Jolly Japes and Jewellery

On Friday I played hooky from work and went to the mainland.

First stop - Guildford. Straight to Pandora's in the High St. A great little shop with needlework, patchwork, knitting and craft supplies. Picked up a baby cardigan pattern and these lovely big buttons which had just come into the store:

I'm thinking they'd be great as a handbag closure or on a chunky knit with just one big button.

I picked up a Traditional Knitted Guernsey book in Oxfam - in German! Thank god for Babelfish! It's weird looking at a book all about the history of knitting on the North East Coast of the UK and not being able to read a word of it.

Off to Fibrecrafts for some much needed extra bobbins for my Ashford Trav. Also bought a little fibre in the way of some chambray shaded linen and 100g of bamboo. Bought a couple of skeins of Sari Silk to do a weaving Project that I have in mind - sparked by the latest issue of Handwoven. Not that I have any sort of proper loom or anything.

Next stop was Farnham (major hold up in the roadworks) to visit the Interknit Cafe. Kareen has a fantastic yarn shop, a great atmosphere, and stacked full of unusual yarns, knitting notions, buttons and books. I picked up some bargain shaded Mohair yarn - again for a weaving project, and a few balls of damson-coloured soft merino mix for an autumn scarf.

While I was in the shop I was having a look at Kareen's yarn storage (pic here from her Blog when the shop was being fitted out).

My suspicions were correct - the units are from IKEA.

I'd been toying with the idea of driving over to IKEA at Croydon to pick up a smaller version of one of these units, but was feeling tired. Seeing it in the flesh though, I was convinced enough to make the trip. I'm in dire need of storage for books and craft materials, and this looks just the job.

The unit pictured is 5 x 5 sections. The one I went for is 4 x 4 sections. Not only wouldn't the larger one fit in the car, but I wouldn't have been able to lift the boxes on my own.

A nice man came to the rescue while I was heaving the second of the packs onto the trolley in store, but I had to wrestle it in and out of the car on my own. Let's just say I won't be doing THAT again in a hurry!

Now I need to make enough space at home to lay it all out and build it.

Where's a big strong husband when you need one. Any spare? Send them my way!

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On Sunday I was demonstrating spinning with other members of the Guild at Woolverton Manor Fair. We didn't see as much of the Tudor re-enactment people this year and I missed seeing the dancing in the Great Hall yet again. I was a bit disgruntled with my spinning fibre (Ryeland), but still managed to get a bobbin filled on the Sonata. It's an incredibly springy wool, not something I'm very used to.

We chatted to a lot of different people who's family members had worked in the weaving industry in the North of England. It's really interesting what you find out at the shows we attend.

I had a mini Reflexology session, and my sinuses are much improved since.

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Tuesday I played truant from work again (flexi days are the best) and had a wonderful day at a Guild colleague's cottage where we took a course in Beaded Jewellery.

The cottage used to belong to Lord Tennyson's Estate Manager in Victorian times, and allegedly, Tennyson used to sit on the doorstep and discuss what needed doing around the Estate.

Standing in the footsteps of the author of the Lady of Shalott? Incredible. I used to swoon over pre-Raphaelite images inspired by this poem when I was at Art College.

Here is my finished project from the day - a bracelet with a beaded loop and lobster-claw closure. Fire polished faceted beads and size 11/0 seed beads.

I also started a spiral bracelet and have the beads for another. We were warned. It can be very addictive.

It was a glorious day. Sitting in the garden at lunchtime eating home grown cherry tomatoes, herb bread, profiteroles and lemon drizzle cake; and spending a whole day on a new creative pursuit. Absolute heaven.



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