the newest LYS in town!

Last Saturday, baa ram ewe opened a second store in Harrogate. They've filled it with the yummiest British yarns, one-off skeins of indie yarns, patterns and pattern books, knitting notions, locally made yarn bowls, handmade buttons, a variety of knitting kits....and me.

That's right folks, you'll find me working here part time so do say hello if you happen to stop by. 

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winter pot-pourri

It was finally time to refresh my winter pot-pourri. So once again I sliced oranges,

baked them dry and switched the old (which were, quite frankly, off-colour) for the new.

I've got that fresh, 'not overwhelmingly holidays' holiday smell again.

dark blue 2 it is!

Seeing as you were nice enough to give me your opinions on paint colours, I thought I'd run you through a brief before and after of the book alcove.

As you may recall, it started with this

{a truer representation of all colours involved}

Then I moved the swatches onto the actual wall the dark blue paint was destined for

{BEFORE: bleagh!}

Then the decorator showed up and got to work

{at this stage, I was in full-on panic mode and
finally understood why people stick with magnolia!}

Thankfully, it turned out alright on the night.

My thanks to everyone who picked a dark blue (whether 1 or 2), your contribution is very much appreciated.

All that's left to do in the living room is hang curtains (awaiting curtain poles), make a Roman blind (early next year) and select and hang more pictures (tomorrow and Friday). Then the house will be done. In the spirit of full disclosure: there's still the skirting board in the guest bedroom to gloss. Ah yes, that'd be the room that required 4 coats of paint on the walls AND ceiling! This obviously broke my will. Anyway, I plan to rectify this oversight in a week or two.  

Then once the house is truly done and dusted, maybe we'll get on with the garden. 

But there again, maybe not. 

(I'm not a gardener)

you get me

this beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to

I really didn't plan to buy anything at the show and did a good job of sticking to this until I got to the Black Sheep wools 'mountains' of yarn. do y'all know about this? Bags and bags of yarn at half retail price? Well, I fell into this mountain - which by Sunday afternoon was a molehill but still - and resurfaced a new woman. insert angels singing

Below are a couple of the pretties that made it home with me, some more fleeting than others. Unfortunately. 

First we have Noro Silk Garden Sock

I cannot put my finger on the reason why, but I love me some Noro; Silk Garden to be precise. There's something bittersweet about the pain and pleasure that is knitting with Silk Garden (I've never used any other variant of Noro).  The yarns above are earmarked for a sofa throw. A throw is one home project I am determined to knit and soon. 

I often wonder which home items are reasonable to knit and which are more sensible to buy - common sense tells me that a knitted throw/blanket falls into the latter. 

Do you knit for your home? What factors do you consider when deciding what to knit? 

Below is what I call a yarngasm. 

spun silk 12/3 weight 450m/117g/£15.20

Copperfield Yarns hand dyed in the UK by Oliver Twists (e-mail link, no website)

This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah. This beautiful skein of spun silk belongs to Sarah...

I am hoping that if I read, think and say this enough times, I'll stop plotting ways to make it mine!

knitting and stitching show

I visited the show earlier today, the last day it was running. Atypically, I couldn't seem to muster any excitement beforehand. In fact, I would probably have given it a miss had I not bought my ticket months ago. 

But I did go and even managed to enjoy the day mostly thanks to my awesome companion Marisa - who enables like no one else!

But I'm absolutely knackered now so instead of words, here are highlights of my day in pictures.

{Tall Yarns 'n Tales}

{Emma Garry, an old favourite} 

{Oliver Twists another old favourite}

{Low Lands Legacy with a 'spindle' (a Bogway Spinner ) I'd never seen before.
Do you see the arc the spinner creates as it travels around?}

{here's the funky spindle again}

{these yarns were über lush!}

{Baby Camel and Silk, mmmmm}

And the bits I liked from the arty side of the show:

{a cross stitched truck door}

{an embroidered front door}

As I couldn't afford much today, I made notes of those items I would like to buy sometime - maybe.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Visited on a sunny morning in October. 

The countdown to the holiday season has begun in earnest. I'm knee deep in lists; the only way I can successfully navigate the road ahead with my sanity intact. 

On the upside, dad reminded me there's just 3 weeks until Iscah arrives; So exciting! And yes, I've drawn up a list of activities for us, including a visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park. 

I think she'll like it there. 

How are your holiday plans coming along? Have you lots of family and friends visiting or will it be a quiet one? Do you write lists or just wing it cos it'll be alright on the night? Don't see what all the fuss is about?
Please share your tips on keeping sane and sidestepping all the drama. Mine would be to start early (I find that this stops/curbs me spending too much) and don't get caught up in all the season's glitter. Just think how much more satisfying that perfect item would be when you pay half price for it in the sales!