Donna Druchunas's Blog

Today was a great day to transition from teaching and vacationing to writing. Yesterday June took Nancy Bush to Swaledale where she taught a lace workshop. Julija and Rasa, from the felting group Baltos Kandys, went with them. So Dom and I had the house to ourselves for the day. Dom left this morning, wishing he had taken a third week off of work.

So today, I am here by myself. After breakfast and feeding the hens, I took a walk to the end of the nameless road that goes through Newbiggin, and then I came home and did some writing and editing work.

I hadn't realized how exhausted all the tourism and teaching and socializing had made me. I was totally wiped out and took a 3 hour nap this afternoon. Now I'm waiting for June and Julija and Rasa to come home and wondering if June's planned anything for dinner. I'm not really hungry, but it's getting to be that time of day.

Here, as promised, are some photos of the outside of June's house and the surrounding neighbors in Chapel Farm.

Here's where I'll be writing for the next two weeks. It's the home of June Hall, my friend and co-author of the future book on Lithuanian knitting. Since I have to be around to answer email for my day job after 3pm local time (8am US mt time), I am planning to write in the afternoons and evenings, and let June plan some fun mornings for us visiting friends, seeing the area, swimming at the pool, or going for walks. June is so full of energy, I'm sure I'll have to keep reminding her that we are on a writing retreat. It's easy for me to remember, because I'm in a new place. June will be home, which is always full of distractions!

Here's a view of the writing areas in the house:

The kitchen and dining room are wonderful writing spaces. The kitchen is the newest part of the house. It was finished last spring in an area that was formerly an attached barn. It's a wonderful room with modern appliances and new cabinetry but designed in a way that it fits perfectly into this 300 year-old house.



The dining room has lots of natural light and two good writing spaces: the table and a window seat. Wonderfully comfortable and sometimes able to pick up the neighbor's wi-fi signal.




The office is upstairs. The steps seem to be as old as the house itself. No socks for slippers on these stairs. For some reason stairs in old houses always make me worry about falling. But I don't think there are any ghosts here waiting to push me down.



The living room shows some of the best signs of the age of the house. The walls are so thick, and they slope so the bottom is about 6 inches thicker than the top. Everything is finished with plaster (not sheet rock) which ads depth and character to the room. The antique hutch is one that June purchased after moving into the house, and it's made in the style that was common in this area, giving a little extra authentic charm. And the carpet is made from Herdwick wool!



I can't imagine living here. I'm sure with daily life, it would become "just" home. But being here feels like being inside a story book. Harry Potter may even have once lived here!



Next post: pictures from outside! Flowers, sheep, hens, stone houses & walls, green fields, and more. There are almost as many great writing spaces outside as there are inside.

I taught two short workshops on Friday and two more on Saturday, so I didn't have a lot of time to look around at Woolfest, but I made sure to go around and see all the vendors twice. I had wanted to take a 1-hour workshop on magic knitting with Annemor Sundbø, but the times overlapped with my own class. I did get to meet Annemor, however, and have dinner with her and some of the other teachers on the last night of the festival.

I also met Ruth Lee, author of Contemporary Knitting: For Textile Artists, a wonderful book with ideas that will spur any designer's creativity and inspire you to look at knitting in a different way. Ruth was selling her unique creations and her book, but she wasn't teaching. She did mention that she'd love to come and teach in America, so I'll have to see how I can help her make that happen.

Since Woolfest was started five years ago, many other knitting events have sprung up around the UK. Yesterday I met Jo Watson, who is organizing a UK Knit Camp in Scotland next August, where I'll be teaching with many other designers and authors. There's not much info on the website yet, but keep checking back if you want updates.



My favorite part of traveling is meeting interesting people. So far this trip has been an astounding success. Now, to hibernate for a couple of weeks and write. Even though I love meeting people, I can only take so much socialization before I need to re-energize. Besides, I want to have this Lithuanian book finished to turn into my publisher in a few months!

I can't even express how wonderful my time in Switzerland was, which is why I did not work or blog much while I was there. Now I am in England working and blogging, but still having a good time. Woolfest starts tomorrow, but I've already made some fun fiber finds:

1) Annelis, owner of Tricolaine in Geneva, gave me an amazing knitting counterpane that she bought at a local flea market.

2) I bought a felted purse made out of a recycled Swiss army blanket. It's got leather straps and is lined with canvas to prevent stretching. it's the perfect size for a travel purse, and it fits neatly into a backpack for times when I need to lug around books and my laptop as well.

3) I found a gorgeous Dale of Norway sweater at a Norwegian shop in Keswick (that's pronounced KEzik for those who have not been here). This design is the Peace sweater, and it's made with Dale's Heilo yarn.



So, tomorrow I teach, sell some buffalo and qiviut yarn, and look at an amazing array of displays, merchandise booths, and free craft demonstrations. (Plus I'll be working on the "day job" stuff in the evening.) It will certainly be a full day! Here's my display about various knitting traditions from the Americas.

I am settling down for the rest of my trip now, after going to Manchester, Geneva, and two different B&Bs in the Lake District. So I hope I can start blogging about the trip and getting some work done. Just have to start with this quick photo and comment.

Sheep are EVERYWHERE in England.... even at the beach!

Finished teaching at Tricolaine in Geneva.... here I am with Annelis, owner of the shop, knitting over beers. Had a great time here, will definitely be back. Working on book edits, and other things on top of teaching and seeing the town, so no time to blog. Sorry!



Next weekend: Woolfest!

Sorry for no blog posts lately. I am swamped. Just back from teaching in Utah last weekend, will be teaching in Estes Park next week, and then off to Europe until August. I don't know if I'll get caught up enough to blog on the trip or not. So just in case, have a great summer!