Flickr is apparently having a massage, so you’ll have to wait to hear about my latest knitting news and my obsession with Ravelry as I want to be able to show you pictures

Right, back to my needles….

OK, so flickr is working again, woot! Upon review, this post was rather long, so I’ve put my knitting news in tomorrow’s post instead

Yesterday all day, the weather was horrible. It rained as if it hadn’t rained for years, and the damp coldness rose up through my feet and chilled me from the inside out. Although the temperature couldn’t be described as freezing, there was a certain type of damp coldness that we get here in England that I have yet to experience anywhere else to quite the same degree, although I’m sure it happens. I call it damply cold. It’s usually when it’s a bit to warm to be freezing, but a bit too cold to be snug. It’s the opposite cold to invigorating, and the type of weather which cools your bones and then all your layers of bodyfat and clothing do nothing but insulate your core from warming up again. Brrrrr.

This morning the sun was out at least, but it was still miserably damply cold. I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed, heaved myself into the shower, and then crawled into the car and Mutti, Malph and I headed out on a 45 minute drive to one of the nearby towns which can otherwise be described as Crafters’ Paradise. It’s only a small town, but my goodness has it got more than its fair share of hobbying goodness. Actually, it’s one giant crafting store owned by the same family, but split over three sites, and divided by category: a haberdashers, a papercraft shop, and one for both interior design and wool. Each is an Aladdin’s Cave in its own right.

Our first stop was the haberdashers which is of course always Malph’s favourite stop. It’s a great place not only for fabrics, but it also has one of the most impressive selections of ribbons and trimmings for miles around. Naturally she was in her element, and stocked up for her future projects. I had quite a successful little 30 minutes in there too and came out with some yellow fleece that I’d been after for ages to make a chicken outfit for Paige, some lovely soft denim that would make a nice pair of Blythe-sized jeans, and a couple of other fabrics and trimmings that would make nice pretty little summer dresses, again small-sized. I also picked up some embellishments that are the perfect size for jazzing up the fronts of little sweaters. Unfortunately I had the dippy Saturday girl who was not only incapable of cutting a straight line, but she also forgot to put some velvet ribbon that I bought in the bag so now I am without for the week, sigh. She also required a calculator to work out one quarter of £3.99. Next stop was the scrapbooking shop where I skipped with glee when I found little packets of miniature buttons for only 60p, practically the same buttons that can be found in the patchwork shop in the other town for £4.50. Naturally I purchased. And then finally….the best bit saved for last, the wool shop. Oh I was in there for hours. What a marvellous, marvellous place. Wool as far as the eye can see, wool of every colour, every brand, every fiber, and more Rowan than even John Lewis up in London. They even had a shelf full of the old Rowan Knitting Magazines and I managed to pick up a copy of Rowan Knitting Mag #37 which I’d been on the hunt for for ages and was just about to buy online. MOREOVER, they even had the Rowan Kidsilk Haze in ‘Blush’ (deep dusky pink) so now I can start work on the Rowan Butterfly Vest …but the short version which looks like this. Unfortunately they didn’t have the right colour Louisa Harding Kimono Angora Pure yarn I wanted for making the Juliet Scarf that I’ve had my eye on, but I’m going to see if I can order it online….I’m amazed that the scarf only takes just ONE SKEIN, which means that it will only cost £3.95!!! Anyway, I also managed to somehow come home with a couple of Louisa Harding books and a Rowan Summer Tweed book, and some stitch markers which are apparently required for the making of the Butterfly Vest. I was tempted to also come home with a rather nice looking handcarved beechwood crochet hook, but I put my foot down before getting too carried away. So aside from the books, here’s my total stash for today……I call it a successful shopping trip (click on the pic to see the flickr notes for what’s wha). There was also some shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste, but they didn’t want to be photographed.

As weather forecast predicts much the same for Sunday, I’ve made the decision not to leave the house for the rest of the weekend unless I really have to, but to focus my energies instead on my knitting. Oh, and sorting out the girls’ California wardrobes of course.