Having spent the Thursday and Friday carreering around my part of the world,driving places,shopping,meeting people,chatting and generally being busy [out of the house for 8 hours on both those days] we were exhausted.Really ! We hardly knit 10 rounds/rows between us.We were a bit slow getting started on Saturday[Oliver kept Allan and I up late on Friday night too !] and arrived at Binns in Darlington a bit late.We were expecting to meet up with Polly and Kerrie,who were travelling up from London to meet us [for the first time],to be joined later by some local knitters.
I am still amazed [well 'gob-smacked' really] by the surprise that greeted us.Polly brought a whole gang of London Rowanettes[members of the Rowan International forum].

Back row :Enid[local knitter],Sissel,Polly,Jill,Geraldine[L.K.]and Maeve[L.K.].
Front row:Tracey[L.K.],Amelia,Sarah,Jacinta,Sam and Wendy.

Wendy,Polly ,Chris[who runs the great yarn department at Binns,and who went to a lot of trouble to ensure we had a great time.],Sam and Kerrie.

We had so much fun,knitting and chatting and shopping.It was incredible that all these knitters came to join us,all in honour of Sissel's visit.
Here's my dear friend Sissel.A talented and prolific knitter and very nice person.

Polly gives a detailed account of the London Rowanettes day here.
I won't embarrass Sissel by detailing all the yarn she bought.She had a very good time ! She did buy the yarn for Old Tile.The colours are fantastic in real life.Here's the progress she's made on her first sleeve.Isn't it beautiful?

I bought some yarn too ! I bet that shocked you !
I bought the Felted Tweed for my Essence of Elfin.A lovely ,rich purple.I'm just finishing my Linen Drape top right now,so get to start Elfin soon.I'm very excited about that,and all the new projects I have planned.
I must say that having Sissel to visit was great fun.We didn't really have enough time for everything we tried to squeeze in.I miss her.Next year Norway !

My dear cyber knitting friend Thomas,a fiend of a lace knitter,sent me a marvellous surprise package.He'd been charity shop [thrift shop] shopping and found 4 of these

cones of a most beautiful,rich,blue-tinted,dark red silk.It is so gorgeous.So my colour ! So how come I never find bargains like this ?
This is what it looks like un-wrapped.

Very lovely.Very fine.Am I knitter enough to tackle one strand,and knit something really fine and lacy,on tiny little needles ?
In amongst all this decadent yarn was a delightful little ball of eyelash,in a perfect colour.

It's Fancy by GGH.
Aren't I a lucky,lucky knitter,with such great friends.

First a beautiful picture of my two boys,taken by Sissel.Doesn't the traditional Fana sweater look fantastic on our chick ?

Sissel sent me some of the photos she took,some of which will feature in Part 3,along with a load of pictures I took.Including some of Sissel,who is unjustifiably camera shy [I shall have to have a chat with her about that !].
This photo was taken at geraldine's gorgeous home.Geraldine has a great talent for interior design as well as quilting and knitting.

Geraldine is to the left,the lovely Sue Adams,a sparkly,bright personality and fellow loony knitter[we are both on a yarn buying ban right now.Can't think why !!!] is in the centre and I,woman mountain,am looming to the right.
As I wasn't organised enough to take my camera from the car before the boys drove off on their adventures there is no photo of Sissel at this very enjoyable meeting of knitters in Harrogate.
We had a really great afternoon,helped enourmously by the superb chocolate cake Sue made from her mother's recipe.I keep toying with the idea of asking for the recipe,but know that if I do I will make it and then eat it !Well,Allan would help - he demolished the piece Geraldine gave us to take home.
It is so wanderful to spend time in the company of warm,intelligent,witty and utterly charming fellow knitters.

which really cheered me up.
From Ann came some new and exciting Japanese yarn.

I found a link that shows some of their yarns.The truly gorgeous stuff that Ann sent me is called Diamusee Fine,colour 116.Just my colours.Fab.
This is what I think I will make with these two luscious little doughnuts of yarn.It's woolen spun,so very bouncy,airy and light.
With this was a ball and a bit of Kidsilk Haze in the discontinued Lord,a dark navy blue,to join the two balls residing in my stash.

This is what I think I'll make from it.Hopefully in my lifetime !

Also in the post came this book.

A gift from my friend Kay.I'm delighted.Some more 'experienced' knitters have been quite disparaging of this,and Sally Melville's previous book,The Knit Stitch.I think they're missing out by being so pompous.These books are full of tips and tricks.The patterns are very well designed and are a good basis from which to design garments to suit you.Even old dogs need to learn new tricks,to expand their minds and stop them becoming rather full of themselves[no names,just don't get bitten].
Thank you my darling MasonDixon girls for lifting my mood.

A slightly fuzzy image of the Tumbling Blocks cushion cover.I just have to sew in the ends and tidy up the back.
Still feeling rough,so have decided it must have been flu ! Managed to stagger round to nursery,in a gale force wind[just love the way I end up looking like a bag lady by the time I get to the corner of the street ].Oliver,despite still having a cough,was grateful for the opportunity to have some fun with his friends.I got to knit for half an hour,after sorting laundry and blitzing the kitchen.
Such an exciting life ! I suppose I'm feeling a bit flat after the excitement of Sissel's visit,missing her company and feeling low after being ill,again.The whole winter stretches before me.

I thought I'd amuse you with some mousies I just made for Wendy's Mouse-a-thon.

These were knitted in a couple of hours,were great fun,but I'm now moused out.I loved using this yarn,a natural brown/grey Bluefaced Leicester Aran yarn,the colour is called Sienna.It is very soft and silky,with great stitch definition.I'd like to knit an Aran sweater with it.One day !

~

To add: the mice are nose up mousies,from this pattern on Wendy's site.