Greetings from Italy

Soory about the delay but backpacking through Europe leaves little time for blogging. free internet is rare and I take it where I can get it but 15 min is just enough time to check email and stay intouch with the family. I will post patterns and pictures when I get home. I am working on scarf number 2 which is an alternating rib pattern Ive worked up. I also bought yarn to make a souviner scarf for a friend. These super long train rides help me get them done. I will be back in the states in 2.5 weeks!
But it is way to hot to even think about wearing a scarf right now

We found yarn!!!

Sorry for the lack of posting but I have busy with papers and the computer lab has been crazy.
Last Friday my travel buddy and I went to Abingdon which is about 30 min south of Oxford. It is this tiny town with nothing in it except an awesome yarn store. It is called Masons and thier website makes it seem that they don't have much yarn but that is a lie. They have lots of yarn and I wide range with all kinds of stuff I have never seen before. And best of all it was cheaper here with the crappy exchange rate than back home. We were palnning on mailing what we got home but a 5 kilo box of yarn will cost over $100 to mail so we have decided to carry it with us until we get home of we find a cheaper country to mail it from. I spent about £25 and got enought for 2 scarfs, 1 baby item, 3 skeins for the scrap blanket, and stuff for the roomie. Don't even ask what my friend spent but she is a yarn addict and it was cheaper than crack
I have finished making one of the scarfs and I'll post the pattern when ASAP with pictures.

Here is the website for the yarn store. It was awesome and I recommend making the trek if you are nearby
http://www.masonsneedlecraft.co.uk/default.aspx

Update: Found Alphabet Pillow Patterns

I contacted the lady in charge of the blog where I found the patterns and she accidently deleted her patterns but you can access them through an archive through her hosts server. Here is the link but it only has the patterns for A through W.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070704212228/www.wovenspun.com/indexmain.htm

Alphabet Pillow Pattern

I have been made aware that there is a problem with my link for the alphabet pillow patterns. It turns out that the site is no longer offering crochet patterns. Being that I am a continent away from my pillows I don't know the stitch demensions accordinglly. However, my wonderful travel partner and avid knitter suggested that I come up with my own charts although they may not be exactly like the ones on the site. I have contacted my beautiful room mate and asked her to send me the stitch dimensions. I will find some graph paper and make up some grids however even if I can do this it will be mid August untill I can scan them in. That you for brining this to my attention. I need to make another J and a B for my new roommates when I return home.

P.S. We found a yarn store in the next town South of here and we are planning to venture there tommorow after class.

It is acrylic but it will work

I have finally found yarn in Oxford. It was in a store that supports a local hospital which was in the covered market right next to my college. I have walked past this store at least a dozen times in the past week yet I didn't notice until today that they had yarn. Although the collection was very small with just wool and acrylic it was very well priced. I got 2 large skeins of 100% acrylic yarn with about 230 meters a skein for £1.20 or $2.50 each which is a good price in the states. I plan on making a scarf although by the time I finish it will most likely be august in Italy and extremely hot. I have designed a pattern during my class today that will combine vertical stripes of the 2 colors and cables. In theory this shall work but in practice we will see. I will post pictures as I go. I should be working on my papers which are due in a week instead of worrying about a scarf in July but I love procrastinating.

I need yarn

So this whole bringing no yarn thing was a bad idea. I need yarn like a drug addict needs a fix. that twine is looking very good right now. If anyone knows of any place that sells yarn in the Oxford, Cardiff, or London UK it would be greatly appreciated.
We are also heading to Zurich, Bern, Rome, Florence, Vienna, Prauge, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels and are in need of loaction there too.
Thanks!
P.S. When I was in a pub in Dublin there was a beer on tap call the Galloway hooker or something like that and it made me laugh because it sounded like a beer for only prostitutes and chrocheters. But I didn't get a chance to taste it this ime. Maybe on the way back.