Ally Pally 2011

I had a wonderful time at Alexandra Palace Knitting and Stitching show yesterday, this show just gets better and better. There was more yarn here than in any previous year, I was really spoilt for choice. I had such fun squeezing all of the different yarns and my head is simply spinning with new ideas. But I also knew I was on a budget as I was a very lucky girl to be here in the first place what with the expense of the last few months, but my husband and son no.2 (Mum, just go!, go!) decided I needed a treat, I am spoilt, what can I say. So dosed up with paracetamol and hankies at the ready, due to a pesky virus and a babysitter organised for son no.2, a quick check on him at 7.30 a.m. and he was fine and off we went. We arrived at 9.30 and bought our tickets and waited around and then all of a sudden we were in, it was amazing, as you enter the hall the number of brightly coloured stalls takes your breath away. Hubby wandered off to find coffee and cake whilst I enjoyed the quiet of those first few moments and started to shop.

I was tempted in many directions, Fyberspates had some gorgeous purple creation that was creating a serious temptation and The Crochet Chain had some very gorgeous (and cheap!) Drops Nepal that was calling to me in my acid greens. There was yarn to cover all types of yarn emergencies, in various ranges of price, colour and fibre.

Eventually I settled on a kit from Colinette,

I have been resisting their kits for three years and I firmly believe that if something has been continuously calling to me for three years, then I probably should have it and just had the problem of choosing the colour. After two attempts, once in the morning, once in the afternoon, I eventually settled on....

Rustic,

I know you are laughing, because anyone that knows me would have been able to walk up to that stall and it would have been the first one they would have picked for me. Trust me, when faced with so much beauty, it is really tricky to make sure you have picked the one you love the most.

I also spent a fair bit of time looking at Jamieson's of Shetland wool and kits. And in the end decided to settle on their

colour chart. I can imagine some lovely evenings putting together creations of mittens and hats from this.

Hubby is cooking the dinner, I have wound the yarn into cakes and as I am still pretty tired I am settling down for the evening to gently cast on a few stitches and see where the pattern takes me.