De-junking a purchase

Well, the panic is over (somewhat). The table loom I bought on Sunday is without a reed - it has a frame for the beater, but the seller's gone rather quiet, which is very annoying. It's like selling a car with three wheels - you just wouldn't get away with it normally. But I am a noob when it comes to these things, so I failed to spot the missing component. The reed is used to beat down each row of weaving; it's a bit useless without it. I'm guessing she has other looms and has kept it for herself. Naughty.

Had a conversation with a nice chap at P & M Woolcraft and I'll need to shell out £45 for a reed (and there are different sizes for different thicknesses of yarn, so I might be looking at TWO reeds. Yikes!). All is not lost. Phew! 'Cause £150 is rather a lot to shell out on a piece of wooden junk, otherwise. There's so many things I want to try out, having got Anne Dixon's Handweaver's Pattern book for Christmas. There are some eye-boggling overshot patterns, but I think I'll start out with something simple like log cabin. P & M are going to Woolfest next weekend and he's promised to bring some reeds for me.

I've cut out all the pieces for the next skirt I'm making. This is white cotton with blue flowers, a stiffer cotton than the other one. Mum was quite impressed with my skirt, she said the hem looked complicated. It wasn't, it's just two pieces of fabric shaped like squares, with a circular hole in the middle. The circular part joins onto the main part of the skirt.

Of course, I've had some jokers at work delight in pointing out the hem's not straight. Well, durr! My next sewing project is to make a three- or four- piece business suit (jacket, skirt/trousers, shell top). I'm loving this creativity - garments that actually fit, and don't cost the earth. I can't understand why everyone's not doing it, actually! Next I want to have a go at making shirts/blouses. The Cog is always complaining if he buys a shirt based on his neck size, that the torso is too full. I got a very good book on pattern drafting, so maybe I can draw up a personalised pattern just for him. It would really be "made-to-measure" then.

BTW, has anyone spotted the current EDF advertising campaign? ("Green Britain Day", www.edfenergy.com). Can't find the graphic (it's an animation) - it's a Union Jack flag made out of various green fabrics. I really want to have a go at making a patchwork like this, but using different colours for each "flag". Heh - I make one skirt and suddenly I'm a patchwork expert, eh?! Why walk if you can run?! ha ha.

On the knitting front, I'm onto the second and last sleeve for the Tori top, which shouldn't take too long as it's a short sleeve and gets smaller/quicker as you go. Loving the feel of bamboo tape, it's so soft and drapey. Hope it washes ok at 30, I don't really fancy handwashing. Dammit. I rather fancied knitting "Kimi", too - only to find out that Rowan has discontinued Bamboo tape. Kimi requires 17 balls. Yes, you read that right. 17!?&!?!&! Oh, and the revamped knitrowan website? Slow as anything. Do they keep treacle in their servers?! :D

Helping out at the Machine Knitting Guild AGM all day tomorrow - it's in the next village, this year, so ideal for me to get to (I could almost cycle, but I probably won't!). If you're a machine knitter in the Dunchurch area of Rugby you should drop by and say hello! i'll probably be making tea and coffee.