Catching up

Spinning

Spinning was Chez Woolgatherer today. We had the Moist Chocolate Cake and some (not)Mars Bar Crispies for the gluten-free choice.

I managed to spin quite a decent amount of my roving before my hand cramped up, and I was pleased with that. There will be something to ply soon!  I also did a show and tell on the Laeticia socks, and my new books. J brought me bantam and quail eggs. SpinningGill brought the printer’s proof  of the Oral History booklet – a real landmark!

Knitting

I received a reply from the people I had tried to buy the Simply Shetland 4 from:

Unfortunately we have sold out of Simply Shetland 4 and I have been looking into if we could get hold of a copy for you.

I have spoken with the UK distributor and the Publisher, Unicorn and they have sold out. The publisher is considering doing a reprint. If it does go to reprint it will not be available for 6 to 12 months.

Argh!

Much googling ensued – and almost everybody has sold out of it. I did strike lucky at KCG Trading Limited. Not only did they have the Shetland book, but also Cat Bordhi’s Socks Soar on Two Needles – which I have also found very difficult to get hold of. KCG Trading is the trading arm of the Knitting and Crochet Guild. While their site is very Web 1.0 and difficult to use, they do offer very reasonable prices. They are not the cheapest source for many items, but are often cheaper than most.

I emailed to see if they genuinely had stocks and received a reply to say that they did and that my initial email would serve as an order. They then rang for my card number and we agreed that they should post my books after the Bank Holiday weekend.

I should be able to start Man Sweater MkII by the end of next week! That being so, I had better make as much headway as possible on some UFOs before then…

I did pick up the Cascading Leaves Shawl last night – and added ten per cent to it. A further ten per cent was added this afternoon. After I post this, I hope to push the shawl to 50% before bedtime. It would be good to complete it by the end of this weekend.

Herringbone Rib
Herringbone Rib

I also began the Herringbone Rib Socks yesterday. I don’t know if they will ever be finished – they are soooooo tedious to knit. (Ravelry project) Looking (and feeling) good, though, so they may be worth the effort. The colour here is a bit washed out by the flash – the yarn is much nicer than it appears here. It’s Bonny, from The Yarn Yard, in a colour called Tay.

PS

While I was at the KCG site, I discovered that they currently have Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend on sale…