Walking slowly!

It's been a slow start to the New Year due to many Fibro flares but I'm still walking, even if it is at a snails pace!

I discovered that my modest phone camera had a few special effects and I've had great fun using Manchee as a model.  He looks good in sepia!

Lots of my usual walks take on a mysterious and bleak look in sepia. I love it, it suits my mood sometimes.

Action shots can't wait for me to change the settings though and now that Manchee has a new walking pal I have to be quick. They are both bonkers!!!

The lane behind the ponies field has been flooded for most of the year, but this was at it's deepest. My boots were nearly swamped!

Another atmospheric picture of my favourite cornfield. The corn husks are like the bones of last summer!

Manchee is waiting for his chance to once more run along the towering rows of corn.

My favourite woods are beside the cornfields. Close to home and within easy walking distance, we go there whenever we can.

The bluebells are beginning to unfold, so I left the colour in this picture as a promise of Spring on it's way.

Tiny Ramsoms are popping up all over the woodland floor. I often collect them throughout the season and have them with cheese for lunch. They have a mild garlic flavour when young, but soon they'll be much stronger. I know these woods well and never collect from the same place twice, always picking only what I need. I know that these are Ramsons because in full bloom they have the distinctive white flowers and heavy garlic smell. Never pick anything that you are unsure of. I also avoid picking from along the paths as most dogs that walk here love to 'sprinkle' every green thing in reach, haha!

This week I'll be back in the Studio and I hope to put some of my walking inspiration into my work.

The Mad, Hat, Cat lady!

Back to hats.
Last year I did very well making and selling Witch Hats on the Studio blog. While I was making them, I had lots of requests for different designs.  I was only just setting out at the time and trying to find my own style.  My stealth witch hat was inspired by Terry Pratchetts 'Hat Full of Sky' and was very popular, but making other styles took a little longer to work out.
Now though, I'm happy to present the Bewitched Hat, named for the style of hat worn by Nicole Kidman in the movie of the same name.  Now my hat is of course my design, so no copyright issues there, but I will be making more in a similar style. I like the big floppy brims and this one could be a little bigger.
We did try to recreate the original film image, but the candles were dangerous, I looked like I'd had a night on the tiles and Moomin couldn't stop laughing long enough to take any decent pictures (she's my chief photographer!), so I had to settle for my hat model! I think she could do with a name as the clothes model is called Maude! Ah, maybe, Hattie, haha!

The ribbon needs a little taming, I think!

Here is a sneak preview of the Snow Queen wrist warmers.  The Polwarth is sooo soft, good enough for a cat to try to steal! The blue is Merino with some lovely blue silk that was a sample from one of my wool suppliers.  It's a very happy colour for a dull day.

But of course the evening belongs to cats, warm drinks and The Supernatural Box set. Fae and I love those Winchester boys, although to be honest, I think she just likes to know that I'll be sat still long enough for her to steal cuddles. I think we have another 5 seasons to go before we catch up with the latest episodes!!!

Yule and wool.

The Polwarth saga continues. I passed it through the drum carder and it began to show promise of turning out ok after all.

Bambam helped me!

The wool cabinet was given a French makeover complete with little muslim curtains to hide the chaos inside! I'm very happy with it :D

Christmas was bitter sweet for me. I found myself once again alone on my path and maybe the upset of that or  it was the continuous damp weather, but for some reason I found myself in the middle of a Fibro flare. Not much walking happened over the holiday period. My hands and feet have swollen and I found it all a bit much to take.  My lovely children (young adults now) stepped in and saved everything.  We had a wonderful time, even though my planned days of knitting and spinning had to be put on hold. 

I did manage to do some wet felting with the Polwarth, thinkings it's softness would redeem the effort of cleaning it, but alas, still some tiny particles of hay and dirt clung to it to mar the finished piece.  I won't give up and the next post will be about a gorgeous corset fit for a Snow Queen :D

It has begun.

This rather unpleasant mess is at this moment soaking in the Unicorn Power Scour.  It's very hard to leave it alone and not constantly poke at it to see if the grease is bonding to the scour as it's supposed to! I'm assured that I will have lustrous, soft wool to spin when it's all finished.  I hope so, because so far, I'm very disappointed with the Polwarth!

The process for cleaning difficult wool came from this blog http://content.wildcraft.co.uk//
There will be updates later today, fingers crossed!

Well, there IS an improvement of sorts!
The wool is whiter and less tacky, but some of the tarry tips remain.  The Unicorn has done it's job well, but I really don't think I'll be bothering with Polwarth ever again! I have a sack of washed wool that needs washing again with the Unicorn and a sack of untouched wool.  I'm that close to throwing it all in the bin, expecially as some of the re-washed wool felted!!!  But, I'm a skinflint, and refuse to throw anything away if it can be salvaged, so I'll wash it again, just not yet!
I have some lovely Alpaca that's just plain old dusty to deal with first :D

In between storms.

Such wild weather lately! The dog didn't mind so much as he'd cut his leg last week chasing squirrels so he had to stay in to let it heal.  It has to be said that he's not a brave dog and any injury causes him a lot of worry! So he was snuggled on the sofa with cats and a blanket!!!

We managed to dash out for a walk on Saturday, in between the rain, which is also a concern for a dog with fine whippet skin! The woods were beautiful as the last Autumn leaves hung with jewelled droplets.

Trees muted in swathes of mist, hushed and quiet.

One of our favourite paths, changed and eerie in the stillness.

Home to a big pot of Earl Grey for me and some biscuits for a slightly tired dog. I have paintings in my head and colours for my wool.  I want to spin some woodland magic this week.

Peace.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

By Wendell Berry

Pasties!

This isn't a cooking post, sadly, it's actually about crochet! When I was a child I would often spend long hours sat with my Gran learning to crochet.  She was amazing with wool and could make the most complicated patterns into huge, warm, snuggly blankets.  She didn't have very much money, so she went with my Grandad to the Jungle! This was her word for the Jumble sale.  My Gran didn't have much of an education or 'learn her words' as she would say, so she would often use words that sounded about right! She would take apart old jumpers from the jungle that cost just pennies and then use the wool for her blankets. Of course, this meant that the colours would be crazy and random. No boring brown blankets for us, which was the common theme in the 1970's. Gran's blankets were lovely and she was so patient when she taught me as I wasn't a natural with wool!

One thing Gran made that I will never forget was the Pastie! This was mine and my Sister's term for Gran's homemade slippers.  They were often a bit itchy and baggy on our feet but she would insist on making them for us and we would have to wear them for the duration of our visit with her! I'm sorry to say that we did not love these slippers and we would tease each other constantly about the multi coloured monsters.  They were made much the way you would make a real pastie. A crochet circle stitched up the front to midway and then your foot went in at the back, with a little tuck behind the heel to keep it on. I may have to make a pair in my Gran's honour <3

I think my Gran would have loved these slippers, below. she may have thought them a little fussy and a waste of extra wool, but I wish I could have made a pair for her in return for all the wonderful things she taught me.

Wild weather.

It was stormy last night. Wet and windy and wild. I slept badly as my little house shook and my roof tiles rattled under the heavy rain. The sun rose this morning in a pink and gold sky.  It's very beautiful but there is a threat in the air of another storm. 
I need to sculpt or spin this morning, but I also need to get out in that wild weather.  Feel the sting of the rain and the wind tug at my hair. I need to be at the coast and listen to the roar of the ocean. I don't know how long we'll last, but it will be fun.  I'll take towels and coffee and the dog will think I'm mad, but he'll love it because he's as crazy as I am :D

Wet walk in the woods.

Despite the threat of rain, we simply had to get out for a walk.  It clears my mind and helps me to feel more 'real'. I never tire of walking in the woods near my home as the view changes constantly from sunny and green to dark and mysterious depending on the weather.  Of course, the seasonal changes make it fun to explore as well and right now, we're full into mushroom season.  These are Polypores of some type, but I'm not certain which as they're not exactly like the ones in my little mushroom book!

These ones look like Hoof Fungus, which is similar to the Polypore. I'm learning as I go, but it's fun picking out the different types of fungi that grow in my lovely woodland.

A pair of Giant's legs???

Although the picture is misty, this is a lovely colourway that would be good to incorporate into some seasonal wool.  I feel like spinning it up after I've finished with the lovely white Southdowns that I'm working with at the moment. I can see a beautiful Autumn/Fall shawl taking place.

New in the Etsy shop is a ceramic bird skull with a pheasant feather and goldstone and silver beads. All based on the things I find on my walks and also what my little cats bring to me - skulls, lots of them!

Bring the wild in.

The book I'm reading (see first post) talks about the many ways to re-wild yourself and your life.  One way, that I really love, is to slowly replace artificial things such as plastic with natural fibres, wood and stone.
 This is my favourite Goddess pot.  I bought her many years ago and she was one of a kind at the time.  I'd love to make some statues like her. She adds beauty to a wild corner of the garden.

 I take inspiration from my surroundings when I go walking, find the poetry in the land

 and take home a piece of it in my heart to place in my home.

 It finds it's way onto my walls in many ways. I must finish adding the tiny branches to these Windling trees. I first came across the idea of painting trees onto walls a few years back at Domythic Bliss and have been doing it throughout the house since!

It's a dry day today, but very windy, I'm hoping I can get to the woods with the dog, stretch our legs and breath in the lovely damp tree odour.

I love this time of year when the world curls into itself and prepares for the long hibernation of winter. It's so strange to imagine that on the other side of our planet, their world is stretching and waking from her long sleep.

Not walking!

Certainly not in the rain! When it's damp, let alone wet and wild, my lazy lurcher only wants to be in bed and early mornings with a big mug of Earl grey seems to draw all the other household members as well!!! I'm under there somewhere!

So when I'm forced to stay inside, I spin. This was the result of plying 'leftovers' from my bobbins.  Manx Loughton dyed with henna hair colour and supersoft white Romney (my all time favourite fleece!).

And this is Romney plyed with undyed Manx Loughton. Not much wool here, but I'll find a use :D

This was a fleece I bought with great excitement and a good deal of ignorance! It's Polwarth, which is renowned for it's dense coating of lanolin and oil.

I washed it in my usual way, in a small bag with some gentle detergent and a lot of hot water.  Not too much agitation and then a cool rinse. Imagine how disappointed I was to find that the lanolin had just redistributed itself among the fibres and the oil had formed a thick tar on the tips! A lot of research led me to the conclusion that this special fleece needed some special handling. I have something to try and I'll post the next stage when I feel like giving it a go!

Finn tried to assist but was in danger of just creating a pile of felted mess!

Instead I took comfort in this delicious cotton roving.  I managed to get hold of some, despite it not being widely available in this country.  It is soft and easy to spin, although it needs more spin in the thread than most sheeps wool. It needs to be treated like silk with a good strong twist in the fibres. I've had fun playing with it, but this lot is destined for the Etsy shop Here.

Tomorrow is supposed to be dry but windy, so lets hope I can get out for a much needed walk with my camera dog and maybe a companion :D

A new start.

A fresh start. I started my first blog around 9years ago at the end of October and I suppose it's for similar reasons that I'm starting this new one now. Instead of feeling the year coming to it's end, I feel like this is the beginning.  A time to draw into the home, assess the future and coming months and take time to heal, plan, scheme.

I bought this book a short while ago and I suppose it's having an influence on me.  I'm not 'getting' it all right now, but it's making me think about how I live and so for that reason, it's a good book to have.  I think it will be one of those books that I take more from each time I read it.  I have a small tower of books beside the bed that I read almost every year and if I don't read them cover to cover, I at least dip in and experience my favourite parts.  These aren't fictional books (apart from Blackberry Wine), these are books about real people, real lives lived honestly with a bit of dirt and a lot of effort. Over time, I'll share these books and how they've shaped my life.

So what am I talking about in these future pages? Not just my walks, although I do live in a very beautiful area, but why I walk and how it affects me. I used to be incredibly fit, riding my horse daily, caring for a busy household with my husband and children.  It seemed perfect. It wasn't. It all came to an end and with it my robust health.
I fulfilled a long held dream and bought a puppy, Manchee. Together we explored the woodlands around my home.

Since then we've had many beautiful walks. It's where I draw my inspiration, take pictures and fill up my empty self when I'm weary.

I bring back pictures that inpsire me to paint and sculpt, I bring back moments, captured in the simple lens of my camera.