I am getting old :)

It's over a week since my last post and I don't know were the time has gone !! Emily had a cold when she was here and Kath started with it and so did I ;so I felt really rough all last week with blinding headaches and sore throat etc. It still lingering but I am much better.
So I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked but I did manage to get to the Lleyn SWD Guild where we had a spinning & and weaving day which was fun. They have accepted my weaving for the all Wales exhibition , so now I have two items with two different guilds on display!!
I have finished the merino/silk batt I bought at Woolfest and I do love the end yarn but unfortunately there is not enough yardage for the Tangled Yoke Cardi from IK . I have 928 yds and it requires at least 1337 yds so another project will have to be thought for this yarn.
























It wasn't an easy yarn to spin fine as the silk was very nubbly but it does have a lovely tweedy effect
On the wheel at the moment I am spinning sock yarn which has nylon added to it ; this is another Woolfest buy.

I am trying to use up all the stuff I have before Saturday :) as there will be a lot of trade stalls at the all Wales SWD Guild meeting !!

Also the following week Winghams are coming to the Meirionedd SWD Guild so there will be YET more temptation thrown in my path. See I told you a few post back that October is going to an expensive month for me!! Well ,I do believe I have to make the most of opportunities that come my way ;) and the all Wales is held every other year so nothing there next year and also having Winghams arrive at my doorstep , what is a girl do do ?
Also it is my birthday this week , hence the title and if I don't get these things now ; when will I ? Do I feel guilty ? Well a bit, as I really should knit up what I have at the moment . It's coming up to a year this next month since I started spinning and to say that I am hooked is an understatement. Yes I have spent a fair bit here and there on my new hobby but its worth every penny ,as not only has it opened up a new world where I have made so many friends in my own area and online but it has also lifted my spirits no end and I feel, that once again I am being creative.

So with all this forthcoming spending I was trying to save on some things . Both Kath and I are doing the Mystery Stole which starts next week and we needed yarn ; so I bought some cheap merino lace weight off E-Bay at £4.99 for 3 skeins with 900yds in each skein. It was a slightly variegated light brown but no longer. It went into the dye pot and is now a lush chocolate brown and I bought some copper beads to go with it which I like and hope that Kath does too .

Also I dyed that vivid yellow Jitterbug yarn and it now looks like this.

Talking of Colinette.On the last trip I bought some Cadenza to make Roam and so I thought I would wind the skeins this week only to find that I was one ball short :( No wonder really after our chaotic shopping with Emily . Fortunately they still had some left so they are posting me some , phew !! Lets hope it matches as it was out of the sale room.

I have a FO to show and I have to say I hated knitting this as it was done on 10mm needles. It should have been a quick knit but I found it very painful with my joints to use such large needles .



Not sure if these shrugy things suit me but its a light throw on and great with jeans.





So as I said it's my birthday this week and although I never really think of age or
that I am getting older, of course I am and Clarabelle gave me food for thought re ageing with a post of hers.I certainly don't want to be called 'mutton dressed as lamb' and I too get a shock when I see myself sometimes in the mirror or in a photo!! but hey I will go down fighting.I have always loved eccentric old ladies ,so I guess I am just working my way there . Hopefully not too quickly,(I will be 56 this time ) but I do love wearing a LOT of purple :) , is this a sign ?
I just love this poem and I will end this ramble with it, in defiance of ageing

-------------------

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other peoples' gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

by Jenny Joseph

FO's & again photo heavy !!

The weeks seem to fly by and Kath and Emily have been, and gone home today :( but we had a good time and we were on the go every day and exhausted by the time Emily was in bed .
So in this post I will show some FO's and some yarn purchases !!
This is another wall hanging I made with the Lleyn SWD Guild,again with Eta,before we went on hols and I used bits of shell and driftwood I picked up from our Scottish trip. So that is what I made, a sea scene; great fun doing these and instant creative gratification.



Then I made another mobius from Cat Bordhi's book ; I think I will make a few more of these as its a quick knit and I so love to wear them as they are cosy without weight.



I didn't do much knitting whilst we were away, far too busy having fun with our new friends but I did do these two boleros with my own hand spun yarn (BFL, silk and kid mohair). I had finished Emily's and as Rosemary had a grand daughter the same age I chanced there would be enough yarn to do another and just by a whisker I made it , although I did it slightly different(its the front one which is wet and blocking ). I have since been told that little Molly loves it.



This is our darling Emily in hers.




I have also finished the cardigan with the yarn I bought on the Isle of Skye and I love it. It took me longer than expected as I thought I had finished and then found I had made an error on BOTH !!fronts so had to frog back . I will definitely knit this pattern again as I like the way it is fitted and the sleeves flare out a bit, and it's a lightweight knit, something which although takes longer I far rather wear.I have bought a lot of 4 ply lately with this in mind and of course they are better for layering as well.
This is it before blocking and its now blocked and looks even better.




Kath and I went to Colinette this week and I had a yarn in mind to buy so I was well pleased that I managed to get some, Cadenza in a gorgoeus rich green colourway I liked in the sale room and I think its destined to be Roam from the new Knitty, but I might change my mind !!



I also bought two skeins of Jitterbug again from the sale room and the lary yellow is destined for the dye pot LOL although I think Kath likes it :)and will keep hers as is .
Then there are two skeins of Parisienne which will be some sort of lacy scarf. Quite a restrained shopping there I thought ; for a change I bought what I had in mind when I went and no more LOL.

We had a couple of sunny days whilst they were here and we went out with a picnic and a walk around Trawsfynydd lake which Emily seemed to run most of the way around.Thank goodness this gate slowed her down a tad , but JUST a tad !!


Then one day we went with Eta and her daughter and grand daughter to a farm in the back of beyond and picked up a bag or two of free Welsh mountain fleece.(He has loads to give away , any one want any ? ) I wish I had taken my camera as the location of this farm was stunning and the house dated back to 1490 and was right by the river Cynfal. Again Miss Emily was a bundle of energy and was really enjoying herself picking up smelly fleeces and shouting 'an dis one ?' and trying to stuff them into bags; guess that's my family's farming background coming out !!

Well that's my FO's . I have a shrug on the needles at the moment knitted with Wendy Allegro which I bought whilst away in 'that' wool shop and I forgot to take a photo of and I am also knitting a pair of socks for a dear friend in the US for her birthday so I can't show them until she has received them.
I have also a lot dyeing to do with various yarns, including some yummy cashmere I have acquired ;)
Oh and I really want to get that rug I am weaving finished as I want my drum carder back for other finer fleece.
Plus I need to finish spininng the 660gm merino& silk for another project, nearly there with that one and that is a lightweight DK too.
So that's enough to keep me busy for the next week I think.
In the meantime,thank goodness I won't be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow with young Miss and the peace in the house at the moment , ahhhhh the peace , I am savouring that :)
Oh and I nearly forgot , my wrap has passed the test and will be in the all Wales SWD Guild exhibition; I have to say I am thrilled .

Back to Earth

Before I begin I must thank you all for all the lovely comments re my wrap , so very much appreciated. It is going to the Guild with me tomorrow to see if it will pass the scrutiny of the members to be entered in the All Wales meeting at Llanidloes.
Also thanks to Kath for giving my blog a fresh new look whilst she was here today for one night only, a flying visit with Emily. She will be back on Sunday when we will be getting up to all sorts of mischief ;-)

Now a warning ; this post is PHOTO HEAVY

Well we have had a glorious , relaxing break and the weather could not have been better. A real 'Indian Summer' and it felt more like the Mediterranean than Pembroke with azure blue seas and hot sun. We had planned on touring but we found a great site at Strumble Head near Fishguard ,right on the coastal path with stunning sea views and that was all we needed. That's the great thing about taking 'our home' with us as we are totally independent and as long as we can dispose of refuse and take on water we are okay , so it means we can stay at very basic small farm sites, like this one. This is a view of the sunrise taken from our pitch,one morning when I got up way too early;well worth a sleepless night & an early rise for me. After this morning I am glad to say I slept late in every morning which is unheard of from me.



We met up with a lovely couple staying at the same site and we spent the rest of our holiday with them having days out and had so many laughs; they were just so easy and fun to get on with and I am sure we will meet up with them again .They had two dogs also, so ours had a great time too and all dogs were wiped out by the end of the days.
We went on the little coastal buses and then walked various walks back to the farm; a great way to do the walks if you are ever in that area.



There were wild flowers everywhere and I have taken loads of photos of them. Both Rosemary and I loved looking at them in detail and so our walks were easy rambles that took hours and of course there was an amble packed lunch , which had to be rested after . So many other things to see as well with coves full of seals and their pups and we could even hear them for the little bay nearest our site. I kept clicking away with my camera and I do have a video as well and when I can figure how to edit it I will show you it, if any one is interested.



I zoomed in quite a bit so the quality is not that great but you can see the white pup behind Mum , who is keeping an eye on me. I actually whistled and she looked up directly at me. We didn't go too near as that would not be right, especially with there being pups with them but we did hear of some folks who had very close encounters with them whilst swimming . In fact we saw a lady swimming and up popped a seal right by her; she got out of the water pretty quick I can tell you. I'm not sure if they would harm you but they are certainly curious but there were also huge bull seals around which I would not wish to meet up with !! Of course dolphins would be another matter as there are plenty of them around also but alas we didn't see any ; they always seemed to be in the next bay around the corner,according to folks we met along the way !! The path meanders up and down and around the cliffs so although as the crow flies it isn't far, in actually fact its a longer walk than you first think.

Here is one of the bull seals swimming in this cove too.


This coastal area is a National Park and they have taken sheep off the land and introduced wild Welsh Mountain ponies which are hardy little beasts and are better for grazing than the sheep for conserving the flowers etc.



They are pretty tame on the whole but we did have a narrow escape when three ponies came galloping along the path towards us , in a hurry to get somewhere.We just about managed to get off the path in time.



Plenty for the bird watchers to see here also . There are plenty of Choughs in this area ; we do have them here at home but there were a lot about on this part of the coast. This bird is extinct in the rest of the UK apart from Scotland and it also thrives in Ireland as well. Very acrobatic birds which are fun to watch and are distinctive by their red beaks and legs.



We noticed this flight of steps cut into the rock going down to the sea.If you enlarge the photo you will see them, pretty hairy don't you think ?



This is the light house at Strumble Head and the ferry over to Ireland from Fishguard in the background.



Fishguard is a nice little town with some nice gift shops and smashing little yarn shop with a great cafe next door . They are run by identical twin sisters and the choice of food was as diverse as their choice of yarns. I was tempted by both and did succumb to both also ;0 surprise , surprise !!
But not as much as I could have, as my wallet is in for a real clout over the next few weeks ,as I will tell you about later.

Well this has been photo heavy and I did take hundreds of photos and could have gone on posting more but this is the last !!
Sunshine on the sea on a very hot day at the beach.



Hardly any talk of yarn is there ? Well that's for another post were I will show FO's and oh I nearly forgot we also went to an Angora farm where I bought a kid mohair fleece at such a bargain price. It was one of her prize winning kids but it had got very muddy , needless to say it isn't now, it's white and glossy & there is enough for two garments .Oh and we also went to a working woolen mill called Tregwynt and I got some fab remnants which will come in useful for making something; either cushions or handbags.