Wrapping up Warm

Hello Friends!

An Autumn morning slowly slips over the sleepy rooftops in the village.  Awakened by pale, mellow sunlight peeping through the windows, the cottages and houses, one by one, wake up and come to the life of a brand new day.  A soft light glows, an early morning mist swirls, and the subtle hues and tints of an Autumn morning, in all it's glory, with a feeling in the air that words cannot describe, but it touches your heart and you know it is there.  The wind and rain have gone, leaving everything sparkling and fresh; the sky is blue; the sun shines; and it's a perfectly beautiful day in the Shire, my friends.

but When the evening skies out to the west of my cosy cottage look wild and stormy, like this

and you can see the rain falling in curtains from the sky, like this

and when the early morning sky is cold and grey and looks like this

and when the last remaining apples desperately cling to the tree, like this

With the arrival of inclement weather imminent, few things bring more comfort than snuggling under a warm blanket, with a perfectly plumped up pillow tucked alongside me, as I curl up in my favourite armchair by the fireside, with a good book.

In a previous post I mentioned that I seem to have inadvertently fallen into collecting blankets, with no idea how this happened, it just did. It can be no bad thing, though, to have a pile of blankets and throws within easy reach as the weather turns colder, can it?

I have a few throws and travel rugs that belonged to my Grandmother, and when I worked in a local craft boutique that sold very popular, traditional Welsh tapestry in all manner of finished products, from lower price point coasters and place mats, to the high end bed spreads and evening capes, it would have been remiss of me indeed not to take advantage of a generous staff discount and weekly payment plan.

This was my first bed spread, in a gorgeous turkey red with tobacco brown accents and cream. It is from the {now closed} Dyffryn Mill in the beautiful Teifi Valley which spans the three counties of Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire.

Another one from the same mill, in beautiful tone on tone blues, again with cream. These patterns are unique to the mill, and each mill has it's own identifying patterns unique to them.. You will notice the above one and this one are the same.

Traditional Welsh tapestry is woven on a loom, and is a "double cloth", which means the patterns are fully reversible. It's like getting two for the price of one. If you Google "Welsh Tapestry" it will give you many links to mills, regions, and more, including that omnipresent section "images of . . . " A very good site for vintage and antique Welsh blankets and quilts of any kind is the Jen Jones Welsh Quilts and Blankets centre in Lampeter., Ceredigion. Genuine Welsh woollen mills are on the decline, and now there are only about a dozen fully operational working mills in the entire country.. Two in my area are

Solva Woollen Mill {formerly Middle Mill} and

Tregwynt

I was lucky enough to pick up three reversible floor rugs, very hardwearing, from Melin Tregwynt.. This one is in my hallway, and although instantly recognisable as Welsh tapestry, is quite a different pattern from the Dyffryn Mill bedspreads.

again, fully reversible

and this one is in my guest room

I picked up some random weave throws when I lived in Iceland, which is famous worldwide for the exceptionally hardwearing quality of it's woollen products. This is due, mainly to the fact that sheep are not shorn every year which produces a long staple which, when spun into yarn, produces a very strong fibre.

Here's another vintage Welsh woollen throw from the aforementioned Dyffryn Woollen Mill, which I bought well over forty years ago.  It's completely craftsman made, spun and woven at the mill from 100% Welsh wool..  I used it mainly as a car, or travel, rug on those long winter journeys when the passenger is a little chilly but the driver doesn't want the heating on as it makes them drowsy, back in those days when the heating blew from the dashboard and not individually controlled for each seat..  Now, it has a new purpose, covering an old and battered arm chair that is badly worn and in need of reupholstering, but which cannot now be done due to the current global pandemic.

Amongst the other blankets and throws are these, random weave made in Wales from recycled wool.  These are from Tweedmill in Flint.  I bought mine when I worked for the National Trust, way back in 2005, and with my staff discount I paid just £6.40 each.  Today, they have become a very popular item and can be found in many upmarket department stores selling in excess of £25.00!  Glad I bought mine when I did. They have been regularly used as picnic rugs, and despite being dry clean only, have not suffered on a cold, wool wash programme in my washing machine {although understand the risk you take if you do this}

Although not a rug or blanket, I still have the beautiful, cosily warm, cape my Grandmother saved up for and bought for me from Middle Mill in Solva.  It is now well over 50 years old, and in the colours of the Welsh flag. How I wish I could fit into it today!  My, I thought I was the Bee's Knees.

Beautifully finished, everything properly finished and bound, and fully lined

and while a typical, reversible double cloth weave, the garment is fully lined so not reversible as with the bedspreads.

During a recent, pre lockdown visit to a local mill shop, these are the beautifully folded and displayed tapestry spreads in such a mouth watering array of colours

and outside, to brighten any bleak winter afternoon, the offcuts are imaginatively used to create bunting!

What lovely blankets and quilts do you have, my friends, that keep you snug as a bug during the chillier Autumn evenings?  Maybe you have a big, roaring fire to keep you warm?

Did I mention the clocks went back this morning? My least favourite day of all! Now I need everything cosy even more than ever before!

Before I sign off today, thank you all for your very kind thoughts and birthday wishes on my previous post.

Until next time
Stay safe and stay well
Deborah xo

Blackthorn and Bunting ~ in which a robin sings

Hello Friends!

A recent visit to Melin Tregwynt proved a little disappointing in that the mill and weaving sheds were closed when we got there, but we were happy enough to sit in the café greedily devouring a bowl of home made tomato and basil soup served with fresh, crusty bread hot from the oven and a large chunk of yummy cheese.  I am very easily pleased!  The shop was open, and I could so easily have come home with any one of the tapestry delights on offer, especially the current Throw of the Month, but managed to keep my purse in my bag!

Outside, fluttering gaily in the not unsubstantial breeze, this delightfully creative bunting caught my eye. I have never seen any made of tapestry, and now my mind is ticking over with ideas!

Spring is springing all around, and a few days of warm sunshine certainly encourages early blooming of plants and flowers everywhere.

The blackthorn is spectacular. Who needs cherry blossom when we have our own native gorse and blackthorn to turn our hedgerows into a visual extravaganza?

Around the valley, the blackthorn billows in great swathes of white, and in the coming days will continue to open and flourish. It brings so much pleasure to my eye as I walk familiar paths, looking forward to the turning of the seasons, the anticipation of the ripening fruits and making of Sloe Gin, a favourite tipple for me and for my home made Christmas gift hampers.

A thousand fairies, hidden to all but those who believe in magic, frolic in a flurry of white cloud across the meadow, through the trees, a bower of flowers, suspended in the air as they flit and float by in the gentle warm sunshine of an early Spring afternoon.

Shhh, be quiet as mice, for you do not want to scare them away, let's watch the magic for a while ~~~

I could stay all day, pointing my camera this way and that, capturing the delicate blooms, pure and white, pristine against a clear blue sky ~~~

Why! We're even led to Narnia in the snow ~~~

Pretty primroses, palest pink and creamy yellow, speckling a rustic riverbank, like tiny stars in a distant green galaxy far, far away ~~~

and serenaded by the sweetest voice of a darling wee robin, singing his tiny heart out, clear and clarion across the valley floor ~~~

Until next time ~~~
Deborah