🙁 I’ve been a bit thick. The Patons yarn I bought to make t-shirts from Knitting magazine is DK, and not, as the pattern requests, 4 ply. Bugger. I can still use it tho, to make the ballet shirt here, which is something. The problem is that I really don’t feel like swatching up again for it. I’m also totally bummed out about the bolero. I’ve not received a reply from VK yet about my problem with the fronts, althought that might be due to the time difference. I don’t want to wing it for them, because I’m not experienced enough to do that, so I might end up frogging it, which means nothing finished and pretty and wearable for my night out this Saturday. Essentially, I’m no further in stash reduction, so that means that while it will save me money, I’m also going to be cluttered up for another few weeks at least.
On the other hand, I bought the cutest little lace wrap knitted cardis from Primark on Saturday in Manchester 🙂 Buying them did not ruin my cash balance (but shopping everywhere else did!), so I bought two in different colours (one in a deep blue gray, one in a lovely green), plus a little brown shrug version, which I haven’t yet decided on whether to keep or not – I need to try it on with some stuff first. Just to put this into perspective for you yanks out there, Primark is like an ultra cheap Marks and Spencers. The shop in Manchester is HUGE, and you can get lost in it. We queued for nearly half an hour just to buy the stuff (don’t ask about the queue for the changing rooms – I tried stuff on over my jeans/vest in the middle of the store just to get an idea), but it is SO worth it! I bought the two cardis, shrug, two vests, a belt, an ankle length gypsy skirt, 6 pairs of socks (mens), 5 pairs of boxers and a messenger bag for 50 quid (about 90 US dollars). I know the US is miles cheaper than here anyway, but I hope that puts the prices in perspective 🙂 Spending 50 quid in Primark is like spending 3 or 4 times that much in any other high street fashion store… Just thinking about it cheers me up a little 😀 I might post a pic later on, because you couldn’t make them for the price I paid in this neck of the woods, but I could make a pattern up if I lose enough weight for them not to fit (it would be a shame on one side, but not on the other, naturally!), and they are just so lovely!
Also, if you are wondering what I’m doing at home, I booked the day off, knowing that last night would be a late one. DB and I went out alone together for the first time in AGES. We went to Bradford to see Blackmail (the silent version of the classic Hitchcock film), with some live music to accompany it. Film, naturally, was fab, as only Hitch can be. Amazing ideas – he was way way ahead of his time. Unfortunately, the duet of Cipher for the music was awful. Music should enhance the story of any film, nevermind a silent one, but this soundtrack totally took over, and overpowered the images completely. They are kind of an ambient duo, using instruments and sampling them so that they add depth to the music, but flutes through an amp, so heavy that I walked out of the cinema with a headache and had to put my fingers in my ear at one point, that’s just wrong… It was hideous to listen to. When they finished, there was a pause enough to make me think that quite a few other people felt the same, then a round of applause. There were exchanges of glances, and whispers of ‘hmmmm’. The cinema was the Cubby Broccoli in the National Museum of Film, Photography and Television (an ace museum – if you are ever in Bradford, visit it. It is free, but warrants a hefty donation, and has loads of stuff to see and do, including the lovely Wallace and Gromit), which is a tiny one with onlyabout 8 rows of about 15 seats. Lovely little room, but sound carries across it, so the lack of discussion about the music implied to me a dislike for the accompaniment. Loved the night out tho, and the film. Went for a curry at the Kashmir, and burnt my mouth off, but found it quite tasty, even with the after effects… :S Still don’t think I’m converted to curries tho!
Anyway, time for some lunch, and some more swatching for the tivoli – if I don’t get a success soon with something, I think I’ll just scream!