Knitting and Stitching Show - the haul

I'm not going to say all that much about the show at the Ally Pally, simply because other knitters on my reading list have already given accounts of the show, but I thought that there is an obligation for every knitter to at least show their new stash aquisitions. As for the show, suffice to say that I had a great time and I loved seeing all the beautiful yarns and visiting all those places like Get Knitted, HipKnits, Colinette and Texere that I frequently order from online up close.

I went down by coach, which was pretty easy and stress-free, and arrived at the Ally Pally around 11am. I spent most of the day at the show, met up with a friend at 4.30pm at Covent Garden for some tea and cake, and took a train back home at around 7.30pm. I was quite tired by the time I got back, but it was definitely worth it! Also, D had cooked some delicious food with some of the late courgettes and pattypan pumpkins he had found in our vegetable patch, so that was just the thing to pick me up again after a long day. :)

On to the shopping then!! I thought that, if I say so myself, I was quite restrained. Not that I didn't spend a fortune as it was, but I could have bought SO MUCH MORE! As it is, I came away with some lovely silk from HipKnits, which will be a present:


And when I passed the stall again later, I couldn't resist the temptation of some cashmere sock yarn after all... And that after I'd been so good the first time round:


Apart from that, I bought some needles from Get Knitted and treated myself to some lovely and soft Alpaca fiber. N, when I met up with her at Covent Garden, stuck her hand into the paper bag and noted, a touch disturbed, that it felt just like hair. ;-)


And last but not least, I got 800g of carded fibre from Texere:


This is going to become the yarn for this:


Yes, I am making my own 'Big Wool' - it will cost me about a 5th of the price the yarn would have cost me. Now, wish me luck that I'm actually able to spin this at the right weight. :)

And that's it. No more purchases! Although I was sorely tempted by a good few yarns and books, in particular the pretty hemp yarn that I found, and the pattern booklet that went with it. Unfortunately I just didn't have enough cash by the end of the show, so this will have to wait.

Managed to knit another few inches on the Greek Pullover on the train back home, so I'm up to the armhole shaping on the back of the pullover now. And I have yet another knitting project that needs to be finished before xmas. How could I forget that my friend K's baby is due around xmas?? She is going to have a little baby boy, and I finally get to knit some baby clothes! Must search for patterns later...