Pixel shawl as a scarf. 

Lots of swearing

I have lost all my lovely links and things while trying out a new template.
Pull out lots of hair.
Oh well, all is not lost, I will just have to source them all again...sigh...

Update next morning-
With a little help from J, my technical adviser I have managed to put them all back.
And he backed it all up for me. xoxoxox

Knitting Fun Day- Part three- the people

Don't ask me how I manage to wangle this one, but I have been granted permission of sorts to use my people pictures today.
No, Hallowe'en has not come early, this is India trying out one of the shop samples in HK in Edinburgh. India is always a great ambassador for ponchos and this child's hooded Christmassy one is no exception. I think she looks kinda cute. It was that kind of day, serious wool shopping but plenty of funnies thrown in.
This is us sort of taking over the back area of HK, where the Jaeger, Jamieson's, sock and baby wool and the knitting books are. We more or less set up home here as one or two of us had rather enormous baskets which the other customers in off the street were having to scramble over.
I didn't get a chance to take a photo of Minxxy (sidebar) but she joined us in that back area for a while as she was choosing which self-patterning sock yarn to go for - red and black of course!
I cannot believe the will power Theresa showed, she seemed to enjoy browsing all the new yarns and colours but didn't succumb - now that's self-discipline.

(A brief aside about self-discipline - I redid the bit of my Fern which was wrong last night. I have plenty of yarn so I didn't frog the original bit to make it quicker and sweeten the pill. I am now back to where I was - I think it will be a good investment because it means I won't kick myself for being too lazy when it's all made up.)

Did you know Nancy sells beautifully hand carved Surina knitting needles and crochet hooks ? http://www.knittinguk.com/

I didn't realise the Hobbycrafts fair is on this Thursday too! I thought it was just Fri-Sat-Sun. Say hi to me if you run into me on Thursday then!
P.S. I do not always have a puffin with me.

Heather, Jill and Theresa. Didn't I tell you they looked great in their handknits? A selection of the sundries available at HK Handknit Edinburgh.

Nancy and India feeling shy. India was making this scarf for an young relative who loves girlie things. 

Knitting Fun Day Part Two - the knitting

So, how come I'm posting at lunch-time on a Monday? It is that wonderful Scottish education tradition known as the "October Week"! Yay!

Anyway, some knitting was actually done on our day out on Saturday.

Members of Glasgow knitting meet up group (sidebar) will be very familiar with the knitting in this photo. It has been my staple knitting for what seems like eternity now. Here is a sneak preview of what I was working on at the weekend. After I sew in all the ends there will be a grand unveiling, with all the details. I will just tantalise you with a snapshot just now but suffice it to say, it's shaping up quite nicely.

Heather was working on a Noro cardigan I think, doing the back and two fronts on circs so she could keep control of the stripes, Jill was making Midwest Moonlight from Scarf Style, and both Nancy and India started and finished scarves in fancy yarns to pass on. Theresa hadn't brought any knitting with her.

In other knitting news - I had made a mistake on the right front of my Fern (Rowan 36) cardie. I let it lie for a few days without touching it but I picked it up yesterday and decided I may as well do it right and am going to frog it today. I had done a few extra rows of purl garter when it should have been reverse stocking stitch. I thought I could live with it but it's only about one night's work so I may as well get it looking right and I'll get more wear from it in the long run.

Kathleen's SW Trading Company Oasis 100% Soy Silk 

Kathleen's Kidsilk Spray, shade 573 Medici 

Kathleen's Colinette Mohair shade Jay and Noro Aurora Colour 4 

India's Colinette Shimmer5 and Colinette Mohair, Shade Bilberry. 

Fair Trade *Works in Progress* basket 

Knitting Fun Day Part One- the purchases

While I am awaiting clearance to use people photos I present you with the first instalment of the Knitting Fun Day out I had on Saturday.
Not only was it a brilliant day, it was very productive on the knitting front and wowee on the yarn front.

Started off the day at the preview of Katharine's new yarn shop www.k1yarns.com (Pix don't always load first time).
India had already beaten me to it and seemed very settled in there, maybe this can be her new spiritual home!
What a lovely shop; quite small but Katharine had made a good job of using the space available, quite a visual feast as you walk in the door.
She has a selection of Debbie Bliss, a selection of Colinette, a good range of Jamiesons, a taster of Noro, a selection of Artesano Alpaca and a taster of Shetland Angora (description, can't remember brand name) all supported by pattern leaflets and books. Needles (including Addi Turbos) to get you going. Apologies if I missed anything, but those are the things which stuck in my mind anyway.
The minute I walked in the door I was drawn to the big baskets on top of her shelving cube units. I didn't know if they were for display only, but K assured me they were Fair Trade baskets and very much for sale. Kerching! First purchase for me.
There were loads of things I could have bought, but I was fairly restrained and only bought two big hanks of Colinette mohair and two balls of a Noro I had never seen before. It is a kind of browny shade with a little metallic thread wrapped round every so often. I thought I should be sensible and only buy things I couldn't get hold of easily elsewhere. Kerching! First debit card sale for Mr. Katharine.
I'm not sure if Mr. India (sounds like something from Mr. Universe) reads this blog (as if) but may I just observe that India bought next to nothing...just a large coracle basket or something....didn't notice anything in it. [;-)]
By then, Heather http://dollydimpleknits.prettyposies.com/ had arrived, made a swift purchase then off to Edinburgh for phase two.

We missed a get together arranged by our knitting meetup group to christen Katharine's shop that day, but we had a long-standing arrangement with Rowanettes Jill and Nancy.

We arrived in Edinburgh shortly afterwards and made our way to Julie's shop. Rowanette Theresa was already there, looking delightful in a KSH short sleeved cardie called Marianne from mag 37. I must admit I hadn't looked twice at that design in the book but Theresa's version was lovely, in a soft green colour. Jill looked delightful in her Martha from the same magazine. I forgot to tell you that India looked delightful in the tank top from the cover of magazine 38. Heather, Nancy and I just looked delightful full stop.
There is a great range of yarns in that shop now, far more than I recalled. As well as a great selection of Rowan, Jaeger, Jamiesons, baby stuff and sock yarns which I do remember, there was some fab new South West Trading Company stuff, some Lana Grossa and some new Louisa Harding yarns. Fabby stuff.
I didn't go too mad, I bought some Kid Silk Spray to go along with the discontinued *Lord* self coloured KSH I am going to use for the cover jumper from Rowan mag 36.
Picked up some soy silk too. Heather asked me what I was planning to do with it. I laughed, "You mean you're supposed to do something with it!" Ha!
I noticed a lady with a red and black handknitted bag who was browsing the Rowan section. Inspector Clouseau that I am I deduced that it was Rowanette Minxxy. http://minxxy.typepad.com/minxxys_world/
She had decided against scaling Arthur's seat with the Extreme Knitting gang and gone for the far more sedate option of spending her pennies in HK Handknits. She didn't buy too much though, she's on a stash-busting mission. Good luck!
Minxxy left us to go and pick up her daughter, then off we went for a bite in the Bruntsfield Hotel. A bite and plenty of the house red Cabernet Sauvignon, which may I add, went down a treat.
Took the second last train home, toting my humungous basket/ crib/bassinette thingy and the long suffering Mr. India dropped me off. Not too drunk because I just about matched every wine for a water. A wee can of Irn Bru on the train set me up too.

Fabby day in great company. For all Rowan International Membership is going up dis-proportionately in price at the beginning of November, I still have it to thank for meeting such fun people.
x K

Over one thousand visits

Thanks go to Emma for being my one thousandth visitor since my blog started for real on August 20th.

http://www.emma.prettyposies.com/

I'll have to cook up some way of commemorating the occasion...

Could my one thousandth visitor please leave a comment?

When I logged on this morning I noticed the counter was at 990.
Could you please check the counter down the right hand side before you go on to marvel at J's puffin photography and my blabbering about wool shops?
I would love to give my thousandth visitor some kind of acknowledgement, so please check the counter and please leave a message if you are no. 1000.

Yes, even if you are a member of my family who is in denial that I actually talk about knitting on the web!!!
Thank-you. x

First catch your puffin. Detail of same shot. 

Gratuitous picture of Kathleen with a puffin. Isle of Lunga, July 2005. 

And guess where I'm going tomorrow?

I've been enjoying looking at everyone's haul from the Ally Pally show because I know I'm going to have a lovely knitting oriented weekend too. Stands back in amazement- I may have one or two items of my own to show off next time.

What a busy knitterly weekend.
The knitting group I belong to http://knitting.meetup.com/137
are being given a sneak preview of a new yarn shop opened on Queen Margaret Drive by fellow member Katharine.
www.k1yarns.com
I'll be there tomorrow morning full of anticipation. I haven't seen Katharine for a while, but I always admire her knitting and her good taste, so it bodes well!

Then, off to Edinburgh to see Julie's yarn shop http://www.handknit.co.uk and to meet up with some knitting buddies there.
Now that I've got a blog there's even more reason to hide India! I suppose I better document it seeing as Heather's http://dollydimpleknits.prettyposies.com/ digital camera has been swiped.

I'm setting the scene in case I am too shopped out/ tired/ laden with bags/ steamin' to make any sense of our soiree after the event.

And then the show at the SECC! Ally Pally it aint, but I always seem to manage to find a wee thirty balls or so to buy.

I'm getting a bit over excited now. P'raps I'm demob happy. Did I tell you I have a week off?

The Nutcracker, King's Theatre Glasgow. http://www.theambassadors.com/kings/ 

Guess where I went tonight?

Had a lovely night out with J tonight, made such a nice change from watching Kim and Aggie on a Wednesday!

A curious resident of Alexandra Park, Sat 8/10/05.