Melin Tregwynt

A must do trip for the earnest crafter loose in Pembrokeshire, is a trip to the mill of Melin Tregwynt.

This has been a working mill for the last 100 years and is still owned and run by the same family – no small feat in this day and age.

It was fascinating to see behind the scenes..

…especially watching the loom being prepped and threaded with yarn ready for it’s turn on the automatic loom. The girls had a pattern sheet to refer to (much like a knitting pattern repeat ) but what a responsibilitly!

loom patterns

The Twisting and Cone winding room was full of yummy boxes of yarn, named in the most evocative colours.

Best of all, you could buy a bag of off-cuts in the shop.

These worked out to be £1 a piece which I think is excellent value.

They are made with colours which reflect the natural environment.

Now I must ruminate on what to make with these gorgeous woven pieces.

  Any ideas?

A week in Wales

We are just back from a lovely break in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

This is a place where you can really see the sky (I live in a city and hardly ever see the horizon.)

And the skies here are really worth looking at constantly because they change all day..

and night.

They are even worth braving the cold on the beach to capture,

and worth getting up early to dog walk, be inspired by and come home and paint.

I can see why the landscape has, and continues to inspire artists, with its patchwork colours and textured furrows.

Nature always seems closer at hand when you’re on holiday, maybe it’s because we slow down and observe more…

or maybe it’s because it pokes its head over the gate to say hello!