It's my Birthday

and I had a wonderful parcel from Jen (Squibstitcher on Ravelry) the genius behind Fresh From the Cauldron.

Trying to get on Track

Wow I hadn't realised that I hadn't blogged at all this year! Too much has happened to talk about so I will stick to the main event. - My son's wedding in January. It was a lovely low key affair and I had the opportunity to catch up with lots of old friends. The cake decoration says it all though.

Which Twilight Character Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

Everything comes to those who wait...

I've been tagged by Sue - this is the deal:

To participate you

Link to the person who tagged you.
List seven facts about yourself.
Post the rules on your blog.
Tag seven more people to do the same and link to them.
Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
Let the tagger know when your entry has been posted.

So 7 facts about myself? I will try and make this interesting and list things I am happy about.

1. I have walked on fire - and it was awesome.

2. I haven't lived in a house for over 5 years (for the last 6 years we have lived in yurts).

3. I hate alcohol, tobacco and coffee but I have picked coffee in Nicaragua for the Sandinista revolution.

4. I have a degree in Maths and a certificate from the Faculty of Astrological Studies.

5. I nearly lost my teaching job because of my criminal record for peace protesting.

6. I never wear a watch (I am frequently late for things).

7. My only child is getting married in January which makes me inordinately happy because it is so RIGHT and he and his partner deserve a happy life.

OK then 7 peeps to pass this on to?

My friend Rachel at her restaurant down the road aupapillon

My fellow spinner Diane with her local flock of Ouessant sheep at The Spinning Shepherd

The incredible designer and blogger Sylv at Chez Plum

The talented Emma (who has a new Etsy shop) at Y Lloeren

The wonderfully warm and generous Ambermoggie.

Fellow ex-pat in France Carolyn at Kids and Knits

And last but not least the incomprable Lorena at Snarkland


So, I have been knitting - mainly socks - we need them!



These are in Opal Rainforest 6 ply (I really like the thickness of this yarn) in colour Chameleon.

I have also benn making some in Merino/ Bamboo that I died . This colour is based on the TrueBlood/ Southern Vampire character Bill.



I have the same colourway in superwash and merino/tencel going into my Etsy shop soon.



And some test crochetting I did for Sylv, her lovely granny square mitts. They are very quick to make too for those last minute gifts.



There is lots more knitting but no pictures at the moment so I hope to be a better blogger in future.

Too much time on Ravelry, not enough blogging

Well no point in apologising so on to the F.O.'s . First off the Woodland Shawl using one skein of Schoeller + Stahl Fortissima Colori Socka Color.







And socks of course:



I have been back to the UK recently to visit my mother. She lives in a residential hme close to my brother, so I was able to stay with him and spend time with my nephew. Although I was glad to be with her it was distressing when she seemed to lose touch with reality. I could cope with her talking about her guardian angel as if it was an actual physical reality but when she refused her medication because she was sure the staff were trying to keep her prisoner it was harder. I hate to think of her feeling isolated and persecuted.

I have been doing a lot of dyeing recently, I have a fair (the first Christmas fair of 2008) on Sunday. Many of the colours are inspired form the Ravelry group Knit One Dead Too where I have been spending a lot of time. It is a discussion group for the new TV show True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse books of Charlaine Harris so the colours are vampire based. Starting with blood red:



Alpaca/silk/cashmere laceweight



Merino/Tencel sock weight



bfl/nylon sockweight

I'm listing them on my Etsy shop now.

Ribbit, ribbit, rip it, rip it.

A garden resident.

In an effort to reduce my UFO's I have been frogging. I have them down to 21 and want to get into single figures by the end of October. Then maybe I can start new projects with a clear conscience.

Glass, Rosacea and Cannabis

Three totally unconnected themes as it turns out.

The glass window I am making is for here:




It is in the little log cabin joining our 2 yurts.
This is the view from outside:



I've made a begining and it is mostly going to be clear and blue glass as you can see:



So far, so good.

I realise that I have been sounding pretty miserable on my blog and I guess I have been pretty miserable. When I analysed it there were lots of accumulative reasons and one I think I have never mentioned as it is so hard to explain how frustrating it is. However after reading my blog a spinning friend here rang me and we got talking. She explained how her life was made miserable by ocular rosacea for some years but now after lots of mistakes by health professionals she had done her own research and finally had it under control. It was so wonderful to talk to her as I had not been able to talk to anyone who understood about the total frustration of the condition. My eyes feel dry but they water all the time (at least one does) if I am outside for more than half than hour I can't see properly (which means I stay in unless absolutely necessary). I can see well but it is a struggle as focussing especially when it gets bad is a constant difficulty, but in testing things are ok. My vision is distorted, and my eyes are sore, burning and irritated most of the time. Because of being inside a lot, being over 50 and with darker skin I may be at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Of course all of this often leads to depression and certainly to irritability. So the relief of talking to someone who understood was overwhelming. She came round the same day to lend me some books and give me some stuff that helped her. One of the books was on the beneficial effects of fasting and I am seriously thinking of giving it a go. Has anyone else tried this?

So thank you Diane. She has a blog too, say hello at The Spinning Shepherd.

Another thing that happened recently that cheered me up was getting a cheque for 100 euros expenses from the Musee de Tisserands (Weaving Museum) in my nearest town of Ambrieres. This was for a spinning demonstration I gave in July when they had a fair for their 20 th anniversary.

This was my stall.



I was sharing with a wonderful woman called Marie-Terese who gave me this at the end.



It is a beautiful cloth she made. She was demonstrating the technique which was so easy it was magical. Do you know how it was done?

She gathered fresh plants sandwiched them between layers of cotton and hammered them. She used a wooden mallet and had a marble slab underneath. After not very much hammering you peel the cloth apart and have two perfect full colour imprints on the cloth. If there is plant matter left, let it dry nd brush it off. She uses old cotton sheets as they are very absorbent. The imprints are not permenant if left in the light or washed but last a good 6 months and I can see from the cloth she gave me that there are previous layers of plants under the current one, which just adds depth.

She was helping people to have a go so I picked some plants and had a go.



And yes that leaf is exactly what it looks like. The area was a hemp weaving region and there are cannabis plants growing by the front door. In fact almost half the stalls at the fair were to do with hemp. The stall on the end of this row was run by the (apparently) largest hemp producer in the world.