Holiday!

We have just got back from a fantastic holiday in North Wales. We went with my Mum, Dad, brother and his girlfriend and thier kids. It was not a quiet break by any means but certainly fun. We stayed at the Haven site at Prestatyn which was great for the kids as they could join in with the shows in the clubhouse each evening. It was a nice site, clean and friendly. North Wales is beautiful, there was so much to see that we are going back again because we didn't do half the things we wanted to do. We wanted to go on the Snowdon Mountain railway but it was fully booked so we will have to go back to do that. We did go on the Llandudno cable car so at least we went up a mountain.
There were castles everywhere and the scenery is breathtaking. The beaches were also very good, large expanses of sand and really clean. I visited the Trefiw Woollen Mills and chatted with a lovely lady about spinning then saw the industrial spinning turbines. I treated myself to some beautiful roving to do some needle felting with.
Now for the photos, just a taster of the week. Oh and this is the first time I have been to Wales and it hasn't rained, except for one day, so that was a first. I even have a bit of sunburn!

I have an Etsy shop!

I have finally taken the plunge and opened an Etsy shop to sell some jewelry and beaded bits. Its something I have been thinking about for a while and now seemed the right time. I won't feel so guilty about buying yarn and beads if I am earning some money from my hobby. Please take a look and let me know if you like it. The hardest thing has been taking the photos, I am struggling to get the colours right as I want the pictures to be as accurate as possible. Maybe if I sell enough I can buy a new camera! Here is the link for The Treasure Tub.

A perfect weekend

This weekend has been lovely. It has made me appreciate living in Kent. On Saturday we went to the Sweeps Festival in Rochester. The weather was fantastic and the atmosphere was lively and fun. There were loads of Morris teams dancing in the High Street, everything from the traditional to the more alternative.

















My swallowtail shawl had its first outing and Mum was so impressed with it that she made me pose for a photo.









On Monday it was a sunny bank holiday, which is a miracle in itself! We went to the Museum of Kent life as E was dancing round the maypole with the school team. I sat next to an oast house, listening to jolly folk music and knitting a sock. It was really chilled and nice.









Just to top off the day I bought some fresh rhubarb on the way out and have just stuffed myself on rhubarb crumble and cream. What could be better.

Swallowtail takes flight.

I have finished my swallowtail! It is absolutely glorious. I am so pleased that I did this as part of a knit-a-long, it encouraged me to keep at it seeing all the other finished ones on the Ravelry group, especially Hebe's as it was done in the same yarn as mine. The Posh Knitters group now has a page of finished swallowtails and they are all beautiful.




I did 19 repeats of the budding lace instead of 14 to make the shawl bigger, and used beads instead of nupps on the Lily of the Valley section. I also added beads to the peaked edging as I had plenty left. I do feel slightly sad now the KAL has ended for me but there will be another one soon so I' ll join in on that too. In the meantime I am going to try and finish the cabled shrug I started and decide which shawl to do with my goodies from Wonderwool.

I have been taking photos of Chandler, he is getting bigger and is still gorgeous. Everyone keeps asking me if he changes colour when I put him on a brightly coloured surface so I thought I would try and put him on my Wish scarf. Well, he stayed green, just a slightly different shade of green. So there is the answer.

Wonderwool Wales

Well I had a fab weekend in Wales at Wonderwool, there are loads of photos coming up so get a glass of your favorite tipple and enjoy.
This is Builith Wells, a very pretty town in mid Wales.









In the show there were things that grow yarn on them.......

















There were beautiful things made of yarn.......

















There was lots to buy........

















June had a go at spinning and extreme knitting......
















There were workshops, which sadly I didn't do, but will next time.......

The lady in the middle there is Linda whose blog is All knitting no sleeping in my links list.







Anthony Worrall Thompson was there as there was also a food and drink show going on, and they got him to do a bit of modelling on the 'sheepwalk'









I bought a few things, well it would have been rude not to.........










All in all a pleasant but exhausting weekend. Roll on next year when we can do it all again!

Swallowtail in progress

Remember the yarn and beads in my previous post? Well they are well on thier way to becoming a swallowtail shawl. I have done 17 repeats of the budding lace chart. Only two more to go then I can start the border with the beads. I am very pleased with it and the Sophia is a dream to knit. I am heading on a lace kick now and have already seen other patterns I want to try. I am also going to buy Victorian Lace Today as i have heard lots of good things about it and it has just come out in paperback.

These are some armwarmers I made for Rhianna using Opal feelings yarn. They are lovely and bright but she says they are itchy so hasn't worn them yet. I am going to wash them a few times and hope they soften up a bit. I also started a scarf using the yarn I received in the friends of P swap. It was to fill in time while I was waiting for the Swallowtail knitalong to start. It has already got quite long and will be the perfect quick knit for hospital waiting rooms or when I don't have time to concentrate.

I am off to Wonderwool Wales this coming weekend and am just a little excited! June and I are heading off on Friday morning and visiting the Colinette factory shop and then going to Wonderwool on the Saturday. I can't wait to meet some of the people I have been talking to on Ravelry. I will be taking the camera so will update with loads of pictures when I get back.

Vinnie needs your help!

One of the ladies on the Friends of P group on Ravelry has been having a nightmare of a time with her new doggie Vinnie, he has been very poorly and had to have some very expensive treatment. The cost has been met by the rescue centre that Vinnie came from and KTMay is now holding a raffle to raise money for the rescue centre. There are some beautiful prizes of Woolmeise yarn and Piddleloop bags so check out the link and explode at the cuteness of Vinnie. Knoobie Knitter blog