Atlantic Thread

Morning all Hope this finds you well, and feeling the renewed energy of the new moon- this is the time of the month I often feel like I know where I'm going again- I can get a bit listless in the few days before; that's a good time to finish things off, work on mundane tasks- but this is a good day to start something new. With this in mind, that's how I've planned the schedule of my Atlantic Thread journey. Two new moons from now, I set off for Shannon airport in Ireland, and the first of many bus journeys over the next few weeks to the Connemara. Four new moons from now, I return to London from Agadir (inshallah!), after visiting 42 independent yarn sellers on my way along the Atlantic Coast, and more than likely a few tears and joys en route. I've already started to think about my packing. Anyone who has travelled with me knows that I'm not that great at travelling light, but I'm going to be backpacking, on the buses and ferries, and my back demands th...

Hi all, hope you're doing well, and if the sun is shining, you're enjoying it. I'm pretty sure the last summer that was like this was 2003, and I spent half of that in hospital being not very well at all, which is probably why it sticks in my mind. This summer's going better, despite a few upsetting occurences, but I love the sun. It's been nice being a teacher again, although slightly frustrating watching projects grow more slowly, but that's all a means to an end to get this project done. I am changing schools though next week, got an offer I couldn't refuse to work at the University of the Arts, teaching study skills and English to textile and fashion students, so will be nice to be among the tribe. Going to Camberwell every day, and I'm happy with a bus journey, and late starts and finishes means no rush hour- result! I've also set up my Patreon profile, which I'll gradually be adding to with more pictures. It's a way of connecting pr...

Good morning all! Apologies, I had a bit of a blog holiday, sorting lots of things out, but am now back to trip planning in earnest. I love this time of year, so much light and so many flowers everywhere...have been spending a lot of time outdoors gardening, watching magpies harass the foxes and persuading my nose that rampant hay fever is a small price to pay for all this beauty. I have finished the blankets I will be raffling off to raise funds for the trip...both hexagon shaped as the final product of my journey will be. I won't do first and second prize but leave it up to the winner (one of them is wool, and there are so many vegans) and here is the cotton one, inspired by the abundant roses. If you win, I do promise you a rose garden... This week I have also sent off my crochet sculpture to Guimaraes in Portugal for the contextile Bienal. I was thrilled to have been one of the fifty artists to be selected, and I've been having a look at some of the others; every co...

Hi everyone, hope this finds you well. Spring has truly sprung and the flowers are gorgeous! Let's not dwell on the tree pollen...trees do so much for us after all; cool shade, beautiful and inspiring shapes, homes and restaurants for our wildlife, oxygenation of the air, so I will just take my antihistamines and shut up! I did manage to build and light a Beltane fire on Monday, it was cathartic! I'm in the midst of a week of teaching job interviews, so appropriately enough am thinking more about language and making a knitting glossary for the journey. I'm unlikely to meet any monolingual Breton, Amazight or Irish speakers, but I've still included them- a little effort goes a long way in terms of goodwill I find. However this sometimes backfires- I remember once visiting the island of Texel off the coast of the Netherlands. I do know some of the language but have forgotten a lot more by not being there much in recent years, and in my times in Amsterdam, I used to feel...

Good afternoon all, and hope you are well. Droopy leaves here, please send sunshine. I was thinking of putting that message into a bottle as I was finishing off this embroidered map of the route, imagining each place having more sunshine than there is here, which let's face it, wouldn't be difficult. But I was also more positively thinking about the quiet contemplative time I'll be spending in them, and I'm looking forward to that...I love looking at the water, and even though I'll have a lot of hooking to do on the route, there's always time to stare into the waves. I chose a very dark blue grey for the background; very often the colour of our beloved ocean, ice cream colours for the coastal places, and a yellow chain for the route I'll be taking; 1,600 miles as the crow flies; 42 places, 42 scarves and 1 big blanket. The wall hanging is still a work in progress too, needing some refinement and embellishment yet (like all good stories/). I've embroide...

Good morning all. Hope this finds you well, and if you're in this part of the world; enjoying the sunshine. My skin has got that lovely mixed blessing of loads of Vitamin D, and loads of scratches from gardening; I'm crocheting outdoors again, with cotton more than wool, back on the antihistamines, and remembering times with lovely weather and birdsong from every tree at my friend Sam's place in Ghazoua, a small town near Essaouira. She's moved back to London now, but we spent the afternoon in a garden together yesterday; very lovely, if not quite the same in the middle of London as it was sunning ourselves on her rooftop in the clean and quiet air of rural Morocco. This is the final part of my journey, and planning this is a bit different from the others. First of all, I'm not going to be contacting the yarn shops in advance as I will be shopping in the souks. Planning the route and places is also a bit more dependent on ease of transport options, as it's qui...

Good morning all, I hope this finds you well. As you know I always begin with the weather, but it's almost too rubbish to mention today- winter seems to be thrashing spring in their annual card game, let's hope spring has some aces up its sleeve. This entry is a bit of history, and a bit of current affairs, which I can't really avoid when looking at this part of the journey. In Greek mythology, The Pillars of Hercules refers to the mountain peaks in Spain and Morocco that mark the gateway between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The pillars hold up the world apparently, as for the ancient Greeks, this gateway was the western edge of the known world. Hercules placed these pillars here to ease the burden of Atlas, one of the old gods, the Titans, who had been condemned by the new gods to hold up the sky for eternity. He gave his name to both the Atlas mountains (though his own name perhaps comes from the Berber word for mountain, adrar), and the Atlantic Ocean. We now ca...