Re{sew}lutions DONE!

At the end of last year I made three resolutions. I later added an extra one for Karen's jar (finishing all my seams). I've been steadfastly sticking to my plan. So far, so good. But there was one that I hadn't really addressed...

Well, I can officially say that last Thursday I ticked off the final one - I learnt how to knit!

I persuaded my friend Tian (who is my brother-in-law's girlfriend) to come along to a beginner's workshop held by none other than Lauren of the Sewing Bee at her store, Guthrie & Ghani. There were five of us so it meant we got loads of one-on-one teaching and could take it at a really slow pace. Which was perfect as we all got a bit confused at one point or another!

I had actually been taught how to knit before, years ago when I was very little by my aunt. But I hadn't kept up with it and reading through the knitting book I got for Christmas just left me feeling clueless. It all started coming back to me though once Lauren went through it. Her method was great - she made us stand behind her and copy exactly what she was doing so that we could get all the hand and wrist movements. Then it was practice practice practice!

Look at all that yarn in the background!

We learnt all the basics - how to cast on, the knit and purl stitches, casting off and seaming. The aim was to make chunky wrist warmers so we utilised what we learnt to do some ribbing and stocking stitch. (Get me, all down with the terminology!) All this while drinking tea and dunking biscuits. Although not too much chatting as we were way too busy concentrating on getting our moves correct!

Oh, by the way, I gave up a works night out to go to this, much to the amusement of my junior doctors, who told me I was turning into a boring granny. Whatever!

Here's what I did during the evening. Yes, it took me three hours, but look! I'm knitting! I can't tell you how excited that makes me. If you look closely you'll see that I put some, ahem, extra design features into the ribbing. It was deliberate, that's all I'm saying.

And we all got to take home our chunky bamboo needles and yarn so that we could finish off our wrist warmers at our leisure. I tell you, if you take into account the whopping ma-hoo-sive needles, the ball of Italian wool and three hours worth of teaching, £30 is a bargain! I know a lot of sewists already knit but I would urge anybody who doesn't but who is thinking about it to go along to Lauren's class, it's well worth it. I'm planning on taking everything with me when I go on safari later this year to keep me busy when we're travelling between the different camps. Not, I hasten to add, while I'm out on the game drives, I'm not crazy, people!

Talking of safaris, I bought a satchel to take with me. My hubby said he wanted a new messenger bag as his canvas one was on its last legs so I couldn't pass up the opportunity either! I've always wanted a leather satchel and I've been looking at all the lovely ones on t'interweb - but as much as I loved their shiny looks, they looked a bit new and I wanted old school. So when I discovered Scaramanga, I knew that was it! I bought the mini wide satchel (they have loads of different styles and sizes). It has a distressed leather finish which makes it look a bit battered, as if I've owned it for years. A vintage look, shall we say. It's fabulously made with lots of pockets and a nice green canvas lining (my hubby's lining is a brilliant bright turquoise!) They're not made in the UK, which is a bit of a shame, but I suppose for me it's the next best thing, India, as that's where my ancestry hails from. The only frustrating thing is that Mr Sabs has banned me from using it until the safari. Gutted. I'm already thinking I may have to buy one of their smaller satchels to use as a handbag!

I'll leave you with a completely unrelated photo of Mini trying to get my attention from our apple tree. The little rascal.

Ps just to let you know, I wasn't approached by or have any affiliations with Scaramanga, in case anyone thought I was asked to write a review or something, I just love my new satchel!