I died today... and then went skating

Well, the weapons arrived in the post today - a pair of Sock Wars socks all the way from Canada from the lovely Dawn who made my demise a lot nicer by including a copy of Things I Learned from Knitting Whether I Wanted to or Not by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. How generous is that!

The socks are lovely, just the right size and so soft. Dawn used the recommended TOFUtsies yarn which contains soysilk and chitin (made from shrimp and crab shells!)

This is how far I'd got with the Detonator socks I was knitting:

I just had the last toe to do! I lasted to the halfway stage (half of the 1000 and something warriors are dead) and it's three weeks into battle. Well, I wish Dawn all the best and hope she makes it to the end.

I guess I've been spending too much time over at the Skein Queenery group on Ravelry but it's a fantastic place to see who's bought what and what they've made out of it and just to have a good old natter. I'm so glad I started it up.

Here's a peek at the first installment of the Plushness Squee! Sock Club. The theme of the club is the British Social Season and this colourway is Sweet Pea inspired by the Chelsea Flower Show:

I love seeing the different socks designs started in this yarn - here's just one example - a pair of No Purl Monkeys by the lovely gilraen. (I used to think it was a real achievement to get a mention on her blog - now got mentioned on her Friday Yarn Pr0n a couple of times in a row - woo hoo! Thank you, gilraen.)


To see more finished projects by SQ customers, check out here - there's some GORGEOUS new ones added, so click, click, click!

And some recent custom orders for you to see:

Ambrosia - thick, creamy custard in Plushness

Gilraen's Choice in Plushness

Tangerine Scream in Plushness

Emmeline inspired by the Suffragette flag - one in Plushness, one in Endure

Lothorian in Plushness

I was struggling with my rubbish bamboo DPNs from ebay otherwise known as "the kebab skewers", so finally succumbed to a set of KnitPicks and very lovely to work with they are too.

Today, we went ice-skating. I was in total and utter agony after going for a run in the first time in over a year and ended up running four and three-quarter miles!!!!!! Furthest I've ever run in my life. I went with my friend and we were chatting so much, it passed by really quickly. But OMG, I paid for it this morning. Getting out of bed was like lifting one lead weight out, followed by the next and hobbling to the bathroom! So the prospect of skating was not enthralling me!


And it would be the day Skein Princess decides she's forgotten everything she once knew about skating and insisted on being dragged round for an hour and a half! I'm telling you, my biceps are something else after that! Guess which one she is in the photo of the five of us zooming round?!

Afterwards, we went over to the forest and had a mooch about checking out the ferns and the squirrel's dinner tables and building a bivouac (Skein Princess was put in charge of interior design!)


Granda Gerry's over from Belfast staying with us and he came skating and I have to say, he was the best skater amongst us! Almost 70 he is too! And I'm sure he'll thank me for advertising that little fact!

Then we came home and me and Skein Prince baked a cake.

And Skein Princess ate it (while Paddy the cat watched and drooled)

I am loving reading all the guesses for my little win free yarn competition on the last post - keep them coming - I need more, more, more - I really wish I could do some of those things!

And I'm planning a shop update over the weekend including lots of guest yarn and this:

80% merino 20% bamboo

Entice

Summer Bunting in Kimono

And finally, some flowers:

White Poppy

Pale Pink Roses

By which to remember my Uncle Gerald who died last week of liver cancer. A small tribute for my mum's brother.