Only a few days to go to our wee local Christmas Fayre. Busy people (David and Hugh) have installed a new kitchen in the Hall and there's just some plumbing work to be done (this week, we hope) before it is ready to rock. The stalls are fully booked (all eleven of them!) so there will be lots of quality craft and cooking up for grabs on Saturday. Sadly for me, I will not be doing the Paisley one the following week after all but we will still drive over before Christmas to see niece and grand-niece. I do have a nice date to look forward to in ten days' time - leading a paper decoration making workshop in Ayton for the ladies of the SWRI. An excuse for scissors and glue, as if I needed one....
This week I have made little stockings from 'boiled blanket' and simple wool stitchery. The little bunnies in sleeping bags I made last month and they will be appearing in the Textile Directory's Christmas promotion. There's been much card making too - elephants seems to feature in them this year - possibly not the animal most frequently associated with Yuletide, but we like to break a few rules here now and then!
Some of you have seen this birdie in progress already. He's finished and needs to be stitched into a cushion now which will probably grace the cottage when it's finished. I have had the stencil forever, and the kantha work I have blogged about in the past, but I still enjoy this kind of 'no rules, just running stitch' work.
The only place I wanted to be last night was near the stove so I decided to knit myself something small. If it works, you may see the finshed object!
Back in the summer, Hugh and I had a fine day visiting artistic folks on The Art Tour in Northumberland. We went to Horsley Printmakers where Carol and Rebecca create stunning etchings and collagraphs. And lo, they run courses! As soon as I could, I signed up for a two day introduction to making collagraphs. Last weekend was IT! Off I drove on a rainy Saturday and a sunny Sunday, across the border down towards the Tyne Valley. The view above is looking back into Scotland from the border at Carter Bar on the Sunday morning.
There were seven participants, some of whom had been before and were back to hone their skills, and a few who, like me, had no previous experience. On the first day Rebecca took us through the basic principles and had us experimenting with our first 'plate' which we inked up in one colour. I had good fun exploring textural effects with everything from carborundum to tile grout, wallpaper and PVA. On Sunday, Carol showed us how to ink up plates using two and three colours. This long skinny work of mine is flawed, strictly speaking, as there was so much PVA soaked into the little piece of hessian I had used that it squeezed out under the pressure of the rollers when I took a print. You can see the runs into the orange section all too clearly below.
The workshop we were using is the old church hall in Horsley so we had the bonus of the sunshine through these cheerful windows.
The drive down and back on the Sunday was particularly glorious - autumn colours just starting to show and the lovely pure quality of light you get at this time of year. The village below is West Woodburn in Northumberland in the late afternoon light. I had a fine two days, trying new techniques, enjoying different company and eating well at lunchtimes in the adjoining coffee shop. It was a wee breathing space in my complicated little life!
More of Kirkcudbright as it's such an interesting little town - galleries everywhere, coloured houses, art history coming out its ears, and lots of lovely little alleyways to peer down.
On our last full day we travelled over to Wigtown, the Book Town, for a wander round the new and secondhand bookshops. We were there a few days before the Book Festival started but there were quite a few tourists (guess that included us) and the coffee shops were doing well, as ever. Obviously it was our duty to help in that respect so we went to Reading Lasses for refreshments. From there we travelled to Kirroughtree which is one of the 7stanes mountain biking centres established by the Forestry Commission. Hugh is hoping to get over to ride the routes there which are highly regarded. However we were there for a walk and, as it turned out, a little history lesson too. It was a still day, as you can see from the reflections on this wee loch hidden in the trees
I succumbed to this one, which was ridiculously cheap. I have no intention of wearing it, funnily enough, but it's a sculpture in its own right.
We had only a minor hiccup on the way, a jammed caravan brake which Hugh sorted by means not recorded in any textbook. Arrived at Glenmidge Smithy campsite which has space for only eight tents or 'vans. At its busiest there were four of us and we were outnumbered by the red squirrels in the trees around the site - what a treat!
We did two or three walks from the door in the course of our stay, as well as a good one along seashore and cliffs near Auchencairn (south of Castle Douglas) where Hugh spotted this grass snake enjoying the day.
A good morning was spent exploring the streets and galleries in Kirkcudbright, one of which Hugh is hoping to interest in his work. 
The countdown is on here - I've got work to frame, to package up, to price, Hugh's suddenly launched into painting a massive great landscape, then he has a bit of welding to do, and hopefully a nice duck or two to paint, though time is not exactly on his side by now....
The first Crossing Borders Art Trail kicks off on Friday. There's a three day opening exhibition in Hawick, a week of Open Studios and then a two day exhibition in Berwick. There's additional space on offer in Berwick but work has to be there tomorrow so we are whizzing over there first, and fitting in a visit to the Gymnasium Gallery to see a Peter Blake exhibition, then back via Kelso and Jedburgh (to display more posters). Wednesday is the last clear day to get our own 'studios' shipshape because on Thursday we'll be at Hawick helping to hang that exhibition... Friday lunchtime is the media launch there (the media had BETTER turn up!) then zoom home and await the first visitors to our humble artspace. 
Oh dear, oh dear, I shall be too late!
Meanwhile, inspired by Katie and by Woolfest, there's been a bit of a bunting bonanza too... I've used sock yarn leftovers to make mini crocheted bunting with paper beads and jumble sale beads hanging from it, and also stitched some full size for my great niece's 2nd birthday tomorrow with her name on it, beads and ribbons, the whole works!
We had such a blast of toasty hot weather that more strawberries and blackcurrants were ripening every day. They're mainly picked and frozen and I've been a good little housewife too, using the bumper courgette crop to cook up tomato/onion/courgette/herby sauce and soup bases for later in the year. And the odd courgette and walnut cake too...
Been spinning too and making a few new things for the shop. We'll be having open days here at the beginning of September and it would be great to see a few friendly faces. I'll post more about this soon, as it's all part of the Crossing Borders artists network we're involved in. Oh, my strawberry 'allergy' isn't, after all. Not strawberries and not my breakfast meusli, nor coffee, so I reckon it was either a supplement I was taking or something else that I have not identified yet. It has not happened for a week now so I'm still not certain what it is/was.
Well, after my Woolfest haul, it was only ever a matter of time (hours...) till I tried out my new fibres. I have had a good time with bright shades, as you can see, and I keep falling in love with each hank of yarn as it emerges. This morning that led me back to dyeing, too, so there are some ermm, 'confections', blowing about in the breeze as I type. 
I've been to Woolfest. Can you tell?! 
And finally, how could I resist Herdy? I mean, no-one needs another mug, do they, but he's designed in Cumbria and made in Staffordshire, and a proportion of the sales gets channeled back into Lakeland causes. Check out the light-hearted website for more info.
In Katie's words.... Welcome to my magic shed, where I take jumble sale finds and mat them into bold designs, where damaged books find a new use and old recycled objects get another chance to shine. I love paper, fabric, wool and above all ...colour! 
A popular destination, [it was already full up when I took this pic] inside was a treat for all textile and paper recyclers. You'll see what I mean if you look at What Katie Did.... . I could have moved in happily. Poppy the collie was delighted to see so many people though she was curtailed behind the fence - probably for her own safety! 
