Spitalfield Market

A London land market, Spitalfield Market is located quite close to Liverpool Street Station. We visited there whilst the Celebrations of the achievements of the Huguenot Silk weavers was taking place and also the ‘Big Weave’ which was a community event where anyone who wished to could take part and contribute to the art works.

A table set up with rag weaving on paper plates a modern take on the old raffia mats I used to make at school (back in the day)

This was an antique loom the lady operating it had never used a loom before (Strange!!!) bits kept falling off but with string and patients we got it working it was 8 shaft so ideal for patterned work. This lady had a modern 8 shaft loom and was working a way creating a beautiful piece of cloth, similar to the jacket she is wearing in the picture.  Lots of beautiful yarns available to buy this This was called The Good Yarn Stall and these shown are by Colinette   Maggi selects ribbon yarn for her weaving.  It was a great day out with lots to see and plenty of inspiration for more projects  On the way home we were treated to a performance by the Morris Men always a sight to behold!

A GREAT DAY OUT IN LONDON MUST DO IT MORE OFTEN

Sheep to Shoulder

 

Some time ago I was given a raw fleece, I was a complete novice as to how to treat it but with lots of help from friends on Ravelry and friends at the Southend Guild of Dyers Spinners and weavers I have managed to follow the process through to a completed project.

Here is the Raw Fleece and I am picking out the best bits and discarding the Dags (poo) note the disposable gloves.

This is some of the first spun wound into skeins.

An event held at the garden of a Guild member resulted in a communal dyeing so many beautiful colours of fleece, and spun yarn also silk in raw state and spun.

Here is the Loom I was given for my birthday as you can see warped up with natural cream which was a commercial fibre also the same fibre hand dyed, but the weft is mainly my own hand spun from the original fleece and dyed and the garden party.          I find that mixing colours  is unpredictable and the results can be fascinating and quite exciting, here is a selection of colours I have used

And now the finished article !    A useful and functional cushion perfectly co-ordinated to go in the caravan.

A day at the Zoo

I am not very keen on Zoos, but as I can’t get to all these exotic places to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat the Zoo is the next best thing. Paradise Park is in Hertfordshire, quite a small concern but beautifully kept. It is a teaching and breeding Zoo all the keepers we spoke to were helpful and knowledgeable.

This guy in particular opened the Avery for us so we could go in and interact with the Lorikeets, he in fact was not a keeper but the builder who built the Avery and painted the murals’ on the walls. He gave us little pots of nectar which made the birds very friendly towards us

We

These were three Cheater brothers from a litter of seven borne in a Swedish Zoo, they had a good sized paddock and we were able to go onto a platform overhanging the run to get a first class view at feeding time

My favourites of the day were these little otters who ran around as one unit they thought we had food for them, I wish we had better weather and light and I would have got lots of pictures of them they were soooooo delightful.

Now here is one for my special friend who like all good wolfies is sleeping with one eye open

We had a good day even though it rained most of the time and the skies were grey and light poor, here is a selection of some more of the animals we saw.

 This old boy seems to be looking for something, well his mate was in the next paddock and she was calling to him.

 

Squirrel High on Magic Mushrooms

It seems that Spring is on it’s way with more activity from the birds and squirrels in the garden. We have a dead cherry tree just outside our window, which has a beautiful climing rose clinging to it a wonderful sight in June. The tree being dead is an ideal place for these bracket fungi to grow, I have never seen squirrels eat this type of food before, I juat hope it has no ill effects on him.

Weaving around my Life

I was lucky enough to get a loom for my Birthday, now the last time I did any weaving was at school and it was a mess.  Having seen weaving works of art by my friends at the Dyers Spinners and Weavers Guild I thought I may like to try my hand at it again! We put it together last Saturday, somthing I was determind to do myself but needed a bit of man power to tighten the screws etc, but it all went together quite well. This is a Kromski Harp, which I think is made in Poland, the importers are in the USA and I bought it from Wingham Wools in Rothereham South Yorksire.  I have no idea if this product went from Poland to US then to UK, but they delivered it within 3 days of placing the order.

 I had no idea how to get started but with all the help on the internet video tutorials, particularly good are the New Voyager vids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptH7ZhopsoE&list=UUr_0xa80mEpfaw8GmV8bptw&index=3     and the Ashford Vids http://www.ashford.co.nz/newsite/tutorials/weaving-video-tutorials     I also used the Ashford book of Weaving which was very clear with a step by step guide.

Warping the loom seemed a bit scary but by carefully following the instructions it was soon done and the weaving started, I used yarn from my stash that I didn’t feel precious about So a bit bright, maybe I can find a football supporter who would like it.  Peter said he wasn’t ecxpecting something so bright for his next suit . More to follow on this one I think!

Warley Place

Warley Place, once a very famous Edwardian garden belonging to Ellen Willmott, is now maintained as a nature reserve by Essex Wildlife  Trust.

It is famous for it’s spring flowers, mainly daffodils, but first we have the Snowdrops, here they are lining the approach.

 Clusters of them nesteling in amoungst tree roots and individuals making a statement

Crocus are starting to appear again now, at one time these beautiful flowers were in abundance and I recall as a child racing to the top deck of the bus so we could see them in all their glory.  They were wiped out by a virus but they are now being replanted and add to the rich diversity of the gardens.  The walled garden provides protection and here the beautiful Honesty plant has been protected from the ravages of winter with the silvery membrane still intact.

Plenty of places to stop and rest and enjoy the Winter sunshine.

And anticipate the hearald of spring with a few eary arrivals.  A few more weeks and a little sun and warmth and this garden will be a carpet of gold. until then we can sit and enjoy the Snowdrops

Winter Wonderland

Just when we tought all the snow was finished with, this is what I woke to this morning, very pretty but cold.  Still it’s mid February so it can’t last long now, I think we deserve a long hot Summer

Hearts and Flowers

      Well Bella’s Beautiful Kaftan is now complete, and I used some of the remaining yarn to make her a heart pocket to keep her Ipod Touch in ;-)

I ws concerned about the siz of the kaftan while I was making it but although a little wide for her it seems to fit her comfortably   Oh dear is she a victim of Grannies Knitting?

Ring Ring it’s the Telephone Man – or is it!

Wednesday 30th Peter’s sister phoned us to say she was having problems with her telephone, there was a crackling on the line and I could hardly hear her, I said I would report it for her. I looked up the number in the phone book, and pressed all the appropriate buttons till I got in the queue to speak to an advisor. When the young man answered he said would I hold while he tested the line, he chatted to me while it was being tested and said he was based in India and the sun was shining. After about five minutes he said the line had been tested and it was working fine and the fault was inside the house. I asked if they could send an engineer round to find the fault as my SIL is nearly ninety frail and vulnerable and needs the phone. He said it would cost £99 for a home call but we could test the phones in the house and there were more details in the phone book and on the internet. We then went over to her house and first checked the line by replacing her phone with one we brought with us. We then disconnected all the phones and reconnected each one individually, still no joy. Peter looked up at the telegraph wires connected to the house and noted that they looked faulty with bits dangling off them.

I went through the phone book trying to find a local phone engineer who would come out and check the wiring in the house but nothing listed.

I then got back on the phone to India, this time using my mobile, I requested a house call happy to pay £99 as she needs the phone after 45 mins talking to my very helpful new best friend in India he agreed to put my SIL forward as a ‘welfare’ case and promised a visit within 24 hours after chatting a bit longer he confirmed an engineer would be out to her within 24-48 hours. The call cost over £10 fortunately I was using my Tesco free credit so it didn’t actually cost me anything, however the charge was over £10.

SIL has mobility issues, uses a stair lift and has a panic button installed, she is very vulnerable, and although not wealthy has sufficient money to pay for a house call when needed. So why can’t I pick up the phone and call a local telephone engineer to attend the house and check out the equipment? Before we left we bought her a mobile Pay as you go Phone, the girl in Tesco set it all up and got it working for her, so at least she had a working phone by her bed over night and she has called us twice to prove she knows how to use it. On returning home I phoned Age UK to ask it there was a better way of dealing with this problem, they did not know of anything but referred me to the Citizens advise Bureau.

I checked with SIL yesterday who said nobody had appeared as yet. She phoned up today to say a man has been and the fault was with them outside the house but it was a two man job and he would be back this afternoon with a mate to fix it, still waiting to hear from her that the line is fixed. I will update when we have more news.

Weald Park 340/25

The Big Garden Bird watch today, had to multi task whilst watching Andy Murry, he played a good game but has some injuries and issues, better luck next time Andy   A good few birds to report in the National Garden Survey, but a lack today for Jays and Magpies which we usually see, the fieldfares seem to have moved on they were plentyful last week.  This little Robin was seen yesterday at South Weald Parkalong with this little Fallow deer which I think must be a fairly recent arival.We had rain over night so most of the snow has gone now but this was the view yesterday