Beaker Button Blog

I had to leave my shop for two whole days (please image that sentence spoken in a whinging accent) this weekend.  My Mum ran things instead, and a very good job she did too.  Although it was slightly disconcerting to come into the shop this afternoon and discover the mess she'd been making with our new drum carder.  On the other hand we now have some beautiful art batts for sale!  The reason I had to leave my shop for two days was the Appleshaw School fair, which went ok, despite the cramp in my arm from the huge amount of crochet I did, and the Andover Farmers Market, where we met lots of very nice people wanting yarn and workshops and fleece and all the other lovely things we do.  So it was worth missing the shop for to days I guess.  I did learn that my mittens, which I'd designed for the Christmas kits we're selling, are fantastic for knitting outside, because they leave the fingers free but keep the whole hand warm.  I'll have to keep a pair in my...

I am frantically making mittens and kits and buttons for the Appleshaw School Christmas fair and the Andover Christmas Fair this weekend.  I thought I'd have enough time to sort everything out but what a surprise, it seems to be disappearing at a rate of knots.  However, our first Dorset Button workshop was a roaring success and all enjoyed themselves, especially me.  By the time my ladies left they were inventing styles of their own.  How clever are they!  I've included photos of the mittens, made with Artesano classica, although the ones I'm making for the Christmas fairs are in Maxima because its so soft.  Come on weekend, I can cope!

So much has happened this week and I melted my computer on Friday so I haven't been able to write about it.  I've borrowed my hubby's computer for this post.  I bought a new one (laptop not hubby) but a very nice man has it so he can add the stuff from my old laptop to the new one (I hope).  On Wednesday I was in Birmingham for the Ostomy Lifestyle Fashion show, as a model.  I got to parade up and down the catwalk in someone else's underwear to promote positive living for people with stomas.  Mavis (my stoma) was very well behaved and I met a bunch of brave, fabulous, incredible people who have all been through terrible times, and manage to keep smiling.  I laughed lots, got very nervous and spent the whole evening on a high (and my hair was amazing)! On Saturday we had the grand opening for the shop, where I met another bunch of lovely people, some of whom stayed and knitted with us, or tried out our giant needles, and ate the mini ca...