Film night, yak yarn and Dolly (not the sheep)

I forgot to mention Gerard's gorgeous woven tape measure bag, purchased from Knitty City. Here's a pic:

Just wanted to mention it because we love it and he loves carrying it around like Maggie Thatcher (but nicer), and people actually stopped in the street to talk about it.

It's been all go since we got back to London. I lost my tank-top pattern somewhere along the way, but luckily kept the original and am happily getting on with it. OK, I know it's not fancy (for that check out Jon's Fair Isle tank-top - see below) but I'm proud of it and it's going to be finished before I start anything else. I know it's de rigeur to have a list on 'what's on the needle' but that just gets me frustrated. I will finish it! And I've got a big list of what's coming up next...

This is a pic of the 50% yak / 50% merino yarn I purchased last week. It's much more gorgeous than it looks - I like the minimalist approach, and this is very black with some grey flecks. Haven't decided what to knit yet - I'm guessing it'll just be a hat or something but it'll look super. What's really surprising how soft it is, I always expected yak to be a bit hardier, although I suppose the merino helps. We might get some for the shop - soon we'll have a yarn zoo going on! Actually, that's not a bad idea...I'm ordering some giraffe hair tomorrow! (That's a joke.)

As previously noted, I Knit Londoner, part-time shop worker, and generally gorgeous good egg Jon is working his way through a Fair Isle vest top. I never quite know whether he has some kind of access to a time machine (he is a Dr. Who fan) because he just seems to always have something on the go and gets through his knitting like a demon! Not content with just the knitting though, he's dying his own yarns, and now he's got his own blog as well. Jon, please, can we have some of that time of yours because ours just always runs out! Check out his site at www.easyknits.co.uk, marvel at his dying efforts but don't laugh at the photos of him in his Tapestry hat (although they are quite funny).

We had agreat IKL meeting at the shop last night - nice to see old and new faces, and the drinking and knitting went on til at least 11, until the curry & chips arrived. While away we were a bit extravagant, but when the exchange rate is so good it just feels like you're saving loads but not spending - looking forward to this months credit card bill. We got ourselves a projector and tonight we had our first film night at IKL. Well, we enjoyed it, and it will be the last time I ever mention on this blog that I was in The History Boys...I promise. I'm not a wannabe actor, by the way, just someone who works at the National Theatre and popped along for the day. Here is my 15 seconds of fame:

I'm the one one the left (twice).

One last bit of excitement today - bought 2 tickets to see Dolly Parton next week. If I was any more excited I might just explode. G will be wearing his official Kenny Rogers corduroy jacket as a tribute. Isn't she glorious?