Wednesday Wind Up

Oh my goodness! Except for my quick pop by on Saturday I have not even had a chance to visit Bloglovin' and clear all my reading. I have several lists of blogs; Friends, Craft blogs, minimalists and Danish amongst them. I like to try and keep up with my blogfriend roll mostly and the others are added extras, but I am running behind so muchas apologias to those blogmates whose past posts will now get commented on two weeks late!!

What am I reading this week?

I finished a book called "A Perfect Home" by Kate Glanville. It was quite good fun, about a lady married to the wrong man and how she found the perfect home for her and her family. The story runs along in an obvious but still enjoyable way and I really enjoyed a lot the descriptions of the houses and places where she lived.
I'm onto a different style of book now; "Her" by Harriet Lane. Two women meet after years have passed; one doesn't remember, while the other cannot forget. I've just started it, and it's getting me hooked. I read last night until I fell asleep.

What have I watched this week?
My eldest child found the complete Morse DVD collection sat idly on a shelf at his Grandparents' house. It was doing nothing; Ma and Pa said they didn't need it and he is a detective fiend so we are on a bit of a Morse Marathon. We've watched The Dead of Jericho and we're in the middle of The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn. It looks like half term will pass in a flash.
On the other hand, I have had to watch a few classic teenage girl flicks to find a couple of films suitable for a pamper party for 8 thirteen year old girls! (Tonight; at 6pm. I may not survive until the morning. Wish me luck) We watched 13 going on 30 (loved it, actually, and wondered why it had passed me by until I saw the date; 2004. I was ever so slightly busy busy busy that year with a 6,4 and 2 year old. I didn't watch any thing that wasn't a; on CBBC  b; A Thomas episode  or c; completely interrupted by demands for food, nappy changes or for me to come and play.), Legally Blonde and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. I'm not sure which ones have been chosen. *apologies; I wanted to put in links, but the Amazon pages weren't loading; I hope to come back and add them later!*

Where have I been this week?
It has been half term this week, so I grabbed the chance with both hands to take my Mum out for lunch for her birthday and we went out this Monday. Ma is a great seamstress and embroiderer so it made sense to take her somewhere that would have stuff to keep her busy and also have a reasonable lunch to treat her to.
I chose well. I'd go so far as to say that, had I another sister, I would, tonight, be Ma's favourite daughter. I took her to a small place about 19 miles away from where we live, a little cafe and wool shop combined......


Yes!! I took her to Black Sheep Wools. It was brilliant. I'd been before, just for a quick visit with the Princess but today we walked and browsed and stroked and touched and meandered and ate sandwiches and drank a pot of tea and walked again and stroked another load of wool, and worked out costing and tried to match size of wool, and got seduced and spent far, far too much.
Ma loved it; there were patchwork materials she had never seen (she doesn't actually do patchwork, but she loves material) and embroidery threads and even the wools kept her looking. She bought plain poly cotton for trousers for the summer, and I treated her to a yard and a half of some Rowan cotton for a kaftan.


And I was seduced by some Debbie Bliss. It was the pattern first, in this book, the cover pattern that caught me in that beautiful yarn shade, and then I was gone. I read the pattern during lunch to check it was do-able and decided it was. I went and looked at the yarn hung in its skeins on the wall. I asked the ladies whether the yarn was replaceable (superchunky? In a ball rather than a skein? I went to look, but there wasn't another one I liked) I went back to the wall and stroked. Linen, silk, baby llama and merino wool. Flecks of green and gold. It was the colour I liked. But they only had 6 balls and the pattern needed 11.



I asked the ladies again; They ran upstairs and came back empty handed. No yarn. I looked disappointed; "Shall we ring the warehouse?" asked the really nice lady. I nodded eagerly; a quick phone call to the Man and he was over 10 minutes later with the missing skeins.  So the yarn fell into my basket and the money RAN out of my account. It is the most EVER that I have paid for one garment's worth of yarn, but I think that it will take me time to knit it properly, and then I will wear it FOREVER.
Black Sheep Wools are lovely; they were so helpful, they would have posted the wool out to me if I'd been in a rush, they went upstairs and downstairs, they share their knowledge, they have lovely tea and if I were only free on the right days I have no doubt that their courses would be good as well.

How has my spending gone this week?
See Where Have I Been This Week.
It's Lent today and I am aiming for a no-spend Lent. That way I can at least try to save some cash ready for London in April. And I can practise some character building as I resist all the things that will doubtless jump up an down in front of me for the next 40 days screaming "Buy Me! Buy Me!"

What are my WIPs this week?
See Where Have I Been This Week!!!
I have the skeins ready to go; after the party tonight I intend to sleep well and then, tomorrow I shall relax by winding langurous balls of wool (silk, llama, linen and merino mix) ready to cast on this weekend and finish..... well, if it took me until next winter that would be a shame. I shall take it with me to London and hopefully a week of no housework (for I NEVER do anything on my holiday) will give me the time to get it mostly done.

Added to that, I still have my blanket sat by my chair and ready to pick up and drop when I need to. That's the best part of a crochet stripe; you just do a couple of stitches now and again and it will grow.

Any Other Business?
I have decorated my fireplace; not quite as hearts mad as Amy!! but with a definite red theme. I can't promise this will change in March; I had my fireplace decorated virtually the same way last year and the year before; I love the Bonne Maman candle pots! and my found hearts, wooden and stone.

I'm still loving playing with the effects button on the camera. You can see the colour highlight thingy is by far and away my favourite!!! And red is best after all! When I got the camera I couldn't stop thinking of what I most wanted to photograph and, I have to say, these flowers stood tall in my memory as the most beautiful things that I could test my camera on. They look beautiful in real life, and make such an impact in the Schindler's List effect (whatever its proper name is! That's what I call it)