Yarn shops and purchases

A cooling G+T

A 2nd cooling drink, too?

sock yarn for marlene

Rowan Magazine 50

2nd very pink plain glove

I've not got completely to grips with blogger's way of managing photo's - sigh .. sorry about the way I've just SHOVED a load of seemingly random pics and not said anything!
First things FIRST : WHAT LOVELY WEATHER! hot. I know. and since it won't last I think I can safely say make the most of it while it LASTS!  Last night was unbearably hot! we have one fan in our house and I sneaked into lads' room to grab it for ours at around 1.30am to cool the bedroom, and the sunshine has continued today ..
On the way to pick up no..1.son from "work" we stopped off for a cooling and refreshing pint/G+T in the local market town - on our way to the pub what do I see? A YARN SHOP! hurrah! stop! WHY have you not MENTIONED this shop before?? I ask my dh. who is looking a bit pained and mutters about not got long enough for a visit! and when I say we can't POSSIBLY "not" pop in for a look! he fair YELPS and whimpers "umm before the pub? .. (or .. after?)" silly man! he knows there'd not be time AFTER!
As it happens its just a plain what you'd call "old fashioned" "wool shop". nothing amazing, but then again nothing expensive.  usually I like to support a LYS and make a purchase but the only sock yarn they had was some rather dubious looking grey and navy "sock yarn" by Sirdar which looked to me like it was about 50yrs old!! it didn't look very sock-yarn-like so I left without a purchase ..

UNLIKE the yummy Fibre Flurry!  which is a yummy shop - only small and just starting out and quite new and possibly in need of some more sock yarn - hint!! to "improve" it! and preferably PINK! lol!!
what can I say? this is a super addition and welcome one too to complement the bigger department stores we have which are fine for the standard (Rowan!) yarns but sometimes you just want to SEE and BUY from a real shop some of the yarns you READ about!?  am I right?
I had a really warm welcome from the owner, and I was lucky enough to have her attention and guidance on buying some sock yarn! see pic above! green! I know! GREEN! but a NICE green! I was tempted - very tempted! to buy some cashmere blend, and some pink/green varigated and ALMOST bought some of the YUMMY babylonglegs in the most saturated of greens and orange ever seen!
I resisted partly because green and orange are SEW not my colour!! and also because The Natural Dye Studio are doing a special day tomorrow at Fibre Flurry including the evening knit-night event and I am hoping to pop in - casually like - just to LOOK! cough ..

I'm planning this yarn which is in shade "apple" for the sock pattern Marlene which I purchased recently and had planned to knit with colinette jittterbug .. so I've had to edit my project page! which ALMOST makes me feel like I've nearly cast on! sigh ..

The gloves I am knitting are coming along terrifically! i know it sounds mad to be knitting pure wool gloves in the summer! but its a QUICK (and easy!) knit and I do have a purpose - they are a trial for a set for my sil who requested some!

As its my birthday - nearly! - I decided to treat myself to the new Rowan Magazine 50! alright. regardless of my birthday I'd have bought it anyway! but as my birthday IS my 50th it sort of felt right that I should get this edition!
I've had a look at it - briefly - and there are quite a lot of things I sort of might like - first off the handwarmers on the front cover MUST be knitted! just because its cable AND felted tweed! and while instore I managed to get a good look and a poke and fondle of some of the NEW winter Rowan yarns! and very nice they look too!  to launch their yarniness, the Rowan rep. is unveiling a "mystery shawl" kal using - one assumes - a "new winter yarn" .. tomorrow - hence the dilema with getting across town to the Nat.Dye trunk show.   Knitting events like buses often come all at once, don't you find?

I will try to get to both and blog later how I get on!  My rav. page is now updated! and knitting OTN's include the gloves, the Kate shawl and Arielle still - and SOON a new and exciting knitting venture with a charity I'm involved with will come to fruition and thats looking promising!  Still all secret and dead hush-hush, but I'm thrilled that a certain someone has been persuaded to design a YUMMY something or other to be felted for their fundraising and I have got my sticky mitts on the pattern ready to testknit! yumm! think will be a huge success - hope so! watch this space for more updates as I can reveal and share in due course! x