A journey of creative thoughts and projects.

Working in conjunction with a wonderful local museum, surrounded by the beauty of Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales, the inspiration I find for creative projects and a meet up with all the lovely people I find there.

Sunday 5 June 2011

My journey to the museum and things made....


Hello again, thought I might show you my trip through to the museum this week. Its a short but impressive drive, wonderful when the skies are blue and the sun shines but positively lethal in bad weather!! This first photo (above) is just down the road from me, most of the fields have grass growing for either hay or silage.

A little further on and I drive past our local castle...


from here I take a turn right and head up and out of my Dale, its quite a pull up and I am really glad I don't have to walk it!
On a lovely morning as I had last week, you stop, take a look back and marvel at the vista laid out before you...


From here its carry on up a little further before things flatten out a little and you feel like you are on top of the world as you drive across to reach Swaledale, The landscape may not say you are high up but when the wind blows you surely realise...


I'm now looking into Swaledale, the moors are managed for grouse and all this brown vegetation is actually swathes of heather - I'll show you again when it is in flower, imagine it then!


Now I am beginning to head back down, definately low gears preferred! There in the distance is the village of Reeth, nestled into the valley side...


Not such a bad start to the day is it?

Having got to the museum, putting the kettle on is the first order of the day, of course, and then
its starting to get things organised - and hopefully welcoming the first visitors in.


I am really pleased to say that I have managed to finish my first quilt after the 'drought' in quilt making of the last two years... hooray!
I have named this first venture 'Nursery Steps' - my new steps involved with the museum and a nod to all those first steps of the children that have been cradled in this rocking crib kept at the museum that started me off with the initial idea.

Having sorted that photo out I then set myself up for my day in one of my favourite spots, downstairs at the place where everyone comes in. This week I had decided to go with some knitting, next to me was my 'marble' inspired cushion and my quilt on the back now...


Having spun quite a bit of Wensleydale fibre, ssh! should I be saying that here in Swaledale? :),
I thought I would see how the singles fair with knitting as I usually use them for crochet. The yarn is very fine but I went for using big 6mm needles to really push the stitches open - what looks like a mesh pattern is actually very normal and easy moss stitch. I like the way the colours are grading and I want to see how far one hank of wool will take me...


This is some of the same yarn I have spun for sale from the museum. I love all the colours that I can get and I am now exploring dyeing my own.


Maybe an odd sort of view but if you look up from where I was knitting you get to see upstairs and the balcony of the upper floor - you can see what a wonderful open and airy space it is and the white walls ceilings and woodwork show the artefacts off to their best don't you think?


Another productive day with some visitors, someone spending a day researching their family history and finding a photograph of their grand-father, how good must that have been, promises of future visits and then as well as my wensleydale knitting a good friend got me on the go with knitting some socks on four needles - I know why the block with that then considering all the other stuff I have a go at. I have no idea but it has evaded me for years and it is surely time for me to get to grips with the little demons called double-point knitting needles !!!

Till next week....

5 comments:

  1. Wow, what a journey to work! I wrote about mine in a post, as I think it is beautiful, but I yours takes the breath away - don't think I'd get to the museum - although it too looks lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to seeing the knitting progress. Must have a trip over fells one day soon. Looking forward to our class on Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a drive to work, you can't beat that (well except maybe in winter when it might be scary).
    I love your marble cushion.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Ash, what a breathtakingly gorgeous drive to work. I would never arrive if that was my drive.......

    My drive to work tomorrow will be in darkness 6 am, bleurrgh. It will be dark and a frost will be forming.

    It's been so cold here the last 2 days, but I have to keep telling myself I love Winter, Really I do.........

    Well done on the 'Nursery Steps' quilt it looks great as does the Wensleydale yarn you are knitting up. The colour change is wonderful, it looks lovely and soft.

    Thanks for popping by mine and keep enjoying that wonderful drive to work......

    Claire :}

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really love the texture and the colours of that Wensleydale singles yarn. I've never thought of using fine yarn with big needles! Your drive to work is absolutely stunning, I really must get up to the Dales, it's years since I've been up that way in spite of not living all that far away! Are you familiar with the books by Marie Hartley and Ella Pontefract/Joan Ingilby? I really, really want to visit the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes which they were responsible for starting.

    ReplyDelete