Blimey!

I'm in a tizzy of excitement. I've just had a last minute invite to Woolfest. Must go and organise knitting to bring, fleece wishlist and try to remember some self control.

In the meantime here are some pictures of the wonderful things we found in the Cotswolds the week after Ravelry Day.

The wonder of UK Ravelry Day

The wonder of UK Rav Day started off rather damply and if you look at the group pool on Flickr there are many pictures of a pair of rather damp alpacas. They and the stallholders stoically withstood the driving rain for the delight of the Ravelry members and the city of Coventry.

The event was held in Coventry Central Hall which is in the care of the Methodists. They made us feel extremely welcome with a minister on hand in case we needed Divine Intervention and a fine line in cakes. On every table in the cafe there was a leaflet, specially written for the day with a welcome and an explanation of what the Methodist church was all about. I thought it was a nice touch and wished we'd had a Ravelry leaflet to leave in return.

I had decided to do a workshop that challenged me so I chose to learn about Kitchener Stitch with Woolly Wormhead. What a revelation, Wooly W. thinks about knitting in mathematical, technical terms and that shines through in the way her hats are designed. I came home with new skills and an ardent wish to go back to school and get my maths O Grade.

Next time? What we did the rest of the week!

It's in the blood.

I promise that I will tell you all about the wonders of the UK Ravelry day last week but in the meantime here is the proof that I come from a long line of fleece wranglers.

The shearer is my father's grandfather who was a shepherd for all of his life as were at least two of his sons. Dad sent me an email this evening bursting with family snaps. I love the way that technology can keep us in touch with our ancestors.

A camp adventure

The lad and I went North this week taking a car stuffed with camping gear and emergency chocolate. We were headed to the aptly named Archiestown in Speyside. Our tent has it's own living space with room for a table and chairs. We also had a dishwasher and a fridge - of the camping kind.

We had true Scottish weather - rain, hail, wind and evenings so cold that you could see your breath, making me thankful that I packed mittens. Many an hour was spent listening to the rain and reading. There was time to let imagination flow - I thought that the view of the trees through the tent window plastic looked like an Impressionist painting.

And then the sun came out and the world became even more glorious.

Thank You

Very much indeed.

Good things versus bad things

It's ME/CFIDS Awareness Week ( actually I'm late, it was last week) and it made me think that it was about time I came out of the ME closet and confess to being one of the many people who have the condition.

So, I wrote a long and rambly post outlining the whys and wherefores that led me to develop ME (never trust the Varicella - Zoster virus ) and what rotten things had happened as a result. I wrote about losing the ability to enjoy reading books, being unable to work, having limited or no concentration span, about needing to use a walking stick on dizzy days. I wrote about being let down by a body and mind I can no longer rely on to do what it's told and about the exhaustion that is so great that there are days when the effort of just existing seems too much like hard work.

I thought about it for the week and decided that it really wasn't what I wanted to write about. The blog is my way of celebrating the good stuff and although I have a truly frustrating and limiting illness, the very presence of that set of limits allows me to slow down and take stock of what is in my life and I'm grateful for that. That doesn't make me Pollyanna believe me, there are tears, extreme grumpiness and a tendency to gloom when things are tough. The good stuff, however, is jolly good indeed.

So, in the spirit of the Mog blog, I offer you this week's activities. Some rhubarb donated by Sandy and Anne transformed into Rhubard and Ginger Jam, a hank of yarn hand-dyed and a mouse overseeing a shelf of ribbons. Like I said, the good stuff is good.

Back to normal.

After the glitz and glamour of the past wee while, things have gone back to what passes as normal in Mog Towers. A horrid cold and general feeling of post wedding flatness has caused an outbreak of domesticity and comfort food.

A trip to the Arbroath Charity shops unearthed a strange machine which has come to be known as the cookie pooper. The results are small but very tasty indeed and they may be the cutest biscuits I've ever made.

There has been dyeing and knitting too - a stripey pair of socks, the shades of spring sunlight in the garden and in progress, a Baktus scarf made from onion dyed handspun Blue Faced Leicester. The colour is less vibrant than usual on account of the mordant being copper rather than the usual alum but I am enjoying the subtle shifts of colour.