Woolfest was wonderful. I was lucky enough to be able to go on both days due to the generosity of my friend Helen (who lives over my back fence, lets me use half of her allotment and is generally a good pal), because she has a little house up near Carlisle where we could stay. I'm sorry to admit to any readers that I didn't take any photos, however!
I did a bit of shopping: a cone of undyed lambswool, a cone of fawn undyed cashmere (only £20 for about 500g!) and a 500g hank of superwash 4-ply merino. I aim to dye most of those. I also bought a lovely niddy noddy.
Shopping was fun, but the best thing was being able to talk to people about things close to my heart:
Why is the brake band on my wheel slipping?
How do you choose a good fleece (whoops, yes, I bought a fleece too)?
How do you wash said fleece?
How do you blend fibres on a drum carder?
How do you spin long-draw?
All great stuff. Pictures to follow very soon (of purchases, I mean).
The other news is that I have successfully applied for voluntary severance from my place of work and from late August I will be self-employed! I'm aiming to get back into freelance editorial work, which I did for about 12 years when the children were small, in preparation for our move to Monmouthshire some time in late 2010 onwards. I just can't wait to be independent again.
I did lots of knitting on the Baktus scarf on the train down from Carlisle on Sunday (delayed by one and a half hours, too) and am so nearly finished that I have allowed myself to start one of the scarves from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia (and, by the way, I met Nancy Bush at Woolfest!).
Pleased you have got what you wanted at work, I am very envious of you meeting Nancy Bush....will be at IKL next Thursday....
Posted by: Jill | 02 July 2009 at 07:57 PM
Congrats on the severance (although we'll all miss you at I Knit!) - and envy on the Nancy Bush meeting! Hope to see you soon...
Posted by: Liz | 01 July 2009 at 08:39 PM