A Small Diversion

Yes, (on the off chance that you were about to ask) there is still time to enter THIS most fabulous and fluffy of giveaways! Go take a look!

Also, if you’re in the mood to win stuff and are reading this post within an hour or two of it being published, I designed and knitted a little decoration which could yet be yours through the Stylecraft Advent Giveaway, today only: look!

So, yeah. Following this debacle, I had a post almost written about my change of plan, jumperwise:-

But then somehow, I ended up going and looking at some rather splendid yarn and needles, which I can’t resist telling you about instead.

It was Saturday, and I’d read about a rare open day at the premises of a local supplier that sells unusually marvellous yarn and the equipment with which to knit it. It would be tough to argue that I need any wool or needles right now, but you can probably guess exactly where this blog post is going.

Somehow – and it will forever remain a mystery how this happened when I’d been so very dedicated to the important quest of going out to buy vacuum cleaner bags and broccoli – somehow, I ended up looking both ways to check that the coast was clear, then sneaking over the Oxfordshire border into the rolling hills of west Berkshire. The sun was just beginning to set in a particularly photogenic way, but I didn’t get any pictures for you (sorry) because time was not on my side.

On one of those whims that usually gets me into all manner of trouble, I was heading for the premises of a company called Purlescence. If you happen to see the Stoic Spouse, please don’t tell him: he’s under the illusion that vacuum cleaner bags were particularly tricky to find that day.

Anyway, it wasn’t far. Let’s just ignore the fact that I stank of diesel after an unfortunate incident at a petrol station on the way.

Now of course most of you are in no way local (but Purlescence operate via mail order worldwide so in effect, you are), but will you look at this yarn! You have to let them know if you want to visit because they don’t operate a conventional bricks-and-mortar shop. (To be fair, I probably wouldn’t let anyone in if I had all this yarn, either.) But occasionally, they hold an open day.

Those beauties in the foreground? They’re Fyberspates Vivacious, which I’ve loved for its inky richness ever since I used it when I designed this:-

There was so much yarn in that room. I may have drooled just a little, but hopefully nobody noticed. Triskelion (see this picture ↓) is new to me, but hello, handsome. That’s 70% baby alpaca, right there.

This is sounding far too much like some sort of sponsored post, but I promise that it’s not. The very kind owner did refuse to let me pay for a couple of pieces of equipment that I will be reviewing here early in the new year just as they’re properly launched, but this really is just a saw-stuff-from-a-local-indie-supplier-and-loved-it post. Go take a look!