I know. I know. Where have I been, indeed? Well, a large part of the answer to that is "fighting with my mobile network", but that doesn't make for very edifying blog content*, so I'll spare you.

Besides that, and melting in the heat (look, I'm from Africa and I love the sun, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to moan when things get quite so sticky!), I have been doing some really rather interesting things. I can't tell you about them just yet, but trust me, you'll like the news. Watch this space.

I've also been doing a reasonable amount of knitting — even trying my hands at a little yarn polygamy. Turns out, I can work on multiple projects if I set my mind to it! Of course the conditions have to be right: I need a really good excuse for every one. For instance, the wrap top that's ready for sewing up** is too big to take to work, so I need a little carry-along project. And the tit bits I started may be small and portable, but I'm nervous about carrying a bunch of DPNs (how can they not fall out along the way? I don't wish to push my luck). See? Ironclad excuse for multiple infidelity. Ironclad, I say.

Quick commercial announcements:
Lantern Moon's circular needles have arrived at last. And they are lovely.

We also have a bunch more glass needles, so if the size you wanted sold out too quickly before, please have another go. I think we have enough now.

And an early warning: we Purlescence people will be taking a little summer break next week. My sexy web designer and I will be hieing ourselves off to Scotland for a few days. The shop will be open for business but orders placed during the week will take a leeetle bit longer than normal to ship; plus, we may not respond promptly to emails. (I hear the Highlands are not entirely devoid of the glorious interweb, but I don't fancy my chances.) I know you'll understand.

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* If all goes well, though, the outcome should make for happy blogging indeed — I see a vastly improved cameraphone in my future. Wish me luck, knitters!
** Or so it seemed. Turns out there's a little frogging and remaking to be done. Why do I get it so wrong sometimes? Whywhywhy? *sigh* It will all be worth it in the end. I hope.

Posted by Robynn at 07:30 PM | Permalink | 2 cups of tea on the table | TrackBacks (0)

Yup. Bargain hunting time. Go wild.

Posted by Robynn at 04:07 PM | Permalink | 1 cups of tea on the table

I'd been doing so well. All year, I hadn't bought any yarn. After going just a little bit doolally in the Christmas sale (Summer Tweed!) I took a vow of austerity, much as glittrgirl has just done. I had even offloaded much of my stash (Summer Tweed! I told you I went doolally) at a yarn swap (...okay, I might have come home with a *little* bit of Linen Drape, but I needed that to match some of my existing stash so I could knit a bigger jacket!) and succeeded in getting the stash to fit in just one moderately sized Ikea basket. (Well, practically.) Everything was going so well.

But then I decided I could relax the rule just a little to get a few balls of this...

...to make a bag*. And of course it's sale season**. And, well, somehow I found myself coming home with two bags of this***...

...because it's *fabulous*, and I have been working on 3mm needles (or smaller!) way too damn long, and I'm gonna have me a new winter coat.

Oh yes.

Maybe on my next trip to Ikea, I'll buy the bigger basket. That would make my self-inflicted Stash Limit so much easier to adhere to.

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* Having concluded that an Empowered Knitter doesn't need to wait for a designer to make a bag of the right shape, nuh-uh
** You might want to come back to Purlescence next week. (Ahem.)
*** Rowan ho, moi? I don't know what you're talking about.

Posted by Robynn at 12:48 PM | Permalink | 4 cups of tea on the table | TrackBacks (1)

[Open letter to John Lewis]

Dear Person in Charge,

There is a little known cult in London, bonded by our shared devotion to the twin gods of Colour and Texture. We have but few places to worship, and John Lewis on Oxford Street has long been home to our chief temple. We come from afar to prostrate ourselves at your altar; we sneak in during our lunch hours, or take an “accidental” detour while shopping for chinaware, to experience the Divine Blessing that Noro, and Rowan, and Debbie Bliss can bestow. We take communion, and we leave in a state of exaltation; hearts pounding, senses in bliss. And we spread the word at our separate gatherings, in Islington, and Ealing, and Greenwich.

But now, there is fear and loathing among us. Rumours of persecution abound. Can it be true? Has Haberdashery been moved to the fourth floor, and the glorious display of the gods rendered dismal and cramped? Is the hallowed hush of our sacred place despoiled by shrieking from the infants’ department? Alas, it is so!

Give us hope. Tell us this change is as temporary as the grass. Rebuild our temple and let the faithful serve freely once more, before we poke our pointy sticks into our eyes to assuage the agony. You don’t want that on your conscience. Or your carpets.

Yours in mortification,

Robynn Weldon

Posted by Robynn at 01:23 PM | Permalink | 6 cups of tea on the table

My fabulous new messenger bag.

You know, I have honestly never before owned a bag that I loved. I think it's because I always tried to choose something that was practical and neutral and went with everything. Well, no more! I've become increasingly convinced that the way to shop is to buy only what you LOVE — even if it seems impractical. Buy green high heels and turquoise bags! If those are the colours that grab you, you'll probably find they work with a lot more of your wardrobe than you expect.

Well, that seems to be working for me, anyway. Now I just need to find something a little bit smaller than this messenger bag, for those days when I only want to carry something little and light. And, obviously, fabulously colourful. I guess I'm waiting for Larisa to come up with a tall, narrow bag...

PS. If you haven't already seen, all our new products are now up, and very yummy they are. Those glass needles have been selling like very fast-selling things — more are already on the way!

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* Misquote from an utterly delightful and little known Tolkein poem called Errantry. Find someone to read it to, or failing that, read it to yourself. Aloud. Over and over.

Posted by Robynn at 07:24 PM | Permalink | 4 cups of tea on the table