Stitch n Bitch

It was definitely a last minute thing! I got up and had a bath, thinking i might go and besides, my hair needed washing anyway :oD
Then i dithered about for a while, thinking i wanted to go but wasn't sure about going "up town" on my own - i don't know what's happened to my confidence, apart from the fact that it's non-existant!! In my younger days i would have bunked the train and blagged my way into the show, nowadays it's all i can do to look at someone and ask for "one adult" please!
So, anyway, Bloke was still sleeping cos he had a late night and i went in to say bubye, which woke him up, then i decided i didn't want to go so went for some cuddles, then i decided i did want to go so got up again, then i decided i didn't want to go.... by about 10am i decided i was going, so i grabbed all my bits together, made sure i had my knitting (most important) and dashed out the door. It's an easy journey to Euston - tram to Croydon, train to London Bridge, tube to Euston - from there you just walk 5 minutes down the road to the hotel and then find out where the show is being held. I would have liked to have seen signs in the street, even if it was just little yellow "iknit" arrows or something, and a big arrow outside the venue would have been goo too, there were several of us that went into the wrong side to ask for directions to the show, and one lady got lost walking round Bloomsbury Square cos she forgot to write down directions!!
Still, we all got there in the end :o)
I got in to the hall and was about to phone Joy when i spied her and Noo in the corner, i tried to hide but they spotted me ;o)
The show itself was FAB! It was big enough that it wasn't too squished in when trying to view stalls but small enough that it felt more like an indoor craft market than a "show" and there were a few faces i recognised, and some names that could finally have faces put to them :o)
I saw Sue and Diane that i met at Stash earlier in the year, it was nice to catch up and see what they are up to now. Sue had a pile of lovely box bags and shawl pins for sale, her fabrics are so cute and quirky, i loved 'em! While we were loitering there someone i have followed ont he internet came and said hello to Joy, and it was Ruth from Woolly Wormhead and her preggie belly :o) It was lovely to meet her after reading her posts for so long, i love her designs too! Diane was helping Alice out on the Socktopus stall, where two skeins of Dream in Colour's Smooshy managed to fall into my shopping bag *OOPS!* ;o)
I finally succumbed to the lure of Wisterious and Dusky Aurora :oD They'll be shawls or stoles, i have been attacking Ravelry today and adding patterns to my queue like crazy!
I also bought a glove kit from Hemp for Knitting in "Espresso" - the ladies there were lovely and so friendly and the cashmere/hemp blend is luvverly too :oD
The other thing that made it into my shopping bag (i took one of my new bags from The Knitting Parlour :o) ) was the triangle scarf kit from the Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop in a rather shockingly bright fuchsia pink colour with curly fleece in shades of pink through coral and orange for the accents - i started it last night and am two thirds of the way through it. Oh yes, i am definitely off the NO-vember wagon! *LOL*
Joy, Noo and i then met up with Glynis (who is unfortunately blogless) for a coffee, she had her two daughters with her - one of whom has two rattygirls and they were going to the Pet Heaven workshop in the afternoon. We saw the results later in the day, they had made a knitted hamster! It was very cute, i had a flick through the book but all i would be tempted to make are the ferret and the hamster, although the tortoise hibernation tent is rather splendid!
I also had the extremely good fortune to meet up with Jane and her knitting group friends, one of whom is Lixie who was wearing her gorgeous sock yarn cardigan. It was a lovely way to wind down after the excitement of the shopping! We just sat and knitted and chatted and had a good old giggle, and the "ante-room" we were in was so much cooler than the hall as well, it was fabulous! If my hot flushes are this bad already i am SO not looking forward to "the change" i'm going to be even more miserable than i am now :o(
I ventrued back out into the hall with every intention of hanging around to see Debbie Stoller but i noticed it was getting dark outside and i started getting anxious so i bade farewell to Jane, reminded her about the coming weekend and made a dash for Euston.
As i ran down the stairs a tube train had pulled into platform two - southbound so i jumped on it, then i jumped off again as i was paranoid that i might have got on the wrong one and sure enough the big vertical station guide thingy on the wall said it was going to Charing Cross and there was no mention of London Bridge which really confused me. It was going South, why wasn't it going to London Bridge? Then i realised that the the Nother Line splits into two and one side goes to Charing Cross and the other to London Bridge! DOH! I am SO glad i jumped off though, i would have had a major panic attack otherwise! I trundled down to platform six and was relieved to see London Bridge ont he map thingy - i wonder what they're called? They must have a name musn't they? Everything has a name...
But i digress, which has led me on a futile 15 minute Google for the name of the map in a tube station... The rest of the journey was uneventful, with just a small panic at London Bridge when i couldn't find the platform i wanted *sigh* Luckily i found it and managed to get a seat too which is always a bonus! I know i shouldn't panic, i know that if i miss the train it doesn't matter, there'll be another one along in a while, i don't even know why i get so panicky but i do and that's all there is to it. I just feel under pressure for some reason, but i am sure the only person putting me under pressure is me, anything else is imagined, and anyway, how do you ask someone to stop doing something that they don't realise they are doing? *sigh*

All in all a fantastic day, that's another definite date for the calender next year!
I'm off to catch up on some telly - the hard drive is getting fullded up again and i also want to finish my yummy scarf so i can wash it and wear it :o)
I watched Strictly last night, i am beginning to loathe "the general public"! why do they insist on keeping Kate Garaway in the competition? She is AWFUL and does not deserve to be there in my opinion. Well, she's not awful , she's rather nice and quite endearing but her dancing is awful
and i don't think she's even improving which is surely what the idea of the competition is?? It is a dance competition after all, not a popularity contest *insert much rolling of eyes, tutting and sighing here*
Poor Penny, i really liked watching her and Ian dance, i thought they were doing really well too.
Still, it's only telly and it is all for charity. which reminds me... they've CHANGED Pudsey!!


It's sacrilege!!