a simple yarn

Of course the holiday included a bit of fibre fun. As the family would have been bored senseless, I spent Friday taking a solitary drive 2 hours north into Cumbria for Woolfest 2006. Even if there had been no wool in the area, the drive alone would have been worth it. (Think I swallowed a few bugs from having my mouth open in amazement during the trip.)

If I were a spinner, I would have thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Fleeces, fleeces everywhere as far as the eye could see! Raw fleeces on the sheep, raw fleeces off the sheep, dyed roving/top, Wensleydale curls…you name it. And the varieties of sheep were endless…some I’d heard of, many I hadn’t. Even saw the rare Guanaco fleece. £1000 per kilogram. Wow. That’s not them below…they were being kept in a high-security vault somewhere I’m sure! Think these are Wensleydales…

In a word, I was overwhelmed…in an ‘information overload’ sort of way. I didn’t even take many photos. Not being a spinner I certainly couldn’t appreciate the wealth of supplies that were before me. And as there was not much in the way of weaving or ‘gotta have it’ yarn, I came away with a reasonable amount of purchases…a sampling of dyes (for the yet-to-be-spun fleeces sitting in the garage), a sock book which intrigues me, a great…all the answers in a concise form…weaving companion, and some paper quills for bobbins. Fairly restrained I’d say!

Had an even more stunning trip on the way back to Lancashire, through the mountains and by the lakes.

Would I go back to Woolfest? Oh sure, but I think I’d appreciate it more if I learn how to spin first. Perhaps on this little beauty from Towneley Hall…

Also did some knitting on the cushion cover while I was away. Don’t think it’s wise to take along on holiday something that requires much thought. Have a few boo-boos on it, but as it’s for me, I was not going to rip and repeat! I doubt others will look as closely at it as I do…so, here’s the continuing work-in-progress view.

Warning: It is dreaded by friends all over the world…the return of the traveling holiday taker packing stacks of photos with hours of commentary. We’ve all done it…smiling politely at pics of people we don’t know in places we’ll never visit. The telling of the holiday never really translates from the experiencing of the holiday. Please let me reassure you that I’m sensitive to your plight…now…let me tell you what I did this summer!

Scene
A lovely setting in the rare, sun-drenched English heat wave among the rolling Lancashire hillsides.

Leading Players
Steve & Helen:  wonderful Dublin friends who offer free-of-charge accommodation in aforementioned locale.
Harold & Sylvia:  parents of Dublin-Friend-Helen, who host American-Tourist-Family-Of-Four. He, the Quintessential-English-Country-Gentleman-Who-Can-Answer-Any-Trivial-Question-About-England-And-Sound-Correct and she, the Consummate-Hostess-Who-Also-Epitomises-The-English-AlterEgo-Of-My-Mother-And-Accomplished-Watercolour-Painter.

Supporting Cast
Esther:  daughter of Steve & Helen. Tireless-Entertainer-And-Friend-To-Our-Kids.
Colin & Dot:  friends of host and hostess. He, Dyed-In-The-Wool-America-Lover and she, Community-Opera-Singer.
Michael & Doreen:  fellow barbeque attendees. He, Keeper-Of-All-Knowledge-And-Will-Impart-It-Unto-You-Whether-You-Ask-Or-Not and she, Quiet-Supportive-Wife.
Nigel or perhaps Graham (fill in appropriate English-sounding name). Middle-Aged-Rabid-Elvis-Fan-Bobbin-Mill-Tourguide-Soon-To-Be-Married-By-Elvis-Lookalike-In-Plane-Over-Vegas.
Clive:  generous friend of host and hostess. Also known as Manager-Of-Swank-Four-Star-Hotel-Who-Pities-Poor-American-Tourists.

Plot
American-Family-Of-Four are introduced to English countryside and culture and find that amidst all the differences in cultural expression, we are all really quite similar.

Highlights
Watched the England v. Portugal quarterfinal match in the World Cup. Not really a follower of football but found myself drawn into the cheering. Sorry England lost. Oscar for bad-guy villain ought to go to Ronaldo. His dives rival Olympian Greg Louganis.

Was offered a complimentary suite at Lakeside Hotel in on Lake Windermere in the District. Wow. Everything was stunning.

Took tour of ancient bobbin mill. Watched likewise ancient man make wooden bobbins in micro-seconds. Gave them to us as parting gifts. Cool.

From blocks of wood to…

And finished product…

Bilbo Bobbins in action

When in Rome…bought Son-Alex a cricket bat. A little practice at local park. Hostess-Sylvia turns out to be quite a bowler.

Another parting gift from Hostess-Sylvia. One of her originals and soon to go in place of honour in front room.

The only criticism of our trip was the lack of good cappuccinos, although Hostess-Sylvia made a valiant attempt with a drip coffee maker and electric whisk! Even 4-star swank hotel cappuccino was sub-par. Note secret spy-like blurry photo of…I’m not sure what you’d call it. No silky foam. Actually, no foam of any kind. Sigh. Drank a lot of tea.

So, first thing back was to fire up the Krups. Aaaahhh…..

As much as we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday, it’s still good to be home.