Sunrise over Cwmgwrach Mountain

Out buying emergency coal due to the cold snap and though it was not early I caught this pic of the sun coming over the mountain. Cwmgwrach means "witch valley" which puts some of the freakier Christians that I know right out. But there you are. It might be terribly back slidden of me, but I quite like it. Witch Valley sounds so...spookyand chillsome, but it is not at all, only the open cast mine is a bit of a blot...
Cwmgwrach doesn't have the same ring anyway.

Friday Five

1. What makes you feel exposed?
When one's vest rucks up out of one's waistband and leaves two inches of skin for the wind to chill - nasty...very bad for the kidneys, or so my mother has always said.

2. What do you have to force yourself to do?
clean the bins...ewww!

3. Where do you like to spend your time outdoors?
castles, the park, up the mountain.

4. What surprises you?
People.People are weird and are full of surprises.
I will never get used to being jumped out at either. Rose has discovered this lately, I jump sky high every time and she loves it. It is getting annoying but regretably still surprising

5. Friday fill-in:
Late at night I'm ...still flippin' awake when I know I should be asleep! Arrrrgh!

Inspired!

Rose weaving

How often does one hear "Mummy, can I do some weaving?". Not that often I think. Anyway, on the loom is a Crimbo pressie for Nan.

A Finished Object

Doth mine eyes decieve me? Ah haaa! Tis an FO.

Don't get to do one of these very often so it needs a bit of a fanfare. You have seen it here from fluff to finished.

I know

I know, I know...I can't pick a colour scheme. I never pretended I could design. Iolo has probably passed out in horror. But blogger is not uploading images for some reason and I have to amuse myself somehow. The light is too bad to spin and I am tired anyway. So, apologies if I have stunned anyone. But I am trying to live up to the extremely funky new header bar that I made...

The Coal House

It is funny how things are connected sometimes. I spent Sunday morning browsing books in Borders with the lovely Pippa and J. I met these folk through attending a Cordell festival and Pippa was the one who introduced me to Kate Rusby aka the girl who couldn't fly, who also sang the song my young man - which is right up there on the list of the saddest songs I have ever heard.

From a lazy morning to an active afternoon where I eventually ended up at Cefn Coed Colliery Museum. I have pictures, but it means getting up for me to add them now - maybe tomorrow and I'll do the links too. Wandering round blogspace this evening, I visited a fave blog of mine - downshifting path- and she has a post up about the coal house, the prog that BBC Wales are running. And incidentally has a little you tube clip of said my young man song, which, also incidently, was the song I sung in the arts festival in Blaenafan in April. So, connections you see?


My dad was born in 1927 and of course I remember his mother, my nanna, telling me stories of the 1926 strike. I remember myself the miners strike in the eighties and the collossal unemployment and depression that followed in its wake when Thatcher closed Britain's industries down. These events are then very real to me because of the stories and mental pictures I have of them.
It is something that gets me sickeningly angry, the way things do when there is no way to rectify them. Britain used to have an industry, now we have industrial heritage. Dont get me wrong, there is nothing romantic about mining, scoliosis, malformed backs and blind pit ponies. My dad preferred the Palestinian War to going back down the pit (which he first went down at the age of fourteen). He hailed his national service call up with great relief and stayed in the army for many years. But the fact remains that Wales and the rest of Industrial Britain was taken for everything it had and then dropped and left for dead when deemed of no further use. Leaving communities staggering or gutted, relying on benefit and loan sharks.
...I wonder if the Beeb will show that?

Tretower Court and Castle

An early Norman stone tower and a medieval/tudor fortified manor in a broad, fertile valley. A fat land as they would say, first of the Welsh lands to fall to Norman hands. The Welsh clung to the mountains and fought hard, but four hundred years later all hope for a free Wales died with Glyndwr.

It is hard to find that sorrow in Tretower. It is calm and rich. Broad timbers and plastered walls speak of wealth and the undefendable windows of safety and peace. The garden was thick with bright fruit, apples and rose hips



and the highlight of the day for my girls were the chickens scratching happily where they fancied.


The highlight of the day for myself and Anne, my sister were the re-enactors wandering as busily and happily as the chickens.
We were standing by the boundary wall chatting and just in the corner of our eye we saw a figure in dagged hood and cloak walk past us in the distance, like a ghost or a memory of the old house.

The day did in fact include a picnic and a short walk and knot gardens and soaking up the autumn sunshine in happy company. An grand day out indeed.

Autumn Days

Well, my man's done gone and left me...for the weekend that is. And while he is away visiting that heaven on earth that is Ffald y Brenin ( you have heard me mention it before) I am left to my own devices.
I love days like this. The sun is rising slowly and casting the shadow of my mountain onto the face of the mountain on the opposite side of the valley. The light is misty, tinged with lilac and amber. A proper berry coloured Autumn day is calling me, what shall I do with it? Something good I think...it will probably involve a walk and a picnic. I'll let you know.

Have a golden day whatever you do.

Ok, So Now I Know...

Your Inner Blood Type is AB!

Your personality is hard to define - you're very unconventional. And even if your personality could be defined, it would be completely different next week! Outgoing and shy, sensitive and thoughtless, you tend to have a very split personality. This makes you unpredictable. You can be a total angel - and a total devil. You are most compatible with: everyone! Famous Type AB's: Jackie Chan and Marilyn Monroe

What's Your Inner Blood Type?

Haven't done this in a while. I am actually O neg and very popular with the Blood Bank.

Yes, I know, it is late and if i am not careful I will go past sleep and hit the skids of Insomniaville again. I am now off to hunt down the warm milk and baileys.
Nos da Cariad

Anniversary

It is my blog anniversary coming up. Traditionally one runs a competition or something. I have no ideas really, so it is down to you, my few but faithful readers -

Leave suggestion for a nice thing to do and there will be a prize for the best answer

Thursday - Love is All Around

Headless Zac,
to see him is to love him.

On the Loom

The fabulous orange merino. Crochet and knitting the yarn somehow closed it up, so I gave the peg loom a go and it is working up a treat. I am very pleased with it.
The warp is a DK 100 percent silk in jewel tones, nice and sturdy but very soft. Which about describes the scarf too. It is always nice when an experiment works.

Weights and Measures

cashmere on niddy-noddy

Three bags full
and that's just the start...I have an attic full

How much yarn do I have exactly? Sorting out the stash for the felting day with Zoe made me think. So off to Birdie the soap maker whom one would have thought should possess accurate scales and she does, good enough for rock music as one might say. And she has a niddy noddy. Now that is not a sentence one hears every day "Excuse me, can I borrow your niddy-noddy?" but there you are. A pleasant evening, playing with yarn. Plus a casserole. Yum.

And I have rather more good yarn than I thought and rather more fibre...but you never can have enough, can you?

5pm

Amazing what a few hours will do innit? I'm feeling fine now and why is this? I'll tell you...three little words

Orange merino yarn.
This was part of the haul from the winghams sampling day.
From fluff to yarn in just eight days. Oh my gosh, I rock!

Pure merino in orange & merino and tussah silk blend in flame

Singles

Plied (fancy as usual)

The finished skein, steam set and drying on the bannister
ready for the needles this evening.
I am so chuffed

3am

Don't you just love those three am thoughts that come and leer at you as you are trying, once more to get to sleep. I loathe insomnia. It does no good. I cannot do anything constructive as I am too damn tired to see to spin and everyone else is asleep, so no housework either as I have folded all the laundry and there is nothing else I can do except think dreadful thoughts.
Like what ifs and oh my gods, the times when I have been cruel or stupid or crashingly drunk and embarrassing...and it has been years since I have been crashingly drunk...though probably only days since I was last embarrasing.

So the upshot of it all is ...is there anyone out there who knows a sure fire cure for insomnia that does not involve lavender or a bullet in my skull? I would love to hear about it 'cos frankly I think I am losing my mind.

Remember dear ones that it is three am and that is a dark time, a time where the earth sinks and everything looks worse than it is. In a few hours the sun will rise and my monday will start officially with Rose yelling that she cannot find her school shoes and V wondering where the car keys are and yet again I repeat with feeling...if you put them in the correct place each time then you would know what you had done with them/it.

Eden has woken now, just for a minute or two, just to check that I am still here, she will clamber all over me, demand a drink and then float off once more - the way that only an infant can and lose herself in sleep. I am so envious.

Nos da cariad, hope you sleep long and well with pleasant dreams and refreshed awakenings.

Sunday's Walk

Parc Le Breos Burial Chambers in the Gower. It was a lovely soft day, pearl grey light and a gentle rain falling. We were intending to go to the Gower Heritage Centre to see a spinning demonstration but we got there too late, so we went for a walk instead.

Friday Five

1. What's your personal hell?
Crowds, that crush of bodies impersonally shoving their way past each other - Oxford Street in December being an excellent example.

2. Do you prefer brightly lit rooms or dim spaces?
I don't mind as long as the light is warm and gentle. Cold light is miserable and flourescent strip lighting would also be in my personal hell along with Max Bygraves on the piped music channel.

3. What's the weather like today?
Cool, grey and cloud filled. A pleasant autumn day

4. Is it easy to be you?
Well, life has its freaky moments, but I am loved and that is all I need.

5. Friday fill-in:
My heaven is ... starlit, gentle, soft and loving. Chocolate covered almonds and a good merlot is in there too.

The Clangers

Lorraine, these are the Clangers and they are pure magic. I watched them avidly when I was a child and have passed on the love of all things created by Oliver Postgate to my own children.

They are little creatures that speak only in gentle hoots and whistles, they live on a far distant blue planet with such creatures as the soup dragon, the froglets and the sky moos and they make the imagination soar.

Thursday: Love is all Around

Lily and Eden on the mountain.

Haven't done this in a while, I don't even know if the connection site is still operating, but I love the idea and so here we are again.

I am not well today so I think felting is off. But then again, who knows...I still have some spinning to do. I finished off the portion of the flame wool and silk blend that I sorted out for plying and now I am on to the heavier weight pure merino in bright orange. If I get the energy I will post up some more pics today.

We had a lovely evening last night when Zoe and J came round for supper. I don't think I have ever eaten so many profiteroles in my life! However, thanks to a cold which jumped on me in the early hours of this morning - on top of at least six weeks broken nights sleep - I have the energy level of a snail. So we are eating soup today and watching every episode of the Clangers ever made.

Have a health filled and vibrant day what ever you are doing!

More Felt

Close up of the cobweb felt samples I worked up in the sampling day. I will probably do the scarves today.

Felt like felt in the end

We chose felt.
A whole day almost of potching around with pretty wool. All that and sausage and chips to finish off.

What Now?!

Cobweb weight spinning, plying, dying, crochet, cobweb scarf felting, felt the scarlet merino into hearts... arrrrgh! I don't know what to choose!

The Haul

• Merino, (white) cos it's a basic right? The equivalent of spuds in the pantry.
• Dyed merino: scarlet (for xmas decorations), fuscia, orange, chocolate and mixed rainbow snips for embellishing.
• Nylon trilobal in parrot, yes it is tasteless, glittery, artificial and altogther anathema to spinners in general, but I LOVE it!
• Cashmere, silk and merino blend. (white) Heaven in a fibre. Bought for felted baby blankets. Faith has started the ball rolling and babies are like mushrooms, once one is expected, more always come along. As long as one doesn't come my way I don't mind!
  
• Falkland wool,(white) makes a beautiful spongy yarn. So warm, just right for hats.
• Teal acid dye
• Two surina wood crochet hooks, 9 & 12 mm.
• Rainbow merino and silk blend (one length in rainbow and the other in flame) for cobweb felted scarves.
• Wool and possum blend. (beige-unfortunate colour but can be snazzed up with surface work)
  
• Blue faced leicester humbug blend.(humbug colour-I'm not kidding). This is a stunning glossy wool and it spins like toffee. Just gorgeous.
• Tussah silk (pale honey) as I was running low and it is useful for plying.
• Scrap of pencil roving (cherry truffle) to felt into the hearts.
• Finest white Mongolian cashmere. Destined for laceweight yarn now that I have learned this fab new technique. I will post on that when I get to spinning it up, but I have to finish the seascape silk first.

So I have an awful lot to be getting on with. Good thing it is the start of October as a lot of this stuff is destined for Christmas presents. Gonna be a busy girl from here until Christmas Eve!

Wingham's Sampling Day

One desperately needed cuppa after a hard days spinning, felting and buying fibre goodies

Birdie felting

Felt ehibition

A bobbin full of samples:
rainbow merino and the brown is possum.
Possum is a nightmare to spin, so short!

Daybreak

View of the back mountain at 6 am. The sky was pinker than that, but hey, it's close enough for pretty

I remember!

It seems like that I haven't done any spinning in ages. The guild meet on Saturday has really set me off though. I dug out some jacobs, washed to within an inch of its life but needing carding and I really got to it. Funny how carding a fibre really makes me feel as though I am spinning rather than working from roving which is what I normally do. Anyway, two hours later I have probably done about 100gms of fibre and filled a bobbin about two thirds full of fine spun yarn that I think i will navajo ply and then work into one of the usual suspects. Either a scarf or a hat.

Zoe is around for lunch tomorrow and a crafting day, might give dry-felting a go. But for now you will have to put up with Jacobs until I can get a pic of the fair Zoe and her new hat that I made for her.

Guild Spinning Day

Third Saturday in the month means guild workshop day. Fun. Learned a new technique, wrapped core yarn. Will take pics of how to...or rather how not to as yet but I'm getting through the camel down and that is a Good Thing. Busy spinning day today I think. As I am working two bobbins my wheel cannot be altered until this project is finished.

Winghams sampling day next Saturday. I will be mentioning this again you may be certain!

Oh and get this...I am doing theGuild website and I am taking a workshop on getting into the guild blog!!!! V, Star, contain yourselves okay?. I know I am an illiterate, but I know how to blog and apparently in the country of the blind and all that...

Sara's Shrug

A shrug does not look much when it is done. Just a long rectangle. But I am pleased with it. It is certainly pretty and will keep the Dizzy One warm in college. I will post up a pic of her modelling it when I can.

7 am

This was the sight greeting me as I took the cold ash out this morning. There was no traffic, just a robin saying good morning and the moon sailing over the mountain. More beautiful than I can say.

Calling Cyril!

Get a blog mun...your myspace is just too annoying and I have forgotten my password so it won't let me do anything. How is an affectionate aunty supposed to interfere in your life if she cannot get into your cyberspace. And Sara has left a comment below for you so just goes to show that you are too elusive dear boy...

Quick! Call the Yarn Police!

Argh! Eyelash yarn!

Now I believe that a sight like this sends most knitters reeling for the aspirin. But I love the stuff. It is quick to work, soft and pretty. An unbeatable combination in my opinion. These are scarves destined for Rose and a friend of hers. They took me a morning to do which is an issue at this point in my crafting life. I have less time lately and eyelash supplies a quick fix of cute.

Fibre Swap Goodies

Now that I have at last located my card reader I can put up the fibre swap goodies that I was sent from Norway some weeks ago. Thankyou very much, just what I needed. A nostepinne which I have been wanting for sometime, stich markers which I always need, row counters and a truely funky toggle to close a scarf or jumper. I am going to make something wonderful to go with my new red velvet coat and I think I will use that to go with it. Plus some strange sweeties to munch while I spin. Yay!

Now I have the fun of putting a goodie bag together in return. Oh I love planning pressies!

Jetskiing at Glynneath Lakes

Fundraising in the Rain

Well, I am not joking, it is hammering down outside and what do the Brits do when it's raining? They carry on regardless or else they would never get anything done. And so it means that in this admittedly foul weather I am taking our entire family out to Glynneath Lake to do a few laps on a jetski to raise funds for McMillan Cancer. Yes, I know, book me a place in the nut house later and while I'm there V and the kids can clock into the sanitorium.

I am taking the camera, just to record our lunacy for posterity. Look, it is character building stuff, the kids will thank me for it later.
Wellies on everyone? Then all together...We're jetskiing in the rain, just jetskiing in the rain, what a glorious feeling...


Update: 8 pm
It was indeed a glorious feeling. I didn't think I would have a go but as soon as I saw how fast Ian the Nutter sped across the lake with Dan, I knew I would be an idiot if I let an opportunity like this pass me by. It was a blast. Rose really enjoyed herself and even V, who gets nervous if anyone other than himself is in control of a vehicle in which he is travelling, even he had a great time.
So thanks Ian, Steve, Gaynor and crew. We had a great time, despite the rain!

Mist

It has been raining hard all night and the valley is strung with clouds. This is an old picture but I thought it suitable to decorate a poem I wrote a little while ago and did not get round to posting

Mist Rising
Clouds touch the earth
Singing songs of beauty
Brushing all with mystery,
Roving where they will.

The river moves on,
But the valley stretches
and purrs beneath their touch.
Clouds whisper a sirens song

Of high far reaches of space,
crystalline air, graceful
movement, silver light,
the joy of flight.

Clouds roll their breath
over the mountains shoulder.
Brush round her back,
soft fingers linger.

And then the sky
pulls them home,
willing unwilling,
they must go

And earth is left alone.

To sleep, perchance to dream

Six hours sleep. Wow, from eleven to five. That is quite something. Mind you I was flippin' exhausted! So, perhaps a better day for me today. Things always seem insurmountable when one is sleep deprived. Now all I have to do is get some coffee and breakfast and I am off.

Last night was good fun: clothes, wine, Sharon's amazing laugh. We were laughing just listening to her. I didn't buy anything as the clothes were not my thing, rather more classic than I would wear. And V has just said that I can order the beautiful long velvet coat that they have in Nomads, so no competition really. I prefer the eccentric/flamboyant look, can you tell?

Check out Nomads here, it's a treat!

I took my crochet and did almost half of Sara's shrug, the only problem is that I think I'll need another ball of wool. I'll take a pic of the work so far and post it up later. This blog has been pictureless for rather too long I think but have found the card reader now so back to normal soon.

Have a soft, shruggable, velvety day, what ever you are doing!

Well My Friends

It has been a hellish day frankly. The kidlings are making stew of me and insomnia sucks big time. I am on my knees.

So what am I going to do tonight? Thats right...get out the glad rags and go out with the girls.

I am off out to Kellys with Sara and Ann, a recipe for fun if ever there was one, and I will attempt to have a ball unless the presence of sympathetic females doesn't turn me into a heap of teary jelly.
I will let you know how it went!

Have a great day and try and get some sleep for me will you?

Apologies

For lack of blogging, but I have not been crafting either so there is not that much to blog about. Other than, listen to this...I have a comission! Wooo-hoo! Out shopping with Sara and she fell in love with a shrug in M&S. They were asking £20 for a rectangle of chenille-honestly. So of course I said, heck I could make one for you, don't waste your money.And she took me up on it!
So that is it really. Now have the pleasure of spinning something for a purpose and it is not my fault that I now have to put an order in to Winghams now is it?

A Trail of the Unexpected

I saw a butterfly in Tescos today. Waiting to pay for my groceries, it flapped past, obviously looking for someone and then it wandered off to the cafe for a espresso and rasberry muffin. As it passed I watched the faces of the people who saw it light up...Look, a butterfly! It left a trail of joy behind it.

It lifted my heart too and so I am telling you out there about it.
Psst! Have a happy day, pass it on.

Cordell Again

Saturday saw us at the Bedwellty Park in Tredgar for this year's Cordell Festival. ienjoyed it but that was more to do with the company and the fact that it was a fine day, the Cordell players had not been invited to attend which is rather disheartening, but we were good enough to aska long to mingle with the crowd in character. That kind of thing pretty much leaves me cold - approaching strangers reminds me of the cold calling days - yuk. But I had the useful character quirk that Elianor Mortymer has of being a spinner, off to the guild and swipe a wheel. I did swipe it too, there was no time to ask and put my name down in the equipment book. It will be returned Monday, not really swiped. So I hid behind the spinning wheel and hung out with Hywel and Iolo, Morfydd declined to dress up, but Elizabeth went half way and consented to card for me and put a bonnet on for the show of it. We talked to quite a few people who came to us rather than having to go to them. Yay!

Hopefully I will have a pic to post up soon as my camera had depleteed its batteries and Catherine/Morfydd is Affirmation Photography,( check it out to see some beautiful wedding pics btw.) and she took some pics that will go up on the Guild site too.

From there it was an impromtu move to Swansea Park and the celebration of the Proms. Great fun, thousands of people, great weather, fireworks and Lakme Flower Duet among others (absolute favourite duet ever - what a treat)

Thanks Pilgrim

75%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Osark

Sounds like something an otter would say doesn't it? But in fact it is in South east Alabama and has the privilege of holding the most impressive house that I have ever been inside. It was built for hospitality in the grand Southern tradition and the folk that live there, Sharron and Butch, are just about the finest examples of generous, thoughtful hosts that anyone could find anywhere.

I will post up the pictures of our trip as soon as i find the camera and I am afraid that words do not do justice to the place. Woods, a lake, a large cedar cabin style house with a massive veranda, humming birds whizzing round like feathered green bullets, gentle warmth, soft hum of voices in that delightful drawl and me getting high on bbq, crochet and the green smell of cedar.

I went in the lake, which if you knew me you would know how uncharacteristic that is of me, not a water person really, but it was an opportunity that will not come my way again for a very long time. Paddled round in a big inner tube while V took the girls sailing on a little boat. Lily in particular loved that lake and stayed in for about an hour. It was such a joy for me to see my kids rambling around outdoors, getting wet, getting dirty, getting clean again, stuffing bbq, getting in the lake again, paddling, playing in the sand, chasing tree frogs. What an amazing place, an amazing time altogether really.

Thanks America, we had a ball.

Jet Lag

Someone really should write a poem about jet lag. I am surprised that Wendy Cope has not done one actually. The way your mouth dries up and your eyes ache and your head is stuffed with straw and the way that your kids have zero difficulty sleeping ound the clock and are fresh as daisies the next day while you feel like you have been eaten by wolves and then thrown up.

Someone shoot me please

Hey Honey I'm Home!

Back at long last. What a trip!... but I am too wrecked to write much just now. Had a fantastic last weekend in Osark in the most amazing house but will write it all up later. It has been an amazing month, so glad that I have this blog to remind me of all that we have done. Back to spinning before too much longer...

nos da cariad