Winding down ...

... and then revving up again!

No pictures this time.
It has been a busy time over the past few weeks. First we had our weekend in Turin, all accounted for here.

Then the following weekend I ventured up to Cockermouth to Woolfest.
That was a treat. I now understand why a friend just said "wow" last year after going.

Shortly after arriving I helped other members of the Online Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers set up the Association stand which we were stewarding this year.

I still need to edit the few photos I took there. As I was travelling by public transport I couldn't bring back anything too bulky, not that I had the time to buy much either.

The bus trip from Penrith to Cockermouth (and back) was a lovely relaxed experience, even with the finding of a suspect package on the return journey.

A man was about to leave the bus, and someone sitting near him saw him apparently kick a carrier bag under his seat. She asked him if it was his. He denied all knowledge of it. He left the bus. We drove on to the next stop ( a mile or so further along the road) and halted. The bus driver ventured to look at the package, found it to contain the remains of someone's lunch and drove on.

Then last week it was the turn of the ACJ conference in London. The Association for Contemporary Jewellery holds a conference every few years in a different British city.
This year, the theme: Carry the Can was all about our responsibility as jewellers to work in an ecological and ethical way.
A great conference, but London was too hot.

Now, when I'd like some time to digest the ideas stimulated by my recent travels, it is time to return to the Long Eaton Art Room and get back to helping run the open studio sessions.

This week, Mary found a spinning wheel in a local charity shop at a very good price. It is an Ashford Traditional of a fairly early date held together with screws rather than bolts.

It seems to have stood out in the rain for a while, and I have done a bit of mainteneance on it to remove the light covering of rust on the exposed metal parts.
Blotches on the woodwork will be something to attend to later.

I have replaced the brake band with a makeshift one of rather too light fishing line and a rubber band. But it does seem to spin fairly well. Now I have to remember to look for replacement cup-hooks, as the fibres are catching a bit on the rust.