Breaking the 'radio silence'

Well, it got a bit busy here lately. I spent the last 2 weeks of April working flat out getting ready for Wonderwool in Wales the last weekend in April. I've got lots to share and I'm determined to get  back into regular blogging.

We had a great time in Wales. There is a very narrow bridge near our B&B and every time we've been there we've looked at it but this time we decided to drive across it. It felt like it was only just wide enough for our car and our car is quite small.

That was about the only 'touristy' thing we did in Wales. Last year we went up a day early and had a day of sightseeing. The weather was awful and we didn't have the best day. This year it was cold but sunny and I wish we'd gone a day early this year instead. The difference in the water levels in the river from last year was amazing. Last year it was almost (and actually) bursting it's banks in most places. This year the water levels looked quite low.

Wonderwool was great. I didn't think it was quite as busy as last year but we still had a great show and met lots of lovely knitters. 

Unfortunately I didn't get much chance to look around the show. I was determined not to buy much and i succeeded as I only came home with the new issue of Spin Off magazine.

In April my latest shipment in the Sweet Georgia Fibre Club arrived and I LOVE this colourway. I've been itching to start spinning it but I had deadlines. But this weekend I was determined and yesterday I pulled my wheel out. I've not spun for far too long and the wheel was playing up a bit but I got it set up right and got going eventually. I was really tired yesterday so I didn't spin long but at least I got started. I've got two 125gr braids and I'm trying to spin a heavy laceweight 2ply. I've got a bobbin that's been resting for months now which I need to navajo ply soon too. I'll try to get it done this week.

After we got back from Wonderwool I was exhausted. I normally take a few days off after a show but I knew i had 2 deadlines last week so that wasn't an option. I also knew I had 2 deadlines this week but when I actually looked at the dates, those two garments had to be posted last week. Two of the garments due I was knitting myself and with all the preparation for Wonderwool I got behind on my knitting. I did as much as i could while I was away but I don't generally get much knitting done on a show weekend. Knitting secret magazine stuff at shows is difficult. One of my garments was all in one piece and it would reveal too much if I knitted it around knitters. The other one was knitted in pieces and had a lot of stocking stitch so I did knit some on that during the show. Three of the deadlines were posted on Thursday and the last deadline garment plus an American magazine submission was collected by DHL on Friday. I'd spent two evenings working till past midnight to get it done. DHL were due to collect after 1pm and I finished at 1.05pm.

This week I'll be spending a lot of time swatching for new submission deadlines for magazines and yarn companies. I've got a bit of a swatching back log.

I was shattered after these deadlines were completed and actually, I haven't finished all the patterns yet. But I decided not to work this weekend (or at least to avoid computer work). It was a long weekend here and I wanted to relax and catch up on some sleep and family time. I was just completely shattered and my back/neck was in a bit of a state. So I've spent the weekend relaxing, sleeping, going for a couple of gentle walks, watching Badminton Horse Trials (watched most of the cross country phase on Sunday afternoon) and spent time at the lake in the sunshine. I'm still behind on work but I do feel so much better now. Things are a bit quieter this month, at least as far as deadlines are concerned but I am teaching 5 workshops in 2.5 weeks starting next week. I'll be at Spin A Yarn and Purlescence (it's a Purlescence open day on the same day and Skein Queen will be there too) teaching continental knitting with Norwegian purl, at Social Fabric teaching Easy Lace, at Coastal Yarns teaching fair isle and slip stitch colourwork and at Spin A Yarn teaching the Daisy/Mar Menor shawls.

Spring has finally arrived here in Cornwall and this week we've had some cracking weather. One day last week I decided to ditch work and take the dog for a walk on the beach at lunch time. I then had lunch at the beach cafe and sat there knitting (on one of my deadline garments) for a while. They have a big outside seating area and looking out at the calm sea while I was knitting in the sunshine was wonderful.

Today we headed up to Sibleyback Lake on Bodmin Moor. The weather was beautiful but it was quite windy which made it a bit chilly to start with although the wind died down and for the last hour it was really warm and lovely. I walked the dog part way around the lake.

The lake has a great path all the way around (which I think is about 3 miles) and it was full of families, dogs, and cyclists.

Emily, Simon and Simon's dad went sailing while Simon's mum and I watched from the shore. Emily bought a second hand topper last year and this is only the second time she's sailed it. She only managed one sail last autumn before it got too cold and the boats were put in storage for the winter.

Above is Emily in her topper with the red/white sails and grandpa sailing behind her in the mirror with the red sails. Below is Emily in her topper.

She had a great time today and capsized for the first time. She managed to turn the boat back up and got back in without any problems. I must admit I was worried when I saw her boat turn over but she's been taught what to do on a sailing course with school last summer and apparently she did exactly what she was supposed to do. She didn't actually capsize on the school sailing course. She tried but couldn't do it so this was her first capsize. Grandpa was on the water and quickly sailed to help her but she was fine on her own. 

They spent a good 2-3 hours on the water. I got a lot of knitting done. Unfortunately Vanessa had to work so she couldn't join us. 

So apart from my knitting, I think we're just about caught up now. I'll share my new knitting projects later in the week plus my new magazine designs and a review/give away of a fab new book. And I do apologise for the recent radio silence. Sometimes life just gets too busy but I love blogging and I've got some great blog posts planned for this month.

Oh, and the Lace Lovers Club July to September is now open for sign ups. About 1/3 of the memberships have sold today so if you want to join us, you'd better hurry up to make sure you get in. The current club is completely full (and I added 20 more spaces than previous club periods, it's the biggest club I've ever done). I've also listed some new yarn in the shop with more to come later this week. Keen an eye on the New Arrivals.