Three Castles

Living in the Welsh Marches we’re rather spoilt for choice when it comes to castles. One of our favourite days out is to visit the ‘Three Castles’ of Skenfrith, White Castle and Grosmont. We were lucky enough to visit them on a foggy, frosty day recently that was wonderfully atmospheric….

All three castles were established during the 11th century as part of the Norman Conquest of South Wales although I think they differ a lot today in terms of atmosphere and position in the landscape.

In the summer we plan to walk between the three – no doubt stopping of for the odd restorative pint or two along the way…….

An update

It’s hard knowing where to begin after such a long absence. I guess an explanation might be a good place to start! Now, I know to say ‘I’ve been busy’ sounds rather lame but the truth is I really have been extremely busy. The run up to Christmas was craft fair season so I had my work cut out trying to make enough things to sell – in fact I turned into a bit of a human production line and all my spare time (i.e the time when my daughter is asleep:) ) was devoted to crochet….

This winter was very much a case of dipping a toe in the water and seeing what worked best – specifically which sort of fairs suited me best and which products sold well. The fairs I attended were all very different – some indoors, some out – some in churches, some in fancy hotels. In financial terms, all the craft fairs went well but my enjoyment of them varied a good deal. My favourite by far was the Worcester Arts and Vintage Fair basically because it was such a lovely, friendly atmosphere and I think atmosphere counts for such a lot – both for buyers and sellers. For me, being a craftsperson isn’t about the financial rewards (I’d be a bit deluded if it was!) – it’s more important to me to do something I enjoy and that sits comfortably with my beliefs about sustainability….. so, I don’t see the point in doing fairs I don’t enjoy and next year I plan to be more selective.

Another big lesson I learnt was to make more stock! At every fair I sold out of certain products and had a manic rush in between fairs to make more items. Well – lesson learnt -it may sound a bit extreme, but I plan on starting making my stock for next winter in a few days time!

Hmmm, that’s all for now. I hope to start posting a bit more regularly from now on. Before I go though I’d just like to say thank you for all the comments and emails I’ve been getting from you lovely people out there in cyberspace. I’m really very sorry that I haven’t been able to reply to everyone – I’ll try harder from now on!

xxx

Big Apple Autumn 2009

Another wonderful Big Apple Festival this year! We supped cider and perry at Gregg’s Pit orchard…..

…whilst watching Morris Men dance.

We admired the vast variety of apples on show…

..and watched fruit being pressed ready to make next year’s cider.

My husband also managed to fit in a spot of cider and perry-making so we have our own little batch to look forward to – although I’m not very good at the whole waiting thing….. especially where cider is involved

Good people, lend me your vote…. (oh go on)

Now, given the recent scarcity of posts, it’s probably a bit cheeky to ask you to pop over here to vote for me….but, as I know you’re all such lovely people, I’ll ask anyhow!

3 reasons why I can’t wait for the Fall issue of Interweave Crochet to arrive…

Food Fest

Well, the Abergavenny Food Festival has ended for another year and we’re left with happy memories, a full fridge and even fuller bellies.

I didn’t take pics this year (was too busy shoveling food into my mouth) but you can get a sense of things from last years photos here.

As usual, I blew the weeks food money in a single weekend but it was worth it! I got to try my first ever oyster (which I loved, much to my surprise), bought indecent amounts of cheese and ‘sampled’ every perry available. We certainly had a merry time!

Highlights included Kid Me Not Goat’s Milk Fudge, Simon Weaver’s Blue Brie, Menai Oysters, Wernddu Perry (yes, I know I’m biased but it really is good), Gorwydd Caerphilly (the best Caerphilly cheese in the world), Lahloo Tea and the wonderful Made in Monmouthshire area which I hope to be part of next year.

Winterberry Warmer

This is the 5th neckwarmer I’ve made recently and it’s my favourite by far. Of course I might be swayed by the fact that it’s green – my favourite colour – but it’s also down to the lovely Jamieson and Smith yarn I used this time which is softer than the Rowan Scottish Tweed I used previously. Oh, and then theres the berries……

….and the buttons……

I get the feeling it’s going to be hard to part with this one!

And the winners are….

Kate

and

Jennie

Congratulations! I’ll email the pdfs to you asap. Enjoy!

Thanks very much to everyone for their comments and advice. Plenty of food for thought. I appreciate it.

Falling Leaves

First off, a big thank you to everyone who left such helpful responses to my previous post. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Following on from your lovely words, I’ve taken the plunge and added a Folksy shop to my growing collection of online outlets….. It doesn’t cost much to list so I figured it was worth doing.

As well as the mittens, I’ve now finalized the neckwarmer pattern pdfs and have listed them in the etsy and folksy shops and it’ll also soon be on ravelry. Want to see some pics?

The design was inspired by my love of all things autumnal – especially the colours at that time of year. What do you think? It’s a bit more rustic looking than the mittens which, personally I like, but I realise it might not be everyone’s cup of tea…..

I’m in love with these buttons though – they fit in with the overall rusticity of the design and go nicely with the tweedy wool. I really must get hold of some more….

Thanks for looking. Hope you’re all having a fab bank holiday, even if the sun isn’t shining!

xxx

Why I’ve been so quiet…. (and a giveaway)

Poor blog – I’ve been neglecting you of late! In my defense, it’s hard to type when clutching a crochet hook and it’s rare to find myself without one in my hand these days! The reason is, I’ve been working on quite a few crochet designs – some of these have been commissions for Wernddu Alpacas which will be sold as part of a kit – pattern plus alpaca yarn – but I’ve also been working on my own patterns for sale and am pleased to present my first offering…..

These little wristwarmers are very cute, quick to make and use less than a 50g ball of yarn.  What more could you ask for? I’m a little in love with them…..

The pattern includes instructions for three different cuff styles – ribbed, ribboned or buttoned – so there should be something (I hope!) to suit all tastes.

The pattern is available for purchase in my etsy shop (price in dollars) or in GBP through Ravelry here.

I’m also finalizing a special autumn themed neckwarmer which I hope to have ready for sale in the next few days. In the meantime, here’s a sneaky peek…..

Now, onto the giveaway….This is a very new venture for me so I’d love to here what people think of the designs. Are they the sort of things you might be tempted to make? Do you prefer to buy pattern pdfs online or do you favour a hard-copy print out? Also, any tips for selling? I’m considering also setting up a shop on Folksy but I’m not sure how well known it is. As a little incentive for you to share your thoughts, each person who comments will be entered into a draw to win a free pattern pdf – for either the wristwarmers or the neckwarmer (when it’s complete) – so please state your preference in your comment.

Finally, I hope you don’t mind me mentioning the shop on here. I don’t plan to bang on about it all the time I assure you. I don’t view this blog as a platform for advertising – it’s a place where I can share my thoughts, hopes and dreams (oh, and plenty of recipes for jam). However, as crochet design is coming quite a significant part of my life, I can’t really ignore it now can I?