starting the New Year in the right way

How?
By adding to the stash, of course!

Last week, I visited the Big Box Store (not the real name of the store; it’s a crafts and home-wares chain store) to buy some fabric to bind Dotty Bright. While there, I found myself in the yarn department and picked up a couple of bargains that weren’t advertised in the catalogue (they were specials in this store only).

Let me explain: The store had some yarn they wanted to clear so they marked it down to clearance prices. It wasn’t moving quickly enough, so a sign on the table advertised 50% off the clearance prices!

So here are my purchases:

Firstly, sock yarn (as if I needed any more!): I don’t have these two colourways and at $2.50 for 100g I couldn’t resist! This particular yarn, at full price, is $11.99 for 100g.

And no, I’m no trying to brag; I want overseas readers to understand how much we pay for craft materials here. Remember, this is a chain store with discount prices, sock yarn at my local LYS starts at $24.99 a ball!

Secondly, what I consider my bargain of the month – not only was it heavily discounted, but the sale yarn included my favourite colour!

It’s a 90/10 blend of cotton/silk. It was marked down to $3.00 a ball and to clear it out, they were taking another 50% off. Twenty balls (all in the same dye lot) for $30.00 – what a bargain!

On Saturday I returned to the store. This time I had DD with me. It’s a rare treat for her to get out without the boys so she made the most of it. I could say it was all her fault but it wasn’t really; I had already made up my mind what to buy before I got there.

Before I go any further, overseas readers probably need to know that fabric in this chain store normally starts at $12.99 a metre, and in Australian quilt stores, fabric starts at $24.99 a metre. (Just take a moment to absorb that…     Okay, you can resume normal breathing now!)

So you can understand that when I say “bargain”, I mean BARGAIN (sorry for shouting)!

I bought three metres of each of these fabrics for $4.00 a metre (yes you read that correctly!) That amounts to a discount of 67%-75%!

These fabrics were purchased with the intention of using them as backings. I’ve used the top one already! (yes, that means there's quilting in progress but that's another post)

And I bought at least two metres of each of these solids. The normal price of homespun in this store is $6.99 a metre – at $4.89 a metre it seemed like a good time to stock up. (What’s that? How much is homespun in LQS? Oh, $14.99 a metre! Do I need to remind you to breathe again?)

Navy, Natural, Black, Sand, Petunia, Grass Green, Chestnut, White, Fig, Iron, Regatta Blue

 This fabric was bought for sashing and binding.

DD found these two fabrics in the remnant bin and somehow they found their way into my purchases. The one on the left is homespun, more reddish than shown here. The one on the right is flannelette.


And finally I bought this fabric to make a quilted tablecloth for our new glass topped (outdoor) table. There is enough there to make a couple of placemats for when there is only WM and I.


And, it doesn't stop there: I won these eight fat quarters from a give-away late last year on Wish Upon a Star blog.

Thanks Mrs A! I don’t know what I’ll do with them but I’m sure I’ll think of something!

So, I guess I’d better get sewing!

some yarn purchased and a new tool

I have passed the halfway mark with my intarsia blanket (more on that in a forthcoming post). Unfortunately, although I planned to use up odds and ends of acrylic yarn accumulated from other projects, I have found that I need to keep buying acrylic yarn.

I have discovered that I would rather not knit with acrylic so I am hoping to my diminish my supply rather than keep adding to it!

Anyway, back in March I purchased 5 balls and hoped that would be enough.


But I’m a bit of Kaffe Fassett fan: “if in doubt, add more colour”. As my scraps have run out, I have been “forced” to buy more yarn. in the last few weeks I have added these yarns to my stash. They are all acrylic; the Needles brand (the first five skeins) is softer and cheaper than the Thorobred but I couldn't get all the colours I needed in the Needles brand.


This has not affected my stash-busting policy for this year; because there was always a “get out of jail free” card –> “No yarn (or fabric) is to be purchased and added to the stash in 2012, unless it is needed for a specific project”.

All, except the last three of these yarns are already in use in the intarsia blanket. I stopped knitting yesterday and started another project (oh no!*) because I really wanted to put red where I needed a new colour. the blue and the green will also be used in the next row or two so they were bought specifically for this project.

While I was in the Big Box Store this morning, I also bought myself one of these:

I hope it helps me see the placement of the cream stitches on the white Aida 14 count cloth!

*I had decided I wasn't starting any new projects until I finished some UFOs but I was only in the mood for garter stitch, so a new project was started.

the weekend that was

This past weekend was one of the busiest weekends I have had in a long time.

I've already told you that DD and I went to "high tea" on Sunday and visited the discount book store on the way home.

There's a post coming next Sunday about our newest project: a scrappy string quilt top; the why and wherefore will be given then.

So I guess that leaves Friday and Saturday.

On Friday it was 38*C (100*F) here. DD and I had great intentions of spending some time using the quilting frame but the garage, as I may have told you before, is not insulated so it was way too hot to be out there most of the day! We did spend some time out there in the cooler evening and some of what we accomplished is also shown in next Sunday's post. (I'm not trying to tease you; there is a reason for the delay and it will become apparent over the next day or two!)

We visited the Big Box Craft Store because I received an email to say they had 50% off selected quilting fabrics. When we got there it was off those in the $16.99 and $19.99 ranges only; and, since we had no notion of what we wanted, we bought nothing! Yes, you read that right; we drove across town to a fabric sale and bought zip! zilch! nada!!

On Saturday I took DD to a discount fashion store where she bought two tops and a new skirt. We then drove to the monthly meeting of the Blue Mountains group of the Knitters' Guild of NSW. We had two retailers there - one was selling cashmere blend yarns and one was selling alpaca fleece, yarns and items. Again we bought nothing! Aren't we good? (No wonder I didn't feel so bad buying all those books on Sunday).

DD was voted in as the new treasurer for our knitting group - congratulations to her and the new convenor and new secretary.
D. you've done a great job over the last three years and I'm sorry that you were not properly thanked!

On Saturday night WM, DD and I went to a local production of "Pygmalion". This is one of my favourite plays (and one of my favourite musicals in it's other incarnation: "My Fair Lady").

photo from stagewhispers.com.au
showing Bob Sparrow (Henry Higgins), Ali Gore (Eliza Doolittle)
and Alan Pope (Colonel Pickering)

The costumes were great, and the acting was pretty good. The one character that stood out for me was Mrs Higgins, plated by Robyn Pope - what a fabulous performance. Not a falter with her lines and she just played the part with what appeared to be consummate ease.

Well done to all the Glenbrook Players.

adding to the fabric stash

Last week I took DD to the Big Box Craft Store; this was the result:


I think we begin to have a stash!

When is enough enough?

On Friday a good friend came to visit (Hi D!). I picked her up form the railway station and when we arrived, DD and the Grandboys were already here. We had a lovely day knitting and talking and eating and talking and knitting and talking and ...

DD and the Grandboys stayed overnight. Older Grandson didn't sleep well because his ears were bothering him. He's okay when he's upright but lying down obviously puts too much pressure on his ears. Because he slept in our room, we didn't get much sleep either. Well, we did but it was definitely broken sleep!

Yesterday we visited the Farmer's and Artisan's Markets at Castle Hill. The Farmer's Markets were good; we looked, we sampled, we bought some strawberries and navel oranges and I was given a bar of goats' milk soap to try - I hope it works because I have very dry skin which becomes itchy and when I scratch it sometimes tears! We ate freshly made spinach and feta gozleme. OG loved the samples of yoghurt he got to eat! And now he loves strawberries too!

The Artisan Markets were a bit of a disappointment. Apparently some stall holders had already packed up and gone (was it the bitterly cold wind?). The markets have only been operating for four months and there were less than twenty stalls when we got there more than hour before closing time. It didn't help that one of the stall holders was complaining to the one of the other stall holders that people walk past (obviously us since we were just about the only people in the hall at the time) without even stopping. Doesn't she know that people walking slowly can look at the same time? And that there are some things in this world that are just not that interesting to some other people even if she finds them endlessly fascinating?

On the way home, we stopped at the Big Box Store for the much advertised Quilt Expo - a total waste of time! The store in Castle Hill had a much larger range of fabric than our local store but our local store displays fabric by colour and the CH store by some other kind of system - so if you wanted fabric in one colour you'd have to look in three or four different places! Needless to say, DD and I didn't stay long (WM was in the car with the sleeping Grandboys) and we didn't buy anything!

And now to the point of my post. Because the last couple of days have been filled with other things, I haven't had any time to read blogs. This morning I've been catching up! It's midday; I have spent four hours reading and commenting! I'm still in my pyjamas. I haven't had breakfast! I haven't done any knitting (I'm working on a pair of socks that I started last night and plan to finish them in time to wear next weekend - am I mad or what?)

I enjoy all the blogs I read but this is a total time suck! Imagine what it will be like when I go away for the weekend, bring my mum back to stay for a week, then go away for another weekend! I'll be days catching up!

What do you think: when is enough enough?

additions to the fabric stash

There are two Big Box Craft Stores in my town. One of them I rarely visit - the customer service is non-existent and the one time I looked for quilting fabric the choice was very limited! They used to have a wide range of Australian-made knitting yarns but over the past few years they have introduced their own range - all made overseas!

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, the other Big Box Store had a "30% off all floor stock" sale. How could I resist? LOL

And, because many people I know speak in derogatory terms of this Big Box Store, I have to say this: the last three times I have bought something in the store, the staff have been friendly and very helpful; yes, that's right fellow Aussies, I got customer service with a smile! And not just me - every person who approached the fabric counter was treated very well. On the other hand, I can rarely find anyone in the knitting/craft department. Usually they are at the "party" counter and don't know anything about knitting or craft. But the ladies at the fabric counter know what they're talking about and share their knowledge willingly!

So, on Monday, after class at my LQS (where I bought enough wool/polyester batting to make twenty four more string blocks), I visited the Big Box Store. One of the reasons for my visit was thread but I forgot to buy any! It took me ages to decide on a colour for the sashing for the Wonky String blocks. I think I auditioned every solid or near-solid on the shelves. Finally I settled on this one. I had to photograph it between two blocks to get something approaching the right colour. It is actually more purplish than shows here; I call it "royal blue", the fabric label calls it indigo".


The Wonky Strings quilt is a collaborative effort between DD and I. She wasn't able to go to the store with me so I had to make the choice alone. If DD doesn't like it (which would be unlikely since blue is her favourite colour), I'll keep it for the Scrappy Strings quilt.

I also picked up half a metre of each of these five fabrics. They were already discounted to $6.00 a metre, but I got 30% off - what a bargain!


And finally, I bought three metres of this purple fabric for a quilt idea I want to try. More about that later!


So, quilting has resumed at Never-Too-Hot-To-Stitch!

Speaking of which, do you like the new look (and the modified title)? 

Small New Blogs Meet-up

This is far from being a new blog since I have just written my 500th post.

But I do qualify for the "meet up" - I have less than twenty followers.

I would like to meet some new blogging friends so have decided to join the fun.

The creator of this meet-up, Lynne (what a great name! LOL), from Lily's Quilts, has asked that I start by introducing myself and my quilting.

Warning: it's a long introduction and current followers have probably heard it all before!

My name is Lynne. I have been married thirty four years this year. WM ("Wonderful Man") and I live in the metropolitan area of Sydney, NSW, Australia. We have one child, a daughter (DD), who was married in January 2009. She has two sons, one nearly eighteen months old, the other just five weeks old. In this blog I refer to them as Older Grandson (OG) and Younger Grandson (YG).

I have been knitting (on and off) since I was about five years old. I completed my first garment when I was sixteen - a sleeveless sweater with cables on the body and stripes around the lower band and arm holes. I became a serious, every day knitter, some time about 2006 and started this blog in relation to my hobby (hence the title).

My grandmother, who had her own business as an upholsterer/decorator, bought my first sewing machine when I was seventeen. She also taught me to sew because the high school I attended, despite being girls only, did not teach Home Economics! My first garment was a four-gore skirt in floral patterned voile which Nanna made me line for reasons of modesty! I loved that skirt and wore it for many years.

After I was married and working full time, I took "garment assembly" classes one evening a week for four years at the local technical college; so I have been sewing, on and off, for over thirty years.

In March 2010, when OG was just three weeks old, DD and I attended a craft fair. One of the sewing machine companies was running a hands-on workshop, making blocks that were to be turned into quilts for Haiti. DD and I both made one block each and, after a hiatus from sewing for many years, I remembered how much I enjoy the process.

So, DD and I went to our local Big Box Craft Store and bought fabric to make a quilt for OG to lie on the floor - it would keep him warm and protect our beige carpet from baby "spills". We didn't know what we were doing so we followed what we had done at the Craft Fair and chose seven coordinating fabrics. We didn't know how much to buy (I was overwhelmed by too much choice and was therefore not thinking clearly) - one fat quarter didn't seem like enough, so we bought four fat quarters of each!

We made one very wonky quilt. At that time, DD christened us the "Hacky Packy Quilters" (she loves alpacas).

finished size - 30" x 30"

As you can imagine, we had a lot of fabric left. Then we found the Modern Sampler quiltalong on Elizabeth Hartman's blog, Oh Fransson! We needed twelve fabrics so we supplemented the seven with another five. We made thirty of the thirty-six blocks, and ended up leaving five of those blocks out of the quilt because we just couldn't make them work.

finished quilt was 50" x 50"

We ended up using them in a laundry bag instead.

the fifth block is on the other side of the bag

We still have a small amount of those fabrics left but they will get used in scrappy quilts (eventually). This year in March we attended another Craft Fair and met a wonderful lady called Elizabeth, owner of Aussie Patches. Her warehouse,where she holds monthly "Sit and Sew" classes, is an hour and a half's drive from here. We attended three "Sit and Sew" sessions (April - June) but because DD's second baby was due in July we had to stop attending.

While there, I designed and began my Country Houses (applique) quilt. Now I am attending weekly classes in my local area and am finally at the stage of joining the quilted blocks together. I have a few quilts on my "to do" list when this one is finished, plus some other sewing projects.

one block of fifteen - unfinished size of each block 17" square

I look forward to meeting many new bloggers - please feel free to leave a comment; like most bloggers, I love receiving them.

And, if you haven't voted on my 500th post yet, would you please pop over there and vote - it's all for a good cause (or three). Voting will remain open until 8am (Sydney time) Saturday 6th August. Thanks heaps.

there are some bargains to be had

Firstly, if you haven't voted on my 500th post yet, would you please pop over there and vote - it's all for a good cause (or three). Voting will remain open until 8am (Sydney time) Saturday 6th August. Thanks heaps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late last week I received an email from one of the two Big Box Craft Stores in my town saying that they were having a three-day-sale. The sale included 40% off all fabrics and 40% off all yarn!

Now, for a knitter who also sews, that was irresistible!

But then, I remembered that earlier in the week I had received another email giving me 10% off everything in the store, including sale items.

Doubly irresistible!

So, on Friday, I took myself across town to the Big Box Store. I went first to the yarn department. I have plenty of yarn in 8ply (DK) weight and really didn't need anymore. I wanted 4ply (baby) or 5ply (sport) to knit a couple of baby blankies for Angels for the Forgotten. I bought ten balls of soft 5ply yarn - they only had four balls of the same dye lot of the blue so I bought an extra ball of the cream; I estimate that I will need about 5 balls for each blankie.


I then went to the fabric department. I find too much choice quite difficult so decided to concentrate on the fabrics that were already discounted (before this three-day-sale); that is, the fabrics which had been hanging around in the store for too long because they weren't very popular.

I decided to be frugal (I'm not working and have just bought an expensive sewing machine; plus the Big Box Store has sales quite often!!), so I limited myself to ten half metres (20 inches) of a random selection of fabrics. I concentrated on finding fabrics with colours I like - notice they are mostly brights and mostly warm colours with some green and purple (my favourite colour) thrown in to the mix. I did not really consider the pattern of the fabric; once it is cut into two inch strips much of the pattern will be lost anyway!

I know this is not really the greatest choice of fabrics to work together, but they will be used to make string blocks for quilts for charity. Somehow those string blocks just work, despite the variety of fabrics used.

I'm not sure if that fabric with the white background was such a good choice, I may use it for the back of the blocks which will be made in a Quilt-As-You-Go technique (found here). I'm not sure if these will go to Oz Comfort Quilts, but they will certainly be used for quilts for people in need.

When I got to the cutting table, I had the first of two surprises. The sale fabric was included in the 40% off sale! That is, fabric which had originally been marked at $12.99 a metre and $l5.99 a metre and was now marked at $6 and $8 a metre, was still forty percent off; making them $3.60 and $4.80 a metre!

I then expected the sales assistant to total my discounted purchases (which also included needle threaders and thread) and then take off the 10%-off-everything-including-sale-items ! For example, say I bought $100 worth of fabric/yarn - with the 40% discount that would be $60, then a further 10% would be minus $6, giving a total of $54. That would have been wonderful!

But no ... I got forty percent plus ten percent off all the fabric and all the yarn! That is fifty percent off all yarn and fabric! I got the 5 metres of fabric for what amounts to 25% of the original selling price! I know some of you will not agree with me, but I have to say it: God is good! Normally, I delete my emails from the Big Box Stores without even reading them!!

I returned to the Big Box Store on Saturday but it was crowded and messy and I couldn't think so I ended up leaving without buying anything. I wanted to buy some fabric suitable for men but I couldn't find anything much on the sales table and couldn't get around all the people to look at the "full price" fabric!

There will be other sales and I'm sure I have more than enough to be going on with!

an attempt at fabric shopping

While out and about on Thursday, I visited one of the two Big Box Stores.

Exclusively in Australia, Sp*tl*ght have the new range of Denyse Schmidt fabrics - "Picnics and Fairgrounds" - at $16.95 a metre; they had about twenty different fabrics at my local store. The quality was okay but I don't really like the range - not my thing at all. You can see a picture of the fabric line here at Red Pepper Quilts.

I was at the Big Box Store to buy some inexpnsive fabric to make another change mat for GS#1 - he is too big to use the change table and keeps rolling off the mat we have (it's way too small). But I couldn't find any fabrics that really excited me! He is not a baby anymore so "cutsie" just won't cut it and I'm already finding that nice "boy" fabrics are hard to get!

Fortunately, I am back at the Stitches and Craft Fair today so hopefully I'll get a chance to look at fabrics (as well as teach knitting and test drive machines).

two x 1.5 metres of polar fleece (148cm wide)

So, I left the Big Box Store with this polar fleece fabric to make some ponchos for a local group home for disabled adults. They wear the ponchos whilst sitting outside in their wheelchairs waiting to board the bus. At least I can blanket stitch these by hand - if I can find out how big the ponchos are supposed to be!

While waiting at the counter I saw a request for bags (either tote or drawstring minimum size 40cm x 40cm) and blankies (minimum size 70cm x 70cm) for Angels for the Forgotten.

Now if I just had a sewing machine I could make these things ... I guess I'll have to knit or crochet!

Quilting Adventures in Knitterland patchwork/quilting workshop

Today DD and I are driving to quite another part of this sprawling city to attend a patchwork/quilting workshop. We met the owner of the business (Aussie Patches), Elizabeth Wallace, at the recent craft show. Somehow, we came to enrol in a quilting workshop - a long way from home.

DD and I have been discussing our options for several days.

The Floor Mat
Neither of us really wants to take the floor mat that we started for GS#1. It's not square and we feel a bit embarrassed about it. However, we do have the wadding and the backing (as well as fabric for the binding) and we have to finish it sometime - so it is going with us.

The 30 Completed Blocks currently 8.5 x 8.5 inches
blocks shown here, here and here

We decided that since we had used medium-quality cotton fabrics from the Big Box Store*, we should buy our sashing from the same place (thus - in theory - being the same quality). It doesn't make sense to us to buy higher quality fabric that will outlast the fabric we have already used. Decision made; but we were not able to buy enough of the fabric we wanted for the sashing on our quilt top.  So now we have the option of buying better quality fabric or waiting until (and hoping that) the Big Box Store gets in the fabric we want (navy - tending towards purple - homespun, in case you're wondering).

We were also unable to decide whether it would be better to make two twin bed quilts or one queen size quilt (we won't be keeping them; they will be donated to charity). We bought a piece of queen-sized cotton wadding which we may be able to cut down to two twin sizes.  I have washed the wadding (by hand) and dried it flat in the garage - my car had to stay out all night.

We think we have enough fabric to complete the quilt (queen or twins) - - - if we don't make the backing for the floor mat!

Neither of us is thrilled with fabrics we chose so long ago; which is why we are giving them away - we already have two change table mats and a floor mat from the fabrics, and photos of the blocks.

Our final idea is to turn the finished blocks into drawstring bags (lined with the fabric we would have used for the backing) and start a new quilt with better quality fabrics.

Result: the blocks are going with us.

Tomorrow's post will tell you which option we took.

* I call it "Big Box Store" - there are two of this type in my area; one is called Sp*tl*ght, the other is L*ncr*ft - both offer a range of fabrics, knitting yarn, craft materials, medium priced homewares, and no customer service! They are like shopping in a big box!

stash enhancement

I didn't intend to - I was curious.

DD and I went to the Big Box Craft Store on Tuesday. We went there on purpose. DD and I have a quilt to finish and needed batting/wadding and fabric for sash strips. It made sense to buy the same brand of fabric we had used for the quilt, right? We didn't want to buy high quality fabric to use with our "budget brand" blocks.

As I said, I was curious. So, even though quilting fabrics and knitting yarns are at diagonally opposite ends of the Big Box Store, I wandered around to the yarn department - out of curiosity, remember. That's when I saw them: the very same 100g skeins of sock yarn that I bought on special at the end of winter for $6 a skein; the exact same colourways that were $14.99 a skein during winter 2010.

And they were $2.50 for 100g. That's right - $2.50. So I did what any right-minded yarn collector would do - I bought ten skeins!


Now, the challenge is where I'm going to put them - my sock yarn box is so full the lid won't stay on: I guess I'll have to knit them!

The fabric we bought for the sashing is navy blue homespun - the photos will be more exciting (than looking at plain navy fabric) when we sew it onto the blocks!

And this fabric is not stash enhancement - it's the backing fabric for the project mentioned in my previous post. Isn't it cute?

stash enhancement

I went to the Big Box Store again today. Moda Vera "Noir" (sock yarn) sells for $14.95 per 100g skein. I bought nine balls on special for $7 each. This yarn should make great men's socks for next year's Homeless Connect Day. It's darker than it shows here.

Moda Vera "Pure Wool 8ply" (DK) was on special for $1.50 per 50g ball - that's pure wool for $30 a kilogram: almost the same price as acrylic at one of the Capital Letter department stores and heaps cheaper than the other! Not quite as inexpensive as the Mill Shop in Wangaratta (but I had a wider choice of colours) and quite a bit cheaper than the mail order from the other well-known Victorian mill (although their yarn is softer). Needless to say, some of this also followed me home! LOL

I also have to confess to a kilogram of Bendigo "Neon" (a soon to be discontinued yarn) following me home from the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair last week. This is also a lot darker than it shows in this photo - think charcoal instead of purple!

As you can see, I'm adding to my wool stash and slowly but surely using up my synthetics. If you have befriended me on Ravelry, don't be alarmed if my activity shows more stashing than I've admitted to, I decided today to take some photos of stash I already have listed  -  Ravelry only adds it to the activity page when there's a photo!

Lincraft 'sale' today and Spotlight tomorrow

I visited Lincraft Penrith today - it's quite close to my physiotherapist's practice.

They had lots of yarn - lots of Lincraft yarn, that is! They also had a fair amount of Feathers, Ostrich and Powder Puff - all Patons novelty yarns; the brochure said "national yarn brands up to 70% off " but the weird thing was there were no price signs on anything except the Lincraft yarn! I don't really like working with novelty yarns so I left them where they were!!

There were a couple of large signs advertising that if a customer bought a minimum of $20 of any Lincraft yarns in one sale, they would give him/her a free baby knitting/crochet book valued at $6.99. So, what the heck? Lincraft acrylic DK is cheaper than the yarn at at Big W ($1.99 compared to $2.63) so I thought I'd try dyeing that. Eleven balls of that and voila! one free baby pattern book. I like the book - it has both knitting and crochet patterns for clothes, blankets and toys; if you happen to be in a Lincraft store, take a look; it would possibly be $7 well spent for the wide variety of patterns [if, of course, you don't already have dozens!]

As for sale; apart from the Patons novelty yarns [which were unmarked] - everything seemed pretty much the regular price. Even the bags from Wangaratta are always that price; and the Lincraft DK [acrylic] works out the same price per 100g! $5.00 for 250g of wool is good value but I couldn't find any packs that looked like they contained wool. $5.00 for 250g of baby nylon is also good but I don't like knitting with it and, since it's always that price, I can probably pick some up later if I really want some. Right now I have quite a bit [at least of pink and white] due the generosity of a fellow member of K4C!

So, if you live out this way, like knitting with novelty and/or synthetic yarns, there's a wide range to choose from; just don't come expecting a bargain, there doesn't seem to be any!

While I was in the area, I visited the markets for more Ozepol [dye for acrylic] - the vendor, Terry, of Starr Lace seemed quite impressed with my efforts [photos tomorrow I hope!]

PS Spotlight's new sale starts tomorrow: Thorobred 8ply 100g acrylic VIP price 99c [usually $1.99] - "up to 16 colours available": see you in Penrith Spottie at 9am!