When I finished the Icicles Shawl, I told you it was going to accompany me to the 14/4 Literary Dinner in Windsor, organised by Glow Productions.

I’m happy to report that it had a lovely time.

(Photo: Gill Aspel) Firstly, and most importantly, it got to have a lot of really interesting conversations with people who love books. Writers, readers, people who had danced with cancer, people who were plainly terrified of it (cancer, not the shawl), people who were excited by history or fiction or books with cats in. Each conversation, each table, was fascinating in its own way.

(Photo: Gill Aspel) Secondly, it got to be part of a brilliant event. In the background of this photo, you’ll see the (almost impossibly handsome and charming) Patrick Flannery, author of Absolution, who was one of the speakers. He was followed by: Alison Weir, fascinating about the ‘great and infamous whore’ Mary Boleyn; Lucinda Lambton, photographer, wildly entertaining speaker, and the only woman I have ever seen to successfully combine sparkly trainers and a dress with a train; and Mark Forsyth, etymologist and Very Clever Man, who talked about where words come from in a way that made my shawl and I want to throw over my life, and my library, and spend the rest of my days reading dictionaries.

(Photo: Gill Aspel) And it got to make some new friends. I met Denise (@writinghumbug on Twitter) who, with her friend Michelle, helped me to name two characters for ‘On A Plate’, my next novel, and also threw down the gauntlet of ‘Fudge Luffman’ who really needs to be in there somewhere. And on the right in the picture above is Shelley Harris, another of the 14 authors, and if her book Jubilee is half as clever, funny and delightful as she is, it’s going to be a fabulous read. (I’ve bought it, but not read it yet. I’ll report back when I do.)

So, all in all, the shawl had a very successful first outing, and was glad to see such appreciation for books, and knitting, in the world. I’m going to have to think very carefully about where to take it next: it now has very high expectations.