ONLY THE BEST OF ETSY!!!!!!!

I must just update from the last post. Holland Fabric House owner has another Etsy shop, Zacka selling hand-made gorgeousness, such as the above French Lavender Sachets, made from the lovely fabric from the fabric house. She also has a blog!!. I could not resist buying those cute little iron-on transfers from Holland Fabric House and they arrived, along with the gorgeous sets of ribbon I also had to buy (ha ha), in only three days; beautifully packaged too!!

Also....yes.... I did buy the Etsy Sampler Boxes I mentioned. Below is a pair of Organic Moonlight Sonata sachets from Sonata Soaps, one of the contributors, who has sent little packs of ten teeny guest soaps for the sample boxes; if I get those in my box I will be using them as freebies for my custom knit orders etc. I must must must plug these sample boxes !! I think they are fantastic, and the very best thing about them is that you get ten lovely surprises (though you may request up to three specific items per box.)



As for the Lush Heads and Shoulders.......box, hmmm....I am getting bored with Lush...to commercial now and they refuse to take out all the parabens and SLS. With that attitude they cannot hope to retain their customers, as the kind of customers who will pay those prices are the same customers who are now demanding chemical-free. I noticed just two days before Christmas it was still possible to get into the shop, whereas last year - I mean 2008 - you couldn't move for people.

I have defected back to Dr Hauschka's.

I couldn't resist Jo from Lime Green Jelly's latest batch. I have found this to be the most consistently high-quality fibre! There was one I returned, not through any fault, but only due to the colour being different from how I had thought it would look. The fibre is finshed to an incredibly fab standard - very professional. And the attention to detail in each of the braids of fibre I've bought so far has been amazing. These are the two I bought on Friday:

Silhouette - 100% Mulberry Silk

Blue Ink - 100% 21 micron Merino

My plan is to spin them both as finely as I can then ply them, but this won't be until I get my Kick Spindle, which I am going to request as an Easter gift instead of chocolate...see the sacrifices we spinners have to make!!!!!! I've also just begun the lovely hat I've designed for Saar. If it I successful as I hope, I'll post the pattern here and also to Ravelry. There do not seem to be very many patterns specifically for the kind of thickish handspun yarn which beginners tend to produce. But which is very useful for gorgeous winter hats and gloves and kiddie's booties etc.

I must mention too....I decided to resurrect Cold Mountain, after becoming rather bored and frustrated with it just before Christmas, to the extent I frogged it! I tried to find a pattern which would do the lovely Elvincraft laceweight yarn justice....but it seemed I was right th first time, and after days searching for alternatives, I kept coming back to Cold Mountain. I realised the reason I got tired of it was because it is such a long-winded pattern but at the same time fairly repetitive, while also being sneaky. It is far from being difficult,but you do have to keep your wits about you. And you know, I just wanted to be onto Chart B, and I just wanted it finished! So this time round I am being more patient and far more careful. It is my back-burner project for February and I do not mind if it takes all month to complete, but I shall knit at least ten rows every night at least and that way I will see it grow faster than it was before.

As for the weather....it has snowed again, at the weekend. It has now half-thawed, then frozen over again. Treacherous. I now have to go out in it.....