Those who can't knit go shopping

Or something like that, anyway! Instead of indulging in a morning of needlework, as I normally do on my Thursday mornings off, I decided to clean my flat. It needed doing, and there was a chance that I was going to bring a friend home with me later. So I tidied, washed dishes, and did not a single stitch of knitting. But there was a plan! Said friend had never been to my favourite shop and wanted some 2mm DPNs. I knew they had some in, and since she'd expressed a desire to meet for lunch, I suggested a shopping trip instead. So we met and went up to Kentish Town. 'Twas great. She ended up with a bunch of stuff, and I bought white sewing cotton, cream-coloured bias tape and some wooden buttons. And then we sat in a cafe and poured over the charts for one version of Eleanor of Toledo's Stockings, a very popular piece of historical reproduction knitting. She'd been confused by the written pattern, which seemed to omit some decreases needed to make the patterns match up around the leg. And I, obsessive that I am, just had to rechart the lozenge pattern on the cuff so that it was symmetrical. And we discussed the relative virtues of an assortment of double decreases. I'm fondest of the one showcased in Grumperina's Jaywalker Socks (remember those?), slip 2 together knitwise, knit 1, pass both slipped stitches over and off the needle. In fact, I'm so fond of it that I decided to replace the double decrease in the Swallowtail Shawl with it. It is just more nicely centred, in my opinion.

Anyway. The thread and the bias tape are for the chemise that I worked on on Saturday. I still can't believe that I ran out of white sewing thread. The buttons are for a project that hasn't even been cast on yet! Remember about a year ago when I finished knitting that blanket that had been in the works forever? Well, I still have more of the blue yarn left. So I decided that for her birthday this year, my best friend would be getting a matching pillow. I'm planning to just work a big sack of seed stitch on circular needles and graft one end closed when I finish. No seaming! Just miles of seed stitch. So now I've got some big wooden buttons to hold a flap closed once it's done. (I'm a fan of removable cushion covers. It prevents spillages.) Given that her birthday is less than a month away, I maybe should start working on it...