More stash arrivals

Still not much time to knit, but more yarn is in the building. My Adriafil mohair ebay bargain has arrived and also the Kaffe Fassett sockyarn which I ordered from Get Knitted. Check them out above.Approx 1300 metres of stretch mohair - project t.b.a. The colour is more burnt orange than terracotta as described in the advert but I'm not unhappy with it.

The Kaffe yarn is fab! Great colours, as you would expect and it feels lovely with a firm twist. Will I be ordering more? Most certainly! The maestro has a new book out soon which is a reworking of one of his original books.This may be a future purchase but will need to see a copy first to check out how different it is from the original which I have in my library.

I'd just like a minute to think about anything other than work!

What to do with Rowanspun?

This is my reed green tweedy 4 ply Rowanspun ebay bargain. There are 10 hanks - total 1480 metres - so I'm thinking may be an E Z pi shawl. I've made a couple of these for other people in the past, but this one would be for me. That's only my first thought and I'm going to be thinking for a while!

First weekend of the ice hockey season so far and two wins on the board. My team is Slough Jets - you can check them out at www.sloughjets.co.uk - I'm looking forward to a top season.

Work is manic, so knitting is on the back burner at the moment but I have to do a little every day or else I get withdrawal symptoms. Back to normal shortly!

Ebay stashing frenzy!

I've had some good ebay stashing over the last couple of days.

I got a "Buy it now" bargain last night - 10 hanks of Rowanspun 4 ply tweed in a dark green for £19.50. I know this is a deleted yarn, but I do like it and there will be enough for what I want.

My major bargain is 10 balls of Adriafil stretch mohair in terracotta for £8.50! I have used this yarn before and it goes a long way. This was from a yarn store close down sale, so the owners sad loss is my gain. RRP was £35.

There's a lot of Noro around on ebay at the moment and I'm sorely tempted but am resisting!

Boo to the person who outbid me on a Furla handbag within 20 seconds of the auction ending. I hope you enjoy it. I so didn't need another handbag! ( Since when did need come into the equation? )

In case you think I am a total ebay tart, this has been my first buying visit for a while. Why do I feel the need to justify myself to strangers?

Mind you, I am currently "watching" several other possibilities for stash enhancement.

Knitpicks - part deux

Sue had some knitting on the Knitpicks needles last night. The general consensus was that they are GOOD. The join between the needle and cable is very smooth and the screw in join is secure.

Sue , Tracey and Maggie were knitting samples for a knitted devore class they are going to shortly - sounds strange, but learning a new skill is always useful I guess. The samples were in various very fine yarns on very small needles so you have to be really keen to make them and then burn holes in them - I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

I'm currently working on my 3 ply baby shawl having decided to adapt the commercial pattern as usual. Nothing worth looking at yet - it looks like a heap of white yarn and I'm washing my hands a lot! Will post pics when finished.

New Year 12 students at school today so the real work starts now. I have rediscovered the joys of having groceries delivered - less time in the supermarket and more knitting time. Got to be good!

Knitpicks

I have just received my Knitpicks interchangeable needle set from Get Knitted. Haven't tried them out yet but I think I might prefer them to my Denise set as the needle points are metal rather than plastic. I do use the Denise ones, but only in emergencies, although I have heard of people who use them all the time instead of regular needles.

The Knitpicks ones come in a good zip up wallet and have ends which screw into the cables. However the points are stored on a flimsy piece of cardboard which is not so good.

I've read several reviews of this product on American blogs and all of the ones I've seen are favourable. My friend Sue has some and will find out what she thinks at knitting group.

You can never have enough needles!

Turncoat

I was very excited to receive this from amazon.com today. It's a new book from Interweave Press and comprises knitted kimono patterns. There is a brief history of kimono types and hints on designing your own kimonos. Most of them are knitted in aran weight yarn ( U.S. worsted ).

I'm not too keen on some of the colour choices, but if I look beyond that, there are a lot of styles I would like to make.

I really like the " I am not a sweater knitter " button that I posted last time. However, if kimonos are classed as sweaters, this makes me a turncoat. It's my prerogative to change my mind!

Back home with a detour!

I am officially at home, having survived a trip to aged mother.

On the way home I made a detour to help choose a wedding dress for number one son's fiancee.

A fun afternoon was had but no details can be divulged regarding the dress - top secret! Suffice to say she will look like a princess and I will now have to turn my mind to "mother of the groom" outfits. I will try to choose something tasteful and elegant - in other words totally unlike my usual mode of dress!

Hope you like the button which I downloaded from Grumperina. Non - sweater knitters unite!