It's been a misty, murky sort of a day today, with a view that was only half there. It's so strange when the familiar hilly landscape that I've become so fond of simply disappears, it's a bit of a visual shock to the system! In fact this week so far has been a bit of a strange one, and that murky dampness seems to have settled deeply into my system. I flew back from France on Sunday, traveled north from London on Monday, then spent yesterday floating around in a grey bubble of mild exhaustion.
Today has been better, I met a friend for coffee this morning and spent half of the time bending her ear about my fabulous French experience, feeling the need to verbalise my feelings to somebody who was prepared to listen and nod in appropriate places. The fam were glad to have me back, but mainly because household harmony seemed to be hanging by a thread. Nobody had any clean underwear, and I listened to the Little People tell me about The Running Out of Butter as if it were the end of the world. It felt nice to be missed, even if it was only in the capacity of laundry maid and grocery shopper. J did an amazing job of cooking and keeping everything ticking over while I was gone (although he clearly did not monitor the butter situation carefully enough, and one load of washing in 9 days was not quite enough either).
France was a-mazing, it was everything I had hoped for and so very much more besides. I have so much to tell you! However, I am mindful of the fact that I'll be repeating my crochet retreat again in a couple of weeks and don't wish to spoil it for the ladies that are still to experience it. I thought you might like to see a few photos though - the above is the view from my third floor bedroom, which had me so delighted each and every day. Hills that were more like mountains, buildings and trees that were centuries old, and the most glorious flowering wisteria that made me swoon and sneeze.
Before last week I had no idea that wisteria had a scent - I had assumed that it was all about the abundant flowery drape and glorious colour.
The scent of wisteria is utterly delicious I can tell you. It is sweet and floral and the very essence of late Springtime. Every day I walked past this doorway and would breathe in the perfume of these delicate flowers - it's a memory that I know will stay with me for always.
I had the most wonderful time teaching last week and found it incredibly uplifting and enjoyable. I created a four day course which was a mixture of colour teaching and crochet and I was very, very inspired by the way the ladies applied so much passion, enthusiasm, thought and determination to their creations. We honestly had the best time together and I'm looking forward to showing you more in a few weeks time.
We had a very welcome amount of time each day to relax and socialise out of the classroom, and we usually spent it cosied up in the very atmospheric and comfortable bar with hooks/needles in hand and a glass of something chilled and sparkly within easy reach. We discovered the local sparkling rose wine which tasted like a fruity champagne......it was pretty irresistible and seemed to go very well with yarn.
I took along a bag of yarn oddments with me to France, left overs from the making of my Sweet Pea and Dune blankets. There are 30 colours in total and I'm so in love with the delicate feel of them all together. I'm making centres for some Summer Garden Granny Squares, putting the colours together in a very random fashion with next to no planning or thought. It's very liberating to be working in this way I have to say, and it's making me really happy. I've no idea how this is going to pan out, how many squares I'll make or what they will turn into - a small blanket, a back-of-the-chair throw, a cushion or maybe even a wrap/shawl? I'll keep you posted.
Yesterday in my murky bubble, I realised that I needed to work on the Dune Colourwash sequence for you. I'm sorry I didn't have time to do this before I went off to France and I know many of you have been waiting patiently for it. I finished it last night and J is creating a colour chart for me, so I'm going to share it on my blog tomorrow (Thursday) for those who fancy giving it a go. I have to say that it has turned out so beautifully, and I can certainly see the appeal of working colourwash versions of my blanket designs. They are just so soothing to look at, and this particular palette of soft coastal colours really looks great when ordered in this way.
Right now it's 10pm and I am pretty sure I need to be horizontal in my bed in the next five minutes or else I will most likely fall asleep right here and face plant into my keyboard. I'll be back tomorrrow with Dune stripey stuff!
Night night xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx