With a title like that, I guess you’re assuming I’m ‘stashing-down’ and bracing myself for the biggest show of the year. Well, you’d be half wrong.

The Australian Sheep and Wool Show, held in Bendigo each year is just two weeks away. And yet on Friday night I found myself on a train to Bendigo to rendezvous with my lovely husband for a weekend away. The concept of going to Bendigo without a Sheep Show was a little foreign to me, but I went with it.

This helped sweeten the deal…

Then finding a breakfast place that had granny square blankets for the diners outside, totally charmed me. Needless to say it was too cold for any diners to take up this offer, granny square or not. But I still thought it was great.

And I figured a trip to this place, two weeks before all the ‘crazy’ knitters descended, could work in my favour.

And it did. My rainbow projects can now come to fruition. I can ‘shop the stash’ whenever the mood takes me to knit a rainbow dress or cardigan for niece M … plus another half dozen baby blankets, some mitts for a colleague, stuff for me, but I digress.

Don’t these balls look small?! Until you put them into a bag… then some crazy optical illusion thing happens…Whilst spending a few quality hours with Damian in a wine bar and knitting by the fire, I returned from the bathroom only to find a knitter chatting to my husband. What a lovely occurrence! She pulled out her latest knitting project and we both sang the praises of self-patterning knitting yarn. She may have also left with the name of my yarn supplier to get some for herself…

And did I mention it was freezing in Bendigo?

Now  that I’ve done some scouting of Bendigo, I feel super prepared for anything! Pack ALL the woollens.