Basket and Book Fair

In May I made another willow basket, this time using a different weave that I forgot the name of already. It came out better and larger than my first basket and now stores my knitting. The first basket has become a rollag container. (Wool spinners will know what I'm talking about.)

I've recently attended a third basket making course, this time making a frame basket. That was a lot harder and the willow dried out in the hot sun by the end of the day, loosing pliability. I managed to finish it and will post photos up as soon as I take some.

Today I cycled to Stourhead because there was an antiquarian book fair on there. I bought three books:


Man and the Land. Part of the New Natrualist series. #31


I just bought a rug loom from a local old lady. I have no idea how to use it. Perhaps this book will tell me how.


Hopefully this will help in the coming months!

Happiness hit her

Everything is beautiful lately. I just cycled to Stourhead, a National Trust property about two miles from my house. I took no photos, but we live in an age where words are not enough so I have attached a photo I took before. I don’t like to take too many photos. Photographs steal souls. I have a first class degree in Photography, so I know.

Stourhead was glistening and spiffy. I was very excited to see some snakeshead fritillary and some marsh marigold. I suspect these have been planted, but even so, they are so beautiful. I love them. Wood anemones are also really giving me a buzz at the moment. Everything is. I’m really buzzy. Lungwort is so, so pretty. Primrose, cowslip, wild daffodil, bluebells, red campion, stitchwort, lesser celandine, ivy leaved toadflax, speedwell, dog violet, lady’s smock plus loads of others are all out at the same time. It’s great!

I am cycling the vale quite a bit lately, and also I have taken to wearing dresses much more. I used to never wear dresses or skirts. Now I can’t get enough of them. I always thought cycling wearing a skirt must be quite stressful. But it is not. It’s lovely. Of course there is more wind resistance, but this means I am getting fitter faster. I recommend wearing sports shorts under the skirt because otherwise the highway will be exposed to your underdrawers, and I suspect it is a little colder.

It is my little sister’s thirteenth birthday today. I made her a storybook. It is a copy of a Young Dracula fiction I wrote a while ago. (you can read it here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5534456/1/Lacuna) My sister loves Young Dracula. She was the person who got me into it. Here is the front cover I made for her copy.

I have a strong suspicion that she prefers her new purple mobile phone to the story I wrote. I keep getting texts from her, even though she is just downstairs and I have notoriously poor signal at home. I am glad that I am no longer 13.