October

September, as predicted was a little bit insane. The trip to teach at Bradford Guild was lovely, held in the Industrial Museum, which I am determined to make a trip back up north to visit, the bits I glimpsed as I took everything to the guild meeting room looked fascinating. 

Then there was my brothers wedding, when we seemed determined to suck al the bad luck away from the bride and groom... an extra drive back to Wales for a lost bag, and a malfunctioning lock on the hotel room seemed to ensure the actual day went smoothly, and was a real delight. I have hardly any photos, there were 2 professionals circulating nearly the whole day, so I put my phone away, and enjoyed the only occasion when my extended family is likely to be in the same place at the same time. 
Then to finish off the month we went to Yarndale, unfortunately not such a good weekend. Our spot by the open shutter meant the wind blew through the stand all day, and then the rain shower that arrived unexpectedly at 3pm meant a very quick dismantling of the table of yarn bowls because the rain was blowing in through the door. The other end of the stand was something of a stygian hole, so to be blunt, fibre sales were disappointing, despite 5 portable lights attempting to illuminate things. We love Yorkshire, and love visiting Skipton. Eating our fish and chips by the canal on Friday evening as become something of a tradition.

With all that in mind it seems like now is a good time to break the news about shows for next year. We are cutting back on the shows we attend. In the case of all the shows we're choosingn not to apply to exhibit it's for a variety of reasons, partly financial, and partly personal. It's in no way a reflection of the show itself, just a case of us wanting to switch things up a bit, and making the decision that is best for Hilltop Cloud. We are planning to be at Wonderwool Wales, and Bakewell Wool Gathering. At the moment it seems unlikely that I'll add any other shows to the mix, if you are in the north of the country then I will have a stand at the Association Summer School in York on Saturday August 10th, and you will be able to buy my fibres in person at the Trade Fair, and come to see what we've been doing in the class I've been teaching. 
I've had a few ideas floating around for new projects, so hopefully by removing the workload of a couple of shows, I might be able to bring some of them in to fruition!

My final show for October is Bakewell Wool Gathering. This is a lovely smaller scale event, held practically in the centre of Bakewell. Then to finish off the year, my own guild is hosting an open day on 10th November. As it's my final event of the year I will be offering reductions on the remaining show stock. It should be a really nice day to come along and chat to some fellow spinners and eat cake! 

My work plans for the month didn't end up going to plan... the fibres I'd expected to dye ended up being shuffled down the dyeing list. So we shall see what this month brings! I've already got the first shop update of the month part dyed, so I'm hoping to be able to list lots of new fibres later this week. 

I've also got something that I'm working on behind the scenes as a bit of a Christmas treat.... Watch this space!