SpinIn

It may have taken me over a week to get round to posting about the SpinIn, but that is by no means a reflection of the awesomeness that was that weekend.

Having been a relative newbie to camping, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it.  Being out in a field with such clear skies.  I can't remember the last time I was under such a clear stary sky.  I've missed that experience.  I may be an utter city girl, but there's certain things like a star filled sky that just make my heart sing and provoke such primal feelings in me.  I could just stare for eons, completely lost in it, even if I can barely point out two constellations.  Just shear beauty.  And I love being cosy around a campfire, cider/wine/gingerbeer in hand, and good, even if a little abstract and random, conversation flowing. It kind of goes with the primal thing. It's definitely a reason to do it again.

However, those lovely clear skies which lead to me getting sunburnt during the days, and such beautiful sights at night, lead to very chilly temperatures at night.  I was really glad to have my snuggly Ryeland handspun shawl to wrap around my nose.  The first morning greeted us with a thick fog, which was certainly atmospheric before it burnt off.

I participated in several workshops, so there was plenty of fun shared experiences and chances to learn.  I was pretty tired following an eleven day stretch at work, including a week of long days on call, so I also really enjoyed just sitting back and soaking in the atmosphere.  I didn't get to take my wheel as there just wasn't enough room in the car, so I spindled a bit on my new club spindle, with my new club fibre, which is just the yummiest neutral stoney shades.

 And a dabbling dyer's dream - getting to play with a professional's palette:

This was the product of the the dying session.  It was so much fun and utterly fascinating to be around some many varied expressions of creativity and to see how differently people approached it.  We all got to do three things - mine were a random choice of "ooh, they look like pretty colours" on BFL, an experiment in gradient dying on Falkland, and a fun crazy rainbow attempt on some silk hankies.

There were trips to see the sheep:

And times of just admiring the scenery:

And just plan ol' sitting in a circle of crafting:

It was so much fun and such utter temptation!  My bags came back over flowing with goodies, so much fibre, I think I've pretty much replaced what I spun up during the Tour this year, which is a nice thought... now if only I had the time to actually use some of it up!

Oh Bristol, how I've missed you.

Bristol was everything I was hoping for, my solace and my calm.  How is it that a place, a simple city can just inject me with life and make me feel so... so... so. . . renewed.   How I've missed it.  And the people and the shops and all those other familiar things that I hold so dear about it.  As soon as I started seeing some of the old familiar places on the train, I couldn't hide my grin.  It's reminded me like never before, I will most likely end up in Bristol, I gravitate towards that place and no where else makes me feel so at home and so complete.

And what did I do in Bristol?  I saw Mary, but unfortunately no one else, since people were working or away.   And I went shopping.  Lots of shopping... dangerous shopping.  Mostly things I've been putting off for a while, like some new clothes for work.  And then some purely special treats.  Like a new camera, an idea that I've been toying with for about a year.  And something truely indulgent, to symbolise my achievements.  I wanted something special and enduring.  And hey, just because I don't have someone in my life to buy it for me, why can't I buy my own little bit of very special jewellry:

I love my little bit of bling.  Perhaps a bit silly and dreadfully materialistic of me to be buying diamonds and saphires, but I don't care.  I love it, and it really is a special symbol of what I've acheived to get here and how long and hard I've been working to get to this point in my life. (the truely indulgent part is when I go back next month or whenever I get round to it and buy the matching earings!!)

But most imporantly, this weekend was all about relaxing and unwinding after a really hectic two weeks, and I've certainly managed to do that.