A tour of the Cotswolds

Goodness the half term week has just whizzed by. My niece who is 9 came to stay with us for a few days and she and boys have been off playing tracking, making dens and damns even though the weather was a bit iffy on some of the days. I haven't managed much crafting this week but I did do some dyeing on the one day that the sun shone and it was actually warm.

On Wednesday I got a parcel from Ramona containing all this. I think she has got to be the Queen of Swaps because everything she sent to me was so thoughtfully picked. There are two pieces of sheepskin, stickers, some delicious Lebkuchen (yep I've eaten some already), a tealight holder, some roving and the rest you can see for yourselves. She even sent me some patterns of things I'd admired on her blog. Do go and visit her because she's a very talented lady. I have started to make one thing from her pattern - it's the little doll swathed in green but I've made the head a bit big though and I need to redo her.

Yesterday we had to rendevouz with my sister to return her daughter. She was on her way from Essex to the Midlands and I was coming from the West so we decided on Banbury for some reason. It was a lovely drive through Oxfordshire and we'd stopped to take photographs of all the beautiful houses and building we'd never have got there. However we did have to stop to take a phootgraph of this stunning building in Chipping Norton.

Isn't it lovely? It's called Bliss Mill and used to be a tweed mill. We tried to drive up to it but it said private road and it seems have been turned into flats. There's some blurb here about it. On the way back we stopped at the poshest organic farm shop I've ever been to:

It's called Daylesford Organic Farm shop and you can read about it here. As you can imagine it wasn't cheap but I bought us some lovely cheese - Manchego and Brie de Meux, a delicious fruit bread to go with the cheese, some quinces and some Cox's Orange Pippins. The place was full of toffs and their offspring some under ten looking dashing in their Barbour coats. I imagine that the likes of Liz Hurly and all the others who have moved to this neck of the woods shop here.

Unfortunately the journey home took hours because we decided to avoid Stow on the Wold as there was a fair going on there. We passed it early enough in the morning not to be bothered by the traffic but decided that driving past in the late afternoon would be stupid. It seems that this was the annual Gypsy Horse fair that has been held here since 1476. There's some information here about it. I wish that I had realised it was on as I would have loved to see it. Oh well maybe next year.

Today the sun was out again in the morning so I decided to dye with turmeric. What a colour - it's pure gold. However, it's colour fast and my book said to mix it with pomegranate and would you believe I did have two in the house that I'd bought at my Mum's last weekend!  Here's what I dyed:

Then later this afternoon I made up an indigo vat to turn the whole lot green:

I especially like the way the chunky knitting wool has turned out:

I'm going to do a post very soon on indigo dyeing whilst it's fresh in my mind.  Well, I have to go and sort the washing from the dyed stuff that is swathed all over the Aga - the place is a tip as usual.

Comments

[Angie]

I love reading about your dyeing adventures, and seeing your pictures of your dyed wools! :D I just purchased 3 books on using flowers, weeds, bark, etc. for dyes. I can't wait to "dip" into them. :D

[caroline]

Sounds like a good half-term was had by all.

[prairie mouse]

bet my place would out tip yours!

[Rowan]

At last! vI've been trying to post a comment since for the last three days! I'm glad to hear that there are still children who play tracking and dens and other good outdoor games rather than sitting in front of video games/Tv all day. The organic shop looks fantastic, I must look for it next time I'm in that area. And last of all, the colours of your indigo dyed chunky wool are beautiful. I really must have a go at natural dyeing.