Your Very Own Rainbow

Was just snooping about and found this fun little quiz on Pollianicus' blog which intrigued me. My rainbow is rather indigo-hued as well as red ,and skipping the bits I don't agree with (!), I am apparently passionate, and my fresh outlook and vitality are admired. Hmmmm, really...

Industry

Blimey, soon be February... This afternoon the sun is shining and maybe I should be outside, and then again maybe I should be updating this blog and keeping warm near the stove. I've been spinning for a good chunk of the day in order to boost my stock of handspun hanks for the next Woolfish Festival. Yup, I'm taking a stall at Louise's next celebration of all things woolly in St Abbs on March 7th, and really looking forward to it. More yarn to dye and other goodies to create and package up.

It's always great to catch up with textile-minded folks and meet new people. The Woolgathering last weekend was good fun and we had two new faces joining us, which was even better. My lemon cake and cheese scones got munched up as we stitched away, and it was fascinating to see what everyone is making and what nice books/patterns/yarns they got for Christmas. Janice brought along some of her stash to sell - other people's stuff is ALWAYS more interesting!

The picture shows Janet knitting, Tricia quilting, Ali doing a mini-rug and Anke admiring someone's patterns as a rest from her knitting. I was spinning and most others were knitting. There were two examples of the gloriously dyed yarns from Helen at DropOne, one of which I dutifully helped Liz wind into a ball so she could get started. Anne was just casting on the socks that you can see on her brand new blog - Frayed at the Edge.

In other news, as they say, the cottage works trundle on. More paint on walls, living room floor getting cleaned up as Hugh is going to lay laminate flooring down. We did envisage ceramic tiles but it's a big area and this will be quicker and give a warmer result. Electrician was out to discuss the fitting of a hard wired smoke detector system and a new extractor fan in the bathroom. Pretty exciting stuff, eh?

I did finish the patchwork loose cover for the armchair - you wouldn't miss it in a hurry, would you?!

New Year, New List

Hello, welcome to 2009, which is particularly chilly in this little corner of the Universe. Surely the most prolonged cold spell we have had since the year we moved here and were snowed in for a week - funnily enough we had no central heating then either....

Did you have a good festive break? Did you get new books for Christmas? I DID!

• A great US book by these folks on recycling old stuff into new stuff, but very stylishly put together with a good few quirky ideas to try
• The best preserve making book I have seen, from River Cottage - lots of information and lovely recipes for Britain's fruity bounty
• A fantastically inspiring collage book, with lots of new ideas for me to try
• A book I feel drawn to...! The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd - yeah, weird choice maybe but I only recently read (well listened to an unabridged version) the original novel and found it compelling. I am saving it for the lighter nights....

I also scored for a quite a bit of quality chocolate, and there's even some of it left.

Having spent since mid-December with a cold/hacking cough/sneezes - the symptoms vary daily - I am well sick of it and have achieved much less than I would have liked. A few more bits have been finished in the cottage, and Hugh removed the old porch with a chainsaw before digging out foundations for the new one. Now the ground is so frozen he can't get the concrete laid or it will crack. I am staying warmish by working mainly in the living room, laboriously stitching a loose cover for an armchair destined for the cottage too. It seemed a good idea at the time to make a patchwork using remnants I had squirreled away. You may get a pic of it when it's finally finished.

Ther will be a Woolgathering on Sunday 18th January at the village hall - you're welcome along if you are in driving distance.