Back from London

We had a great time although it was very hot and sticky. London in the heat is not pleasant. On Tuesday we drove up and stayed overnight near Gatwick. Wednesday am we took Vanessa to Gatwick and got her checked in for her flight to Norway. We all tried hard not to cry when we said good bye to her at security. We watched her queue and it looked like she was just shedding a few tears as she went through to the departure lounge. I called her a little later and she'd had something to eat and was doing some shopping and seemed to be enjoying the departure lounge on her own. She found her gate and got on the plane. It's not bad finding your way around Gatwick at hte age of 14. A lot of my adult friends would not wish to do that on their own. So I'm very proud of her.

After dropping Vanessa off, we drove on to our hotel and checked in and promptly left for Central London. Simon and Em went to the Natural History Museum and I went on to Stash. Ali had kindly offered to open the shop for me as their closed at the moment. Diane was there too and it was lovely to meet both of them. I spent a relaxing time browsing the shop and discussing yarns and spinning wheels. And yes, I did buy something. It was very tempting and I could so easily have bought more.
From the right, the two little skeins are Koigu Mori which is a blend of wool and silk. I'm thinking of a Ripple scarf with these. In the middle is Handmaiden Sea Silk - I think I've also got this colourway in Handmaiden Mini Maiden, and on the end Malabrigo sock yarn. This is the first time I've seen the Malabrigo sock yarn in person and it looks gorgeous. I just couldn't resist the plum/green colourway. I'm thinking of doing a shawlette with the Seasilk but not sure what to knit with the Malabrigo sock.

As I said I discussed spinning wheels with Diane and Ali. I had been determined to buy a Majacraft Little Gem but now I'm thinking about getting a Majacraft Suzie Pro instead. I've decided to try them out at the Hedgehog stall at FibreFest and then make up my mind. I also discussed 'Yarn of the Month' with Ali and I'm pleased to announce that YarnAddict will be Stash's yarn of the month in January next year. More details later.

When I left Stash I walked and caught the bus with Diane as she lived on the bus route to Socktopus. Imagine living on the bus route between two fab yarn shops. I enjoyed Socktopus too although I didn't spend as long there. Again, there were lots of fab things to choose from and I was very tempted by a lot of stuff but this is what I came home with:
A Knowknit pouch - I've needed another one of these for ages. In hte middle a skein of Sheepaints Marisilk which is a blend of silk and seacell, which is the same as the Handmaiden Seasilk. I just couldn't resist this colourway. It's stunning. And on the left, is Louet Mooi which is a blend of bison, bamboo and cashmere laceweight. It was the bison that drew me to this yarn and the colour ofcourse. Any doubt I like purple?

After Socktopus I'd planned to go on to Loop but decided it wasn't time. So I searched for somewhere to buy some water and got back on the bus. By this time I was seriously over heating so armed with bottles of cold water and ice cream I headed back into central London to meet Simon and Em. We went on to China Town and had a meal then on to London Eye. Simon and I have been on the London Eye once before in 2000 but it was Emily's first go and she loved it. I enjoyed it and spent most of it sitting down admiring the view while I was knitting.

We finally arrived back at the hotel at 10pm. Yesterday we headed back into London and went straight to Hambleys toy shop which Em loved. We then went on to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. I must admit I was hot and bothered by this time. My back was hurting a lot so while Simon and Em looked at painting I sat in the foyer knitting and trying to cool down. I'm not very cultural.Em at Trafalgar Square.

Aftewards we walked around Trafalgar Square a bit and walked up to Picadilly Circus. On the way we found a lovely Pizzeria where we had lunch. WE then walked over to Fortnum & Masons (Emily and Simon went ot a lovely book shop next door). I got some gorgeous chocs and marzipan. After this we decided we'd had enough and headed back to the hotel to collect the car. I had to drive all hte way home as Simon can't drive with his sprained ankle and after a 5 hour drive we arrived home at 11.30 last night. I must admit I was very tired and in a lot of pain but pleased I'd managed to drive ht whole way on my own.

Simon is suffering today after all hte walking he did. His ankle was quite swollen last night and he's got a nasty heatrash, which I think wsa caused by the heat caused by the swelling.

Today I've had one of my laziest every days. I got up fairly early in a lot of pain. My whole body seemed to be aching. I then fell asleep in front of the telly and didn't get dressed till midday. I've not been out today and have spent the afternoon knitting and catching up on computer stuff.

Hopefully I'll feel better after an early night. At the mometn my back/neck is still very bad and my legs are aching from all the walking we did.