Wild and Windy

After weeks and weeks of dry weather at last we have some typical autumnal weather ie it's wet and windy so a good time to catch up. Think 2009 is going to stick in my mind as the year of decorating and moving - not for us but helping out my mum and sister. Were incredily lucky to get my mum into sheltered accommodation back at the end of June. However the lady who had lived there previously had been a chain smoker so the whole place was smoke stained therefore needed to decorate the whole flat. Fortunately the weather was dry and hot so ideal for painting. Was also good in that it meant I got to spend some quality time with my niece who's a really great kid. Of course the day we had to move my mum was one of the hottest of the summer but she's settled and much happier now. Seems mad that when surveys are showing that so many old folk are really lonely and we have an ageing population this kind of accommodation is becoming increasingly scarce.

Then spent yesterday decorating at my sister's house. However it didn't go so well but got there in the end and DN has extremely good taste and her room looks good now and hopefully she can start making it her own.

The foul weather outside also gives me the perfect excuse to catch up on some knitting. Have done loads of spinning this year but enthusiasm for knitting seems to have waned a bit. Took part in Tour de Fleece - the discipline of having to spin practically every day was really good for me. Spun up loads of my stashed fibre and although there was the odd day when it felt a bit of a chore don't know that I'd have had the patience to spin up enough for a sweater otherwise.

This is what I started with approx 600g Turquoise Ashland Merino/Silk mix, 200g Lime Green Jelly merino/cashmere/silk mix fibre, another 100g Blue, Green, Purple mix Ashland Merino/Silk and some turquoise, green and purple Wensleydale locks.
I didn't quite finish it all but got pretty close. Got a bit fed up of spinning so much blue fibre so did this as a quick spin

This is Spindlefrog Falkland which I picked up at Wonderwool - and spun up into

300 m of 2 plyed yarn which I've called Sunny Delight and 20m N ply.

DH really wanted some bright and blowsy Dahlias and was so pleased with these - unfortunately they didn't flower until last week. Loved the way the colours match the colours of the yarn above.

Besides decorating, moving and clearing and sorting my mum's house and all the spinning also did lots of sewing and gardening over the summer. It was so good to be off work and felt that I achieved something every day which is something I rarely achieve at work these days. Also felt a lot fitter and certainly eat much better.

My Pioneer then had a catastophic failure and had to have the crank replaced and on receipt of my Southern Cross Fibre club September bump decided it was so nice had to spin it up quickly. It was a lovely mix of Polworth and Silk and super soft and shiny.

The fibre photographed on the beautifully sunny evening it arrived.

Plaited up which shows the colours more clearly.

Singles again photographed and spun during a lovely sunny evening

The end result 545m of the loveliest sqooshy singles which I then knitted into

an Ishbel shawl
Although I spun loads during the late Spring and Summer have knitted very little however really enjoyed knitting this and got it done in a fortnight. It was so good to knit something out of my handspun and it's certainly got me back into knitting again. Got a pair of socks on the needles but really keen to knit another shawl and more things out of my handspun.

Offa's Dyke Walk

We're lucky that this long distance footpath goes through the village and if you take the canal variation right past the back gate. It's one of the national long distance footpaths and runs all the way from Chepstow on the Severn Estuary and follows Offa's dyke an ancient border earthwork. It roughly demarcates the Welsh uplands to the West and lower ground of the English Plains to the East. I walked it from Chepstow to Montgomery several years ago but had to pull out of completing it due to strained ligaments. It's always been my aim to walk more of the northern sections if not the whole lot.

Fortunately Mark was able to drop me off at the County Boundary Bridge just outside Montgomery and started off from there. The path sets out along 2 fields where the battle of Montgomery was fought and I should have had wonderful views back to the town and castle which stands prominently above it. However could hardly see to the end of the field for mist. Path soon runs past Rownal Covert which is supposed to mark where all the dead were buried after the battle. Mark was under the impression this had been cleared but this was not the case and there was a really good mix of shrubs, mature and young trees so it is being well managed. Going past Rownal was sad to pass 2 unused old cottages either of which would have made a lovely house if restored. Ok they were a bit out in the sticks and didn't have a road to them but should have been easy to put in a track.

Along from here and for bits along the back of Forden follow the Dyke plus stretches of lovely old 'green lane'. Finding and walking along these always feels special since they're usually lined with hedges and/or really old trees, can be edged by high banks and it just feels as if you've following the footsteps of others and over several centuries. These stretches were the highlight of the day along with the section through Leighton Park. It was certainly a relief to be in woodland at times because when the mist did burn off it was extremely hot. Leighton Estate is the most amazing place dating form the time of John Naylor a Liverpool banker who took posession of the estate in 1849. He built a Gothic mansion but what is more interesting is the fact he made farm improvements so it's a 'model' farm. Looking at it in today's terms it was so far ahead of it's time and if running today could be considered totally sustainable. It had it's own gas works, a complex engineered water system and even a funicular railway. Walk past the remains of one of the pools and can see the enormous wall that held water back however it's now empty. From the estate there's bit of a hike up to Beacon Ring hill fort. Now from here one is supposed to be able to have wonderful views of the Severn Valley and the mass of the Breidden Hills. However in reality it seemed even murkier than these photos suggest

By the time I'd walked around the hill fort and out of the Cwmdingle Plantation I was desperate for lunch. However it had suddenly got a lot chillier, windier and I wsa convinced there was a storm brewing up so bolted my lunch down and thought I'd better get moving quickly as there was still a long way to go. It's an easy but very steep descent back down into the Severn Valley and Buttington followed by a short boring bit that follows argaes along the River Severn.

By the time I'd got back down into the valley a lot of the cloud had burnt off and it was blazing. Walking along argaes is incredibly boring and I would have roasted so followed the canal which is much more interesting and there was hope of cover along some stretches. There are some lovely stretches and some that are wider more open and a bit boring. I'd promised myself that if I got to Pool Quay by 2.00pm I'd dive down into the pub and treat myself to a pint of fruit juice and lemonade. Never has a drink been so well appreciated. Also had an interesting chat with the landlord and another old guy who had walked from Welshpool along the towpath and had stopped for lunch at the pub.

Then it was the long walk home - some bits I enjoyed especially those in the shade or when the sun went behind the clouds and others not so much. Had hoped Mark would pick me up at Burgedin Lock but he hadn't got home and since it was only 2.45 pm thought I might as well complete the whole walk. However didn't appreciate what a nightmare it would be crossing the main A483 and what a slog the bit from Arddleen to Penthryn Fawr would be. Got to the stretch that leads up to home and it was so hot covered myself up put my head down and just got on with it and never even noticed Mark and dog coming to meet me. I've never been so glad to have someone take my rucksack and to get home. However after lots of tea and a long cool shower was pleasantly physically tired but really happy.

From the guidebook worked it out as 17.5 miles - not bad for a day and haven't walked that kind of distance for years.

Life of an escapee

Not having been in work for 2 weeks and still having another 8 weeks off really does make me feel like an escapee. What is a little worrying is how quicly the time is going. The weather was horrible, really wet and cold the first week so hunkered down and got lots of things done. Also had a day out driving around North Wales with Mark whilst he was doing site visits.

There are some days that are spent at home but I seem to pack so much in to them in comparison to being at work or over weekends. Like Thursday, cleaned the whole house top to bottom and it's amazing how nice it is to have a clean, tidy house, went shopping including getting non-household things, did a couple of loads of washing, ironing, cooking and got the loft ready for use as a work room during the summer and even managed to pack a load of spinning in during the afternoon!!
I never ever would have thought about spinning or even knitting anything orange until relatively recently. However having knit orange Pomatomus socks for the October sock challenge I'm hooked on orange things. Interestingly it was also the colour that I got for my first Colour Swap partner. S0 I couldn't resist this Merino/Tencel mix fibre from All Spun Up - unfortunately I couldnt' get a decent pic of the fibre. Here it is all spun up - approx 600m 2 ply which has the most wonderful sheen and drape.

And here's some more orange yarn - 377m of 2ply New Day spun from Corriedale which was the March shipment of fibre from Spunky Eclectic.
Knitting has been severely limited this winter and early spring due to eye problems however it has meant that I have spent my spare time spinning.

Yesterday did an approx 15-18mile walk from Montgomery all the way home following the Offa's dyke path and then the canal from Pool Quay. All I can say is thank goodness I did it yesterday and not today - it is so hot here. After 2 horribly wet and cold summers we're just not used to the heat!

Happy Holiday

Well I'm now into the middle of the second week of ten weeks of extended leave from work. this is leave that I've built up over the last six years and just not had the time to take. I haven't got the spare cash to go on a big life changing trip and don't know that I'd necessarily want to. So going to be based at home most of the time and enjoy sorting and tidying the garden, walking and doing lots of sewing, knitting and spinning.

Since my last entry featured the purchase and first spun yarn thought it might be worthwhile showing some of the things I've spun since then:- This is the yarn I spun up from the singles shown in the previous post. I N-plyed it and then knitted this

Robin's Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer - I love this and wore it lots over the winter. Although it's quite thick wool it's little on the big side and therefore for some reason doesn't seem to get too hot.

This was some BFL I got from Spindlefrog Cherry Blossom colourway.

Again I N-plyed it to give

3 skeins of lovely soft yarn which ranges from an orangey pink through to pinkey pink and then through to purpley pink but don't know how many yards I have. This has been sitting in my wooden bowl for ages and not sure what to do with it but at last have an idea.

I then had an eye operation mid Nov which severely limited what I was able to do craft wise.

Will post up pics and details of the other yarns I've spun since Xmas over the next few entries.

Last week was my first week off and spent much of it spinning and finishing off stuff for a Colour Swap. I sent a package of yellow goodies out to Anna in the Netherlands. Hopefully I'll manage to work out how to post a pic of it.

Spin easy

After a long time of prevaricating I finally got myself a spinning wheel. I used to spin many moons ago and on an Ashford Scholar - I produced yarn but it was rather bulky and from Herdwick, Swaledale and Jacob's sheep. Things have changed a lot since then and even in the past 3 years since I've been considering this.

I prefer modern design wheels and we have an open plan living space which is limited in size therefore needed something small I could tuck in the corner. I also needed something portable since I need to be able to spin in the garden and in the conservatory. DH's attitude was that I should get what I really really want so that meant the Lendrum was a strong contender. And then a new generation of smaller more portable wheels have become available. I'd have liked the Schacht Ladybug but resent that anyone wanting to purchase one in the UK has to pay such a premium.

Trawling around Ravlery noticed that Majacraft were introducing a new entry level wheel and the early reviews were very good. Then found that there are few stockists in the UK but Hedgehog Equipment is relatively close to me so, arranged to go for a test spin. This was a wise move since looking at various articles on the internet had given me a complete crisis of confidence so I wanted to be sure that I could still spin before buying.

Well what can I say - arrived and Sarah had already put it together, sat down and away I went - the treadling action is wonderful and I can spin fine yarn.

As can be seen she's a plain minimal looking wheel with double treadle wheel and scotch tension. She's made from solid pine, plywood and MDF with a cream wash finish but only weighs 11 lbs which makes is so easy to carry up and down stairs.

Like other Majacraft wheels it has a delta flyer which was new to me but I like it lots and find it so much easier to use.

This fibre was good for getting used to the wheel and tension adjustment which is so sensitive but amazingly straightforward when you get used to it. It was then onto the fun stuff.

This is some shetland humbug tops from Shunklies Etsy shop. It's a completely new experience to be able to get the fibre this well prepared and a godsend for someone like myself who works and really does not have the time or space to wash and prepare fleece.

This was the beginning of the bobbin and

This is what I was spinning at the end and works out at 21 wpi although it has yet to be plied. The size of these bobbins and what you can get on them is astounding - this has taken yarn spun out of 130gms of tops and I wasted very little. I was extremely lucky in that under the introductory offer I got 5 bobbins included.

I am so happy with this wheel, ok she's a plain jane but I now hugely appreciate her minimal understated looks. Her portability and versatility provides me with everything I need and honestly cannot see that I'll need another wheel. The other huge bonus is that for the price of the nearest contender, the Susie I've been able to buy the Pioneer and get other accessories (all of which will fit this wheels) such as a plying set and Lazy Kate.

The comments and reviews by members of the Majacraft group on Ravelry were invaluable and I loved the way Lisa Souza who has lots more experience of spinning and wheels put it like this

"You buy the Pioneer for what she DOES as opposed to how fancy she LOOKS."

Nosey mog

Whereas I've featured lots of pics of Tess our border collie I realise that I haven't included anything about our other rescue pet. So meet Pepe who came to us in a fairly traumatised state and it took months for him to settle in all of 8 years ago but as you can see he's incredibly laid back now.

He has a huge personality and is extremely communicative and delights in yowling the house down when he comes in early in the morning just to let us know that he's home safely. He loves boxes and we have lots of pics of him in boxes but they're on the other computer. He's also incredibly nosey, has to thoroughly inspect whatever I'm knitting and when I got home from work today found this This is some wonderful merino fiber that I got from Spindlefrog yesterday - it's come with it's own little sachet of lavender so don't know if he was attracted to the lavender or just being nosey but had obviously just had to get in and have a look.

Long time no blog

It's a bit of a shock to discover that I haven't made an entry since early April. Perhaps it's symptomatic of the horribly dull wet summer we've had. Took time off end of April/start of May and had a wonderful break. Spent it at home but had a really good mix of doing things in the house and garden during the mornings, then having long leisurely lunches and relaxing reading, knitting etc in the afternoon. The weather was glorious and the time can be summed up by this pic The knitting is the Swallowtail shawl knit up in Posh Yarn Eva 2ply yarn in Apple. This is a pattern I was keen to try and needed to use up theis yarn so a KAL held by the Posh Yarn group acted as an incentive. Once I got started it was in fact a very quick knit and completed it in under 2 weeks.

The early warmth and rain meant that initially the garden was looking glorious and some flowers were their best ever. This Aquilega was bought from the nursery at Botanical Garden Wales many years ago. Although a single plant it has spread and provides a wonderful show. When we visited Derwen nursery early summer saw a lovely range of Aquilega and bought several to provide future colour and cover for the back border.
Did have the odd nice evening

Not the most flattering of pics but at least I'm looking happy because we'd just seen these
First sighting of cygnets for this year.

A largely non eventful summer but extremely busy at work therefore really good to have a break this last couple of weeks. Again spent some time at home gardening/doing home stuff/ haircut/ hospital appointments etc then went down to Cornwall for a week.

Fortunately the weather was wonderful and I'm always gobsmacked by the colour of the sea.

Returning from a rather long and hot walk and yes the dog was this muddy.

Unfortunately poor old Tess has really aged a bit lately but to be fair she has had to undergo a hystrectomy and removal of a cyst. She's a bit arthritic and had managed to strain her leg just before we went on holiday so was a bit limited in terms of what she and therefore us could do.

Have found that spend far more time on Ravelry than I'd anticipated and have joined a couple of groups including Sock Knitters Anonymous and took part in Sockdown September. Knit Pomatomus in Pagewood Farm Alyeska sock yarn colour Orange Spice.
There's no way I would have ever knit orange socks apart from the fact that this was one of the month's challenges. another was to knit a Cookie A pattern. I had knit Pomatomus previously but made a mistake and just ended up frogging them so this was another challenge. However got to grips with the pattern and really enjoyed knitting them and loved the orange yarn but for me they will be known as my Goldfish Socks. However do have a huge problem in that I've run out of wool 14 rows from the end of the second sock!!
Just hoping that I'm going to be able to find someone who has a small amount left.