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?

Life in ruins…

When I studied archaeology I learnt a certain way of looking at monuments – a way of looking that helped me to make sense of all the grassy lumps, bumps and bits of wall. It was a way of looking that focused on the history of a site above all else.

Now I see with different eyes. As well as considering the history of the site, I like to appreciate it’s place in the here and now. What struck me most about a recent visit to a nearby castle, was the abundance of wildlife that flourished there…….

…plants sprouted from the walls…

…the moat teemed with wildlife and vegetation….

…moss inched across stonework…

…fruits began to swell…

…pigeons roosted in doorways and on ledges….

…there was even a castle cat!

Although I completely understand the need for conservation, I feel that monuments can be tidied up a bit too much sometimes. Finely manicured lawns and a proliferation of information boards are all well and good but surely an important element of a castle’s history is it’s decay – and a big part of it’s romance is it’s ruined state…

…or perhaps I’ve just been reading too much Bronte recently…

Fleecy

Last weekend I took advantage of a rare spot of sunshine and finally got round to sorting and washing my fleeces.

It was no easy task! For those of you who don’t spin, a sheep’s fleece isn’t usually uniform in it’s fineness or staple length throughout – some parts are coarser and others are softer making it necessary to ‘sort’ the fleece.  Although it’s easy to tell the difference between the coarsest parts and the finest part, the gradations in between can present a bit more of a challenge to a novice like me. It was good experience though and I guess the more fleeces you handle, the easier it becomes. Just need to spin it all now