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I'm updating my #introduction / #cyflwyniad as I get more used to this place.
Cambridge born. Came to Wales in the mid-90s for a degree in Celtic Studies and never left. Now settled in north Ceredigion.
Interests include #languages (siarad Cymraeg / cupla focail Gaeilge), #music, #archaeology, folk traditions, #photography, stuff involving wool (#knitting, #spinning etc).
Earn my crust as a civil servant, working with the culture sector, primarily #museums.
As far as #music is concerned, I started out as an early 90s indie kid, but these days mostly listen to folk, world music, reggae, blues etc. I used to play in a samba band for several years, and still like things with interesting drums / percussion.
Continuing my deeper intro thread this morning - I had to drag myself away last night!
Here's some of the stuff I've been knitting over the past year or so.
1. A temperature blanket, which is my main work in progress for this year.
2. A very recently finished lace shawl.
3. Some rainbow heart covered mitts.
4. Another lace shawl, which I knitted using yarn I spun some time ago.
I also pretty much always have a pair of socks on the go.
I'm also going to add:
- I don't take many things very seriously.
- I do take lots of pictures of small things.
- I'm easily amused, especially by animal pictures and silly jokes / puns.
- I have a tendency to try and help people dig out information. I probably should have trained to be a reference librarian.
- I don't talk politics much because I'm a civil servant, but I'm definitely inclined towards the left.
- I will try to connect everything to a song or piece of music.
@sheepnik I've been wanting to get into spinning for a while! Following in the hopes of picking up any neat tips. ;p
@jeffalyanak Hi! The easiest way is to get a spindle, some nice fibre, and a copy of Respect the Spindle (book or dvd/downlad) by Abby Franquemont.
@sheepnik Awesome! I'll definitely check that out!
I also want to try making and using a traditional spindle whorl since my wife (knitter and PhD in old Norse literature) would appreciate it. I'm not sure how practical it'd be, but it should be a fun journey.
@jeffalyanak Last time I went to the National Museum of Archaeology in Dublin I saw a display of Viking-era spindles, and it blew my mind to think that 1) all the yarn / threads that they needed to create sails for their ships would be made on what are essentially sticks with bits of stone or pottery attached, and 2) the basic technique is still the same several hundred years later.
@sheepnik I've still got a soft spot for that early 90s thing. The floppy fringe has long receded but deep down I'm still a shoegazer at heart.
@sheepnik I love your taste in music!
Burp 
@sheepnik wow, these are beautiful! I love the blueish coloured shawl 
@Burpedz Thank you!
@sheepnik you're welcome, do you sell them?
@Burpedz No, I don't sell anything because I don't like trying to make money from my hobbies and the pressure of trying to make something that other people might like, and there's no way I could get a fair price that reflects the amount of work that goes into them.
@sheepnik absolutely beautiful knits! Did you knit the heart mitts flat and stitch them together?
@Musen thank you! I knitted the mitts in the round on double pointed needles.
@sheepnik Those mitts are awesome, do you have a pattern for them?
And kudos to that temp blanket, stunning!!!
@melona The pattern for the mitts is: My Rainbow Heart https://www.tellybeanknits.com/pattern-shop/my-rainbow-heart
I adapted it a bit, but it's mostly the same.
And thanks for the comment on the blanket :)
@sheepnik thank you!! I‘ll bookmark that, they look lovely
@sheepnik that’s definitely one of the prettiest temp blankets I’ve ever seen!
@venite thanks! I can't take credit for the concept, as I saw a couple like this on Ravelry when I was thinking about making one.
@sheepnik is it min/max temps and time between sun up/down? I’ve seen others that tried to incorporate multiple data points but this must be one of the most effective combinations, both in clarity and sheer prettiness.
@venite it's day time high temps, and night time low temps, though I ended up going for the time between midnight and sunrise as my night time, purely for practical reasons.
@sheepnik all are gorgeous. 
What is a "temperature" blanket?
@Dlenares you got it.
@Dlenares it's a way of recording the temperature in a chosen location over a period of time, usually a year, and each row is a shorter length of time, usually a day or sometimes a week. Each colour represents a small range of temperatures - in my case one colour is for 2° centigrade. Every day I record the daytime high temperature and the night time low temperature, and then when I come to knit that day's row, I use whatever colours I've chosen to represent those temperatures.
@sheepnik wow... everything looks amazing.. and I'm impressed with your determination knitting the temperature blanket!
@sheepnik so much awesome knitting. Gorgeous
@manch thanks 
@sheepnik the blue and grey shawl is particularly beautiful.
@KathAndrews thank you!
@sheepnik I love your work! Is the temperature blanket daily highs and lows, using intarsia? It's one of the prettiest I've seen.
@CarrieB Thank you! Yes, the blanket is daytime high temps and night time low temps, with a split being the length of day / night, and it's basic intarsia.
@sheepnik hardd iawn!
@sheepnik Bore da! I love your temperature blanket! I’ve not seen one split into day and night temps before. Although I admit my second thought (after “omg so cool!”) was “omg how many ends to weave in?” 
it looks awesome though so well worth it
@sheepnik all beautiful!
@Knittingdancer Thank you!
@sheepnik these are real works of art! 
@cadachllestri Diolch!