Took my youngest granddaughter out on Nola last Sunday. Granddaughter is 12 and Nola is 25. All three of us had a lovely time. She posed for this photograph to show her friends - probably on Instagram or some such thing - I could imagine a picture caption 'Riding my [...]
Twill weave . my house- pigeon must like twill weave - here he is inspecting two of my oldest rugs dating from the late 1980s and still going strong. I have not seen pigeon for several days now - nor found feathers or remains in the garden so hoping he [...]
House pigeon - things you do for your friends. This poor old scraggy pigeon spent several months in a cage recuperating from a nasty accident. Thinking he needed to be able to fly, my friend released him in with her hens - who attacked it mercilessly as hens do. He [...]
Nature's Best Nature's best things are virtually free - this plateful was picked this morning. I planted the Conference pear tree at the millennium along with a vine and a Brown Monkey Turkey fig - they continue to give me free harvest every year and every year the bounty seems to [...]
Mohair locks and blue faced leicester top went into this yarn made by Jane who attended my lBeginners Long Draw day at Knuston on 6th September. "Inspired by your session at Knuston last week, I made a skein using the lovely dyed curls carded into some blue faced Leicester top. [...]
Spinning Retreat Spinning retreat at Knuston Hall ends today. A huge success for spinning and Knuston Hall which was so fully booked there was not enough room in the newly refurbished dining room - the second time spinners have dined in the library in a week. 11 ladies from as [...]
A moment of enlightenment. I bought some new picture lights and decided that I would put them up myself - but will stick to the knitting in future… I did put one up - it was not easy, I needed three hands and being up a step ladder that was [...]
Life Changes Life changes and change is about the only certainty in life - and with bereavement comes massive change. And unexpected pleasures. I commissioned this headstone from the Cordazzo Kindersley workshop in Cambridge. It was fixed in place on Monday 21st August. It brings me enormous pleasure. The stone is perfect, my [...]
Socks with meaning make delightful gifts and now is the time to start on knitting unique Christmas gifts. These socks are called Meadow and knitted with my own art yarn. All yarn has basic elements which can be used in the design process; these are fibre, spinning method, colour and [...]
Art yarn is a spinners response to fibre and colour and texture, in the same way as any art is a personal response to something. Art yarn is yarn made for the purpose of art. Not designed for a project, but created as a result of the will or personal response. The [...]
Iceberg lettuce is like watered down cabbage compared to what's in season here at the moment. I'd rather have English leeks which are at their natural best at this time of year, and there are still a few brussels sprouts, sprouting white and purple broccoli, cabbage, onions, turnips, celery, swede and potatoes and [...]
Making rolags during photoshoot with Danish photographer, Dorte. All looks a bit Hygge I think. . I wondered if I should ask my daughter Jenny - who has lovely elegant hands - to model for me, but Dorte said; "No Pam, your hands know what they are doing' and I can [...]
Weaving in school with sixty Year 5s sounded a bit of a challenge. Thought they might get bored and misbehave, but no, couldn't have asked for 60 more delightful ten year olds who all helped weave two mufflers in natural wool. The children each made a card to take home by weaving [...]
Andean plying is a really useful technique I learned from Kate at my Ashford workshop. She made it so easy I teach it to beginner drop spindlers at their first lesson - it only takes me one lesson to teach long draw on a drop spindle! You can learn all about [...]
Long draw spinner makes her first art yarn after only two lessons. Vanessa learned to spin long draw in her first lesson and has since created this lovely art yarn. Not bad for someone who had her first lesson on 19th December 2016. I learned to spin when I was about [...]
Bullfinches were busy enhancing the view at Woolly day in November, hopefully they will do the same at the next woolly day on 28th January.
Dyeing for a weekend is a development of my workshops at Loddington. See Events page .A day is just not enough, so I am currently planning my first weekend SpinAway Retreat there from 10-12th February for spinners, weavers, felters and dyers. Although you may be DYING for a weekend away, you [...]
Dyeing and spinning silk workshop had an interesting event when a candidate who had never spun before spun this silk and an Ashford traditional wheel. She watched the demonstration about how to spin a long worsted draw - yes, a long worsted draw, not two inches but a satisfying long arms [...]
Beginners weaving is full of surprises such as this bag by Kathy. Her first weaving. She decided to turn it into this bag and needle felted some decorative bits on it. Just lovely. An astonishingly fine piece of work for a beginner. We warped up the loom together - she had beginners [...]
Life's safer nowadays. My brother cooked Sunday lunch for me yesterday, two world's first's - first time he has cooked Sunday lunch for me and on the first day of the year. He is very supportive, and always been creative, made his own sausages, stout, bread, curry, chow mien, beer. Even before [...]
