apologies for the previous rather self-indulgent, whiney post!

'normal' service will be resumed shortly :)

scunnert

is a very descriptive scottish word used to describe a general feeling of boredom and fed-up-ness, when you really just can't be bothered ...

lately, there's never enough hours in the day, it doesn't seem to matter how early i get up, how late i get to bed and how hard i work, i never get to the bottom of that to-do list ... there's the stuff i need to do that never gets finished and then the stuff i want to do that's there's never enough time for.

i know that i have much to be thankful for and i really shouldn't moan but i'm feeling a little scunnert right now.

just back but about to go away again!

well ... this past weekend was just amazing! wonderful company, great food, fantastic horst couture garments, such creative feltmaking ... i feel like i have just had the most amazing dream!!!

so, i'm just back but my feet still haven't yet touched the ground - i promise to blog and share pics really soon, and also catch up with you all too, but i was straight back to work and then i'm away again this weekend. then on hols for a week ... and i wonder where the time goes?!

look forward to catching up with you all soon and in the meantime, happy mid 'summer'!

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

i've been away again, for a lovely family holiday this time :)

i'm just back.

got lots to catch up on.

not much time for sitting at a computer.

promise to catch up with you all soon but in the meantime, thanks for your lovely comments.

lewis loom centre and hebridean woolshed

one of the reaons i was really looking forward to being back on lewis was being able to visit the lewis loom centre again!



this unassuming entrance leads to an absolutely amazing shop/museum, run by the very friendly and knowledgeable ronnie.

as well as selling harris tweed garments, and beautiful bags and cushions, there's also so much information about the history of harris tweed, with the most amazing sample books throughout the decades. the colours and patterns from the 20's and 30's are astounding!

but, my favourite part of the shop is the 'scraps' table. as you can see from the pics below, i blew my budget on lovely pieces of tweed that will soon be making their way into new felt pieces.








the two pics above might appear to be quite plain compared to the usual patterns and colours but the reason i really loved these pieces is that, if you look closer, so many other colours are revealed ...



i also made a quick stop at the hebridean woolshed, if you're on south uist you really can't drive past! i wasn't on the island long enough to take part in one of denise's spinning workshops, so i bought the next best thing to teach myself to spin ...
... i had visions of relaxing evenings round the campfire, spinning away ... but it wasn't to be.

i can't get it to work!

the instructions are really clear, i have watched videos online ... i know that, in theory, it's a simple process ... but i can't do it!!! think i'll need to get someone to show me because i am determined to learn :)

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

new goodies to play with

i've been following deborah's blog, feltersjourney, for a wee while now, and you may remember that she was recently a featured maker here.

anyway, i thought i would pop over to her folksy shop when i was online a wee while ago to have a look-see and, even though i really don't need any new fibres or have the time to really be experimenting with anything new, i just couldn't resist the sari fibres (first pic) or banana silk fibres (second pic).

i haven't used these fibres before so i'm really looking forward to having some fun with them.

if you've used these fibres before and have any tips or photos to share, i'd love to hear from you!

beach finds

i did try to be restrained while we were away but i visited so many beaches with such tempting shells and pebbles that i did bring home a few mementos. i tried to pick only a few from each beach because, after all, if everyone who visited took away a pocketful, there would be none left after a while (ok, it might take quite a while but you know what i'm getting at).

i mean, who could resist such colourful temptations ...


so, here's a selection of my favourites which i'll soon turn into a mobile as a lovely souvenir of my trip. wish i was back on the beaches now ...

hols - durness

last stop on the holiday saw us back at the campsite at durness, where i spent my favourite day of the holiday at the beach, pottering in the sun, pootling about in rockpools with a bit of birdwatching and then a picnic :)

'bob' the friendly campsite gull


fantastic view from the tent






the water wasn't quite as inviting as it looked, in fact it was flipping freezing!


while m got progressively frustrated that the kite wouldn't stay up, i was quite happy poking about in the rock pools














yes, this really is a sign warning of pigs, piglets, lambs and sheep on the road ...


25% gradient on the hilliest road in scotland on the way to drumbeg, glad i wasn't the one cycling!


lovely sheep inspired pottery at the gorgeous drumbeg craft shop and tea garden

lawn or grass?

so, this is our front grass ... ... and something we get a lot of hassle about from our neighbours with their bowling-green-type lawns, where no blade of grass must be allowed to exceed 1.5cm!

goodness, really? now, i don't like their lawn (plus it's not very good for plant or animal diversity) but do i feel the need to make a comment to them about it, every time i see them? no, i don't! because i respect their right to have their stupid grass how they like it.

do you know, i was in the front garden the other day and two folk walking past were tutting and making disparaging remarks about how i should be cutting my grass, the only thing i could do was stare in utter disbelief!

i'm thinking of making a sign that says something along the lines of not to criticise us for the length of our grass but to appreciate the variety of flowers and insects it supports as they walk past.

ahem, rant over, normal service will be resumed by the next post :)

wordless wednesday: välkommen till stockholm

hols - handa island

on the way to our campsite in durness we stopped off to take the boat trip to handa island which is a fantastic place managed by scottish natural heritage as a bird reserve. we saw fulmar, guillemot, razorbill (nesting precariously on the cliffs), puffin, red grouse, jack snipe, great skua, wheatear, curlew and lot of bunnies!

this face says i'm on a tiny boat, about to go out to sea and i'm a little terrified