I've been shop fossicking again. On our way to spend a lovely weekend with my brother and his wife, JTH and I stopped off in Buckingham on Friday to have a look at what is probably
the oldest building in the county. As Buckingham ceased to be the county town many years ago its centre was spared any of the
nasty municipal vandalism that took place in the new county town in the 1960s
Recently I have developed super sharp eyes for spotting tiny little shops and treasures on our walks around these small places that time seems to have overlooked. Like this basket of darning yarns (and knicker elastic!)
You may ask why the title of today's blog is about self control. Unless that is you are like me and don't consider that having no use for a particular item as sufficient reason for not buying and are sorely tempted by things like these. They evoke a time when people might stroll down the high street for a pound of butter, a quarter of tea and some grey darning wool. But I don't darn socks (although if a pair I had lovingly knitted sprung a hole I might think differently) and I definitely don't hold up any item of underwear with elastic - pink or black. So in this instance I did exercise self control and pass by on the other side of the shop, where I found this -
A pink satin eiderdown, such as my Granny was proud to own, in all its rosy, glossy, puffiness. But eiderdowns still speak to me of draughty bedrooms and chilly sheets so my acquisitive streak was satisfied just to take a photograph away with me.
Not so the linens however.
I really couldn't resist adding to my collection with some of these.
And I found a yarn shop!!
One skein of Manos slipped easily into my bag after I parted with £10. It is destined to be a hat for a very special project (more of that later)
Not to forget the buildings, the old Gaol is now a museum and tourist information centre, its tiny shop only sells local handmade crafts
And the building we came to see? a
chantry chapel which is now a second hand bookshop and cafe
Unfortunately it was closed, we shall have to visit again. I was about to say JTH is to second hand book shops what I am to yarn shops but I love them too, making a bee line for the old knitting books. JTH also pointed out to me how many different styles of architecture you can see in this building and that the Norman arch over the main door is probably the oldest part of all.
The Zimmerman Project - part 4
I have almost completed the sleeves, about 3cm to go then I shall be linking them up to the body, get back to one large circular needle and speed away up over the shoulders and around the neck. Nearly finished, I am loving making the sweater but I have sooo much more to do before Christmas. If only I had begun in January...
xx
C