the magic of myth

The days were longer at home for some reason. Time was my friend and made itself readily available, it felt good. Days were filled with numerous activities, all of which were made better by sharing them with friends. Now, post - holidays and back in the real world, it's like time and I are back on the treadmill that's spinning a little too fast. Ah.

On the last day of December we got together in the house of the McKeevers. Bringing along a bag full of crafty things we sat and made hats and cleaned the house in preparation of ringing in the New Year. The evening arrived, the table was laden with food and with wine. The people arrived one by one, each crowning themselves with their special hats. With much music and merriment I dare say it was a Proper Party.

 ..................... 

To blow away the cobwebs and have a good old immersion in the Irishness of home, a few of us took a drive down to the Burren where we walked the stoney expanse and saw the sea that promised itself as the gateway to Tir na nOg. The white horse that happened to be wandering nearby....? More than a coincidence I think.

moats and boats and waterfalls

hurrah I'm back in Galway again once more. Among the best things about being here are the people (see Ellenfriend looking lovely) the time for crafting, the hours for knitting, the water the sea the swimming the walking by the waves and the fresh salty air.

poh-tay-to , poh-tah-to

Vegetables. You wonderful herbaceous plants full of beautiful nutritional goodness, how I adore thee. You're best for eating but I know you're no one - trick ponies. No no you don't fool me, you useful little superstars I know you have many tricks up your sleeves.

I shall tell you what a magic show the vegetables and I performed together today. Turning the print room into a laboratory of culinary textile experimentation I extracted juices from various food stuffs, added combinations of mordants, and attempted to successfully dye sheets of flock. Flock is a term used for a textile process wherein sheets of densely packed short length fibres are transferred from their backing sheet onto the glue with which you have printed your fabric. Or, in this case, wall paper. Because the purpose of trying to achieve this particular colour palette in this particular way, using this particular technique, is that it is part of a commercial interiors competition I am working on.

Some of the colours, I would say, came out rather well.

who invited the wheel?

Early morning, rise and shine! Still dark outside? Ah yes, well let's pretend. Head out the door, hello gym. What a lovely way to start the day - spinning class, sweat it out. Later morning, lets get going! Still rather dim outside? Ah yes, well that's how it is. Head to the studio, hello stuff. What a lovely way to spend the day - spinning, churn it out.

Firstly what you do is take the big, massive sheep's fleece from the black bag you've been keeping it it. Lay it out and take a look. Wonder with awe at it's expansive size. 

Next what must be done is pulling out the good bits. It's all terribly stinky but some parts are particularly poo-y or have lots of twigs and clusters of dirt. That can be discarded.

Then to clean it. Proceed to gather some large vessels and hot water. Baby shampoo is the surprising yet actual secret ingredient to the cleansing process. Each batch of fleece needs to be soaked in a tub of soapy warm water for twenty minutes at a time, changing the water shampoo until it runs clear. Then a water-only rinsing process must be carried out. The fresh fleece should then be laid out to air dry.

When all that is done, the carding is next. To brush all the fibres in the same direction, which makes it smoother for spinning with. This machine is an invention like the toaster - does the job better and faster. What I would do without it I simply don't know.

Finally the fun can begin! Sit down at the wheel, take about two hours to figure out how to get it going and retain patience. It will work out in the end. Extra amounts of concentration are needed at this stage.

Don't forget to admire what is happening as you go along; it's quite a satisfying experience to watch something you're making grow right before your eyes.

And last but not least, stand back, feel proud. Love your new wool. Take a photo and show off by sharing it on instagram. Tag it and begin to make plans for what you will use it to knit.

splish splash

seven follow in a row

The rain falls throughout the day these days and as the grass can't look green I can only assume the ducks are happy. The trees stand in line these days and as they can't help but look woebegone I can only assume the hedgehogs are having fun. The mornings start slow, the evenings come fast, day is night and night is all day. These are the days.
When inside in the studio I hold for the first time a ball of yarn spun by mine own two hands. Spin stop spin stop mumble and grumble stop spin stop spin spin spin stumble and fumble spin spin spin. One day I will create mine own very beautiful sustainable textiles with materials known from sheep to shop. That will be the day.

autumn in the air

The Thought-Fox by Ted Hughes

I imagine this midnight moment's forest:
Something else is alive
Beside the clock's loneliness
And this blank page where my fingers move.

Through the window I see no star:
Something more near
Though deeper within darkness
Is entering the loneliness:

Cold, delicately as the dark snow
A fox's nose touches twig, leaf;
Two eyes serve a movement, that now
And again now, and now, and now

Sets neat prints into the snow
Between trees, and warily a lame
Shadow lags by stump and in hollow
Of a body that is bold to come

Across clearings, an eye,
A widening deepening greenness,
Brilliantly, concentratedly,
Coming about its own business

Till, with a sudden sharp hot stink of fox
It enters the dark hole of the head.
The window is starless still; the clock ticks,
The page is printed.

sit down have a chat

MOFFAT

the town to stop off at

Undertaking a project that focuses on sustainable rural development, myself and my lovely co-working partner in collaboration decided it was time to do some proper field research. So we hired a car and headed on the road west to experience the rural for ourselves.

Having passed through Moffat this summer on my way home from a hike up the Gray Mare's Tale (a National Trust hike with a mystical glacial lake at the top) the town made a fantastic impression on me. A pub serving baked potatoes and a good glass of guinness will tickle my fancy on the best of cold days, but to witness the spectacle of a whole town heaving with people out for the annual Sheep Race really was something else. Cue the one main street of the town barricaded off and rounds of six sheep running the length of the street with miniature knitted jockeys strapped to their backs, with locals cheering on waving their betting tickets in good humoured £1.00 a piece gambling. Yes, this is indeed the reason why we went back. They seemed to have a solid tourism structure in place, a strong sense of community and events and run on the time of volunteers - the exact criteria on our list of things we needed to find out. And why, for three days and three nights we met with some of the most interesting characters who make the town what it is and who were as kind as to give us so much of their time and assistance. 

Doing work and being in the countryside at the same time? #dreamlife.