Two down

So, it's Saturday evening, and the end of the second of three days at Alston. Yesterday was my regular class, although the lion's share of the work was done by Magrat, who I had inveigled in to teaching a class on fine spinning on my behalf. It went down a storm, she had prepared a very good class, the group liked it very much and also appreciated having someone different for a change. I didn't just sit on my hands - I got to spend time with the two embroiderers, spinning silk and plying; and also with a newcomer and new spinner, who looks as if she is going to be ace, plus a few of the now regulars who are less experienced and really need a little more individual attention that I can usually give. So this worked out well for everyone. It is a continual challenge to come up with fresh and interesting classes over and over again as the months and years go by - the group remains pretty much the same - new people are coming in, either for just a few sessions, more rarely just one and then vanish with rapidity, or sometimes they just join the gang and keep on a-comin'. At the moment, the class is full every month, in fact over-full, another challenge. So someone, somewhere must be doing something right!

Today, though, the boot was on the other foot and I was the student, slightly spookily in the room I usually teach in myself. I'm doing a two day beading class, a real treat. The tutor is very highly regarded locally, and indeed she is a very pleasant woman, is handling a large and diverse group with ease and is good at responding when shouted for - she is spending a lot of the class time with the couple of complete beginners who are members, but is always listening out for any of the rest of us who shriek, and does the rounds regularly anyway. The format is that she has brought a lot of pieces she has worked, with the instructions and materials available to make any of them. I chose to start with a spiral herringbone, which is going well, but I decided that I didn't want to spend the entire two days just doing that. So I got her to show me how to fix the end-cap - basically, superglue!! And then I chose another design, a pearl thing that I think may be similar to one that was in Beadwork a while back, and I will attempt to complete that tomorrow. Maybe. Perhaps. It's a bit self-indulgent - I think if I do beading classes in future, I will pick ones where there is a set project to learn set techniques - but I am having fun, so what the hell.

Not to mention that it gives the DSM some time to himself to play in the garden, which he has done to great advantage, although just why he had a rush of blood to the head and bought a large blue pot for some plant or other, I forget which, when all the others are brown or green, I really don;t know. But as he cooked me penne with asparagus, smoked salmon and creme fraiche for supper, I ain't complaining. I might just bugger orf for the weekend more often!

Pics tomorrow, maybe. Or Monday.

gw