Saturday 16 August 2008

I Can See Clearly Now....

I've been wearing glasses for a few years now, a combination of passing 40 and too much art & craft has caused my sight to deteriorate. But for the past year I have been really struggling with the glasses I was given last time I visited the optician. They worked OK for reading or doing anything while sitting still, but I needed something for wearing while shopping, cooking and the like. So off I toddle for another visit to the optician and we decided varifocals was the way to go - I got them two days ago, and while it's certainly a knack getting used to them, it's brilliant! I can see the items on the supermarket shelves clearly, I can read a recipe while chopping the vegetables.....and the frames, I am so in love with the frames! You can't see from the photo, but they are purple. I'm a happy bunny!

For years we have been saying we should visit a silk mill which is only a half hour's drive away. Yesterday on a whim, we went. How interesting it was! It worked using the original waterwheel and had a lot of the original Victorian equipment. I'm a bit of an 'anorak' ('geek' I guess the Americans would say) about how craft materials are made, just love seeing the process and even having a go myself. We saw the hanks of silk in bright rainbow colours being wound on to spools, and also the looms making the most gorgeous pieces of taffeta, organza and patterned silk. We had 'goes' on some hand operated looms - not as simple as I thought - which was fun.

And in the shop they had big baskets full of spools of silk thread ...I could only afford two, but aren't they pretty? Each spool is about 4 inches long, so there is a lot of silk there - wonder what I can make?

4 comments:

Laura Sparling said...

Oh what funky glasses! Love those frames.

You sound like you really enjoyed your trip to the silk mill. That silvery silk is gorgeous. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. :o)

Magpie Magic said...

Those glasses are cool. You can see the purple - just! Love the leaves on the frames. :-)

The silk is beautiful. I am so jealous. Would have loved to come with you! I think the silver one would look great knitted with the charcoal shosenshi yarn or the red either one.

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous glasses! I've been looking at frames, too, as I need new glasses, but I've not seen any like these!

Sallie said...

Love the glasses! They are so different and unique. And they are purple, one of my favorite colors.

The silk mill sounds really interesting. I, too, like to see how things are made.