Woolly Wednesday and a Give-away

Hello, it's a woolly Wednesday today at l is for love and I thought I'd share a little of my yarn adventures in Gothenburg 10 days ago. I was fortunate enough to have a couple of 3 hour "window" periods at the conference I went to {posted here} and so I pootled off in to the city centre and the older quarter which was gorgeous.

I love a gargoyle or two, don't you think we often forget to look up in cities? I always forget and then when I do I love seeing the beauty of the architecture and spotting a gargoyle if I can.

So today I'm going to tell you about the two divine yarn shops I found in this amazing city. Firstly Deisy design which was a feast for the eyes, full of unusual yarn and colours bursting out of every corner.

Oooo mama

Super bright hand dyed yarn at ahem... silly prices but gorgeous to admire anyway. The lady who own this shop was so friendly and open to chat about her yarny world and how she has a knit and natter in one of the local cafes. I simply had to come away with something local and delightful. Unfortunately I could only afford 1 skein of this beautiful merino and silk blend but I was thinking along the 1 skein wonder knits and that I would find something meaningful to make with this lace weighed yarn.

What do you think of these colours? They reminded me of a little miss whom I adore very much and who is going to be 11 very soon. I rolled the skein up into a ball on the aeroplane home as unfortunately as you know knitting needles are a "no-no" on board a plane. It was quite therapeutic and as soon as I got on the 3 hour train journey home from the airport I started knitting one of my favourite scarf / shawl patterns the Boneyard shawl designed by Stephen west and free to download from Ravelry. 

This will be Alice's handmade element of her birthday present and is perfect for the coming chills of Autumn. I am hoping she will like the end result and colours too, I'll let you know x

The lovely lady in Deisy Design told me how to get the Gothenburg's other yarn shop Strikk which as D.I.V.I.N.E to say the least, I had to prise myself away from this shop with great reluctance. I especially fell for the Malabrigo yarn which is so soft and cosy, I can see why the Swedes would want to hand knit with it for all those freezing winter's.

After much umming and ahhhing {I had to come away with something!} I chose 2 skeins of Azul Profundo Twist yarn and will be keeping this for myself this winter. I may make a cowl with the lovely Penny's {from blog Planet Penny} pattern which looks so effective and cosy and easy to knit up.

Another one of my delights is button collecting from wherever I visit and these snow flake brown retro beauties had to come home with me too, perfect for some woolly gloves I think.

All in all it was a lovely break away from all the heavy science of the conference and a bit of escapism into my creative place.

I'm very busy at the moment what with work, being mum and family life, juggling 101 other things life throws at you. I feel like I am on the brink of a little cross roads in my life again and no doubt will be blogging about decisions that I've made etc. In the meantime I think it's time for a well over due little GIVE-AWAY what do you say? 

So here's what you will receive if your name is picked, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog and your name will enter the hat. If you want a double entry, let other's know about my give away on your blog by copying and pasting this picture below and don't forget to tell me that you've done this and I'll enter you twice. 

Yay, I love a little give-away!

Thanks for popping in and commenting, I am more than happy to send internationally and will end this give away on Wednesday the 21st September 

xox