Ah gentle shepherd, thine the lot to tend,I'm rather smitten with the 'fleecy tribe'. And I couldn't help but notice the Lakeland sheep as I drove towards Woolfest on Friday, huddled unhappily under the field walls and hedgerows, assail'd by the deluge falling from a decidedly untrustworthy sky. In little danger from crow, fox, or dog in such weather they were instead at the mercy of the storm!
Of all, that feel distress, the most assail'd ...
Observe the lurking crows; beware the brake,
There the sly fox the careless minute waits;
Nor trust they neighbour's dog, nor earth, nor sky ...*
Adown falls streaming rain ...Okay, so it wasn't quite that bad. But having survived the long drive through the monsoon** I was picking my way down the steep and muddy
Fast tumbling brooks on brooks enormous swell,
And sudden overwhelm their vanish'd fields.*
Such are the perils, such the toils of life!*So, there I was, dripping wet, covered in muck from the waist down, and limping a little. Oh, the embarrassment! But I took my cue from Dyer again - Ye advent'rous mariners, be firm; take courage from the brave* - and soldiered on. And people were lovely, they all pretended not to notice. Well apart from the chap who asked where the mud wrestling was. That was when I decided to hang out with the sheep for a bit. Very non-judgemental, sheep.
Sheep don't snigger when you delve into your bag for your camera only to discover that you've left it in the car, the car that's at the top of the muddy slope you just sailed down on your backside. These are my images from Woolfests past. No way was I venturing out into the torrential rain again until I was on my way home!
There was a little shopping - a niddy noddy, a few balls of dark Hebridean 4 ply deliciousness, some soft grey alpaca yarn from Town End Alpacas, and an old copy of Fancy Needlework Illustrated c.1913, of which more another time - but I think I spent most on consolatory cups of hot chocolate. Not that I was having a bad day you understand, perversely I rather enjoyed it!
Why so little yarn? Because I'm suffering from stash guilt, that's why! I know it's important to support UK spinner's and dyer's, I know that my stash is as much about possibility as actuality - dreaming about all the things I might knit is my cure for insomnia - but it's time I started choosing my projects on the basis of the yarn I already own. Because I own a ridiculous quantity of the stuff. A stash diet! Can I do it? I have no idea!
Continuing with my 'Welcome' footnotes, giving a shout out to all who comment for the first time, or follow knitsofacto here and elsewhere ... Hello! to Sarajan at fleaChic, Cayte at Pisky Cove, Grammy Braxton, and Karen. And also the lovely Ellen at Growing Gills, Isobel at The Home Nest, Andi at My Sister's Knitter, and Barbara at Busybusybeejay, all of whom were lurking in the wings.
You can now follow my blog with Bloglovin and at hellocotton.
* John Dyer, 1757, The Fleece
** You think I'm exaggerating? Rainfall figures for that day in the Northwest of England hit 100mm in some places and even the less affected areas were averaging 40-50mm.
Wonderfull, curly hair! I wouldn't suffer from stash guilt if I had the opportunity to buy yarn from them. ;-)
ReplyDeleteStash guilt, haha. As I am looking for a new project (there isn't any at the moment, which has not happend for months), I should probably use from my stash. But I saw some nice balls of yarn in school today sleeping in box in a dark corner in the cellar .... It's stash too, isn't it?
Oh I love those beautiful tresses! :)
ReplyDeleteMud wrestling indeed, no wonder you didn't buy much yarn! ;)
Vivienne x
a stash diet!!!! Great idea, but I think not possible , for me at least!!
ReplyDeletexxxx Alessandra
Gorgeous photographs Annie, love those sheep :)
ReplyDeleteVictoria xx
Oh dear, that sounds like the kind of thing I'd do!
ReplyDeleteI have stash guilt too - I'm trying to knit with what I've already got. I've never been to Woolfest, which is probably just as well!
Don't suggest a stash diet - I was just thinking of buying some more with some birthday money...Those sheep have the coolest haircuts in the world! That man was rude to even mention a little mud...you were right the sheep look like they had better manners x
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so sorry that I didn't get to say hello to you! I was on the Fyberspates stand, trying not to add to my stash with the stock leftover at the end of the show. The weather really was something else though, wasn't it?!
ReplyDeleteI thought I might have spied you on Kate's stand Jen, chatting to Felix, but I wasn't sure and I didn't like to interrupt. And I really did look a fright after that mud bath! Next time :D
DeleteOh dear....it's a shame that mr knitso didn't lend you waders instead of wellies, you could have done them up to your chin and been prepared for any eventuality!
ReplyDeleteI love sheep, ours are a fairly ordinary looking sheep, but it's all in the eyes, they remind me of tigers eye with the colours that run through them, ours are flighty and bad tempered so you don't get much time to appreciate them as such, but I still enjoy working with them.
It's funny that ewes will happily graze with their lambs at foot while foxes lurk ready to pounce, but dogs make them edgy and jittery, whereas in our situation the foxes pose far more threat....
You made it, well done! And had an enjoyable tho soggy time of it. I loved that poem.
ReplyDeleteLove your photographs, Annie. I am a wool/cotton addicted. I need to cut my intake as it has left me with no storage for my yarns at all. :)
ReplyDeletexx
Oh Annie , poor you - I think I'd have run back to the car but then the thought of all that lovely yarn to peruse may well have made me solider on just like you did - well done! I do love your sheepy photos - so many different breeds, each with their very distinct personalities!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Annie, for the welcome.
ReplyDeleteWell, you did have a little bit of the Hell and High Water, but it sounds as if it was well worth it. Those sheep are amazing. We used to raise Dorsets.
That seems like another lifetime ago!
Glad that you are safely home and I eagerly look forward to seeing your new wool. Your photos are just wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
We were selling at a show on Sunday in a sea of mud (inside a marquee) and there were several near slips but nobody actually went right over so I sympathise with your plight. But I did chuckle when I read about your adventure. Slightly.
ReplyDeleteHehe, and I bet I'm chuckling more! The husband's response was 'Who but you'!
DeleteA niddy noddy - well with a name like that it was an essential purchase And on that theme ... perhaps you can buy wool with fabulous names, purely for research purposes. Just trying to help ;-)
ReplyDeleteBrave, wondeful Annie. You have the satsifaction of knowing you braved the elements and made the effort to go to Woolfest instead of chickening out AND the satisfaction of knowing you have entertained us enormously with tales of your slippery adventures.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
Oh wow - that does look like fun though sliding on ones backside 'ouch!'
ReplyDeleteNina x
Oh no! How embarrassing! But at least there was hot chocolate and retail therapy to make everything better.
ReplyDeleteAnd I say an emphatic NO to diets, stash or otherwise! x
Other people's stashes are great! I can't afford wool so I get to use all those lovely left overs most of which come through the local club.
ReplyDeleteAs for mud! Well some of us seem to have an affinity for just sitting in it regardless of the event etc. (that would be me!!!)
I grew up around sheep - mostly Merino and Romney cross types (those are the ones that tend to bounce around madly and drive the herding dogs nuts :). We nearly always had a stray lamb or so to bring up too. And there was spinning and knitting as well.
Hot chocolate - must be good for you on a cold wet day!
viv in nz
What beautiful poetry and even more lovely sheep who do look very comforting and benign. Knitters are a sturdy bunch defying rain and mud to soldier on - I hope you have recovered by now!
ReplyDeleteStunning photos Annie, especially the first one - I can imagine it enlarged and placed in a black frame over my mantlepiece. And how gorgeous are the sheep over there. Very fancy! They look like they've had a little perm :-D Only you could make an unfortunate slide in the mud sound like a fabulous day out x
ReplyDeletesorry, but I had to stifle a giggle at the idea of you sailing down the slope - its the kind of thing I would do - turn what ought to be a simple stroll into an extreme sport! If falling over was an endurance sport, I'd win prizes!
ReplyDeleteThe Photos are brilliant, especially the first two of sheep. You could convert me to getting involved with the whole process of wool. I am a textile addict anyway, learning to spin and add that to my beginner skills at knitting would be very satisfying. But then like you, I'd have stash problems, and I already suffer from that with fabric!
Glad you still managed to have a good day despite the weather x
Goodness, that sounds like something that would happen to me, accident prone that I am. I'm impressed that you made it at all in that weather, it wasn't the day for venturing out anywhere. I don't blame you for not going back for your camera, not when you've got such fabulous photos from past years, those sheep are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos, those sheep look such an elegant lot compared to the motley crew who stare at me from the back field, they looked so sad and drippy on Friday due to the deluge I felt like inviting them in. Yes I would have slipped over and covered my bottom in mud. I am an expert at making a mess of myself. I fear that my husband would have made a very similar comment,with a weary shake of the head.
ReplyDeleteWell done for battling on regardless, having said that if I, like you, were faced with a bit of retail therapy on the one hand and climbing a bl--dy treacherous slope back to the car on the other I would have gone too.
what pictures!!! love them!!
ReplyDelete"sure-footed-me" would have undoubtedly joined you in your slide into home base....all those dance lessons as a kid did me NO GOOD!! I understand the yarn diet thing--hope yours goes better than mine has been going. Some folks collect stamps, or coins, or Ironstone, or pigs.....I collect yarn.
I am sorry for your woes Annie but you have made me laugh out loud .. and I really needed that so thank you!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean by stash dieting, I doing my bit over here :)
I wouldn't have gone back for my camera either after doing a mud slide out of the parking lot! At least you were attending an event that featured sheep, and not some fancy social occasion. :-) You are right, they are 100% non-judgmental.
ReplyDeleteOooh, Annie absolutely beautiful sheeps and perfect pictures! Love`em so much with such a pretty hairstyle :o)
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you, dear friend for the warm welcome and for a poetic-rainy-retro pictures in older post. Hope the sun will shines for you :o)It`s raining here in Moscow too.
Wishing you have a lovely and sunny week
lot of love from Russia
Natasha
I'm sorry about your bump but it was so well written I had to laugh :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I can certainly identify with your woeful adventure. Several years ago I walked quickly across a wet lawn after a good long rainstorm and accidentally stepped in what appeared to be a very small puddle. The puddle was actually a fence post hole completely full of water which resulted in a complete soaking of my entire left leg. Needless to day, I did not return to the car for my camera either :D
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are absolutely gorgeous, even if they are from last year!
Janine
Oh wow! Sounds like quite the muddy adventure! But lots of fun too :) Oh, look at those little sheepies! Their wool, those little faces! Now I'm thinking about how I need to paint more sheep.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a bit of your rain around here. You asked on my blog how I cope with this heat, and the truth is I dont. I whine and complain and sigh and glare until September arrives ;) Oh, its terrible! I need to sign up for an English exchange program, hehe!
Annie, you are indomitable! I do feel for you slipping and getting covered in mud - what a way to begin your day out. Trouble is that there is nothing one can do about it in such circs. You either give up and go home which seems a bit feeble or you have to go round all day slightly self-conscious and uncomfortable but reluctant to abandon ship and waste the whole trip. Your photos whenever they were taken, are fabulous! You have such a seeing eye. I know what you mean about feeling guilty about adding to a stash that is already fairly sizeable, but think of it this way, it never goes off, if properly stored away from moths and damp, and if one never gets round to using some of it one can always pass it on to someone starting out and just beginning their own stash. Not that one always wants or needs to buy new yarn for projects but being open to new colour / fibre possibilities is an important part of fuelling the creative process, for me anyway! So enjoy and don't feel guilty! E x
ReplyDeleteCommiserations on the loss of balance and hope there are no lasting reminders. (I'm still limping after The Drive incident here.) Had to look twice at the first picture. Thought for a moment you'd been wool festing in the company of unicorns!
ReplyDeleteHi from Donna, Stash knit group!!
ReplyDeleteI've only just popped in but the photos of the sheep are stunning.
I shall have a good look at your blog when I've walked the dog (unless I get distracted by my knitting of course).
At the risk of repeating what has already been said, those photos are gorgeous! What a wonderful post and I love your way of telling a story, completely engaging! I have instituted a similar ration on my fabric buying this last year; my stash is embarrassingly fortified. Have the rains let up?
ReplyDeleteI am with you on the stash guilt thing. I do try to buy yarns from my local indie dyers as a way to support small buisness (as well as make myself-heh), but am beginning to feel a bit greedy. Good for you for holding back, especially with all that loveliness tempting you. I doubt I will ever say the words stash diet, but I may just need to tone it up!
ReplyDeleteLove those images of the sheep. I want to smooch all their noses!
Thank you for the shout out. :)
Wonderful sheep portraits - I love their rectangle eyes
ReplyDelete&
Hot chocolate is good on a muddy day
I really am going mad.....I'm sure I commented on this post :( Must have just been all in my (very dusted) head. I love the curls on the sheep, well actually they look like dread locks don't they, hopefully they don't smell as bad tho' haha. That sheep (top right photo)is looking very 'kissable' what a sweet face.
ReplyDeletexx Sandi
Hello,
ReplyDeleteThankyou for your lovely comment on my blog, it really cheered me up. sorry to be such a miserable blighter sometimes.
I love your pics here, they are stnning, very ¨Country Living.'
I like your spirit and this post really made me laugh. for some reason the word 'backside' silmultaneously makes me laugh and reminds me of home. Eliska would have loved the mud, the little tyke.
Tracy xxx
My stash guilt is patterns. I just KNOW I'll get round to knitting them all SOME DAY! You have a fantastically witty blog and your pictures are great. And I'm glad you didn't let a muddy caboose ruin your day.
ReplyDelete:)
gorgoue images and eloquent blog post, i just LOVE your blog, thanks for sharing it
ReplyDeleteoh, dear, that meant to say GORGEOUS, not gorgoue (the meaning of which I do not know!)
ReplyDeleteLove the sheep pics! So glad you persevered thought the rain and mud. I probably would have as well.
ReplyDelete