I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning!

Literally!

Several years ago I was diagnosed as having vertigo. I assumed the diagnosis was wrong because the dizziness stopped just after the diagnosis.

Until this year!

Several weeks ago, I was getting ready for bed when I felt nauseous again. I spent an hour or so lying on the floor in bed convinced I was going to fall somehow!

I've had a couple of mild attacks since then and today I've had a very bad attack.

Bad enough that when I tried to go upstairs; I fell! I put my left hand out in front of me and tried to grab the bannister with my right hand, but I still ended up on my belly!

I've bent back the fingers in my left hand and pulled my right shoulder. I think I must've twisted or something as my right hip hurts after sitting for a while.

Fortunately for my hip, sitting isn't something that had happened much today! After half an hour, I start to feel dizzy again so I've been lying on the sofa.

I must've suffered some sort of shock or something, because I've been asleep all evening too!

I hope this vertigo doesn't become a regular thing :-(

Sent from my iPhone

More Wonderwool

So, I told you about all the lovely stuff I bought, now about all the lovely people I met and everything I saw (if I can remember it all!)

The countryside in Wales is beautiful! There are hills (or are they mountains - at what point does a hill become a mountain?) and valleys, sheep everywhere! Fascinating things to see!

Wonderwool was held on the Royal Agricultural Show Ground in Builth Wells and it was stuffed full of yarn, fibre, animals and soooooooo many people!

Helen and I went to the interactive area where we'd agreed to meet a lot of people (and I'm sure I'm going to forget to name some of them!). There we found Amber & Bob - a fabulous hippy couple that I adored to bits! Along with WyeSue, Wrigglefingers and Artis-Anne.

Throughout the day we bumped into Sarah (Babylonglegs), Kristina (Wyndwitch), James (LongdrawJames), Sally (ToadofToadHall), Marianne (Picperfic) and her hubby, Barry, DotKnits, Ursula (The Laal Bear), Sara (Sara's Texture Crafts), Ian (IST Spindles), Amanda (Mandacrafts), Sarah (Brownberry Yarns), Marie (Woollyholic) - oh god, I know there were more, but my mind has gone blank!

Anyway, here are some photos of them all!

Amber and Bob - the mogs!


Sarah - then with her new Cherry Matchless! Hasn't she got a gorgeous smile?


LongdrawJames with his haul


This is Nic - I took a photo of her feet because she bought new flip flops & said it would be her fault if it rained and it rained!


Kristina


Helen with Sally, Sue, James, Barry & Marianne after the first day!


We left messages for each other in the interactive area:


Admired some of the wheels on display:


There were so many people there! Wingham's Stand was heaving! (Can you see Helen rummaging at the back there?)


We were a bit more relaxed on the second day, I barely bought anything and we did a lot more talking (yes; Helen and I can talk for England!) to people. I collected a big box stuffed with yarn ready to be dyed!

Look what Mum had made me while I was away!!

I walked miles and it's going to take at least a week to recover - I had to take quite a bit in the way of painkillers on the second day - and I'm absolutely shattered.

But I had a blast and who knows; you might be blogging about the fabulous stuff you bought from me next year ;)

Wonderwool!

I got up at 4.30am on Friday morning and I left here at 5.30am to catch the ferry.

First, I stopped in Lymington with Bridget to have a cuppa, breakfast baps (with freshly laid eggs!) and to meet her animals (sheep, piglets, horses and chickens). Bridget has also given me a lot of books for Alex's education.

I stayed with her until 9am and then I set off for Bath.

I arrived at Helen's around midday, we had a quick cuppa then we went to Elle's house to deliver my Ashford Joy to her as she is now the new owner. She was very restrained and made us a cuppa before opening the box!

She has been drop spinning for about a month and she took to the wheel like a duck to water!


Look at that big grin!!

We also went fabric shopping and I bought a nice amount of fabric - one of these days; I'll get around to playing with my sewing machine ;)

We went to bed reasonably early on Friday night as we had set our alarms for 6.30am Saturday morning.

I didn't sleep fabulously; it took me a while to get to sleep as I had left Isis at home and I'm used to her leaning on me! 6am came all to quickly.

But, we got up, drank our tea and got into my car and set off for Wales. It was my first trip to Wales and I was very excited! We passed over the Severn bridge and I took a lot of photos LOL. Then we drove through the beautiful countryside and off in the distance were the mountains!

The drive took nearly two and a half hours, but it was well worth it!

We arrived at 10.05am and there was already a queue, but it moved quite quickly and we were soon inside!

It was amazing! There were people and noise and colour and smells. I bumped into a lot of people that I had met before and met a lot of new people that I've 'seen' around Ravelry.

I bought this fantastic swift from Amber and Bob and Amber also gave me two bin bags, one full of Shetland fleece and one full of alpaca fleece. It's gorgeous! She's already cleaned them both, I've just got to spin it up!

I wondered around with Helen, we tried to be methodical and start at one end with the intention of walking up and down every aisle so that we'd see everything. But, then we'd bump into someone or see something - it was so easy to get distracted!

I bought loads, there's no easy way to say it. At first I felt a little guilty at the amount that I'd spent, but then I decided that I had been saving especially, no one had gone short while I saved and that was that. I was very good and I only spent the money I had on me (even though I took my cheque book) and I bought yarn for the shop (which I will be dyeing this week!)

I bought dyed fibre from Freyalyn, Sparkleduck, Sara, The Thylacine, Mandacrafts, DK Felt Studio UK and I bought fleece from various different people too! I bought angora/merino 70/30, BFL x Corriedale from Olwen Veevers, 3 shades of alpaca (Oscar, Bertie & Rosita) from Chrysalis, Black Corriedale lamb with a white throat flash also from Olwen, Ryeland, from The Deerfold Spinner, Cotton, silk hankies, angelina from Winghams and a support spindle from Mandacrafts.

Here are all the photos for you to drool (I'll try and put them in order I've listed above)

I also bought some bobbins and a flick carder from Hedgehog - they were supposed to have a plying kit but well......

I also got to try a Timbertops Chair wheel! Oh wow, it was fabulous. I've been trying to master unsupported longdraw spinning for a while, but I've been struggling! I sat down at this wheel and immediately spun longdraw with no problems whatsoever!

I shall upload and post some more pictures tomorrow, but I really need to find somewhere to put all this stuff so I can get some sleep...

Wonderwool!

This weekend is Wonderwool!

I am very excited about this. The last fibre festival I went to was Fibrefest and I had a blast! Fibrefest was also where I met Helen for the first time and we've become firm friends since then!

Well, this weekend I am staying with Helen and we'll drive to Wales on Saturday and Sunday to drool over the fibre (not literally, because vendors get upset if you cover their fibre in drool!).

I'm planning on buying a couple of spindles too. I'm also collecting an upright swift and two fleeces from Mr & Mrs Mog, I've agreed to teach Kristina how to do TAAT socks using ML, go and say hello to Sarah from Brownberry Yarns, Nic from Nicsknots, LongdrawJames from Ravelry and countless others - I've even started a list on my iPhone, but I'm bound to forget someone!!

I have also had a chat with Andy at bluefaced.com about picking up a bulk order of yarn.

That's right! Fluffosity is going to start supplying yarn! It'll take me a week or so, but I plan to have a lot of yarn in the shop in the future!

I also contacted Hedgehog Equipment at the beginning of March - remember them? They're the people I initially ordered my Rose from, but I gave up after a few months of waiting and not being kept up to date on my order and ordered from NZ instead. Well, I contacted them right at the beginning of March and told them I wanted a plying kit and a box of plastic bobbins for my Majacraft Rose (thinking that would give them plenty of time).

I e-mailed them last night saying it was just a gentle reminder about our conversation. Here's their reply:

Hello Sam
Thanks for your message. I hadn't forgotten your order but I did need reminding to email you to say that so far unfortunately nothing has arrived from NZ. I was hoping they would come this week - I know stuff is on its way but it looks as though it might have been disrupted by the volcano. I can save you as many bobbins as I have in stock - I'm about to go & pack up all the accessories so I will check exactly how many - & other than a miracle in the next 24 hrs all I can say is sorry & I will send you the order (free of P&P of course) when it comes.
Any way, I really am sorry , we can discuss it at the weekend.
Best wishes, Sarah

Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed off about this! I gave them plenty of time to get this order sorted and they've just let me down again! I think I shall give up with them and order from somewhere else from now on, it might be more expensive, but at least I can guarantee when I'll get my stuff! I was banking on that plying kit this weekend - I've filled my bobbins up (very full thinking I'd be getting a jumbo bobbin) and was banking on plying it all off!

Never mind eh?

I'm pissed at Royal Mail too! I did some handspun yarn for my friend Claire, I sent it first class on Monday, she has just received a card telling her that she has to pay £1.49 (£1 service charge and 49p because 'apparently' I didn't pay enough, yet according to their website, the £1.72 I did pay should cover it up to 250g!) to receive the parcel! Money grabbing shits and they wonder why couriers are stealing all their business.

On the other hand, I'm very excited to be going tomorrow, I need a holiday! On my way to bath, I shall be popping to visit a friend in Lymington who is giving me a whole load of home educating stuff for Alex - she also has horses and lambs and has promised me bacon and freshly laid eggs for breakfast!!!

When I get to Bath, Helen and I are going to visit Elle who has bought Eric from me.

Eric will be her first wheel and I'm really pleased he is going to someone who will love him as I did!

Unfortunately I'm booked on the 6.55am ferry which means I need to get up at about 4.30!!

Party

As I told you here, my mother has just retired.

This week, not only did she turn 68 but the Cheshire Home threw her a retirement party and I was invited too!

I don't know what either of us were expecting really, my mother doesn't suffer fools gladly and has the reputation of being a bit of a cow up there LOL (guess we all know where I get it from!), we thought a cuppa tea and a slice of cake kinda deal with one or two people that have been there a long time like she has.

Well, nearly everyone was there! They put on a huge buffet with sandwiches, slices of meat, rice, potato salad, cheesecake, trifle, non alcoholic wine (so the working staff and clients {who are all on meds of some kind} could join in!) then there was cake for afters!

The manager who used to work the night shift with Mum gave a lovely speech and got quite emotional. They gave Mum cards and a bunch of flowers and an envelope which we opened later and it was stuffed full of vouchers for the garden centre! There was well over £100 of vouchers. Mum was gobsmacked!

Then at 2.30 they asked us to stay a bit longer as the Dogs for Disabled people were coming for a demonstration.

They were great and showed us just how much they can help a disabled person with everyday life! Here are some photos (apologies for the blurriness, they were taken on my iPhone and it doesn't like motion shots!):

This is Angel opening the cupboard and getting something out of it:

Here she is picking up her partners purse from the top:

She loved getting the mail in the morning!

It was a fantastic demonstration and the dogs were very well behaved!

The tree that I mentioned in the Retirement post?

It's already got blossoms on it!