New toys

Does this picture give you a small clue about what I got on Ebay?

Not the yarn, but look at how it is wound - I got a wool winder for a very good price and have been busy winding ever since. The yarn in the photo is the left-over HipKnits silk plus some 100% wool that I dyed with food colouring. I've been going through my stash and anything that looks as though it has been wound by hand, or is messy, or has never been wound from the skein is getting the treatment. It's very therapeutic.
I have also progressed with the Mystery Shawl - clue 2 was completed the day after it was posted. So far *hastily touching the nearest bit of wood* I have found it fairly easy going. The pattern is such that it is quite easy to spot a k2tog that should have been a ssk or vice versa.

The alpaca yarn has a tendency to cling, so I have to be very careful not to knit YOs in with the next stitch. It looks like a bit of rubbish whilst on the needles but I'm sure the final blocking will reveal its true beauty - all thanks to Renee, the "list mom" and designer who has had to put up with quite a bit of carping and moaning on the message boards.

As I have been rather busy with a spot of painting and repairing of door frames, I asked Lucy and Bethany to take some pictures for today's blog; I have censored the results as I did not think that this blog was an appropriate forum for the display of pictures of teddies being crucified with knitting needles or of teddies and other associated small furry creatures indulging in games of chance for money (teddy poker - what is the world coming to?).
These are the nicer pictures which hopefully will not offend even the most delicate sensibilities of my viewers/readers:







(obviously Pimms & Vodka are essential pieces of Knitting equipment!)

Oh, OK, if you promise not to tell the blog censors, here's a bad one: