inches too small, I did say I was a big girl.) but I already have a lot of Opal Say it with Flowers sock yarn to use on it and as it's modular it should be adaptable if I can just be patient enough to knit all the darn squares!  Below that is some fabulous cotton in a vivid peachy pink from Bulldog Crafts.  I have been wanting to make myself Jewel by Doris Chan for some time now, but I want it to be a top and not come out as a sweater so finding the right cotton yarn is vitial for it to have the right drape and be something that I can wear next to my skin and this cotton is exactly right!  I will probably have to do some serious swatching to get the right guage but I can handle that if the top comes out okay.  I am also going to try the same top in the bright pink merino I got from Easyknits.  In the middle is the bargain mohair I got from Texere Yarns.  10 balls for £20 for making christmas scarves with. 

Next...

The Natural Dye Studio on the right, patterns and some aran and dk and finally some fabulous yarn from The Old Piggery and Alpaca/Cashmere/Silk blend that is incredibly soft and for which I have plans for a knitted shawl and couple of fingerless glove kits that I bought for the patterns because I loved them.

Finally...

I simply couldn't resist this!  He's so soft and gorgeous and I love him to bits and I've decided to call him Aloysius.  Aloysius Alpaca!

It really was a splendid day.  Lovely to meet up with all the folks who's yarn I buy avidly on line, especially Jon and his partner from Easyknits and Amanda and Phil from the Natural Dye Studio. 

Well I guess I'd better go get on with some crochet.  Need to finish one or two projects so that I can start using my lovely new yarn.

Love O. xx 

 

 

Beltain Morning (and a humungous great catch-up)

So much for posting at least one entry a week!  Ah well...

Today for Beltaine I are mostly being a daffodil...

I decided in a fit of pure self indulgence to wear my bright yellow polka dot blouse and my flowery cardigan to match my flowery clogs...

And of course the inevitable bright stripey socks... wouldn't be me if I wasnt wearing bright stripey socks now would it.  Like I said, pure self indulgence.

Well we intended to get up and go to the sea for the sunrise ceremony but when the alarm went off at 5am, he, who is usually up with the lark at 5am every morning, didn't even stir!  I admit I found it completely hilarious, particularly when he finally did stir at 5.20 and declared that the alarm hadn't gone off!  That brought on the giggles which was probably a good way to start the May Day celebration anyway.  So we did the sunrise ceremony in the garden in our dressing gowns and had mugs of tea to salute the sun, which was, of course, shrouded in mist when it finally rose.  (See blog title!)  Long gone are the days of dressing up and heading to Avebury overnight with all the trappings needed for a major sunrise celebration, we are older now, that's our excuse and we're sticking to it.

Now the Beltaine breakfast table is set...

And himself is preparing the feast.

Which we have just eaten...
And yes I know it's a veritable heart attack on a plate, egg, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, black pudding, tomatoes topped with cheese, toast 'n' marmalade and coffee with cream, about the only healthy bit was the orange juice but I refuse to feel guilty.  I'm doing the Race for Life again this year so I'm getting in 10k a day on the eliptical trainer so... no guilt here.

I am also in love with my little butterfly table cloth.  I found it in a little linen shop near the market in town and just had to bring it home.

I have also been indulging my quest to live inside my own personal rainbow and gradually over the last month or three I've been buying odd bits of RiceDK because it's bright and cheerful and wonderfully colourful.  It is also part of my kitchen revamp which has been going on quietly over the last couple of months, we aren't quite done yet but I am totally thrilled with my lovely new sink...

I love the 'old fashioned' mixer tap and the new worksurfaces.  We haven't quite finished the cupboard fronts yet because himself is in the middle of the painting but it already looks so much better than the awful dilapidated old brown sink with it's peeling taps that I couldn't turn off at all and chipped and scratched old formica worktop that looked permanently dirty no matter how much you cleaned it.  And no Phaolin didn't get any eggs! 

On an entirely different tack Sunday was Wonderwool Wales and what splendid day it was.  With a bit of luck I will post pictures of all my booty some time this week because in usual Beltaine tradition I am now on holiday for a week. Yippeee!!!

There has been a fair bit of crafting going on since the snow post, not surprising I guess, when isn't there crafting going on where I'm concerned.  I decided back in January that this was going to be the year the monster rainbow ripple got finished... I have been working on it off and on for a while but because we never got round to doing the bedroom there was no rush to finish it and a load of other stuff got made in between.  The plumbing situation forced us into getting the kitchen done which was actually gonna be the last room we tackled but I am determined the bedroom will get done one way or another so, the monster ripple that began like this...

And grew to this...

Now looks like this...

I am almost halfway through the second colour round.  Ran into a bit of a problem with this blessed Biggan First Cross Merino yarn AGAIN... I love this yarn, I really do but actually getting hold of the stuff is like a major operation every time. I realised that I had made a mistake in my last order to the UK supplier and gotten a deep red instead of a lovely sage green!  (Transposing numbers in an order just sucks big time) Never mind I thinks I'll just order another ball of the right green.  So off I go to my UK supplier only to find they don't stock it anymore, and niether it seems does anyone else!  Oh well no worries Biggan have their own online shop I'll get it from there.  Which I did.  Over two hundred aussie dollars worth, in order to get free shipping, I ordered the yarn for the border as well.  And to my absolute horror then had to pay an extra forty quid customs charges and a handling fee from the post office!  Biggan, I love you, honestly I do, your yarn is some of the best available for those of us who want true dyed colours, but seriously, that made this blanket cost... well, a lot... 26 colours, 2 balls of each colour, each ball costing at least £5 plus the extra $200 AUS for the border, I'll let you all do the math!

There have been a number of other projects done this year but I guess the one I am most chuffed with is the one that I made in a week, last week to be precise.  I had some Drops Nepal aran for another project that no matter what I did just was never going to fit me so I got out my Doris Chan pattern book and hooked up this...

I'm calling it my 'Cupcake Cardi,' himself chose the buttons.  I got out all my button boxes and sifted through picking out the ones I had enough of to go down the front and then asked himself which he thought looked best and he picked the cupcakes! 

I wore the cardigan to Wonderwool on Sunday with a shawl I haven't taken any pictures of yet.

Well having not posted anything for months I seem to have managed to make up for it a little with this post, so now I am off to bake... cupcakes.  Beltaine cupcakes!  Yummy!

Take care!  O. xx

 

 

The snow in bitter cold fell all the night...

Well from about 3am onwards apparently.

And we woke up to a 'white world.'

Phaolin loved it...

 

Of course he totally overdid it and we had 3 legged dog for the rest of the day, but considering that by the following morning he was raring to go and play in the snow some more I guess there was no real harm done.

I am so in love with this picture of Phaolin laying in the snow :)

Actually it was a pretty good week.  Friday was himself's birthday so I baked

36 miniature cupcakes!  I iced some as you can see and left the rest plain in case the iced ones were too sweet for the birthday boy.  They weren't and significant inroads have been made into the sweet feast.  Himself wanted to know why I had waited nigh on 20 years into our relationship to start baking regularly!  After the shortbread and gingerbread at Christmas he seems to be quite taken with my baking!  I'm taking it as a win!  In reply to his question all I had to do was look pointedly around our farmhouse kitchen... I'd defy anyone to not want to cook/bake in it.

I took the actual day of himself's birthday as a holiday from work, which coincided with our major snowfall so we had a splendid day taking Phaolin out in the snow and then cosying up inside.  We had bought all the necessary ingredients for us to make home made pizza for dinner and they were truly splendid and when we weren't stuffing our faces with pizza we played our latest MMORPG together or sat curled in front of the fire and TV.

Well we still have snow and being half way up a mountain we are somewhat cut off and if it doesn't thaw soon we will have to resort to using the powdered milk.  Not that I mind, I'm kinda partial to powdered milk if the truth be told, but it would be useful to be able to get to the end of the road at least

In complete contrast to the snow, on the final shopping trip before it all came down I bought these...

They were only a pound a bunch in Marks and Spencers so I bought two and they've been sitting on my kitchen table and in my conservatory cheering me up through all the cold snowy days this last week or so.

It has been a seriously picture postcard world for the last few days.  Been along while since we had snow like this here, being so close to the sea we usually miss out on all the powdery white fun, not this time.  There's an unusual peacefulness to a world free from traffic, where almost everyone chooses to stay home.  It's as if the snow forces the world to move at a slower pace and in my view that's no bad thing.  The only slight drawback for me is that because I work from home there is no such thing as a 'snow day.'  :)

I think I can honestly say I have never seen so much snow on our trees.

And finally...

Snow dog in snow.

O. xxx

Weekend Musings

There's nothing nicer than that point on a Saturday evening when you sit down to read with a glass of your favourite single malt knowing that the weekend is only half over and you still have the whole of a blissfully relaxing Sunday still to go.  Especially when you have managed to get most of what you planned to do done on the domestic front and there's nothing spoiling, no huge pile of laundry or ironing to be tackled, the house is reasonably clean and the crochet projects for next Christmas are all started!!

I was oddly taken with Lucy's crochet Christmas Wreath but I knew there was no way I was going to get one made especially as I was busy with my own Festive Bunting.  However it made a lovely little project to potter around with over Christmas, happily hooking up all the bits and pieces I would need to make some kind of woolly wreath concoction of my own all ready for next year.

 I had a happy time making little pom poms and stuffed crochet balls, and holly leaves and then gathering together all kinds of christmassy odds and ends off crackers and gift wrap and so on.

I've been doing odd little bits for this over the last week or so, starching my stars, one blue one got lost in the bottom of the basket and missed the starching process as you can see.  Deciding on buttons, hunting out my ribbon stash ready for the flowers.

And of course all the lovely old fashioned ric-rac braid...

No idea how this is going to come out but I'm having a really fun time pottering around with it.

Besides the wreath and the corchet presents for next year I have been keeping to my resolution to get one with my monster rainbow ripple.

I had completed the first round of the 26 colours and am now 8 colours into the next round.  I have to admit I'd frogotten how easy and relaxing this pattern is.  It's very pleasant to sit in a evening and just hook along while I watch TV or listen to the radio.  And speaking of hooking along...that's exactly what I'll go and do.  O. xx

After the Winter Festival

There's a distictly bare feel to the house today.  the decorations have all been taken down and everywhere needs a seriously good dust with my new ostrich feather duster.

The big sitting room has gone from looking like this...

 

To looking much more like its usual self.  I can never decide whether to be happy or sad about the end of hte Winter Festival.  In the past the New Year always brought with it that sense of new beginnings and a spirit of adventure as to what the year would bring.  Perhaps it's a symptom of getting older, but now I find myself more reflective as I sit at my desk transferring those all important bits of personal information into my new diary.

All those pages just waiting to be filled with plans and events and reminders and memories, all the minutiae of daily life here on Misty Mountain.

All this rather pensive reflecting was not helped by another kind of sad thing I felt I just had to do this year.  I have done a serious culling of the Christmas Card List.  I try very very hard not to get sad and angry when people can't be bothered to sign a card, stick a sstamp on it and put it in the post, but I find myself asking the same question every year.  If I can manage to hold down a full time, pretty high level job, run a home, take care of my very elderly parents, keep in touch with sundry other elderly relatives etc etc etc and still manage to get several dozen cards written and sent so that they get there in time for Christmas, including ones to far flung places with early posting dates, why the hell can't other people manage to at least return the sentiment.  Yeah I get that some people make a conscious decision to send e-cards and do other things with their money and that's absolutely fine by me because choosing an e-card can take just as long as choosing a snail mail card and brings just as many warm hearted wishes with it.  It's those people (and we all have them) who just never seem to make the effort and then spend their time coming up with excuse after excuse about how busy or just plain disorganised they are.  I have decided that it s pobably better to be without those people than to keep on getting upset over them. There aren't that many after all, and why let the thoughtlessness of a few upset me?  So that's it, decision made, names crossed out, Christmas Yearbook updated... RANT OVER!  This is supposed to be my happy corner of cyber space but I just had to get that off my chest.

Moving on...  Peeping in at the corner of my diary picture is a lovely colourful heap of old fashioned ric-rac braid waiting for this years projects.  I used to love this stuff as a child and remember hours of fun with my grandmother decorating dolls clothes and appliqueing felt items to be given as little gifts to my mother and my aunts.  I began work on a festive wooly wreath a la Lucy but after I had finished my jolly festive bunting there wasn't enough time to get the wreath done as well so I will finish it this month and set it aside for next year.  It will be the first project that uses up some of my lovely new braid.

And of course there were buttons, there are always buttons.  The name on the packet made me smile when it brought back memories of the hours of fun my granny's button box gave me as a child.

Well I guess it's time to have tea and relax with some more crochet.

O. xx

 

2012 in Crochet and Knitting

Having another go with this blog and decided to start with a round up of 2012 crafting.  A poor year for blogging but not a bad one on the crafting front so here are just a few of the completed projects in 2012.  There were other items that I gave away and forgot to take pictures of and some that didn't quite get finished but I'm pretty pleased with most of the things that got made. 

The biggest item was the patchwork granny blanket and I am very pleased with the result.  I have enough yarn left to make a matching cushion so that will be one of the things on the list to make in 2013.  I guess the one I'm most proud of is the Doris Chan sequined evening jacket.  I love the sequined yarn, the jacket fits perfectly and I made it! 

Because we intend to get the bedroom done this year I have taken the rainbow ripple out of hibernation and intend to get it finished this year so that it can finally take up its rightful place on our bed...

I have decided to add a border when the blanket reaches optimum size because I think it will help it to keep its shape as well as adding about 6 inches of overhang on each side of the bed.  Looking forward to getting this one done.

I also have plans to make some fingerless mits to match the totally mad tasseled hat shown in the mosaic and maybe some legwarmers too.   I already have all the matching Mini Mochi yarn so its just a case of 'getting on with it!'

Which is precisely what I intend to do right now.  Hopefully there'll be another entry in the not too distant future meanwhile if anyone happens by this post Happy 2013!

Happy day after Valentines Day!

I intended to post this yesterday, but the day just got away from me completely and in the end himself and I simply sat together to watch a few shows at the end of the day.  I was even gonna take the day off but I looked at my work calendar and realised that if I did that then all the conference calls arranged for Monday would simply be re-arranged for later on in the week which would simply increase the workload overall.  So in the end it was a normal day with the usual amounts of love and laughter but with extra cards and roses on top.

Above is a picture of my valentines day gift to himself, or part of it anyway.  I made a crochet heart for each day of the week.

In varying sizes and colours, different on each side...

Added the beaded tails.  Then crocheted different lengths of loops to make a

Bunch of Valentines Hearts

The credit for the hearts pattern goes to Art of Crochet by Teresa and the Youtube link to the on line tutorial is here.  There is a link to the written pattern under the Youtube video.

The idea for the bead decoration came from Lucy at Attic24 - her Christmas Bauble idea.

On a totally different topic the ladies on the Attic24 Ravelry group have been having a dicsussion about pattern copyright, pattern tweaking, pattern ownership etc which has been very interesting to follow.  On a personal note I do always try to give credit for patterns and yarn that I discuss on here and make it very clear that I am not passing patterns I have bought or found on line off as my own.  However, like all human beings I may forget sometimes and if its just a picture of something I made recently then I don't always see the need to go into details.

I was taught to knit, sew, crochet, embroider, cook, bake, wash and iron by my grandmother between the ages of four and eight.  She taught my two male cousins too.  I consider myself very fortunate in this and admit that I can look at a picture of finished item and usually work out how to make it pretty quickly.  However, personally I prefer to buy my patterns, where I can, because it saves time, and it keeps pattern makers employed so they come up with more lovely patterns for me to try. 

Like these from Gourmet Crochet  Aren't they just gorgeous and the two booklets cost me the grand sum of $16.  I am well thrilled with these little gems.

Of course the issue of vintage and out of print patterns is rather different and I am not sure where I stand on whether or not these patterns should be posted on the internet.  On the one hand it is great to make beautiful patterns available for people to try and to enjoy.  On the other hand are we stealing?  One assumes royalties on such patterns are no longer being paid so where is the harm?  Unlike reproducing a pattern from a book still in print from which the designer may be relying on royalty payments for their living.  Maybe I'm just over complicating the whole thing.  It was a very lively and interesting discussion that raised a lot of good points and tricky points and obvious points and points we folks just hadn't thought about at all. 

Well that's my Valentines Hearts and thinky thoughts entry for today!

Take care all.  Love O. xxx

Long time... no update

So it's half way through January 2011 and this is my first post of the year.  I intended to be so good this year and try to post at least once a week but it looks like I fell at the first hurdle.  Ah well, never mind.  the world won't end for lack of a blog update from me, that's for certain!

The picture above is one of my Christmas presents from himself.  I bought myself a swift in Autumn last year and for Christmas I was given the ball winder to accompany it.  I love love love love love it!  I gave himself a few links to try to get one but it was the lovely ladies at First 4 Yarns who helped him out and ensured that the winder was here in time to be in my stocking.  As you can see I have already put it to good use winding a dozen or so skeins of my gorgeous Natural Dye Studio Dazzle DK. A job that used to take hours is now done in a matter of minutes with no mess, tangling, swearing, and/or the general frustration that can accompany hand winding skein after skein for a blanket.

Another christmas present I received from himself was a 'Kindle.'  I had asked for it because holding bigger books, especially in bed, to read for any real length of time has become increasingly difficult.  However, a bit of investigating showed another splendid use for it.  All my dowloaded crochet patterns can be sent to the Kindle which means no more carrying around crumpled sheets of A4 that get torn and spilled on and lost.  Now I can send them to the Kindle and that's all I need to carry with me.

Splendid device!

Of course having gotten the Kindle I had to crochet myself a case for it didn't I...

Here it is on the sofa, along with my latest Cath Kidston catalogue.

In return for the above himself deserved something truly special and I think the completed blanket fitted the bill perfectly.

It's made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK in heathery colours suitable for a bloke!  And he loves it.  It has taken up permanent residence on the back of the sofa...

And gets used every day.  If you ever want to make a luxury blanket for a special person then this yarn is the one to do it in.  It's so thick and soft and makes for a very very snuggly blanket.

I made a selection of other Christmas gifts for various people and some of Lucy's Christmas Baubles.

This is the first collage I've ever done and it isn't very good, but you get the general idea.  Anyway, himself is away visiting his folks this weekend so I have loads of hooky time all to myself.  Hopefully I will manage to update faster next time.  O. xx

November

I can't believe it's November already!  Where did the year go?

Just a quick update because I haven't posted in so long.  So what have we been up to since the ages ago when I last posted?

Well the weather has turned colder, that's for certain.  I've started wearing polo necked sweaters under my smocks.  Time to get the sock needles out and start knitting lovely scrummy thick socks for the winter.  Speaking of thick socks, bonfire night was something of a wash out.  We had to keep Phaolin in last night but there was really very little to see.  I felt so sorry for all the families looking forward to a  bonfire and fireworks outside and now it's still raining and the wind is getting steadily stronger. 

After the shenanigins of last week end we still had our Samhain pumpkin sitting there unused so this morning I made pumpkin cake and pie, delicious.

I have to admit the batter tasted rather good - it's a guilty pleasure and I know I shouldn't indulge but it brings back all those memories of home baking with mother and nan and being allowed to 'lick the bowl!'

I think I must be the worlds messiest baker, mashed pumpkin everywhere. 

Once that was all done I sat down with my yarn and hook and watched the Brazilian grand prix while outside it slowly became one of those nights when it's good to be inside, all cosy and warm with a glass of good wine and some crochet.

Right now I'm back to crocheting but having gotten a head start on the Christmas presents I decided I needed to do something small and different so last week I turned to the knitting and made these...

I loved this pattern when I first saw it...

I looks even cuter when it's being worn!  I'm kinda pleased with the way it came out.  So tomorrow it's back to the Christmas presents.  Himself put in an order for one of my crochet flower wreaths for his mum so I have to get on with that soon and of course we will begin our usual pre Christmas clean up this week.  I am determined to get ahead of the game this year, in case we have a repeat of last weekend or one of use catches the usual winter cold.  I'll post pictures of the completed Christmas presents soon.  Love O. xx

Vacation...

This was the last rose in the garden, from an old old rose bush that really needs to be dug up, but I just can't bring myself to do it, when each year it produces a half a dozen beautiful, deep jewel toned, perfect roses.  *sigh*

So after the bank holiday health scare I am just over half way through my three week vacation and I have been thoroughly enjoying myself doing... very little.

 

This picture is of the nightdress case and coat hangers I made for my friend from Colombia.  She fell in love with the granny stripe blanket but there wasn't enough time to make a blanket and anyway it would have required a suitcase all to itself, so I made her a nightdress case and a couple of coverd coat hangers instead, using some left over yarn from the blanket so she still had all the pretty colours.

I lined it with some pale yellow cotton and used some of my polka dot buttons for the fastening.  Overall I was kinda pleased with the result.

I have also gotten a head start on the Christmas knitting and crochet... for which I am very pleased with myself.  One item is already completed and several others are well under way, including another granny stripe blanket but for himself this time in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK.  Stupidly expensive I know, and in shades that are not necessarily ones I would normally use but they are colours that himself likes, so that's all that matters.

 
I added a couple of mid-dark purple shades to the mix, to lift the colours a little and the result is exactly what I was looking for,  Lovely stripes in heathery shades that are not too bright and 'girly' and just right for a bloke!  :)

 
And of course being cashmerino the whole thing is lovely and soft and snuggly.

The hat is a Christmas present already completed for a friend of mine, knitted in some of the welsh mohair I got at Wonderwool there are some wrist warmers and a scarf to go with still to be finished.

I am planning to have the blanket and the hats and scarves done by the end of October if I can then I'm pretty much ahead of the game in terms of Christmas present stuff, which will please me immensely.

The weather here has been mixed over the first week and a half of the vacation and Phaolin has developed a limp again which means that adventuring out doors has been limited for both of us.  The sun is coming out now though and makes for lovely walking weather - except for the limp of course.  Not entirely sure quite what to do about it yet.  Instinct tells me to keep him quiet (yeah, try and keep him quiet) and let it get better of its own acoord, but the 'worried Mum' in me wants to rush to the vet, again.  *sigh*  He's a worrisome little monster in every way.  We're just getting over a series of broken nights, which we're putting down to teenage angst and insecurity.  I swear he has more moods and personality in two years than Callanish had in 13!

Yesterday we had a stroll up the lane...

 
In the sun... after the recent trauma it was a good for me as for the dogs... and I took pictures of a couple of the trees...

Because I liked them...

 
I've also had a couple of trips out to stock up on yarn.  I needed more Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino for the Christmas presents so on Monday a friend of mine from the Stitch 'n' Bitch went off to Port Talbot to the yarn shop there.  We had a truly splendid time, finished off with lunch in the coffee shop where we normally meet on a Wednesday evening.

Besides stocking up on the Debbie Bliss I also bought some Noro - Silk Garden Lite.  I know opinions about Noro vary but I wanted to try it for myself and so far I'm reasonably happy.  No it isn't the softest yarn in the world by a long shot but I have it on good authoirty that there ways of softening it during blocking and the long colour runs are ideal for shawls like this one started below...

Not the best display background and the shadows don't help but I'm only about a quarter done and there'll be better pictures later.  I just love the colour runs and I love this particular pattern. Seraphina's Shawl It's versatile, not too hard and very quick.  Once you've got the beginning sorted and all the increases happening in the right places.

Then yesterday I went for lunch in Llandeilo with another S'n'B friend and after an excellent burger and chips for lunch we went to the yarn shop there where I bought a whole bunch of fat quarters to do some patchwork with and then treated myself to a 17 shade rainbow of Sublime DK merino and cashmerino silk.  A truly excellent afternoon, gossiping and yarn buying.  Oh! and I bought a new handbag too, which I love almost as much as the yarn.

The yarn stash is growing out of control.  I really do need to put a stop to the buying and get a whole load more things made.

Anyway, we have cleared up the leaves outside while it is dry and now I am going to go sit and crochet for a while. 

So I'll leave you with another picture of my fabulous 'last rose of Summer.'

Love O. xx