Friday, August 21, 2009

These last 6 months I have been mainly...


Warning - picture heavy post (and very few words) well, don't they say a picture says a thousand words?!?

Since early February I have....



Survived the heavy snow we had... the picture with Carter shows the main lane at the top of our track, totally impassable.



I have learnt to weave on my mother's old Weavemaster 2 shaft loom.

Tried to learn to spin using a scrummy drop spindle I bought (made from walnut and wild olive, mmm the smell!).



Bought an old Ashford Scholar spinning wheel from a woman at my weaving class. They're all enablers, I tell you :)



Knit my first ever shawl - this is Ishbel knit in Cariad Flimstone Bay (aka Posh Yarns Emily) 4ply.


Been over on a solo trip to Normandie to check on the barn...



It was hip high in nettles and thistles - all three quarters of an acre!!!




Taught sock knitting classes at my LYS, Fiddlesticks in Honiton (there's the lovely Barbara in the far right opposite where I'd be seated).



Met Isla, my new great-niece-in-law!


Spent a week with my fossils out in Spain...



... and I cooked too! See, evidence above :)



Whilst in Spain I went to a little museum dedicated to Miro, not very far from my parent's place. It was lovely, and very inspirational seeing his earlier work before he went totally surreal.



I've been growing potatoes...



... and tomatoes in the new little greenhouse (Freecycle is a wonderful thing!)...



... and all sorts of other veg in our raised bed.




I've spun my very first little ball of yarn, this is it all bright an green after I plied it.



Knitting more socks, of course.



Taking this lovely roving (from Wildcraft) and turning it into a couple of bobbins of this...


which I will eventually ply together.



Using my little Scholar (named Maria which I thought apt as it was the name my maternal grandmother was known by - mainly because her first name was very old Polish and chosen so that it wasn't easily pronounced by the occupying Germans in the late 19th century! I also thought Maria was a good solid name with historical roots that just felt right for my first wheel) to spin some lovely BFL/silk roving into a hank of singles which I will use for weaving.


More soon!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Seriously impressed by your drop spindle work. My first attempt is very lumpy and involved a great dear of swearing as it unravelled and broke etc. Thank goodness for You tube which gave me some hints! I am very envious of your spinning wheel and weaving loom...lucky woman!

Unknown said...

Whoops! Seems my daugter's email address is coming up instead of mine...weird! I'm Lobnett from Ravelry.

picperfic said...

it was so lovely meeting and spending the day with you yesterday. Now what have you been up to since August? Looks like you have a lovely life!

Dyer said...

looks to me as though the only thing you have to do now is clear that hip high acre of weeds and start a dye garden!