No Escape

I had a day out yesterday to Lincoln Christmas Market. It’s the biggest market of it’s type in Europe with over 300 stalls and was inspired by the market in their twin town in Germany. It’s held in the Cathedral Quarter and the grounds of the Castle on the first weekend in December every year. Most of the stalls sell crafts, gifts and traditional food.

I lived near Lincoln during in my Air Farce days and I loved going each year. I was determined this year that I would take my Mum as I was sure she would enjoy it. I tried to sneak my knitting into the car, but I was told it was a day off from knitting and all related knitting talk. A tall order for a 3 hour journey.

We hadn’t been there long when I saw this stall selling Peruvian knit-wear. I bought a few sweaters when I was in Peru a few years ago, but none of them were as nice as the things I saw yesterday. I got chatting to the

woman running the stall and she was really nice. People were flocking around it as the children’s stuff in particular was so beautiful. I didn't buy anything, but came away in awe of the jackets in the picture. They were done in several colours and had matching hats and scarves. There was an awful lot of work in the applique designs and I half wish she had some in my size!

For comparison, here's the alpaca sweater I brought back from Peru for my youngest nephew just after he was born. My sister was kind enough to return it to me when he'd outgrown it rather than passing it on to one of her friends. I've been trying to find the photo of him wearing it, but it's gone AWOL.

(I have one in my size in grey only minus the llama).

I saw a lot of other knitwear, but most of it was similar to the stuff you can buy in the alternative shops that are near me and the prices were pretty similar too. It was all easy stuff to make too, I especially liked some oversized hooded sweaters lined in fleece. I’m not sure if I want to go back to the Dennis the Menace/ Minnie the Minx black and red stripes look that I loved when I was about 8, but it’s still giving me ideas. So much for trying to escape from knitting for the day, it was everywhere.

On a plus note, I did find the perfect man...