The Thursday before we left for Houston, I trekked up to Loop in Islington for some present shopping (the Wollmeise in Monday's post). I also picked up a couple of balls of grey merino for a re-try of the Gherkin mittens that I was designing about this time last year, that stalled out. The stalling was due to 1) I wasn't happy with the way the stitch pattern was working out and the charting was making me INSANE, and 2) fingering weight yarn on US 2 needles = slow progress. So the lovely StR that was going to be these mittens is now repurposed to something else, and I'm doing them in a much heavier yarn*. Not surprisingly, they are going much faster this time around!

First finished mitten on top of the book I just finished (it's brilliant and made me cry)

In any event, after my shopping spree (which also included a couple skeins of Cascade 220 for the 4th London-inspired pattern...), I decided to walk back towards Waterloo and set off down the road in a somewhat southerly direction. It was raining a little bit, so I went along under my somewhat tattered cheap umbrella, watching the buses and taxis go by, through a part of London I'd never been through before, just generally enjoying being able to wander about on my own. I finally found the river, after passing Fleet St. and St. Paul's, had lunch and took the train home. It was lovely.

And in striking contrast to the following week in Houston, where walking a few miles on a whim just isn't an option. It's something I'd managed to forget about (largely), since my childhood in Boston certainly involved much walking/public transportation/getting myself places using things other then a motor ve-hicle. I was the last of my high school friends to get my driver's license, partly because they could drive me around, but also because it wasn't really necessary. I realize that the presence of accessible public transportation is something of an anomaly in US cities, and that seems truly unfortunate.

Today I "had" to go back to Loop, because two balls of the merino was not enough. Thankfully they still had some of the same dyelot left, so the mitten prototype should be done tonight. I also perused the Angel antique market (gorgeous buttons!) and then I took the bus to work - along another new route that I hadn't traveled before, enjoying yet another part of this amazing place where I am lucky enough to live.

* And I have new charting software that makes it all so much easier...

Porpoise Fur