The world has drawn in on itself with the virus sweeping through us. Or you'd think.
But so many things have opened up as we've all gone online and looked outwards, away from our immediate friends, family, and usual visits. We haven't seen much of my mother this summer, as she's split her time between her home and her 'gentleman friend' who is about five miles away in a very nice house with a tiny swimming pool. Which of course we haven't been able to use. Mark's parents have kept themselves to themselves, so we've been over there occasionally, without going in of course. I've been working from home or on furlough since April - and to be honest, have loved not having to actually spend time with people.
Shetland Wool Week isn't happening as usual this year. Of course not. (Like all of Scotland, and especially the islands, people are torn between wanting visitors to keep their economies going, and not wanting visitors for fear of overloading limited medical facilities. But it's gone online this year, and some excellent events are happening in the next week. I signed up as a supporter earlier this year, and then forgot to use the discount at the various businesses until it had expired.
Lambtown Wool Festival is one I'll never get to in person, what with it being on the other side of the US, but this year it's gone virtual and I've booked myself on three workshops! Possibly not the most sensible idea, as I'll be finishing very late on Sunday evening and getting up early for work on Monday morning.
Yarndale is live this weekend. Wonderwool Wales was the first big wool festival (here in the UK) to be cancelled this year, so they took it online and made an excellent success out of it. Every wool show since has built on that, putting more events on, allowing vendors a little live slot... I shan't be taking part as I didn't book for Yarndale, but I'll be watching to see what happens. It will be very strange not being there; I'll miss it.
Not much dyeing happened here over the summer. I was at home on furlough for four months from April, but my oven broke down at the same time and I didn't really want strangers in the house to replace it. (Our hot water also conked out at the same time, but our shower heats its own water so that wasn't so vital). We had three rings on the hob working, and I have a remoska for baking, but I dye in the oven so that wasn't happening. We have a new cooker now, but of course it's a fraction smaller so my dyepans don't fit!
I've never done quite as much natural dyeing as I'd like, though I have read wide around it and always have the basics in. This is a rather lovely website I've found recently: Maiwa's Natural Dyes.
I've knitted more than a few tiny bunny sweaters over the summer, but no socks. And apart from a plain gansey in June and July, no large projects have been on my needles. I've cracked my rigid heddle (literally and figuratively; just before lockdown Goblin knocked it down and broke off a part, which I managed to replace but then promptly lost, but it works without and I've been churning out lots of strips of fabric from handspun yarn.) None of which I've photographed yet.
It's still dark outside (Mark's just left for work), although it's cold and clear and not raining outside. But it's only going to get darker from this point onwards. The current Week in Politics blog post gives us something to think about - short but to the point.
It's just before 6am, and still pitch black outside, Venus is glowing brilliantly but nearly washed out behind the overly-bright streetlamps that were put in in 2012. Yoga's another thing I've been doing this summer, so I'll set myself up and do an hour while the sky gradually lightens. It's a very different feel, doing my practice in a dark room as the dawn barely begins, to the brilliant sun I had only a few month ago. Goblin and Sirius often participate.
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