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Tuesday 11 March 2014

Sunny Saturday and knitting up a kaleidoscope

I love farmers markets.





All that fresh produce so beautifully set out, bread, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy




and flowers


Last Saturday in bright sunshine I found my all time perfect market, where just past a stall selling award winning cheeses and up this street in Alton in Hampshire


There were craft stalls, just setting up


Selling all sorts of pretty things including these seriously cute felted fora and fauna


However it was not entirely serendipitous as via the blogosphere (as you do) I had met a kindred spirit.  A woman, like me, of 'a certain age' who after a successful and serious career has recently rediscovered an old love and is spending her time crafting.  Adaliza makes patchwork.


Beautiful shapes and fabrics, patched and pieced into quilts, cushions and teeny tiny accessories.


All so desirable.  It was lovely to stand and chat, although despite the sunshine it was very chilly, Adaliza took her coat on and off twice and I wished I had worn a scarf; but not surprisingly the stall was attracting a lot of attention.  So I moved on to browse some more and buy a few things.

At the moment I am rather excited about The big Project,  it's a secret known to only a few and, while I cannot stop thinking about it, most of the work is being done by JTH.  But I'm still buying this and that to make up into pretty things for The Project.  It so happens that Alton has a nice little wool shop tucked away up Market Street.  Its called The Knitting Habit.

In my case The Yarn Buying Habit may be a better description.  Insufficient time to knit up the yarn never seems to be a reason not to buy when I encounter particularly delicious yarn.

I bought this


I'm just the tiniest bit disappointed with this photograph, I have snapped the clutch of colours several times and can't get the turquoise to pop.  Please believe me when I say that from the middle there is grey, three shades of blue and two of turquoise blending into green and then lime.  As this project is not intend to be worn but to display and is more about colour than texture I had thought I would compromise on my usual No Man-made Fibres rule but it wasn't necessary.  This is Drops 100% wool Baby DK and is as soft and squishy as you will ever find   - at only £3 a ball.

However, I might need some yellow and maybe purple too...

Do we all dream of colour and texture and possible projects?  Is that what makes us true knitters?

I would love to know what you think?

xx

C

6 comments:

Adaliza said...

Lovely photos - I love to see photos of the other stalls as I'm never able to explore the market myself! Wasn't it just wonderful to see the sunshine, even though I'm going to rename Cross & Pillory Lane "Windy Corner"!!

Gracie Saylor said...

Catherine, I am very susceptible to colorful soft yarn. As a matter of fact I just posted about visiting several yarn stores on my way to and from a retreat. I have not yet shown the cobalt blue merino yarn I purchased with dreams of knitting a prayer shawl :)

Anita said...

Hi Katherine,
Three cheers for our farmers....they are priceless. Those farmers markets must be huge fun. Love the yarn, and I think that is a true thread that runs through knitter's veins....colour, texture, ply....our next project lol.
Cheers, Anita.

Anita said...

Hi Katherine,
Three cheers for our farmers....they are priceless. Those farmers markets must be huge fun. Love the yarn, and I think that is a true thread that runs through knitter's veins....colour, texture, ply....our next project lol.
Cheers, Anita.

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Really, I wish someone would come with me on a trip to a little market like that! It all looks so charming :)

Turquoise never reproduces well; we'll take it on faith. And yes, I think we all dream of glorious riots of colour. Reminds me of my trip to a Woollen Mill. Mom was exclaiming over the screened rooms filled with carded fiber, and the mill owner advised her to ditch her walker and jump in! LOL!

Annie Cholewa said...

I suffer the exact same affliction ... I buy it whether I have time to knit it or not. And if I were to knit everything I'd like to knit I'd need to live to be very, very old indeed!

Have fun with your colourful new yarn :)