Knitting! scarf and lots of YARN!

HOW long has it been since I last blogged!
Where does the time GO?
In the time, I've managed to attend THREE knit group sessions! including a fledgling one that is local at a pal's house after the closure of the shop nearby!  A group of us decided we wanted to continue meeting up, and we're going to try for Thurs evenings and see how it progresses.
We met also for the knit-club at John Lewis that meets twice a month - lots of knitterly inspiration and a nice bit of friendly chat!
which is what I got, also, at the nearly-local "wool shop" where I visited to get another ball of the felted katia wool for my fairisle project "bag" after I ran out and a good friend of mine who IS the bag-queen tactfully suggested my substitution of a pair of handles wasn't quite "right".  SHE was right. And I returned for another ball!  today I shall review the section on knitting the icord handle and attempt to finish it off!
Did I say I'd got "feet" for my bag? I've got feet for my bag! lol!  pics will follow, I promise!

In the meantime, while at the shop I bought a reel of "Berties Bows" gosgrain ribbon printed with "knitted with love"! they had another one "hand made with love" too.  I've been looking for ages for something to attach to my knitting, and this is much cheaper than individual labels! cute!

They are having a "Marie Curie" day early in June - Sat 9th 10-4pm a "tea party" come and go, take part in charity fundraising and I picked up a ball of King Cole sock yarn that is being sold for charity for £5.50 - lovely orangey colours!  my feet at least will be fashionable this year?

FINALLY I finished my latest quick knit - Sylph Scarf - knit with one ball of Katia Darling bought from the shop ages ago, blocking to bring out the simple lace pattern - Sylph Scarf from the lace booklet accompanying issue 8 of Knit Now.

The pattern has errata so be sure to check before commencing!

I like Knit Now magazine and have bought a few copies, I'm still waiting to see how the debacle that is Yarn Forward/Knit magazine develops now that it seems that the magazine is newly taken over - again - we wait and see how it progresses with interest!!
Meantime I've resisted the good offer to subscribe, for now, because really I need to be cutting down! not increasing! sigh ..

Last week after another hospital appt, I popped into town and remembered that this group have a pop up shop in town and are looking for knitters to help by knitting 20x50cm rectangles to be joined into some sort of huge mammoth knitting initiative to cover .. well read about it HERE! its easier!
Anyway they are open from Wed-Sun afternoons and welcome visitors, helpers, people offering to knit and donations - I had a lovely chat with a pair of lovely ladies last week and have knit up 2 pieces already.  Quick knit, AND I managed to perfect my continental knitting style too!

I think BOTH ladies hot-footed it to House of Fraser, Birmingham, after I flashed my latest stash! two balls of the LOVELY Regia extra twist merino in gorgeous PINK that it turned out is HALF PRICE at just £2-50 a ball!
I returned to the shop and the Assistant rang up several colourways, and we decided that perhaps this is either a to be discontinued shade, or the shop is discontinuing it?  anyway, I have four balls and have CO for Marlene this weekend!  no pics yet, but I've just complete the first pattern sequence!

Its all sock yarn at the moment!
Last week or so, we had to take our no.1.son do a Dentist in Clacton (sedation booked for a root filling - don't ask! ouch!) anyway, while waiting for him, I popped - casually like! - into the LYS that had been closed the last time we visited - and found a treasure trove of a shop!
A real "old fashioned" traditional "wool shop" it really had a lot of LOVELY and keenly priced! ranges of yarn and I enquired about sock yarn to find the very sprightly elderly lady quick as a FLASH up a step ladder teetering confidently while flinging packs of REGIA at me!!
What a bargain!
I got 2 x balls of the green SunBeam sock yarn for £2 each!
And 4 balls of lovely grey and silver Regia for £3 each! bargain!
The shop took cash only and I had to hotfoot it down to the cash point, the lovely pair - wife and husband - kept the shop open for me and were a LOVELY couple, very friendly and insisted it was no trouble despite the fact they were obviously closing for "tea" - they lived, they said, above the shop and the shop IS their life!  These are the sort of good old fashioned "wool shops" that we used to have on our door step years ago, and low and behold! another!  we took a wrong turn! and walked STRAIGHT into a larger, more modern "wool" shop - but - again! about to close the husband INSISTED it was no trouble to keep it open while I browsed as they too lived on the premises and were doing "bookwork" anyway ..
I felt guilty for not buying MORE yarn but did pick up a couple of knitpro cables and a promise to visit later on earlier in the day on NEXT trip!  just have to HOPE can find it!
Silly me, I didn't make a note of the names of either so can't give credit to them that they both DESERVE, all I can say is the two wool shops in Clacton! and hope that if you visit or are passing, and see them do please make a stop and visit!

ok enough with the YARN! the pics probably don't show it, but the top is a grey, the bottom a silver! I've been looking for plain sock yarn, now I have plenty! all I need to do now is KNIT!

Finish:
finally!
phew.
with Lilly! the cat.
the NAUGHTY cat.
she's a yummy!  she KNOWS is not allowed on the furniture.  I caught her out!

VERY DEFINITELY FINALLY
cake
chocolate cake. FUDGE filled and topped CAKE.
what can I say?
this is what you call a proper chocolate cake?

Visiting the Dr on Friday he remarked I was "fatter than usual.  more so than last appt?" did I agree.
flaming cheek!
I'd packaged a couple of slices of my lovely ginger cake and flung the pack at HIM and remarked on HIS skinny frame!
eek! FLAT.  he said: FLATTER than usual? FLATTER in myself than LAST time!?
ah.
ok.
not FAT. then?
hmm.
After a slice of this, though, I'm not so sure but HE looked a bit terrified and mumbled about lack of concentration and LISTENING carefully! bah.
xxx