Harvest time

I enjoyed listening to the harvest festival service whilst in the bathroom this morning, though the wind was rattling around outside and I’d been woken by heavy rain earlier.  Not exactly a day of mists and mellow fruitfulness, today.

“We plough the fields and scatter…”  Hopefully, with the harvest brought in during the dry days of August and September, this rain will get the ground into good shape for the next crops but right now, I’m glad I don’t have to work outside in muddy fields.

I’ve got my own harvest gathered in though, with a bag of damsons in the freezer and an email this morning from my dear sloe-gathering chums which will keep us in cockle-warming liquor for a few months!  The blackberries were looking good so I’ll go and get a couple of apples to supplement them in a pudding for tomorrow, when we’re expecting friends for supper.

Being a teacher, I sow my seeds in a different field.  This week, I’m looking forward to reaping the harvest of the seeds I sowed back in April, when eighteen capable and talented women decided to train as NFWI Craft Judges.  They’ve been out there working at all kinds of shows over the summer and will return to our college to complete their training.  It’s a real privilege to get to know these women better, hopefully to inspire and encourage them to greater things whilst learning from them at the same time.  Whilst assessing their portfolios this weekend, I’ve compiled a list of some new and unfamiliar techniques which I need to investigate – anyone else come across Bronson Lace?

So, with a pre-lunchtime G&T in hand, I’m going to try to identify the differences between Proggy, Proddy and Hooky rugs now.  A good job that we’ll have an expert there next week!