Glastonbury Springs

From the caverns under Glastonbury Tor two natural springs flow a few feet from each other. One is the White Spring named because of the calcium carbonate dissolved in it as it flows through the underlying limestone. This makes for white calcite deposits. The other is the Red Spring (also known as the Chalice Well) because it contains dissolved ferrous oxide (iron). You can see in the photos the Red

Spring water stains the wall red. The Chalice Well is managed by the Chalice Well Trust and is surrounded by beautiful gardens, when I go back to Glastonbury again I hope to visit the gardens. You can get the red spring water outside the gardens, there is a pipe emerging through the garden wall with flowing water, it is opposite the white spring water pipe, both are free to use. I was very happy I brought a bottle with me after doing the Tor earlier in the day, beautiful cold water. It is said it is best to mix 50% white with 50% red. many people say the waters have health properties.

The Tor Glastonbury

Some photos from last weeks trip to Glastonbury.
This is a good uphill walk (lots of steps) and it was worth it for the excellent views at the top. It was a really hot day and it would have been a good idea to bring a bottle of water! I brought an empty one so I could fill it up with the spring water near the base of the Tor (on the other side) I post those photos later in the week.


This is The Tor a hill topped by the roofless St Michael's Tower which dates to the 14th century. The slopes of the hill are terraced, but the method in which they were formed remains unexplained. Items have been found, dating back to the Iron Age.

The Tor is mentioned in Celtic mythology and is often in myths linked to King Arthur.


The whole site is managed by the National Trust.

Stonehenge

Last week I got to see Stonehenge. I have wanted to see it for a very long time and it has been on my most see list since I was a child. There's something about standing stones, how they were moved and why they were placed the way they were that's fascinating.
Here are some of my photos :)

Spoonflower - Free Shipping Day

Spoonflower are having a free Shipping Day from Monday 9am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) to Tuesday 9am (EDT) it's free shipping worldwide. So I am off to order some fabric :)

Backing Up

I keep saying I must back up my blogs, so today that's what I have been doing. If you have a blogger / blogspot account it's very easy, just go into your dashboard - choose Settings - then choose Other - finally click Export blog and save. That's it done. The file should save to your My Documents - Download File on your computer.

It's useful to also save your blogs template/ design. Again go to the dashboard - click the Template tab and click backup/ restore - Download Full Template. That's it just

repeat every month or so :)

Linen Moth Part 2

If you have made your flower from yesterdays symbol chart post, now you are ready to transform it into a moth.

You have make some yarn friendly moths. Add them to bags, hats, make into brooches or necklaces have fun and let me know how you use your moths :)

Linen Moths Part 1

This year I have been trying to encourage more crocheters to read symbol charts. They are easy to follow once you know what the symbols are and tend to have less mistakes. Spring also sees the return of moths, I have been busy making little lavender bags (to put in with my yarn) when I got the idea to make some moths. I do like moths but outdoors and nowhere near my yarn. This is a moth/ or flower pattern I designed a few years ago for a crochet class.
This moth pattern uses 3 stitches

Slip Stitch 



Chain Stitch



Treble Crochet (UK)/ Double Crochet (USA)



I used 2 ply 100% linen yarn from Namolio for the moths. The linen comes in tons of colours all stunning, its one of the nicest linens I have tried. But the pattern works well in most yarns (make sure you use the correct size hook to match the yarn/ thread/ wire you choose) I have even tried 0.2mm wire (it took  approx. 11 metres of wire).

Leave a 10cm/ 4inch tail of yarn (for one of the antenna) Follow the chart and you will end up with this pretty flower, you are now ready to make your moth. I will post Part 2 tomorrow. Update: Click Here's for part 2