I missed Buxted this week, but the last time I was there Ann E. showed me the scarf she'd made from Ann Turner's mohair. It's SO soft and warm but I couldn't figure out how she'd done it. It's a pattern called broomstick and it is achieved with one large knitting needle and a crochet hook.



Ann kindly gave me a demonstration as it's quite hard to grasp (in so many ways!)...



...and very very fiddly at the beginning.



Although it looked reasonably straightforward when Ann did it - passing the crochet hook through 5 stitches, 1 dc then 1dc into ... oh dear, it's hopeless. I'm afraid I've already forgotten!



Gail has been inspired to recreate this amazing rug using only hand-dyed and naturally-coloured wool and I think it's fantastic.



I feel so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the Buxted Spinners' output sometimes.



And look at this GORgeous chalk hill blue butterfly - needle felted by Katy as another idea for the Stanmer Yurt cover. I absolutely adore it but she won't let me have it. Hmmmmmmph.



Talking of the yurt, when we went last week this rain cloud made it feel much later than it was. But see how our stash of poles is growing??



This week the sun shone brightly on one of our best days yet, steaming through the fallen leaves on our canvas canopy.



Poor Katy has bronchitis but came to the woods nonetheless. We tried to insist that she rest whenever she felt the need.



Matt came and we had a chance to catch up on some ground rules. He reminded us that we should scarf our poles as soon as we've stripped the bark otherwise the wood dries out.



We talked about the feasibility of using natural twine to hold our yurt together. I simply cannot bring myself to use nylon cord.



We had a play with my linen string and Matt showed us how to cut and shape the holes so that we could test how the linen behaves. Would the knot pull through to the other side? How strong is it? How long will it last? etc etc



Matt went off and in his place this little robin appeared. Can you see him (her?) sitting on the post above the milk carton?



He kept a close eye on our activities for the rest of the day although we didn't feel we were doing anything that would be of interest to a robin. No digging, no worms...



Bill is STILL working on the shave horse which should be finished by the end of today as he's VERY keen to get some scarfing done, using his own creation.



Katy divided up her time between scarfing (it is VERY hard work now) and needle felting another butterfly - for me to keep this time and add to the growing yurt ideas stash. Note to self: I must find an appropriate place to display it all...



My daughter called in after picking up Loen from the creche next door and they sat by the fire as I scarfed.
Just as he fell asleep on Helen's knee, the robin briefly perched on the end of the pole I was working on.
Another dear and precious moment.