i have just spent 2 wonderful days at susan's house near castlemaine in central victoria, about an hour and a half drive from home. i don't think i have ever spent so much time with uninterrupted stitching, knitting, chatting and just having fun.

and, momentously, it was the first time i have spent a night away from w. we have slept together every night since 13 october 2004 (and of course the nine months before that - although there was less choice about it then) we both slept well with minimal fretting so i think this is the beginning of something new :)

i was so busy relaxing that i only remembered my camera at the very end of proceedings so there are not many shots and none of susan :( there is however evidence of her crocheting and beading prowess : i was a very lucky girl and susan made me some beautiful stitch markers right in front of my eyes :) sorry for the blurry photo - that's how relaxed i was....

here is megan hand quilting her lovely colourwash quilt with teeny tiny stitches:



and here is my booty from the bendigo woollen mills (alas they have no website but great mailorder service and a wondrous factory shop in bendigo with the fabled back room full of bargains) and the back room yielded the following bounty:

• a jumperweight of soft dark chocolate 8 ply (DK weight) and a heathery brown/nutmeggy wool, also 8 ply. this could become the Winter Star Jacket from Interweave Knits Winter 05
  
• a fine collection of soft 8 ply in cream, red, orange and emerald to make the 'clark and lily cardiga'n from leigh radford's alterknits for w
• another softer green that could be another w jumper or a wrap or sim for me
  

there wasn't anything suitable for the jawbreaker cardigan from the current interweave knits (ghastly name but a nice looking swing jacket)

and i had time to finish:

• another hexagon for my hexagon strippy quilt (must go looking for the fabric for the rest of the quilt)
• the second sleeve of the interminable cardigan... which is looking huge, by the way - it's the right yarn, gauge and size according to my measurements but it looks like it's built for a grid iron player :(
• another face cloth - this time from a ball of ramie/wool blend that i found in the stash - a bit fluffy for a cloth but i'll see how it goes
• some more embroidery on the luxe calme et volupte quilt which i hope to finish this year.

speaking of finishing things this year - i was appalled by the number of projects i still had on the go at the end of 2006 :( doing the journal quilts really brought home to me how much i really hate finishing, so much so that's it's almost phobic. so my main resolution for 2007 is to finish and not leave things until the last minute.

perhaps more castlemaine breaks would help? :) thanks susan for a fabulous couple of days