Shades of Alice... (and a freebie)

Oh dear, oh dear, I shall be too late!

What a BUSY time of the year! On Thursday I was at an all-day meeting of Crossing Borders as we distribute our first Art Trail leaflet and get ready to open studios across the Borders and Northumberland from 5th September. The website is unlikely to be completely ready in time for that great event so we've been making contingency plans to get the all-important opening times for all 50 individual studios up on the site. That should happen next week. (Guess who is trying to co-ordinate that bit?)

Next Saturday is the annual Southdean Show, right here on our doorsteps - competitions, jelly races, fresh pancakes courtesy of the Scouts, as well as the usual 'industrial' section where we all bake and jam and craft and then present our weird and wonderful creations for the judges' delectation, not to mention the awe-inspiring prize money (wee joke). Prizes presented by our local MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament), John Lamont.

I've got lots of baking to do anyway as I'll be running the plant and produce stall (though I also want to have a go at the 'create a sculpture with marshmallows and spaghetti' competition) Don't you just love this poster for the event, done by our resident illustrator Linda Lovatt?

The very next day we're off up to Edinburgh to meet up with Hugh's sister and family. This will allow H and me to catch Bond Bound, an exhibition about the artists and designers who created the Bond (007) look. It's also got the original illustrations by John Burningham for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The following weekend is the Homes & Interiors Scotland Exhibition in Glasgow. It runs from Friday 29th to Sunday 31st August. I have never yet got to this as it always clashes with an off-road event that Hugh sets up. This year, though, WE ARE GOING, and so can YOU! I won two tickets which each allow two people admission on any day. There are only two of us so if you would like the spare ticket for 2 (thus saving £20), just let me know as a comment, and I'll e-mail you to confirm. First come, first served!

After that it's mayhem while we get the place spick and span for Open Studio time. We will be open from 1pm till 6pm every day from Friday 5th September to Sunday 14th September (except Wednesday when we hope to go see some other participating artists).

More soon - must go and make collages/chutney/a cup of tea....

Sweeties

I've added my latest hand dyed fingering weight to the shop - the middle one (Blushing Barracuda, if you please!) is off to the US of A but [l to r] Soda Pop, Peppermint Patty, Carousel, and Moody Blues await happy new homes. 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.