Procrastination is the thief of time (1742)

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, and frankly I have no excuse. It's not like I have been short of things to blog about nor do I lack the tools (being the owner of a nice new netbook), I think the problem is inertia. Do you get that, especially at this time of year when really there is so much to do and think about that you just cave in and do nothing?

Maybe it's just me!

To update the blog I'll briefly run through the highlights of the last couple of weeks:

Sunday 16th Nov was the spinning day hosted here which was taught by the uber talented Janet Renouf-Miller. My knitting friends Mhairi, Sandy, Ali and Kimberly came along. What a real pleasure it was to be surrounded by wonderful fibre, great friends and doing something so pleasurable for a whole day, uninterrupted (except by the tirelessly curious Maisy).

Mhairi and I learnt how to improve our technique for slippier fibres, Sandy and Ali took their first steps at wheel spinning (with fantastic results) and Kimberly improved her technique with the spindle (I never knew you could spin so finely with a spindle). Thanks to all for such a fun day.




You can click on the images to see them larger.

Paul and I have also had our trip to London sans enfants! 3 nights/4 days of not being talked at, moaned at or whined at. No being a taxi service to and from swimming/ballet/table tennis/guitar/DoE/friends houses. No cooking, washing, ironing or cleaning. Bliss! It was cold but dry and beautifully clear.

We walked our little legs down to stumps and visited amongst others, The V&A, The Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, Chinatown, Covent Garden, The London Eye (yes I went on it and kept my eyes open the whole time , almost), Carnaby Street, Libertys, Harrods, Selfridges,












Hamleys etc. We also went to see Bill Bailey at the Gielgud and ate at the Mermaids Tail on Leicester Square, Windows at Galvins on Park Lane and The Athenaeum at Mayfair. We drank beer at lunchtime and champagne every night. We stayed at a lovely hotel at Lancaster Gate right on Hyde Park near the fountains on the Serpentine.

And all too soon it was over and we were back in Scotland. Back to the lovely knitting group and then a very sad farewell on Friday to one of the group Gale, who had become such a dear friend but has now gone back to her homeland of South Africa. I don't think she knows how much I will miss her. I hope she will get Skype once she has drawn breath then I can keep in touch properly and perhaps even indulge in a bit of online knitting!

Talking of knitting here are a few finished projects, the knitting has been a bit sparse the last couple of weeks but I feel the need to complete some projects before starting anything new just now. "Skully" the beanie is my first attempt at fairisle and I'm pretty pleased with it. I used a standard beanie pattern and borrowed a chart from Domiknitrix.


















I am currently knitting a pair of "vanilla" socks cast on for ease whilst flying last week and I have made only a little progress on the Silver Stardust. I would be knitting just now but my boiler has broken down again and my house is freezing. The timing is as ever as bad as it could be, this being the coldest day so far.

I have been busy ironing and dusting to keep warm, ah London seems a long time ago already! On the upside the "biggest ice maker in the world" (see previous posts) will be delivered on Friday.......like I need more ice just now!