New Supplies

For some reason, buying new knitting supplies is almost as rewarding as finishing a project.

Today I ventured into town to go to John Lewis to buy some much needed stuff.  The haberdashery department at the Oxford Street store is incredible.  I don’t know where I’d find something like it in America, if not a proper sewing shop.  I just don’t think our department stores do things like this anymore.  It’s like taking a step back in time and being firmly rooted in the present too…  It has everything from sewing machines, to walls of needles to every possible type of scissor you could possibly need.  They’ve moved since the last time I was there and now it’s on the 4th floor rather than the basement.

The other beauty of this department is that even on Saturday it’s almost completely empty and there are a plethora of salespeople to help you out.  This is most definitely NOT a typical service experience in Britain.  Last night I went out with an American friend of mine who lives in Portugal.  She couldn’t imagine a country with worse customer service than Portugal.  I am absolutely, 100% positive that England has much worse service.  I regaled her with stories about the diabolical service I got from the Manager of the Scullery in Muswell Hill and about the time I asked for masking tape at a hardware store (also in Muswell Hill) and the guy just looked at me blankly and shrugged his shoulders.  He couldn’t even be bothered to speak.  (And I don’t think this is just a Muswell Hill thing — I’ve had plenty of other bad experiences, these just stick out in my mind.)  There will only be two things that will ever send me packing back to America — customer service and a potential burning desire to have a massive house.

So, today I bought the following:

1 crochet needle
1 pack of knitting needles, size 4.0
1 pack of knitting sewing needles
6 balls of yarn (for various projects)
1 large stitch holder

Making serious progress

I had a very eventful knitting weekend this weekend and am now almost finished with 2 projects!

I’ve been knitting from Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montogomerie.  This weekend, I had a 2-hour session with Aneeta (who also teaches classes and does drop in sessions at Loop in Islington), which was really helpful.  Most helpful because I was having real problems reading Claire’s patterns.  In the baby bootee pattern, she calls for increasing where she really means knit front to back.  I’d never in a million years have figured this out.  Thanks to Aneeta for getting me on my way.

Aneeta was really great.  I can highly recommend a session with her if you live in/around London.  She had me to her lovely flat in Stepney…  She’s got a great sense of style (sumptuous pink and purple living room that I loved) and a very warm heart.  I’m definitely going to schedule another session just as soon as I get another list of questions!

So, my baby bonnet is almost finished.  I just need to pick up an knit a final side and do the finishing.  My bootees and scratch mitts are almost done too.  I need to finish the last mitt and then weave in the ends and finish the lot.

R. going on his extended trips in the coming months means loads more time for knitting, sadly.  I think I’ll have this book finished by August. 

I may skip my KU reception in Kensington tonight and go home and do this… Kensington is such a long way from Islington and I am such a lazy lady lately.  I’ve been wanting to meet more Americans, I know.  But I just can’t be bothered to go down there tonight.

Baby Clothes

So, here’s my idea for this blog…

I learned to knit about 3 years ago. So far, I haven’t stretched myself at all. I’ve done loads of blankets (this is one I made for my friends Jon and Rachael and their new baby, Ace), scarves and corsages. They are good, but I need to start really learning to knit.

So, I went to Loop in Islington and bought myself a new book called Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomerie. Claire works at Loop, which was a major draw to buying the book. I can walk over there on lunch and ask her questions… although I know I wouldn’t do that.

Because I seem to approach every new thing in my life with gusto, I’ve also found myself a knitting teacher who is going to spend a few hours with me on Saturday, teaching me how to do all the things I don’t know how to do. Namely: pick up and knit, button holes, finishing, adding yarn, etc.

My goal is to knit everything in this book in quick succession. I’ll learn how to do the new techniques this way.

I’ve started on a baby bonnet and am halfway through that. I’m going to get R. to take photos of all the finished products and I’ll post them here.