Just wanted to let you know that lovely Ruth now has a blog, so we can keep up with her at: http://www.ruthcrafts.blogspot.com/

Ruth, and a handful of other Bluestockings, (including me!), went to the Festival of Quilts last friday. You can read about what happened here:

http://thomasinaknits.blogspot.com/2008/08/quiltfest-08.html 

http://ruthcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-post-and-festival-of-quilts.html 

http://www.littlegreenbees.co.uk/?p=50

http://www.oxfordkitchenyarns.com/blog/2008/08/17/festival-of-quilts-2008/ 

Have I missed anyone?

This is actually more about destashing as I have a couple of ideas for what to do with all those ends of sock yarn that get left over when you just can’t knit any more ribbing:

 Oliver’s blanket: Michaela at http://stashbasket.blogspot.com/ is asking for 4 inch squares knit from sock yarn to make into two blankets to raffle off to raise money for Oliver’s Fund. Check out the details on her blog and find out more about Oliver (a little boy with cerebral palsy) and Oliver’s fund at http://www.emma.prettyposies.com/. Mason-Dixon knitting are now running the American side of this appeal and have a good 4 inch square recipe here. You can send in squares until the end of November - the address is on the blog. NOTE: Kay’s square recipe is for GARTER stitch squares - something that I only realised after going back an checking after I knit a beautiful rhombus.

 On a more frivolous note I spotted some cool knitted baubles (or rather bauble-cosies) in the Vogue knitting holiday issue and am going to be trying to work out the pattern for that when I’m tired of knitting squares - spheres would be a new challenge!

I too was remarkably restrained on Sunday. I only came away with the Cookie A. “Twisted Flower sock” pattern and a skein of Colinette Jitterbug in the colourway I’ve been lusting after ever since I saw Liz knitting with it.

Oh, and the 10 balls of Jaeger Matchmaker which were a bit of an impulse buy. But they were cheap… and it’s discontinued…

By the way, does anyone have the Icarus shawl pattern? Could I borrow it? I only really want to know how the cast-off works. Someone suggested to me that it might be a better option for the incredibly slippery silk Kiri than the version that’s in that pattern.

On Sunday Ellen, Aliki, Helen and I visited the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace. There were loads of amazing yarns there and I think I did very well to come away with just one skein of Lorna’s Laces Helen’s Lace in Black Watch and three of Louet Gems Superfine/Fingering merino sock yarn in teal.

The Helen’s Lace is for a shawl to match a dress for my cousin’s wedding in early December so if anyone has/knows of any lovely shawl patterns which would be suitable (and not take too long to knit!) let me know.

The Louet Gems is for the Thelonious socks by Cookie A (for which I also bought the pattern at the show) - I accidentally bought one skein too many but it’s so lovely I don’t really mind.