2010 So far

2010 has brought about a bit of a revelation for me, I suppose it actually started back in October 2009, after joining Ravelry (www.ravelry.com) last year and through some of the members of UK Spinners group was asked to teach a fine spinning workshop in Bedfordshire, principally for some members who wanted to enter “The Longest Thread” competition.

The day happened in October 2009 and was hailed as a great success. I myself was inspired by some of these members and a lady called Anne Cruickshank who were all keen lace knitters, I knew I had to bite the bullet and give it a go. I have always shied off it even though my late aunty Sheila was a wonderful lace maker in various forms including knitted.

I decided that xmas would be the best time to give it a go as we had no guests, the weather was foul and days and evenings sitting in front of the wood burner held great appeal. I started my project 2 days before Xmas having found and fallen in love with the Aeolian shawl pattern on Ravelry.

I was amazed at how easy it was to follow the pattern once I had found out from the designer where it started and what some of the terms meant. Apart from dropping a stitch at a yarn over which was a nightmare to track back and pick up correctly everything flowed pretty well.

DISCOVERY

I really like this style of knitting, the repetitive symmetry really appeals , very similar to TM in the way it affects my brainwaves.

With my natural inclination towards soft exotic fibres the yarns I prefer to spin are ideal for this usage, why did I wait so long?

This first shawl was knitted in handspun and dyed grey cashmere with silver beads scattered throughout, I am delighted with the end result which I finished on January 8th.

My second project (yes that’s right 2nd) was a Swallowtail shawl again from Ravelry, I had some baby Alpaca fibre from Gilmour Bank Alpacas beckoning. I started washing ready to comb and spun this beautiful fibre to a fairly fine 2 ply thickness and started spinning on January 2nd. This shawl has lots of nupps and was quite easy as long as I counted the purl stitches up to the nupps so as not to purl too many or too few.

I finished this project on January 26th and the handle is amazing, this is the softest Alpaca I have ever spun and my spinners group have been very admiring of both of these shawls.

GUESS WHAT

I am already a quarter of the way through my third shawl started on January 27th this is another Ravelry pattern called Laminaria. This time I am using a commercially spun Angora/wool mix in burnt chocolate, this is from my aunts stash and I have masses of it, so no worries of running out so am tackling the larger version, I am definitely on a roll!!

I have even lashed out and bought Nancy Bush’s book Knitted Lace of Estonia, really inspiring I am even beginning to think I could design my own shawl!!!

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Our new retreat centre opened in May 2008.

We had been looking for a property in Scotland for around 5 years and were initially looking for an old stone house with character in the country, we discovered that the vast majority of them are very cold, run down and not at all practical for having guests to stay with enough space and hot water to keep everyone happy.

Now we have found the ideal place. The house is in the small village of Twynholm only 3 miles from the Artists town of Kirkcudbright on the Solway Coast where there are some good quality arts & crafts galleries offering a range of exhibitions throughout the year. Galloway offers some of the most beautiful scenery in Scotland and has some very nice coastal villages which benefit from the warmer weather influenced by the Gulf Stream running along the coast. There are many golf courses, cycle trails and walks, with sailing and fishing opportunities throughout the area. This means that whilst you are taking part in the textile workshops your partner can indulge other interests. There is also the Coulthard museum in the village motor racing enthusiasts.

The property is T shaped with beautiful large airy rooms, two double and one twin guest bedrooms with 2 bathrooms, one en-suite at the moment and a good sized garden so that the Alachigh can be erected for most of the summer. If you have always had a desire to sleep in a nomadic tent there will be the opportunity to do this too.

There is a lovely wood burning stove in the main sitting room which will double as our workshop space, Upstairs we have a good library and overhead projector facilities, there is also a huge “wet space” for feltmaking. (some would call it a garage)

So far we have run 2 residential workshops for beginner spinners both of which were a great success, with more planned throughout the year but with emphasis on the winter months when the wood burner will make this a cosy refuge from the winter cold. We will be offering a range of residential packages from simple B&B to 2 and 4 day workshops, one to one lessons by the hour, day, weekend etc. We think it is the perfect place for a group of friends to enjoy a break away learning something new in a peaceful environment. Our aim is to make your stay with us memorable for its fun and homely atmosphere. We do not expect you to leave the property like most B&B's do, you are welcome to stay in all day if you wish and just chill out or take part in whatever workshop is running that day.

We offer good quality evening meals which have been well received with an emphasis on home cooked nutritious food using as much organic produce as we can source and of course Simon bakes all of our own bread. His Sundried tomato and peppadew Focaccia is wonderful with home-made Minestrone soup! All workshops will include a light lunch so even if you are not staying with us as residents you don't have to worry about finding food.

All in all we are very excited to be able to offer this facility and hope you will give us a try. There will be a range of courses on offer and we will be inviting some top experts to come and deliver workshops in a range of textile related subjects. Indeed if you are a tutor and would like to use our facilities yourself then please give us a call to arrange to view.

Since qualifying as an Advanced Flyfishing Instructor Sue also be offers guided days trout and salmon fishing, please click here for details www.damselflyfishing.co.uk