Lovely scarf, and the colour is gorgeous. I really should learn to crochet some time soon.

Gosh, those little pouches are lovely. Yes please, I'd really like to win one.

That is good news. Hope you soon recover from your tonsillitis too - nasty thing, tonsillitis. Loving the crochet you did.

Oh, goodness what a terrible worry. Thinking of you all and hoping that the biopsy went well.

Wishing you all the very best in your journalism course - good on you for going for it. I shall miss your daily updates and seeing the beautiful things you make though. Hot water bottles are still pretty big in the UK too - in fact, the weather is so blah here at the moment (yup, it should be summer but someone forgot to tell the weather gods) that I wouldn't be surprised if I get my hottie out of the cupboard again any day now!!

Thanks for your comment about the two-needled beanie hats. Sorry the formula is a bit vague. With the decreases, yes - it should be k7, k2tog on the first decrease row, followed by a purl row, then on the second decrease row it will be k6, k2 tog, purl a row, then k5, k2tog, etc etc until you end up with k2tog on all stitches on the last row. The odd stitch at the end of each row is just to make it neater when the hat is sewn up as it gives a bit of leeway on the selvedge for sewing and you could certainly do an extra stitch at the beginning and end of the row if you wanted. Casting on really depends on what size hat you want to make, how thick the wool is and then what size needles you are using. If you were going to start decreasing with the k7, k2tog row youd need to cast on either 82 stitches (7+2 x 9 + 1 = 82) or, if the wool was thicker so you needed less stitches for the circumference of the hat, 73 stitches (7+2 x 8 + 1 = 73.) If the wool was finer and the needles smaller then youd probably need to cast on more stitches and start decreasing with a k8, k2tog row (8+2 x 10 +1 = 101.) Hope that makes a more sense. Sorry for the confusion. To: elizabeth.yule@hotmail.co.uk

Congratulations on your tutorial being published, and on all the wonderful things you've achieved this past year. Hope you have a very happy New Year too.

She is gorgeous, and that's a beautiful name you've chose for her. Congratulations to all of you.

Wow, so many lovely prints to choose from. I think my absolute favourite has to be the Folklore fabric with Field Friends in Shroom a very close second.

Our local church has a Coffee & Jumble every week on a Monday, I've found some nice bits and bobs there on occasions but nothing as pretty as the items you found at yours. Love, love, love those barkcloth curtains.

That is so pretty and I love the colours you chose.

Genius idea, I'm off to give it a go right now.

Hi Andy Would we have spent that money anyway - probably, but in smaller lots and in different shops.Some of the large-spend-at-one-go in Sainsburys was buying things that can go in the store cupboard - tinned goods, toilet paper, bleach etc etc.which will last us a long time.Otheritems we bought are things that we just cant get where weusually shop- free-range and / or organic meat, organic milk and butter, frozen sorbet, large packs of fish fingersetc etc. Plus, the end of the day bargains areexcellent and, again, you just dont get those where we usually shop. It is a big spend in one go - especiallyif we do itseveral weeks running- but a lot of theitems will be being used weeks or monthsfrom now. To: elizabeth.yule@hotmail.co.uk

Beautiful.

That rose print is beautiful, and I love what you've made from it too.

Happy Birthday - it's my birthday too in a couple of weeks - isn't June a wonderful month in which to have a birthday? My favourite thing for a lovely birthday is a nice lunch at a local restaurant, followed by a lazy afternoon in the sun.

What a lovely book - thanks for the heads up about it and for the giveaway.

You had some great finds - I especially like the Horrockses blouse. Jumble sales are as rare as hen's teeth around these parts and I don't half miss a good old rummage at a humble jumble.

It sounds the most fabulously exciting adventure. Wishing you the very best of luck with your new venture and looking forward to reading all about it on your blog.

Hi Andy, Thanks foryour comment. The new junk shop is in Wickford - where I live. Totally agree with you about the charity shops in Chelmsford being expensive. Ive not gone up to Chelmsford for about four years because they are sopricey - despite the fact the bus goes fromthe end of my road. Basildon charity shops are, on the whole, much cheaper.Depending on what youre looking for, the charity shops in Billericay can be well worth a trip- theyve got seven intotal, which is pretty good for a town the size of Billericay. Thetwocharity shops in Wickford are certainly not expensive and again, depending on what youre looking for, could be worth a visit. Theres a huge new Sue Ryder shop about to open here as well and if you visited on a Monday morning you could also take in the local churchs Coffee and Jumble - always worth a look. Best wishes, Elizabeth. To: elizabethyule@hotmail.co.uk

What lovely little purses. I'd love to give one a home over here in the UK.

Your patchwork scarf is a lovely idea - and the little Scottie Dog is sweet. Hope the dreaded lurgy gets better soon.

You got some wonderful bargains there, especially the little lace panels - 10p each, wow! Wish my local charity shops had such excellent prices.

Yes please, I love wool felt and hate the icky polyester stuff with a passion. I agree it's hard to find wool felt in the UK but I can highly recommend Myriad Online (www.myriadonline.co.uk) who sell 100% pure wool felt in a wonderful range of colours and also have a limited range of organic dyed pure wool felt too. And, no, I have no connection with the company, I just love their wool felt.

That's great news. I love MSL and had an subscription from the States for a year a little while ago. If I'm in ever in America, or if my partner is, I always pick up a copy of the latest edition - there is just nothing like it here in the UK. I think it'll probably do quite well here, especially at the moment as people seem to be embracing the domestic arts with a fervour.