Knit Out Day in Bolton

I managed to get to the monthly knit out of the Knitty Noras today. Anyone passing by the Cafe Nero in Bolton might have wondered who were all these women knitting (in my case crocheting) in public. It was a good turn out today and as I hadn't managed to get to the last couple of meetings I enjoyed it a lot. We get a chance to chin wag with fellow crafters. Swop ideas and look at who is knitting what and with what wool etc. We take new books and magazines that we have bought so we can have a good look at what is on offer. My latest 3 crochet books hadn't arrived so they will be for the next Knit Out. I did take my 2 latest books and the sock book I got for my birthday.

At the Knit Out I worked on a crochet beanie hat and slim scarf for my niece Kath to match the crochet cardigan I had made her for Christmas but I forgot to take a photo of it before I gave it to my other niece to pass on to her. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out and will probably make another one for myself sometime. The scarf was loosely based on one from the Happy Hooker book and the beanie was made using the stitch from another hat with my own version of crown shaping. The photo today is from the Sunday Mirror magazine. If you look closely you will see a few knitteds on the Ski fashion theme. The hat is from Malboro Classic and is priced at £45! Wow - can I knit for them at that price please, please, please. I am trying to decide if it is double thickness like my hats are. If it is then mine are far thicker and warmer than theirs. I wore mine to walk the dog and had to take it off half way around as my head got too hot.

My niece bought me a Neoprene wrist support from Boots chemist and I am going to try it out tonight. My wrist has been aching a lot whilst I am knitting in the round. I think it's arthritis rather than my carpal tunnel operation site. I am hoping to finish off the second piece of one of the doubled hats tonight. I didn't do much knitting last night because of the wrist ache. The embroidery bit is the worse bit for me. I am not much good at wielding a needle these days. In my youth one of my aunts taught me to embroider tablecloths and I still have a couple that I made when aged around 8yrs. Unfortunately for me my aunt who was a brilliant tailoress would not teach me to sew like her as she didn't want me going into the garment slave trade as she described it. Here I am 50yrs later trying to get into the knitting/crochet slave trade! Full circle. She never thought she got paid a fair wage for her sewing and I still think the same applies today. Anything hand made has to be priced per garment and not per hour so it is never a basic wage no matter how prolific the crafter is.