In which I finally catch up with blog obligations!

Over the last month or so I have been honoured with a clutch of blog awards, and have to admit to being very remiss in both picking them up, and thanking the kind people who awarded them. I'm going to try and make amends here, but as I can't possibly manage to do half a dozen different tags, I think I will have to mix and match a bit!
The awards have come from some old friends and favourites, and some new bloggers, which is always an especial honour. It is such a treat to potter off across cyberspace and browse new blogs!
These are the people who kindly bestowed honours:

Merri, from The Equestrian Vagabond. This blog has long been a favourite of mine- well written and funny - do check it out!
Angie at Ranch Dressing , her fabulous Cowgirl Chic, interior design blog.
Simon at Songs from the Wood - pagan musings on life.
Greywolf Art - wonderful portraiture
Dale Ann at The Chronicles of Whimsy, whose beautiful artworks never fail to wow me :)

Golden the Pony Girl - intelligent adventures in horsemanship

I think that is everybody, but I'm REALLY sorry if I have missed anybody out.

So here we go, 7 vaguely interesting facts about me ( or pictures about me really!)

The first real love of my life, a little mare called Brocade, who I was privileged to be allowed to ride. She is only 5 years old in this picture, and this was my first ever show. She was a really classic old fashioned English Hunter type pony.

The second love of my life - the first pony of my own, Ash. She had a wispy star on her face that always reminded me of a little ghost.

When I was at university, I spent many weekends in London. While my boyfriend at that time watched football in the student union, I spent my time in The Natural History Museum, sketching skeletons. I still have a fascination with bones - both how they work as an articulated structure , and simply for their intrinsic beauty. My house and garden contain a large collection of found bones and skulls. Those of birds particularly interest me. It is one of those things that either disturbs or intrigues visitors. You'd be surprised how many people admit to picking up dead stuff!

I only like tea made in a teapot.

My Dad is a pretty cool artist. This is a very bad photo of a really cool picture of his that I have.

In the last years of school I became obsessed with natural dyeing and knitting. I have sample books full of dye experiments. We had a garden full of bluebells and I picked them all to dye a batch of wool with. To my delight they gave a beautiful, delicate pastel blue. To my mother's horror, I eradicated them from the garden.

As part of the knitting obsession, I made small berets for everyone I knew, made up of small coloured triangles. These hats were immortalised in my most treasured possession, a copy of The Lord of The Rings for my 18th birthday, with a knitting goblin drawn in the frontispiece by friend and neighbour Alan Lee.

And now I am going to reccommend 7 brilliant blogs for you to go and check out. I do, of course, have several old favourites that I always tell people to look at, so this time I'll point you in the direction of new ones.

Railway Cottage - quilts and life

Ann Wood - beautiful textile sculptures
Green Island Studios - dreamy photography
Tinctory - delicate textile jewellery
Sustainable Styling - slow fashion and textiles recycling - my sister's new blog ;)
What are the Ravens doing today? - exactly what it says on the tin!
A Mermaid in the Attic - adventures in art and life