Angels Singing All Around My Door

I mused to a friend why certain songs always came to mind while walking about the valley. Turns out this is the location, well, actual one is about 15 miles down the road, where the songs were written. Made perfect sense. Sitting atop the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales, how could one not be inspired. Every direction offers another spectacular view, something that draws you closer inviting exploration and contemplation.


Kiddo's shrub. Definitely slows one down while walking thru the thistles. Large bunches of it grow near the treelines bordering on sheep fields. Makes me smile to find windblown bits of fluff on them (which are happily added to the back pockets bum warmer).


There are a notable number of unusable fields. Just too rocky to offer sure footing to man or sheep.


Not much in the way of blue sky today but no rain either so out we went. To Kiddo and I, the days just don't feel complete now without a walk. What I'd though would be a one hour excursion turned in to a 3.5 hour hike. Once off the road, thru the gate and feet hit the trail, all that is behind you is a world away.


It is startling, the difference in effort twixt the UK, US and moreso Italy is doing in regards to reducing their carbon footprint. The awareness here, I see, is more than just talk. Conservation is part of the daily life. You look around you a bit differently after finding the land you are in was once 90% covered by ancient forests.


I had the pleasure of meeting artist Sue Clow. She recycles in a most beautiful way. I gasped when I saw her wool rugs. So lovely! You couldn't imagine putting your feet on them yet at the same time you want to do nothing more than take off your shoes and enjoy the soft wooly warmth. She will be teaching a rug making class at the Wonderwool Wales festival in April.


On we continued, after exploring along the river, up thru fields so we could check out a lane we noted on our last walk up there. Around a bend we found another stile, another field, another long fence covered in fluff. I think tomorrow will be a stay in and play with fluff day if I can swing it. The kids are all out for mid-term break so they'll be busy doing kidstuff hopefully so I can do fluff stuff!


As the sun dipped below the valley ridge we thought it time to head home. No way we wanted to be galavanting thru the woods in the dark. We meeeehed our goodbyes to our wooly friends and headed back for a perfectly tempered potato, leek soup with basmati rice and crumbled aged sharp cheddar.


Looks like a butterfly, doesn't it.

Gathering

On the Fence

Great big fluffy clouds and blue sky with big beams of sunshine beaming down beckoned to us. We MUST go OUT! We thought to revisit the trails up the hill and go right instead of left. Then I remembered the neighbor who is giving us Welsh lessons mentioned a river up that way so I went over to get precise directions to it. After a discussion of walkways and how to get to the entry point the quickest the conversation veered to the fact that he'll be building an ancient Celt style boat to go down the rivers here with his brother. We will be invited over to see the building of it - bent wood frame covered by cow skin. They are oval shaped, open top and low, much more stable than the modern canoe and definitely not constricting kayak-wise. Lightweight and watertight they are carried on the back when ported on land. I asked if people still use them or did they have one before. I was told no, they 'saw it on the telly' and thought it would be fun to make. Adventures await!

Another glance out the window as I was heading out the door, suddenly I had a guide for our walk. Half an hour later we set out to see the river. We learned the proper [and extremely cool] way to walk up and over the stiles rather than straddle the fence and swing a leg over. We went up past the last entry point we used and used a public access walking route which took us thru somebody's garden. And what lovely gardens they are! Up the river we went. The higher we went up the more snow and ice we saw. Icicles hanging on low branches over the mini falls, caches of ice in the form of firey clear diamonds nestled in open treasure trunks. Creeky swings low slung over the edge of a farm's sideyard.

Suddenly I look up as we come to another stile, I stop. I squint and walk up to the fence. I turn to Kiddo a bit behind me and ask her if THAT IS WHAT I THINK IT IS!!!! And it was. Wool On the Fence. Wool On the Fence *insert happy dance here* Wool On the Fence! Finally! Before us, what so many had mentioned.. ooh here in Wales we have wool on all the fences! As it turns out, we just had to know which footpaths passed the right fences. One took us into a field, there was a flock of sheep to the side. I was enjoying the scenery and stuffing highly compressed balls of wool that were coaxed off of fences by Kiddo. I am happy to announce I found the perfect HikingColdButt cure. Looks silly as can be as you stuff wool back there but keeps you nice and warm. We were shown the entry point for a six mile park of walks that were built by one of the local barons. The paths are marked with colored shale. Can't wait to explore!

Home again, wool came out of the pockets, coffee made and soup for dinner put on then I sat down to meet the fence wool. Kiddo said ooh, it's recycling!! I pondered that for a moment then said no, we get the wool before any cycling starts. No machines involved. Sheep is fluffy, brushes against the fence or nettles or brambles and the wool pulls. We gather it, spin it, create with it in a very non machiney way. No, not recycling, Kiddo, it's PREcycling. I picked out a couple balls of the cleanest looking stuff, fluffed, floofed and spun a single in the grease. Amazing the twist that it can take when fine and a touch thicker, much less needed. The lanolin makes the fibers behave beautifully. Two plied on itself I knit up a small cabled swatch then washed it to see that magical bloom. Photos of that tomorrow along with photos from tomorrow's return to the fleecy fences. We'll make our way back to the river again. I'd love to shoot the ice crystals before they melt. Snow is forecasted, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Final words of wisdom from a native ~ There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.

Out and about we were today. For once the weather forecast was right! Pretty puffy white clouds lazed in the spring sky and the sun was shining. Yes, yes, the birds were singing too. Nice when that happens and we don't hesitate to pull on boots and jackets and take a hike. We decided to head up the hill towards the next village to explore the set of paths we'd spied on a previous excursion.

As we entered the trail we immediately had to choose, left right or up. We went up up up. We climbed high up along the ridge that the cottage is on crossing over two little waterfalls on the way and making note of other trails to go back to for further exploration in the near future. People come from near and far to traipse around the mountains here, I feel quite fortunate to have those trails right outside the front door.











































The first time I'd seen one of these we were walking to friends house taking The Shortcut. It happen to be right after the last snowfall and everything was cold slippery and my only focus was not breaking anything as we navigated roots brambles and fences. An odd yet wonderfully convenient spot to leave a bench, I'd thought. The stiles certainly do come in handy!

I'm still waiting for that time I go over one, look up and see a naked sheep leaning against a fence post swinging a bag of fleece round asking what the heck too me so long. Oh that reminds me of a sheep joke.. I'll stop now.

Scooch

I was talking with a friend who is also a fiber artist, though of another kind, and we got on the topic of the tools we use to design. I have never found one bag/organizer that had exactly what I needed to keep the tools I need at hand organized. Well it so happens Emma specializes in Bespoke canvas structures. Not only structures but bags, organizers, and baskets. The canvas she uses is 100% industrial waste that would otherwise go into the trash. She accents the function with curves and shapes that reflect your workspace. The organizers are then accented with antique fabrics. So, imagine that ideal work organizer, the one with all the features you need, then, imagine the one that you want, then, write it down. I had no idea I'd come home from tea with homework!

Color above is "Emmazure". Bright, vibrant, full of cool energy, sky and sea with a splash of sun. Made from wool waste, those messed up bits from the combing machines. Hand color blended, spun in to Z 2-ply. I'm mixing this with creamy white alpaca, also hand spun, a bight lighter in weight with a beautiful halo that will bond with the wool creating a lightweight, colorful warmth.

According to the modern Celtic calendar, tomorrow is Imbolc, the start of Spring. The Hedge Druid has an informative post on the holiday and the traditions that come along with it.

Now, I'm off to recover from Snowman Building 2 [ ~ Yes, we learned how to roll giant snowallsl! Hurray!] spinning, knitting and pondering that ideal organizer.

Rainyday Spin

And a Great Rainy Day was had by all. I've held on to very few fibers and yarns. One that did not leave my non existent stash is a hank of Handmaiden Seasilk, my Viking Wool and a bit of fluff. The Sirri yarn was one of my early political fiber purchases. Exercising political opinion by being a consumer, right. In this case, a protest against the emargos cross the mid-East after the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. It's quite versitile. Finely spun singles spun from Farose Island sheep at 600m a hank. Just too much of a bother to measure when designing. But, it's great as a play yarn. It felts and fulls beautifully. Even a simple St st scarf on large needles then fulled in alternating hot and cold water with a bit of conditioner makes the yarn double in thickness as the fiber blooms. Even better, though delicate in appearance the wool strengthens as the fibers lock together.

The single Vikings also work well as, well, singles! I plied them with some random bits I'd spun up of wool waste. And spun up a bit for Kiddo. The first with the tan, second with the cream. The blue/green/white hanklette was immediately claimed by Kiddo, she wanted cuffs with the squiggle on it.



Kiddo got a long lesson in color theory, applied maths and then hand blending. She came up with the next two wooly colors we'll be creating.

Then we baked peanut butter cookies and a fine Rainyday was had by all.