December Panic in Dingle!!

Crocheted and felted lacy scarf: Merino, Mohair.

I have been procrastinating in my blog writing, but that's because we have been struggling with the cold weather and I have had to move almost everything home because there is no heat in my studio.  I put in two hours work there and was frozen.  Even my heating system at home isn't keeping my house terribly warm and the kitchen is too cold to be in by night.  I know it sounds boring to go on about the weather (though it is an Irish national pastime), BUT it seems to be having a big impact these days.  I am just relieved that we aren't having as much snow in Dingle as it is treacherous with the snow and ice.  And I feel truly sorry for my English friends as it is much worse there. 

I am in the middle of a mad week of projects.  I have cuffs to embellish and finish, a festive top to felt, a quilt to assemble and finish, fours hats to embellish, and felting more scarves.  This doesn't include getting ready for the craft fair on Sunday, felting with Fionn's class, and cleaning and decorating the house.  All go!! 

The craft fair at Benner's Hotel in Dingle should be wonderful.  The Dingle Chamber of Commerce and MFG are organizing a shopping day in Dingle, so come out if you have time (and the roads are very good our way) as there will be caroling, discounts in shops, and at 430pm there will be a Lantern Parade with all the school children in West Kerry.  They are having  a competition for the schools on who can make the best lanterns out of recycled materials.  Go Scoil Iognáid Rís!!! It should be a wonderful afternoon and no better weather for warm woollies!!

Now, back to the sewing machine and the cold kitchen!!

The day was lovely til it wasn't....

I started cleaning with the high hopes that I would have the afternoon for felting and dyeing projects, but as soon as I started the last (dreaded) task of washing windows the wee little droplets started to fall....sigh.  Perhaps tomorrow.  I have a clean house and I made lovely food for us, but this is not going to get my ETSY on the way.  This brings me to the observation that I have had lately that I notice most artists don't have the cleanest house.  It is perhaps due to some common allergy to cleaning, which I fully appreciate, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they just wouldn't have time to have a sparkling house AND make lovely, handmade items.  My white skirting boards are very dirty, fully of dust that ran in the house when the kids left the door open for the 9th time every day, and I have just decided that if I spend five minutes for the next four days, I might be able to get them back in order.  When I am up the walls, I just don't look down for fear of what I might find or what it might do to my blood pressure.  Don't get me wrong: I LOVE a clean house, but I just don't seem to have enough time to devote to it.  Small children are wonderful, but they are built on the foundations of chocolate, germs, dirt, and sticky kisses.

I have been working on another lacy crocheted scarf since the other ones seem to be getting great reviews (and that leads me to believe that they might sell), but I ran out of the recycled sari silk yarn that I was using as the final row to give it a VA-VOOM!  I was rummaging around my silk drawer and found a skein of white silk yarn that I was saving for a wedding/Holy Communion project that I hadn't gotten to yet and decided to chance dyeing it colours to compliment the charcoal and fuchsia wool I had already used.  I used yellow and them a bright fuchsia over it.  The first time it came out a bit orange, so I used MORE yellow and MORE fuchsia and it's a lovely mix of yellow/orange/pink that suits the other colours.  I reminds me of a sherbet.  Now I have to crochet the last row on and felt it in the wash.  All it needs is a label....