♥ Yip-de-WIP ♥

I had a rather fine morning today and I thought I'd share some photos of it with you, cos I'm that kinda gal.  Can you guess what I did??  Here's a clue:

Apologies for the rather crapsticks photo - I only had my phone with me.  Actually, it was great, I felt like some kind of secret agent walking round the shop furtively taking photos with my phone.  I say 'furtive' not only because I think it's a rather brilliant word, but because, although I'd asked if it was okay to take some photos, I find the owners of this shop faintly intimidating, so I was a bit afraid of being told off.  Although, to be frank, they were more like to have words with me about the appalling behaviour of my maniac daughter who was tired and bored and had had enough of looking a yarn, thank you very much, than about me taking the odd picture to put on my blog that not very many people read anyway.  Thank god I was with my friend who is not only a rather fabulous human being, but is also a childminder and has some sort of magic aura that instantly makes all children turn into compliant, quiet, non-stroppy, angels.  I don't know how she does it, but one second baby n was shouting 'no, no, no' in that special way that only a small, angry child can, and the next she was strapped in her pushchair silently sucking her bun-bun and playing peep-o with an old lady.  It was magic, I tell you.  Witchcraft.

But I digress, this isn't a post about how my daughter has a will of iron and a voice like a foghorn, this is a post about yarn.  I shall return to the subject in hand, without further delay.

So...yarn...and buttons:

You can't see them very well here, but there were some absolutely amazing ceramic buttons with imprints of lace in them.  I spent quite a considerable amount of time pondering the possibility of spending five quid on a button, then reality kicked in (well, it was either that or baby n spreading unravelled balls of yarn all over the shop that woke me from my button-induced reverie).

I had made a pilgrimage to this shop because I was a woman on a mission (cue rendition of Gabriella Cilmi).  I had come across this on one of my many Pinterest trawls and knew instantly that I simply had to make it:

 (this is from here)

(it's an actual, real fact that time speeds up when you log on to Pinterest.  I often spend 'five minutes' stealing other people's ideas looking for inspiration only to find that it's getting dark and I've forgotten to collect the boys from school and Mr N is walking in the door asking where his dinner is and demanding to know why I'm not wearing a frilly apron and freshly-applied lipstick).

Anyway, I succeeded in my task and came home with this, which I am more than a little excited about:

This is Rowan summer tweed and it's a mix of 70% silk and 30% cotton.  It's absolutely beautiful and is the colour of damsons with flecks of red, blue and white in it.  I'd never even heard of it before today and I'm really looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it's made up.

So the big question now is: do I start making it now or do I sensibly finish off one of the other million things I've got on the go?  For those of you who would like to make an informed answer to this question, here is my list: 1) not one, not two, but three blinds for my sitting room (the fabric is lurking ominously in a roll behind the door and every time I see it, I feel guilty for not getting on with it); 2) my summer hols blanket, which is coming along nicely, but which needs a final push to get it finished; 3) my starry Christmas decorations - I have red cotton now, so I can get on with a few little hearts to add to the garland; 4) the little rocking chair that I blogged about yonks ago, and which is currently sitting next to me in a state of half-paintedness.

This is like phone-a-friend.  I'll go with the majority (maybe) x

PS - I was very excited about my massive new pink plastic crochet hook, but I have now discovered that plastic=crap and I had to make an emergency John Lewis run to buy an extortionately expensive bamboo one.