New Week, New Yarns

So while I'm waiting for a batch of oils and lye to cool down, I thought I'd dash off a little blog post; after all, if my literary friends can manage the 1700 or so words a day demanded by NaNoWriMo, surely I can reach for the sky and attempt a mere couple of hundred ?

Especially when I can tell you all about the new yarn shop - or more accurately, boutique - that just opened up the road from me, in Woodbridge. DH being his usual easy-going self drove me out there on Saturday, even though I didn't know the name of the shop or where exactly it was (Woodbridge is not a large place, however).

It turns out it is called Twist, and is just by the Shire Hall. It is so new it still smells of new carpet, which itself is still that special kind of new-springy. The lighting is designer-style but still allows one to see the colors of the yarn; the custom-built cubbyholes for the yarn are not so much cubbyholes as cubby walls: of which a good quarter is filled with Noro yarns. The colors are almost as interesting as I had heard, but the texture is also scratchy and harsh, as I'd also heard.

There was lots of Debbie Bliss, some lovely Louisa Harding, plenty of Rowan and Sublime. Somehow, 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss 'Andes' (baby alpaca & mulberry silk)



fell into the posh paper bag, along with the 2 tissue-paper-wrapped balls of Rooster Almerino Aran ... The Artesanos and Manos del Uruguay yarns had not yet arrived; also absent was any laceweight, again awaiting delivery. Already the Rooster is transforming:



The service was friendly and welcoming - a refreshing change when it comes to high-end yarn shops; and the pricing was also reasonable. All she needs to do is instal some unobtrusive background music, a coffee machine and a couple more sofas, and institute a knit morning ....

Little Things

Today a package arrived. Nothing unusual in that, as it's DD's birthday on Saturday. I opened the package to find some gifts to me from my baby sister - fabulous ! So indescribably more interesting and rewarding than the new washing machine door hinge that arrived yesterday. There's nothing like a little unexpected something to lighten one's heart and lifeload.

So here they are, a sad indictment of my life and how well she knows me - except for the chocolate; I'm not a great chocolate lover - I know, shoot me now, letting the Sisterhood down, quietly surviving without all those cocoa-derived endorphins. The yarn she sent is actually for DD, and my baby sister knows exactly what to get for a Gok-loving girl; DD loves to go shopping with my sister, Auntie Fashion - they both adore bright pink, bling, and bargain-hunting. DD doesn't know yet that Auntie Fashion is coming over for her birthday ... yet another treat in store for the spoiled mini-Diva, to go with the MP3 player and the roller-skating party.



And here is what I found in the garden today:


And because I had time to waste ... I mean, spare, because I'm avoiding sewing the cot quilt binding, the cot quilt that Destructo Boy has just spilled juice over, pics of some Good Yarn that is in my stash; the JojoLand Melody is earmarked for a scarf for my oldest best friend - the pattern will be one of Branching Out, Strangling Vine, or Falling Leaf; the Black Cat hand-dyed superwash I had in mind for my MIL, to make a shawl, but I'm thinking this over as perhaps it is a little impractical for her - it's not like she ever sits still enough to wear one ...