Taking a break

Well that didn't go according to plan. First of all I took a break and went away on holiday. Then there was a break in our phone line which meant no internet for a month, then there's been a break from blogging because it takes a lot of screen time to catch up on no internet access, and blogging just wasn't top of the list.

However, the list is now a sensible size, and I can play catch up on the blog.

So, first things first, a holiday. 

It's become something of an annual tradition for a group of us to hire a Youth Hostel in the spring. The past few years we've gone to Clun, but we've outgrown the space, and wanted to go away for longer. So we found a bigger hostel, with a bigger kitchen in Leominster.

It's a bit of an informal affair, we sit and spin, knit, weave, but there's no teaching. Cooking is courtesy of Wrigglefingers, with a bit of assistance. We eat well.... oh boy do we eat well. It's taken the past month to remove the after effects of the eating! A new highlight for this year was nightly themes, with different people taking in the responsibility to decorate the tables each night. 

The nice part about being away for a week was that I got to go and have some adventures in a part of the country I'd not been to before. 

I visited quite a few churches, I do love looking round them, and the graveyards. The snowdrops were spectacular this year, it almost makes me sad that 2018 will be later in the year so they won't be out.

There was a trip around the Black & White Villages of Herefordshire discovering geocaches, and a drive over to Hereford Cathedral to visit the Mappa Mundi.

In the cathedral I was utterly captivated by a modern stained glass window tucked in to an out-of-the-way  side chapel. The level of detail was comely breathtaking, and the use of colour was wonderful.

Then there were the signs... Maruading savages, and of course Leominster town council still own a Ducking Stool. 

Then there is actual crafting content... As ever the pile of projects outweighed the available time, but I did get a couple of hundred grams spun.
We always host a swap table. A particular highlight was this wonderful intarsia book. I'm pretty certain Liz Hurley would like all copies of this book to be burned!

It wasn't burned however, but instead went off to a very lovely shop in town where we all made purchases during the week. Clever Betsy is a project that gives opportunities to disabled people. They have a small shop in town, where they also run activities to make items that are sold in the shop. The whole place was a cornucopia of crafty delights, vintage patterns, buttons, yarn, notions, fabric scraps.

If you want to come and join us, then we're doing it all again next year at the end of March.
It's shared rooms with bunk beds in them, so you have to not mind sleeping with strangers. The food is home cooked, but tasty, and plentiful, with some element of choice, though it's usually along the lines of a vegetarian dish, meat dish and side dishes. You also have to be willing to help out in the kitchen on occasion, and things like washing up are also communal jobs. 

Lots of us "know" each other, but we mostly only know each other by turning up to events like this. After a round of Cards Against Humanity, and a gin tasting session it's hard to not get to know someone! There's no formal teaching, though if you ask nicely someone will usually show you how to do something. 
How you spend your day is up to you, you can venture out, or just sit and spin or knit knowing someone else is organising meals. You can come for a week, or just a couple of days, and the nice part is that it's a really low cost retreat.
There is sort of a thread on Ravelry where you can come and express an interest, it's a group of friends having a trip away, so the details are somewhat wooly. But ask some questions, and all will become clear!