I meant to get a good few blogs in last week and then I came down with a cold and Small Boy came down with a stomach bug. That's was our week shot. I thought I was well when I went up to Dublin for the Knitting and Stitching Show, but obviously wasn't as I relapsed as soon as I got back. I am on the mend again and determined to stay healthy!!
Even at less than 100% energy, the Knitting and Stitching Show was fab, Fab, FAB!! I took an embroidery/beading class with the Dublin Embroidery Guild and a surface decoration class from Colourcrafts (Markal paint sticks, Procion dyes, angelina fibres). Both were great although too much was crammed into the Colourcraft class. And there was gorgeous stuff to buy and see as far as the eye could wander. I got oodles of beads from Totally Beads (http://www.totallybeads.co.uk/) at great prices and met the lovely girls at This is Knit and The Yarn Room, where I have ordered wool previously. I am in complete awe of Oliver's Twists with her gorgeous hand-dyed silks, scrim, embroidery threads, and velvet. I bought a natural sampler pack of silks so I can practice with my acid dyes, but I could have bought as much as money (and Ryanair) would permit. The colours are/were stunning. You can buy her things through http://www.rainbowsilks.co.uk/ but the camera doesn't do her lovely jewel-tones justice. Buy and know the real thing in your hand will be even more beautiful!!
I had a quick bite and then went back out for another foray down the booths. As is always the way, I ran out of money before I could finish up buying. There were several excellent booths of craft books (www.sewgoodbooks.co.uk), but I knew it would make my bag too heavy for my 10 kilo limit on Ryanair. I noted a lovely series on surface decoration that was excellent AND inexpensive for my FETAC Textiles course from Double Trouble Enterprises (Jean Littlejohn and Jan Beaney) and several books by Maggie Grey (magstitch.blogspot.com) that Santy might have to bring me. The Double Trouble books are like a FETAC course in itself! You can get an overview on http://www.doubletrouble-ent.com/.
I would have bought lots of heavenly Manos de Uruguay yarn and more Noro, but I did get some nice, soft Artesano merino/alpaca for my new nephew's baby blanket. I was sorry that I didn't buy Woolfish's great deal on Manos de Uruguay since I have been coveting that yarn for a long time. But I did manage to find everything that I needed, so there is probably a lesson there if I look at it closely enough.
Must go light fire before the rainy day seeps into the house!
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