Still Cold

Ice and Snow ...

... all looks very pretty; but it was so cold overnight that it froze our central heating. This is despite there being sufficient antifreeze and continuous flow going round the pipes precisely to stop this kind of thing happening.












The only happy creature was this German shepherd / Husky cross puppy. She's a rescue dog we've been walking as she needs a *lot* of exercise. She is clever, affectionate and off to her new home next week. She bounced and snuffled about in the snow and was in her element.


The other casualty was a trio of demijohns, which Jack frost cracked and which left their bottoms behind when they were gingerly picked up. Clearing up ice and glass is a little tricky but we got there in the end. The special yeast from the brewery also went to waste, but I'm hopeful that I can acquire some more.

At least in this weather  you have the perfect excuse to stay in and carry on with the rag rugging. Sitting of an evening with the rug on my lap and a hook in my hand. I am well on the way to finishing it now !

OH my word ! The polling booths are open!

http://www.lionawards2012.com/content/peoples-choice?f=B

I've been nominated for the City and Guilds Lion award! Now I really do feel like I have to ask for some assistance.

Please help me make sure I don't come last. You can vote daily, and I would be so grateful if you would help me put feltmaking on the map!

People say the nicest things sometimes ...

I have had lots of positive congratulatory comments about the gold medal .... and one present of a felted gold medal from a well wishing friend to tide me over until I get the real thing.

So forgive me, but I am going to put up a couple of links, the first and the second , both being unashamed trumpet blowing and showing my rather quirky hat  called the "Aurora". Now I'm sure the hat is feeling rather chuffed; being in company with Annie Rogers and Rosemary Jagger's work. I am looking forward to meeting and congratulating them both in person at the award ceremony in March.

But while most people say nice things, others bring sadder news. My surgeon has now put me on the  waiting list for shoulder surgery so I really don't know what this year will being and quite where to put myself. It seems that recovery will take about 6 months all in all. Six months!?! I shall go stark staring mad ! I had better get some felting needles in as I might not be wet felting at all for a while.

Anyway, I'll not be despondent and I'll cross that particular bridge when I get to it. In the meantime there is tomorrows spinning demonstration at the local school to look forward to, and this weekends rugging morning. My hare is leaping onwards and upwards, out of a bag of old rags and ends of chunky knitting yarns to greet those attending Assington Barn on Saturday.

Onwards and Upwards ! 

Remembering our summer holiday

It is so miserable damp and grey out. Time to remember that the days *are* getting longer really and that we *will* have summer holidays again; with rock pools and treasure shells and wildlife to explore.

Working on a new rug

The leaping hare, a design I've wanted to work on for a long time. While I am waiting to see the consultant orthopaedic surgeon about my bad shoulders I think I can indulge myself with some other textile related activites and not feel too guilty about my lack of full on felt making.

But I do have a little bit of felting news to share. I have been awarded a City and Guilds medal! Astounded? Me ?!? Totally!

New year - New Broom

In my last post of 2011 I wished for hard work, new lessons and a dose of luck. Today on the first day of the new year I ended up wiping my blog clean. Time will tell how lucky this is, but I am optimistic.

The prompt for this came from Google blogger, informing me that my Picasa web album was full. There it was, the first lesson. I didn't even realise that I had a Picasa web album, let alone that there was a limit on it.

When I went to look at the pictures on Picasa my heart sank - duplication upon duplication, more rubbish than my eyes could stand to look at. Three years of progression, that much was evident, but not much else. So in the spirit of new year beginnings I decided to take a metaphorical broom and sweep the whole thing clean. Of course this had implications for the blog too, so I brushed that down at the same time....

I can hear the faint screams from at least one person, but bear with me. I didn't really "want" to declutter this stuff, but once I had started I realised just how much it had been dragging on me. These stacks of pictures weren't foundations for further work, they were millstones limiting my creativity. Once that realisation came I promptly dragged out and dumped most of my City and Guilds sketch/workbooks... oh and I deleted the image file on my mobile phone too.

Goodness I feel lighter now ..... Happy New Year !

Late with the bulbs

With good intentions I purchased a net of mixed narcissi ... I only managed to get half a dozen in at the correct time (i.e Autumn 2011). I shouldn't really even be trying to plant the others, but it is so mild outside. Maybe with the unseasonable warmth they'll catch up with their properly planted cousins ?