Spinning Swaps, shop update and an FO to show!

I got my swap parcel this week!
Apologies to spinningsue for delays in blogging about this, it's been a pretty action packed week.

Anyway, here's what was hiding inside an unassuming blue mailer bag, lost of pretty tissue wrapped parcels tied with golden ribbons (they have been stored, you never know they might get spun!).

Here's what lay inside...

First, a wonderful plait of merino from Limegreen jelly, I LUUURVE those colours! And an equally scrummy heap of dyed silk hankies...


Some silky soft natural Alpaca from the Wensleydale Sheepshop and a bar of yummy Green and Blacks Almond chocolate, never seen it before but it didn't last terribly long smacks lips!....


...A sweet little WPI tool so now I have one for on the move too...

...and a cute knitted sheep (sorry, bad background for that one) and a double skein of fractally spun handspun yarn...a new obsession to try! I feel so thoroughly spoilt so thank you, spinning sue, you stalked me incredibly well!

In shop news, there is a select bunch up for your delectation today, mostly because of lack of time (and energy!). Never mind, they're still goodies...

"Blue Moon" a fabulous Alpaca roving, it's another 3-repeat so it lines up wonderfully in the plait...

"The Green Green Grass of Home" , also Alpaca...

"Ten thousand Acres of sky" - a slightly less saturated version of the other Alpaca roving, they'd work very well together.

Also in merino silk...

"Pumpkin Patch"...
"Under the Sea"...

" Blue Without you"....and...
"Iris".

These are so yummy and squishy, I want to keep them all but they're already listed so I've gotta keep my hands off!

Next update will be in a fortnight as I have limited time and energy and I still want to keep it fun.

I promised you a Finished Object too...

Can you believe how sunny it is compared to our wet and windy summer! This is the Wendy Pure cardigan I've been knitting for a while with...the selfsame buttons I showed you last week! Nothing else came anything like as good and they do suit the cardi very well. I think if you click on the image you still get a big one if you need a close-up.

And we're pretty close to finishing our first Xmas project too...

In the space of a week (and not huge amounts of hours) I have completed both fronts, both sleeves (though they may need tinkering) and we're into the border. I have decided that the pink is a little too strong for the effect I'm looking for so it will be merely a contrast stripe and the border will continue in cream once I get back to my LYS.

I have been so pleased with this pattern, I cannot praise the designer highly enough for her lateral thinking. The distortion that the pattern produces creates the shaping at the back, the neckline, the armhole shaping and the sleeve cap too, incredible! It means little to no shaping (aside from the lace pattern) and makes an intricate looking bolero really quite simple (to me anyway!).

It looks like I've lined up the waistcoat pattern for the MIL and the yarn will be ordered soon so that could appear soon. It's another Aran project for speed ;-)

Oh yeah, I had a wee spendette at Kemps too, I'll have to show you next time but it'll drag me into the hooky stick for the first time so watch this space!