Sunday 28 October 2012

New friends

So, biting the bullet and stepping out of my comfort zone I decided it was time to see if I could join the Cornwall Guild of Spinners and Weavers .The website is very informative and they looked like a lively bunch, so I contacted the secretary and invited myself along to the September meeting. The second meeting was very busy and it was a bit difficult to get a seat, but once again I persevered and as I had enjoyed the meeting, I accepted the invitation to become a member.

At the meeting last Friday, Jane Deane gave us a talk about the production of silk and told us a great deal about silk worms. Then in the afternoon, she demonstrated how to spin the different silk fibres she had supplied and spent some time with us discussing how the sinning was going. Some members had not spun silk before and were given a lot of help.

How was the meeting for me? Well, another tentative start and I was not made as welcome as I would have liked. Still, at least I've made a start and perhaps it will get easier as time passes.  There are some very talented spinners and weavers and some real characters so I am looking forward to the next meeting. Billed as a weaving day, but I'm not sure what that entails. It will be good to get back to some weaving!

Monday 1 October 2012

What a long time

it's been since I last updated this blog and what a lot has happened.
We have moved house, and said a fond farewell to Yorkshire and a wow here we are then to Cornwall! Our move did not go as smoothly as we had hoped, but after a bit of a wait we finally moved into our temporary home and started unpacking.

My spinning, knitting and weaving activities have taken rather a back seat, but I have now started spinning again and have joined the Cornwall Guild. They have two meetings each month, one held on a Friday at Probus and one on a Saturday at Chacewater. Both meetings seem to be very well attended and some members attend both.

It was just a little nerve wracking going to the first meeting because I didn't know anyone and did feel  a bit unwelcome at first, but I'm fortunate in that I can barge my way into other people's conversations so I soon felt a bit more comfortable.

It came as a bit of a surprise to find that many of the members have their own sheep and some have goats too. The animals seem to be mostly kept as pets rather than for meat or wool and there seems to be a preference for Jacobs, although one also has Rylands.

Many of the members are also accomplished weavers and that is what I want to get to grips with next so I think I will be able to get quite a bit of help.

So here we are near the sea and able to go for lovely long walks along the coast path, see lots of birds, ships and breathe the lovely sea air! So here are a few photos to whet the appetite!






A lovely place to be and lots to look forward to!