I’ve been a bit run off my feet lately, so no posts for a few days. You got three on Saturday, so it’s drought and flood over here at knitting and chocolate.

A few years back I spend a month down on Flinders Island, working on a book. When my Mum heard I was going there she told me I should visit Flinders Island Fleece. My aunt swore that their yarn was the best you could get.

I hadn’t rediscovered knitting, however, but I did visit and was impressed by their knitwear. I bought an aran beanie and a jumper.

Recently I wore that jumper and decided to see if the company had a website. Google searches brought up only tourist sites, and when I rang the number provided a helpful lady told me they’d sold the business to a couple in NSW. So I googled the couple’s names and found an email address (Lesley Cummins, fifleece@bigpond.net.au). A few emails later and this turned up in my letterbox:

Flinders Island Fleece shade card. The wool is like Bendy Classic in thickness and plying, but smoother and nicer. (It’s also twice the price.) So now that I know they still exist and the yarn is as nice as ever… I just need to think of something to make out of it.

This morning something else turned up: my replacement Wendy Knits book. The first thing I did was flick through the pages. And guess what?

It, too, has a section bound upside down. Boy did I laugh.

So what should I do now? Should I request another replacement from Amazon? Having seen a big book warehouse in action in the UK, I know the system is probably all mechanised and doesn’t allow for an actual person to check books before they’re sent out. I’m tempted to just shrug and forget it. The upside down section isn’t in the middle of a pattern, so it’s only annoying if you’re reading the text.

I wish I could use book buying disappointment as an excuse for the spontaneous sock yarn purchase I made at Lisa Souza, but that happened yesterday. And I sucked Peeve into the evil sock yarn buying vortex as well.

I’d found Lisa’s site a while back and fell in lust with the Mahogony colourway, but restrained myself. Then my will weakened a little when Wendy of WendyKnits made up some socks in it and they looked beautiful. Then I went looking for something to buy my secret pal recipient…

Winging our way (or they will be as soon as the beau does the magic Paypal thing) are six skeins in Poiple (I love that name), Garnet, What-a-melon, Pacific, Mahogony and Wild Thing.

I am a wicked and greedy thing.

Squares Jumper Report: First row of squares finished. I don’t think I’ve visited this level of intarsia insanity since I knit a Kaffe Fasset shawl back when I had recently rediscovered knitting and was on the blissful side of ignorance. 12 colours per row. But at least I know how much wool each one takes. Cutting lengths of it and winding into little managable balls makes all the untangling much easier.

Jaywalker socks: Still on the foot of the first sock. About to start the instep. It’s slow going only because I’ve not had to many opportunities for transit knitting.