New Yarn!!

Well my Birthday is almost over! With all these parcels I've been getting my Birthday has lasted for ages now and what a lot of things I have to share with you today. First of all is some yummy 100% wool worsted weight Noro-esque yarn. This is about the closest my budget will let me get to Noro and it is really nice. The colours are deeper in real life and what looks like lilac here is actually more of a slate blue/mauve colour.

It sort of reminds me of sunset colours such as in this photo of a sunset taken from our front doorstep at some point.

Either way they're really rich warm colours
which are destined to become something from one of the dozens of Noro patterns Mum has. These two are strong contenders - I'm not sure if I want a jumper or a cardi yet. The jumper is from Cornelia Tuttle Hamiltons 2nd book and the cardi is called Butterfly and I can't remember which book it's from (some combination of 'Noro' and 'Nature' - not sure which one!) but this would have to be shorted than stated as I only have 500g not 550g as the pattern needs.



Also in the same parcel is some 'cashmere feel' lace weight yarn which is really lovely and soft. Now I know grey is a bit boring but it will go with all sorts and be timeless (or so I hope!) and should look nice in the pattern, Maldhi's Shawl from an old Interweave Knits magazine. Hopefully it won't be too taxing and looks a fairly straightforward pattern.

Next through the door was some sock yarn (HotSocks yarn) in a lovely vibrant colourway. Having just finished the other pair of socks (which I love even if I knitted the rib too loosely - no photo as they're not dry yet!) I decided I should cast on for a new pair. These are going to be Jaywalkers! from Grumperina and I'm loving the way the zig-zags are forming and so far it's a simple alternative to plain stocking (!!) stitch socks.

And in case you wanted more sock stuff here you go: some Blue Face Leicester Natural Dye Studio sock yarn. The colours are so much more vibrant in the flesh, much more lemon and lime and will be quite funky socks! But it is oh, so soft and squishy, so lovely!

Remember my Sea Spray hand spun yarn? It did get knitted up into a moebius which I forgot to show you back in January. It only stayed as a moebius for a few hours as I'd made it too big and need to redo it but I thought you may like to see it in it's short-lived beauty.

And taking of beautiful things here are a couple of pretty scenic shots from early February when we went to Portmeirion for a visit. The sunset shot was actually taken on the way to Mum's as we were driving (well I was a passenger) but it's not bad considering we were mobile.

This shot is just so sunny and peaceful that I just love it. Portmeirion has so many lovely parts that I could show you dozens of photos but I will leave it at this but it is well worth a visit if you are ever up in North Wales! And if you're struggling to think what and where Portmeirion is think of the series 'The Prisoner' which was filmed here and take a look here for a better look!

Anyway I think I've taken enough of your time today so I shall leave you with that and hopefully return shortly with some FO's. I should point out that all this new yarn was bought before the 'No yarn till WoolFest' pledge in case you think I've caved in already!