Ob-la-di

Well, it has been a while. I very much doubt that anyone out there, not to mention me, wants a full-blown recap of the last few weeks. Let us just say, it was not fun, things are improving and I feel like coming back.

So, let us give it a go.

There have been good things - a theatre visit, to see Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing". Wonderful play, less than totally sure about the production....but worth seing, though. Afterwards, knowing that I will need to read the thing if not see it again, I went on to Amazon and found that yes, indeed, there is a collected works of series, yeay! Unfortunately, over several volumes, all at quite a high price for what is I suppose a relatively minority interest. So, those go on the wish list for pressies!

Another cultural outing was to see Andrew Motion at the Square Chapel in Halifax. Another extremely good evening - seems a nice, unassuming sort of chap (I need an emoticon for gentle irony....) Seriously. Read from "Silver" and some poems, talked about his life. So, another visit to Amazon, a collected verse volume and the autobigraphy/memoir bought. We decided to get "Treasure Island" to read first, as neither of us had done so since childhood - free on the Kindle, can't be bad. We will get "Silver" later.

Knitting, well not so much. Couldn't concentrate on even the idiot scarf. But I have been spinning.





This is the 60/40 Wensleydale and silk. I wanted it fine, so it has taken ages to spin. Originally, I was going to chain ply it, but I decided that this was probably not such a good idea as the singles is perhaps a little - well not wire-like, but not over-soft and flexible. So having spun half by dividing the roving into four, I did the second half straight from the roving, so I have one bobbin with shorter, one with longer repeats.

I'm plying it now - it too is going to take ages - and it is coming out, I think, quite nicely. Going to be a stole when it grows up. I need to decide on a lace stitch pattern, and to ponder on whether I want a twisted fringe or a lace edging. I like dilemmas like that.

And then, spindles have been bought.



(Just by way of a change.....)

These are made by someone in France, and they are really rather nice. I have ordered a set of the smaller size for workshops, having wanted to find a suitable lighter-weight spindle for ages rather than to always use our own personal ones. So that is very satisfactory, too.

One more week and then Woolfest! We have had a shipment of Greensleeves spindles, and there is some Bonkers fibre that is just going to arrive in time, phew. I am really looking forward to it, both the relaxing in Cockermouth, and Woolfest itself, always one of the highlights of the year. Even if it does continue raining as in the last week or so......

So, yeah. Glimmers, eh?