Saturday, July 25, 2009

more Bendigo...

Firstly, I finished my armwarmers :)

and they have kept me toasty on these crisp Melbourne mornings


The photo's a little dark, sorry, but the colours are beautiful and muted - you can see them better in the "unfinished" post.

I wanted to show off my Bendigo purchases in a little more detail, too.

I went a little silly on laceweight this year at Bendigo. Which would seem peculiar, given the lack of lace knitting I do, but I just fell in love with these skeins and they had to come home.

These beauties are Ixchel's cashmere/merino laceweight; colourways "Zen"(back) and "Mossy Forest". This size skein has about 350m, which I think is perfect for a couple of lovely, special cowls.


This piece of gorgeousness is my Stranded in Oz merino single laceweight; colourway "Jitterbug Perfume". I found Melissa's stall last year, but alas, a fraction too late. At that stage my credit card had melted and my cash has been stolen (or spent, depends on who I'm telling the story to!).

This year I arrived early and while chatting to Melissa, she handed me this skein to feel the softness. I remarked how seriously gorgeous it was and while we kept chatting, I found it had jumped into my bag, so naturally I felt obliged to pay for it.
I hadn't noticed the name of the colourway, but as soon as Melissa said it was "Jitterbug Perfume", I had a "moment"!

Jitterbug Perfume was the first novel of Tom Robbins I ever read. It was recommended to me by a housemate (himself actually rather divine, I must say!). I devoured it rather than read it, and it remains to this day one of my favourite novels. Melissa told me of meeting Tom Robbins at a book signing in Barnes & Noble and how fabulously mad he was. I cannot wait to find the absolutely right lace project for this one, even if it means writing my own pattern-tribute to the book! There's nearly 1000m of yarn in this skein, so the sky is the limit.

I just love the connections you find amongst wool and knitters :)

13 comments:

M* (Melanie) said...

those arm warmers look scrumptious and are very inspiring. It's been a cold Melbourne week and my poor arms and wrists have suffered!!

cseneque said...

What a story! Talk about yarn being meant for you.
What's Jitterbug Perfume all about?

Gidgetknits said...

Oh, I love Jitterbug Perfume too! And Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas... I don't suppose she'd do a colourway for that one too? Lovely yarn!

Anonymous said...

I love the armwarmers! I especially like that they are not chunky or bulky at all. And what a great yarn haul!

Rose Red said...

It was clearly meant to be! Love it!!

Kaviare said...

I was VERY TEMPTED by that laceweight, in the Zen colour. But I resisted because I don't really knit lace, and I already HAVE a million billion skeins of laceweight, and I didn't know what I'd do with it.

But it was tough, I tell you, leaving it behind...

Bells said...

i have not read that book but feel now I must. I have no idea what it's about but your recommendation has left me curious.

I was sent some lovely Ixchtel by Ceri! It's lovely!

Emma said...

Those armwarmers look so beautiful and warm!

Unknown said...

Those armwamers look wonderful!

I loved Jitterbug Perfume too, brings back a lot of memories from times when I was still a novice at adulthood; really trynig for a boho life - shared garden flats, very wild nights, spending all my money on clothes and rent and vodka and cigarettes, and reading 'edgy' trendy novels. Those were great days.

Anonymous said...

Oh my - I can't BELIEVE there's a Jitterbug Perfume yarn. Another Roadside Attraction was the first one I read, but J. P. is my absolute favourite.

Leonie said...

yay for finished armwarmers! The colours in them are so lovely.
When you knit your Bendi yarns you will have to remind us where they came from so we can have another round of reminiscing about Bendi!

DrK said...

what gorgeous colours you chose, looking forward to seeing what you make with them!

Miss Click Clack said...

I loved Tom Robbins so much that I used to buy him in hardback (what a waste of wool money!). Skinny Legs and All is a sentimental favourite (coz I have skinny legs and all....). But I abandoned him after Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climes (what was going on there?)

Love those arm warmers. High squishability quotient! And love the nails!