Stash Enhancement!

I'll cover our trip in another post, but want to flash my many new goodies first!

I already posted a bit about Knit Nation, but I took better photographs of my purchases today, so will include them here again.

Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball

Socktopus Sokkusu

Love the colours of this!

Noro Kureyon Sock

Wollmeise Twin

Wollmeise Twin

Crystal Palace Mini-Mochi

Toft Alpaca British Alpaca Yarn

Fibre Harvest 4ply

Fibre Harvest Lace

Alpaca & Bluefaced Leicester

Alpaca Merino & Silk

The Kureyon Sock, Mini-Mochi, and Zauberball are for my Year of Projects, the Toft Alpaca has been earmarked for a crocheted scarf pattern that came with it.  The Wollmeise and Sokkusu were my guilty purchases.  I have always been very curious about Wollmeise, and almost choked at the price tag (which was a 50% increase on last years prices apparently!), but now I can say I've owned some, and will eventually try it.  I can see why people rave about the colours, but Easy Knits also had very vibrant colourways available at Knit Nation.  I obviously don't know what it's like to knit with, but it doesn't feel like it holds much stretch and seems quite tightly plied.  I don't think I'd buy more, purely because of the price tag.  Sokkusu was my one really guilty purchase, having said previously I'd be buying no more single skeins (Wollmeise doesn't count since it holds more yardage), but these colourways really are unique so it's not really something you can buy 2 of.  That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!

Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball

Borgs Bavgarner Mora Lace 

Cascade 220

Malabrigo Lace

Ruler & stitch markers!

Cascade 220

GGH Baby Alpaka

GGH Baby Alpaka

Ribbon - 10m in each thingy, and dressmakers rulers

vintage fabric, 1.75*0.80m each

Black/grey thick jersey, and thinner blue & white striped jersey

Cottons

Light grey linen, grey cord  and black cord

Amsterdam was more of a trove than I initially thought.  The markets were fantastic for cheap fabrics, between 2 and 3 euros a metre!  The ribbon was 1.80 euro each, which is jaw-droppingly cheap!  Some of them I already have ideas for, and went shopping with those projects in mind.

The yarn stores I visited were good.  First one was de Afstap, which sold mainly Rowan yarn, which I could get cheaper here, but there was also some others, hence the Schoppel-Wolle and Mora Lace!  I'd never heard of Mora before, but it's feel lovely and came in some gorgeous colours!

Penelope Craft was the highlight, as even though they sold yarns that I can get here, they sold yarns that I actually want to buy!  The prices were marginally cheaper for everything, and the GGH is just divine, both in feel and colour.  It has already been set-aside for some special projects, as has the Malabrigo Lace.  The shop has such a nice feel to it, and the owner was lovely.  I will for sure be returning next year with more money, and hopefully the pound will be stronger then.

I still need to order the rest of the yarn for my YoP, but I may hold off a couple of months as I can't make my mind up on colour.  Stash also has another sale on which has proven very dangerous, I am looking forward to visiting Yarn Cake next month while in Glasgow, and picking up some more Shilasdair.

I have promised Jitterbug after this, that is it for a long long while (but in the same breath mentioned the Knitting & Stitching show in London in October, which doesn't count)!

FO Friday

I've no knitted or crocheted FOs today, but I do have sewing, and I have pictures!  Way to trump this weeks WIP Wednesday post!

Three drawstring project bags.  I am not a fan of ironing, so these are quite wonky and uneven, but they are for personal use so I don't care too much.  They are 3 different sizes, clouds being the smallest one.  The largest was made for a particular project for which I don't have a bag big enough for what it will eventually become.

In other news, Jitterbug was in Germany this week (well, technically Switzerland, France and Germany, but only in Basel airport, and kept crossing the French border while driving to Baden Baden) and came back with souvenirs!

To add to my slowly growing snow globe collection is this beauty

And something new is adorning my not very tacky souvenir, a Hindu calendar.

Can you say "more cow bell"?

There won't be an FO Friday post for the next couple of weeks, but I should have something to show off when I return!  To see more of todays FOs, head on over to Tamis blog!

ps I adore Will Ferrell.  I'd totally do him.
pps LOVING the new blogger look - head to draft.blogger.com if you don't already have it!  Googles re-branding is looking very very nice!

Souvenirs

I like them cheap, and I like them tacky.  I'm not sure why, and I don't know when it began.  I certainly remember bringing back some god awful souvenirs from Singapore, Australia and Bali, but none quite as garish as I like them now, so relatively speaking it's quite a recent development.

These laughing buddhas are from Singapore, and aren't hugely tacky I hope you'll agree? 

Having a husband who travels a fair bit for work has proved to be a veritable gold-mine when it comes to cheap and tacky souvenirs.

The first one he got was when we first started going out, and he was in new York.  he was worried that I was being sarcastic when I said cheap and tacky, so bought me these decidedly non-cheap and tacky souvenirs

It's a shame really as I would imagine New York is brimming with tacky souvenirs!

The next business trip was more successful.  This time, Miami!  He did not disappoint!

This stunning plastic garish looking photo frame!  Isn't it gorgeous??  I seem to recall another gift from this trip, but can't remember the specifics!

Then we went to verona to see Pearl Jam in 2006, and I bought this beauty

In a small city filled with Romeo & Juliet and an old Arena, there was surprisingly very few tacky souvenirs to be had - that's Italians for you!  This fuelled a small obsession with snow globes, though I only have 3 so far :(

Paris was up next on the business agenda

He really let me down with this one but swears blind there wasn't much choice.  He usually keeps his gift buying confined to the airport to get the best tacky pickings, so it's an almost believable excuse really.

We then went on holiday to the Highlands over Christmas 2006, and I bought this

Rather ironically we were up Aonach Mor (the hill next to Ben Nevis) on boxing day and there was not a drop of snow!

He then went to Amsterdam and brought me back ceramic clogs, which was a let-down really since we have Jittes actual childhood clogs hanging in Olivers room.  Clogs??  What the hell was he thinking??  He grew up in Amsterdam and so knows full well the possibilities for tacky presents from Amsterdam.

Aren't they cute? He has 2 pairs, both of them well worn and decorated!

This is where the time-line gets fuzzy, so I'll do my best!
Singapore last year was a bit of a failure.  He was there for 2 weeks, got distracted by volcanic ash stopping his flight home and clearly lost the plot as this was all he could find.  I know for a fact, having been there for 2 weeks before myself, that Singapore is full of tack.

Sweden was at some point last year I think, and I doubted the Swede ability for tack.  Sweden is stylish, it's hip, and the people are gorgeous (see here for proof).  What I got, however, was very Swedish, and obviously aimed at children, but what they hell, it's the thought that counts!

He started going to Dubai in 2008, and Dubai, as you can imagine, has exceeded all expectations of tacky.  He has gone a few times a year since then, some times not getting anything worthy of my standards, but the last few trips has been very successful.

A lot of camels, but just look at them!  the second from last was brought back on Tuesday, and is glorious!  Just look at the Arab with the gold plastic rope attached to the camel.  And the jewelled camel is just spectacular!  the first one he brought back was the plain gold and silver, and I honestly didn't think he could beat that, but each trip he has come above and beyond what is expected.  Just look at the ashtray with the camels as the legs!!!  And the piece de resistance

A SNOW GLOBE!!!!!!  I don't think he will ever top a snow globe from Dubai!  Each time he goes, we talk about the possibilities, and I joked that a real challenge for Dubai would be to find a snow globe.  We both had a really good laugh at the prospect of finding a snow globe in Dubai, and had an even bigger laugh when he brought it home!



In case any of you are worried that this is all my husband brings back, it is not.  I have some gorgeous pashminas from Dubai, and scarves from Singapore.  The kids have had some toys, and some butt-ugly t-shirts, but he only bought those because he had money left to spend.

I look forward to business trips now!  he is unlikely to be going back to Dubai with as much frequency as he has done in the past, and for that I am sorry because I am sure there are way better tacky souvenirs to be had!