Andeans , Navajos and Woolworths .

We had an At Home Day yesterday . Artis-Anne and her DH were up from Wales and staying with the Moggs , so they all came round yesterday for lunch . Unfortunately Amber wasn't feeling very well and after lunch headed home . Annie and DH stayed a while longer.

I learnt two new skills yesterday as well .Annie showed me how to use the Andean Plyer Papa Bear had bought me for Christmas .The spinners amongst you will know what it is . For non spinners , this is a nifty little gadget that enables you to make use of all the singles spun onto a bobbin , instead of wasting several metres of yarn , which usually happens once you finish plying.
After lunch , when the boys had taken the dogs out , Annie showed me how to Navajo ply . The pic above is the end result and I am so pleased with it . Navajo plying enables you to ply using one bobbin of single spun yarn, instead of plying two singles together .
It was lovely spending the day with like minded people and was a great pity Amber was feeling poorly .

This is some Falkland Island roving which Annie dyed for me for Christmas .

Unfortunately my stupid camera doesn't do the colour justice . Hopefully once I've spun it the pics will show the colours better .

Well that's the Andeans and the Navajos taken care of i want to talk about Woolworths.

Today me and DH went to town to browse round the sales and we found that our local Woolworths was one that closed down yesterday. This shop has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Saturday morning trips up town with my Mum and sister always included a visit to Woolworths for an orange drink and very occasionally we would be treated to a small toy off the sixpenny toy counter.

These two little characters were purchased for Christmas in 1956 and cost the said sixpence each . Every year my Mum got them out and they stood on the mantlepiece during the festive season. When she died , ten years ago , I rescued them from the cupboard when her house was being cleared and they now have pride of place in my home at Christmas .
It's a great pity that institutions like Woolworths have been beaten by all these out of town retail parks and have gone the way of all the little local shops .

Just to Prove..........

This Blog posting is just to prove I have been knitting .It was cold and wet and horrible when I got up this morning . The threatened snow had not materialised , thank God , but it was still awful . So I went up to the spare room and retrieved this jumble of unfinished garments .After five hours of sewing seams and darning ends in I have this .............................
A nice neat pile of jumpers , socks , mitts and shawls all ready to be wrapped .I still have the sleeve of a cardigan for eldest GD and two Starsky cardigans to make for No'S 1 and 3 sons . They are in chunky so they won't take long . And .......

I've made my first Mobious cowl . All you knitters will know what it is . I've made it in my own dyed Alpaca / silk and it's soooooooooo soft .

Had a nice week doing what I want instead of having to make stuff for the stall . We had the Moggs for lunch on Tuesday . Amber bought some wool off me for one of her SP's and has taken some silk painting stuff to put on Ebay for me . Every little helps this time of year :0)

As I said before the weather is terrible I hope it all clears up for Grassington this weekend . I don't mind the cold but the thought of snow and ice on those fell roads makes me slightly nervous . Anyway I'm keeping everything crossed .

Nearly There

It's a horrible cold, wet , windy November day outside ,so I thought i'd show you a bit of colour.I'm nearly there with my preparations for the up coming fairs . I finished the wall of bags this morning . I was going to cut out a set of smaller ones but as it is very cold and my attic workroom is like a fridge I've postponed that till tomorrow. I have got a heater up there but with the fuel prices so high now i'm a bit loathe to put it on. So I just go up there for short spells .These bags will be getting their first airing on Thursday at the Blackburn Christmas Market . That's if we get there. We've been studying the one way system in the town centre and it looks like a Krypton Factor job .
I Love all the new fabrics I've found .

Nice close up of the finishing touch . My friend Carol has made me these glass zip fobs to add a practical and professional look to the bags . I'm really pleased with the end product. Hope you are . If you get to any of my fairs be sure to let me know who you are ,I offer a discount to Ravelry members and Bloggers who read my Blog.
We've had a busy week ,social wise . We've never been in . Monday Lostock Hall Craft Group , Tuesday trip to Cumbria , Thursday Preston S'N'B and topped off yesterday by a visit and lunch with Mogs , Amber and Bob . The boys played chess , in the kitchen and me and Amber knitted and nattered in the living room . Meg curled up on her bed . We had intended a walk on the beach but it was far to cold .