The Sun is out!

Lookee - the sun has come out in Glasgow at last!! Wewent to the fruit shop to buy a yummy watermelon this afternoon, and I'm currently sitting covered in watermelon juice, squinting at the laptop screen.


The cat seems to have found his hotspot...


The Honeycomb tension square is complete. I'm not all that confident about this one - I am going to modify it to knit in the round again. It has to be knit with 4 inches of negative ease, which makes me a little anxious that this is going to be teeny - but I am on a diet, so if it is hopefully it will fit eventually.

The gauge is 28 stitches per 4 inches. Before blocking I had 32 stitches with a 3.5mm needle, so figured I would probably need to go down to 3mm. I blocked it anyway, cos you never know, right?

It shrunk down to 30 stitches when damp, and 28-28.5 stitches when dry blocked! Huh? It also became narrower than before, resulting in more rows per inch.

Of course this, coupled with my apparently longer torso, made for some fun maths... Adding an inch before decreases, and figuring out exactly how many rows "knit until piece measures x inches' will be based on blocked rows per inch.

The pattern is now full of my additions and scribblings. I'm hoping I haven't gone wrong somewhere - the pattern is for a 12.75 inch tank top, from bottom to the armhole. I've gone for 16 inches instead.


We were also down in England last week, eerie misty shots taken here from the balcony of the boy's family holiday spot; Slaley Hall. All the more creepier due us going to see The Mist at the cinema last week!



We took a (long!) walk around Geltsdale, an RSPB reserve. Didn't see much, except a few Kestrels hovering around. And also had to walk through a herd of cows with babies. That was quite scary - the mum was snorting a bit as we walked past her and her calf.

Then we passed 3 calves on their own, and realised that the mum was on the other side of the road and that we were between her and her babies.

I don't know much about cows, but they're pretty big, and as a general rule, getting between mums and babies is never a good plan. We walked through smartly, with our heads down. Eye contact a good idea, or a reason for a cow charge? Who knows... (I've just read this *gulp*)



There was little in the way of fibery goodness in the area though, but I managed to convince the boy to stop off at Stitching Time in Hamilton for some knittery treats. Some beautiful Louisa Harding and Araucania ... mmm... I've wanted the Louisa Harding since Lynette did a lovely project in it.

Stitching Time was a treasure trove of yarny joy, and Nan and David are lovely. I really enjoyed my trip and would recommend it to all. They also have cheap Addis.

I also got a magnetic board to keep my place in lace charts (I got the last one, sorry! Although not that sorry - ha!) Lilith was talking about these awhile back and I meant to get one, but forgot. She's right - it's such a Godsend! No more stupid Post-its losing their stick after one removal and curling at the edges. And it's a flat surface to rest the chart on the couch-arm too. Genius!



I may have done a wee bit of online shopping before I left too, so that I would have a pressie from the postie too. Some Noro Kureyon sock yarn in the same colourway as I've made a hat in (although the hat was in aran-weight Kureyon) I can't wait to knit with this, and am thinking a lovely wrap would go well with the hat. There's a serious amount of yardage (I wrote yarndage the first time ... ) on this ball too - enough to make a shawl.


The best saved until last; some old maiden aunt 2ply silk/cashmere blend in espresso colour - it is yarn that literally melts in your hand. So utterly sumptiously deliciously soft! And with a 32% discount too.