I hear they make good ice-cream there

This morning, I fly out to Iceland, and I cannot wait.  The first part of the trip is for The World Scout Moot.  This is an international event for young people aged between 18 - 25.  The general format is that everybody starts off in one location, then move to a second location, known as an expedition centre (Kenya in 2010 had three or four; Iceland has ten) before all joining back up together in a final location.  In this case, our final destination is Úlfljótsvatn Scout Centre (where my friend Amy will be staying with a group of Guides just after we leave).

I've spent most of the prep time (up until the last fortnight or so) feeling entirely under prepared.  I didn't go to the first briefing weekend and I slept through half of the second.  I hadn't slept well on the Saturday night, woke up with a headache and halfway through breakfast felt like I was going to throw up.

Half asleep in a tent; exactly how I expect to look in Iceland

I have a two bag allowance for both the outbound and homebound flights.  On the way out, my tent will be my second bag, and I'll be taking this pouch in my rucksack.

On the way back, this pouch will be opened out into my second bag, containing my tent

Oh look - lots of lovely space.  What on earth could I put in there?!   Since my friend Jane wants to knit this sweater (PDF) from Istex and I want to knit the Lauvisa jumper by Karie Westermann I don't think filling the bag is going to be much of an issue. If I can find any Icelandic related stitch markers, or nal for nalbinding, then so much the better.

Of course, I've prepped all the essentials:

Yarn: Opal 20 Years, Kerzen/Candles colourway
Patter: Flying North by Maria Montzka

The pattern is free on Loveknitting and is called Flying North which is exactly what I'll be doing.  As we're above the Arctic circle, there'll be a lot of orange and yellow sun, and orange is the colour of the moot, so it all works out quite nicely.

I've got a list of stuff to do - including a thermal spa (it's been a horrifically stressful week; I'm surprised I've cried as little as I have).  I've been told about the Icelandic Phallalogical Museum which sounds right up my street.  As part of the trip, I'm going to be snorkelling in (or near) Thingvellir National Park.  As it's a Scouting event - there will be badges.

Naturally, I'll be visiting The National Handknitting Association of Iceland.  This blog mentions wool being available at the grocery stores, which is something I want to see for myself and this blog mentions Icelandic yarn with silk.

 I need to be on the train in about an hour and still haven't bought my insurance.  (Yes, I've sorted my knitting, but not the important stuff; priorities!)  I've got a three hour flight which will be dedicated to sleeping rather than knitting.  I have no idea how all my gear fitted into the rucksack, but it did.  

Let's do this.  See you on the other side - with photos and yarn! 

I Do Love Me a Good Rainbow

On Friday night, I met friends for dinner - after being reminded by a colleague to actually go home at some point.  Everything you read about unrealistic expectations in the NHS are true.  I can't do all the stuff I'm expected to do and leave work on time every day; it's as simple as that.  

Jane, K, L and I will meet up every so often for a catch up, and putting the world to rights.  We had to grab K before she disappeared down the Proms rabbit hole.  She sings in several choirs and is a season ticket holder; it's how she met her husband.  I've been to three last nights (one in the seated area, two in the arena - of which one was on the grid.  Trust me, it's a big thing to be on the grid).  Annoyingly, the proms I really want to see are in Iceland, so no idea if I'll get to the last night this year. 

So, we chatted about all sorts: work expectations, Proms, holiday plans, IVF, running, knitting, cherry coloured velvet.  As usual, there was the usual swapping of stuff; I got Guide badges, turkish delight and the loan of a book.  Whilst we were eating, we had the amusement of watching the staff blowing up balloons and trying to work out where to hang them - all in rainbow colours for Pride.  It was only as we were planning on leaving that we realised, as four Brownie leaders, we would be brilliantly placed to help, but it was far too amusing to watch.  Although, it did bother me that the red balloons were in the wrong place:

Within Guiding, I am known to my Brownies as Rainbow Owl.  I love the colours of the rainbow - so totally loved walking down Oxford Street (one of Europe's busiest shopping streets) and seeing all the rainbows.

Please forgive the photo quality; the camera on my phone isn't great - and the light levels were dropping. 

Liberty's of London displaying their rainbow flag

Tea!  (I've walked past this shop so many times - still haven't been in).

 

With a pun my dad would have been proud of:

I loved this shop, whose rainbow coloured display was allowed to spill out on to the pavement: 

Rainbow coloured pavement! 

Even the bus stops wanted to get in on the act:

As I've nearly finished my current pair of socks, it's time to cast on another one.  (I'm attempting the Yarngasm Box O Socks challenge - so far at two pairs of socks, out of twelve.  I need to get the needles going.

The next pair is going to be my version of Hermione's Everyday Socks (blog entry with pattern here and Ravelry link with downloadable PDF here) but toe up.  I've not got the courage to knit a cuff down after my first attempts; I'm happy with what I know.  It would seem that at least one person has already had the same idea - so I won't have to re-invent the wheel.  After her attempts to improve the rights of elves I think she would be an ally of the LGBTQ cause, so of course rainbow coloured yarn would be entirely appropriate.  But which yarn to use?

• Top row: Austermann Step: Ennis,  Esslinger Wolle: Regenbogen-bunt; Opal - Mein Sockdesign: Feuervogel

• Middle row: West Yorkshire Spinners signature 4 ply: Rum Paradise -   Regia 4 Ply - Clown (discontinued); Opal - Funny Sparkle: Witty

• Bottom row: Opal - Mein Sockdesign: Over the Rainbow; Opal Schafpate VIII: Blickfang; Zauberball: Frische Fische

• Far right: Owl About Yarn: Rainbow

What's your next project to cast on? 

Prepping for Sweden

We're off to Stockholm soon, to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary.  Although every time I think of ten years marriage, my immediate thought is, 'how the hell did we manage that?!'

Anyway, I have no idea what we're going to be doing.  Thanks to a hiccup with the hotel not being able to fulfil the booking after all, we didn't know where we'd be staying until last night.  (As an aside, we're not going to be using Expedia to book any more trips.  We've used them twice and both times the husband's card has been stopped on suspicion of fraud).

I do however know what knitting I'm taking with me.  And which knitting shops I want to visit.  After going to York , I realised the joy of having a travelling project; every time you wear the finished article, you remember the trip.  This time I really, really want to master socks.  I've got yarn, I've got a pattern (although cannot find the link) and I've ordered some bamboo circulars for the plane, to minimise suspicion from security.

A quick internet search brought up this blog post about yarn shops in Stockholm, mentioning Sticka & Virka (Knit and Crochet), Anntorps Vav and Litet Nystan (Little Ball), so they're all going to get a visit.  Thanks to the Planet Purl website, I've got a mini knitting dictionary in Swedish.  (I know, isn't the internet great!)

I've also got the telephone number for my mother's childhood au pair, who was known for her knitting.  I learnt her long tail cast on from my mother, and it's still my favourite.  I just don't know if it's strange to phone somebody I've never met and say 'hey, I hear you're into knitting. Fancy meeting for coffee?'.

Have a good weekend.