Supersaver

This year I am trying to curb my enthusiasm for emptying my purse of all its contents in exchange for yarn, fibre and crafting equipment. I am keeping a dreaded Spending Diary which serves to make me think more than twice when I'm siren-called by bargain Rowan yarn languishing seductively in the John Lewis Sale.

This weekend I had planned ahead for a trip to London to see the John Everett Millais exhibition at Tate Britain before it closes on the 13th January. I managed a brilliantly cheap coach fare on National Express - £2 return from Portsmouth by booking last month.

The queues were forming by the time I got there a little after 10am, but it was still easy enough to view the paintings, and after 90 minutes, my plan to find somewhere to sit and write a few notes were abandoned due to lack of seating and pure exhaustion. I'd been wavering on whether to make the trip due to shortage of funds, but I'm glad I did now, as there were several paintings from private collections and from the States which I could never hope to see in real life away from the exhibition. There were a lot of drawings and prints and especially charming were the exhibit of the actual child's bonnet and shoes worn for the painting of 'Cherry Ripe' which still belong to the model's family.

Most splendid was the portrait of Alfred, Lord Tennyson - a resident of the Isle of Wight, and poet laureate to Queen Victoria.

After a restorative sandwich and banana on a bench at the Millbank entrance, enjoying the winter sun, I decided that I'd try walking around London for the first time since I was a schoolchild instead of using the Tube. Saving money and getting exercise and fresh air into the bargain. I was amazed to discover just how close everything is to everything else, and was snapping away like a demented tourist.

View from the Thames - Lambeth Palace, and just making out the Gherkin towards the right of the frame.

Then around the corner - the London Eye

Swiftly followed by the Houses of Parliament



Big Ben

Westminster Abbey




Anti War protestors in Parliament Square

Nelson's Column (Nelson's been on the drink! or is that just my lousy camera work?)


Trafalgar Square, where New Year revellers used to jump into the fountain. (The National Gallery in the background)

Street Art

The home of delectable fabrics, trims, buttons and knitting yarn......Liberty

I weakened here when I spotted some rarely-seen 2mm double pointed needles, so I blew a whole £2.70.

Then some after-dark pictures as I bravely walked back from Oxford Street to Victoria. Eek!!

South Molton Street with its angel decorations.



Buckingham Palace (particularly difficult to get a good shot without being run over!)

and finally.........

Some knitting.

Now armed with the correct size needles, I made my first sock.



Sized for fairies!


I was dreading socks after reading so much about the hell of 'turning the heel', but it was a piece of cake. Hurrah for socks!

Now to get back into my spinning for 2008. So much fibre.....so little time.

Happy New Year!

Here we are in 2008 and I haven't managed to organise myself enough to post until now.

I managed to make my sister's beaded jewellery in time for Christmas, despite losing the sterling silver clasps I bought in a big hurry on eBay. (They turned up last night in the salad drawer of my fridge!) :worrying: I can only guess that it's the onset of senility, or the pixies have been moving stuff around again indoors. The one thing I forgot to do was take a photo of the completed set.

Christmas passed, unusually for me, with lots of family visiting and far too much eating and drinking - my poor liver is currently in detox mode. I made a date with my sister to get out and about on the Thursday and we went to Manchester on the train. £4.40 for a two-hour return trip - total bargain!

I haven't been to Manchester since my dad died, and certainly not to the city centre since it was bombed by the IRA in 1996. What a difference. It's now a very metropolitan shopping area, with lots of pedestrianised sections. I took these snaps as we walked back to the train.

The Big Wheel.

The Old Wellington Inn and the corner of the Triangle (formerly the Corn Exchange).

Extract from www.touruk.co.uk:

"Dating from 1552, the Old Wellington Inn is the oldest public house in Manchester. The black and white Tudor building in Shambles Square is its third location, being moved twice to make way for new buildings. It was first moved when the Arndale Centre was built over 'The Shambles', its original rundown location. In 1996 the IRA bombing of Manchester city centre devastated buildings around it but fortunately it was protected by another building and suffered minor damage. With the rebuilding and the creation of Exchange Square, the pub was moved to its present position. Extensively refurbished and has an à la carte restaurant. Next door is Sinclair's Oyster Bar, another survivor of The Shambles".

Interestingly, the road these buildings are on is called Hanging Ditch, which sounds a little gruesome when you think about it.

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I got on with some more beading over the Christmas break, and also met up with a lovely lady called Cathy (and her folks) who I 'met' on Ravelry. We have a shared interest in spinning and knitting, and she runs her own website selling fibre and yarn with two friends, here - LazyKate





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