A whole new experience

by Tamzin

byAbigail

by Matthew

by Evan

I had a lovely couple of hours on Monday. One class at Denholm Primary School are studying how the Vikings lived and they have been doing some simple weaving with wool yarns. I was chuffed to be asked to come along and demonstrate carding and spinning so that they could understand the process from fleece to yarn.

This was my first viewing of the new school - the old one was demolished by fire a few years ago and the teachers and children had to make do with a very few temporary buildings in the yard of another school in Hawick until the great day when their brand new school was opened. This one is so well designed that it is a treat to spend time in. Great facilities for the four different classes and views of the Borders countryside from every window.

Anyway, teacher Diane was very gentle with me, and the children were impeccably behaved and sat crosslegged in a semi circle as I talked them through the process. Later they divided into little groups and we had some 'hands on' with fleece and tops and carders.

Then yesterday what was waiting for me when I came home but a thank you letter and a little drawing from each and every one of them! Here's a small sample of their wonderful artwork. I'll save you from viewing the accompanying photograph of me spinning.

Wool Heaven

I'm just coming back to earth after a great day at the Woolfish Wool Festival on Saturday, a small but perfectly formed textile treat in tiny St Abbs. Louise and her daughter Trudi run the rather fine Woolfish - a shop of sumptuous yarns, nicely placed beside the wonderful Number Four Gallery and the tearoom - and last November Louise ran the first Woolfish Festival. It was a success (of course!) and this time I managed to grab myself a table to spread out my wares. If I looked out of the high windows behind me (old school building, now the community hall) I could see these critters:


Angora goat kids playing on their straw bales, and alpacas posing nicely for the camera. Behind them you can see bunting and after that there's just the North Sea! Well, there's a harbour too but you get the gist.

Anne over at Frayed at the Edge was busy with her camera so you can see my wares there, and Louise and some good shots of St Abbs - in fact, she tells it all much better than I am doing!

There were lots of lovely woolly enthusiasts there, stallholders Laura, Janis, Natalie, Janice, Fiona and more besides- like Robin Elliot whose wool throws are definitely going to be making an appearance in our cottage when it's ready to let. Then there were the equally delightful customers! I met folk whom I've only known on Ravelry and they were enthusiastic about my 'stuff' so I came away at the end of the day tired but very happy.

I'll leave you with a shot that means a HUGE amount to Hugh and me - this is evidence that, after a year without central heating, we now have a wood burning stove in the kitchen and three big solar panels on the roof, all connected to a new hot water tank. Sadly at the moment the existing radiators refuse to give out any heat and Hugh has the delightful job of disconnecting each one in turn and flushing it out then reconnecting it, in the hope that this clears whatever blockage is stopping the hot water circulating. So we are nearly there - a warm kitchen and hot water so far, and any week now, warmth in other rooms too. Ash and Midge are fairly happy about the whole stove thing too...

Spin Span Spun

I've been busy dyeing and reskeining fingering yarns in wool/nylon and wool/bamboo and also washing my latest handspun yarns, all ready for the Woolfish Festival in early March. And I've had a lovely time making up sampler packs of delicious hand dyed fibres for spinners and felters. I'm hoping it'll feel like you've been let loose in a sweetie shop - lots of little bags to add to your fibre stash, ready to inspire your next projects. I've dyed angora fibres in brilliant magenta and a rich purple, there's tussah silk space dyed in golds and pinks, Lincoln lambswool locks in rainbow shades and more, LOTS more! Brooches from old textiles, embellished with beads and other treasures, badges, cards with vintage knitting images, bags purses....
And, Tara, I've made a stack more fabric and paper collage cards too - I'll be taking them for my stall but I'll send you pics first so you can stake your claim!

Your Very Own Rainbow

Was just snooping about and found this fun little quiz on Pollianicus' blog which intrigued me. My rainbow is rather indigo-hued as well as red ,and skipping the bits I don't agree with (!), I am apparently passionate, and my fresh outlook and vitality are admired. Hmmmm, really...

Industry

Blimey, soon be February... This afternoon the sun is shining and maybe I should be outside, and then again maybe I should be updating this blog and keeping warm near the stove. I've been spinning for a good chunk of the day in order to boost my stock of handspun hanks for the next Woolfish Festival. Yup, I'm taking a stall at Louise's next celebration of all things woolly in St Abbs on March 7th, and really looking forward to it. More yarn to dye and other goodies to create and package up.

It's always great to catch up with textile-minded folks and meet new people. The Woolgathering last weekend was good fun and we had two new faces joining us, which was even better. My lemon cake and cheese scones got munched up as we stitched away, and it was fascinating to see what everyone is making and what nice books/patterns/yarns they got for Christmas. Janice brought along some of her stash to sell - other people's stuff is ALWAYS more interesting!

The picture shows Janet knitting, Tricia quilting, Ali doing a mini-rug and Anke admiring someone's patterns as a rest from her knitting. I was spinning and most others were knitting. There were two examples of the gloriously dyed yarns from Helen at DropOne, one of which I dutifully helped Liz wind into a ball so she could get started. Anne was just casting on the socks that you can see on her brand new blog - Frayed at the Edge.

In other news, as they say, the cottage works trundle on. More paint on walls, living room floor getting cleaned up as Hugh is going to lay laminate flooring down. We did envisage ceramic tiles but it's a big area and this will be quicker and give a warmer result. Electrician was out to discuss the fitting of a hard wired smoke detector system and a new extractor fan in the bathroom. Pretty exciting stuff, eh?

I did finish the patchwork loose cover for the armchair - you wouldn't miss it in a hurry, would you?!

New Year, New List

Hello, welcome to 2009, which is particularly chilly in this little corner of the Universe. Surely the most prolonged cold spell we have had since the year we moved here and were snowed in for a week - funnily enough we had no central heating then either....

Did you have a good festive break? Did you get new books for Christmas? I DID!

• A great US book by these folks on recycling old stuff into new stuff, but very stylishly put together with a good few quirky ideas to try
• The best preserve making book I have seen, from River Cottage - lots of information and lovely recipes for Britain's fruity bounty
• A fantastically inspiring collage book, with lots of new ideas for me to try
• A book I feel drawn to...! The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd - yeah, weird choice maybe but I only recently read (well listened to an unabridged version) the original novel and found it compelling. I am saving it for the lighter nights....

I also scored for a quite a bit of quality chocolate, and there's even some of it left.

Having spent since mid-December with a cold/hacking cough/sneezes - the symptoms vary daily - I am well sick of it and have achieved much less than I would have liked. A few more bits have been finished in the cottage, and Hugh removed the old porch with a chainsaw before digging out foundations for the new one. Now the ground is so frozen he can't get the concrete laid or it will crack. I am staying warmish by working mainly in the living room, laboriously stitching a loose cover for an armchair destined for the cottage too. It seemed a good idea at the time to make a patchwork using remnants I had squirreled away. You may get a pic of it when it's finally finished.

Ther will be a Woolgathering on Sunday 18th January at the village hall - you're welcome along if you are in driving distance.

Seasons Greetings

What a strange expression that is! Compliments of the Season, anyone? I hope you all have fine holidays, whatever form they take. My aim is to spend at least one afternoon with the stove on, an old black and white film on TV or DVD, and my knitting! I know, I know, it fairly makes your heart race, the height of my ambition!

I'll try to be a better blogger in 2009!

Top to Toe

Well, necks to socks really. The thing on the needles in the last post was this neckwarmer to go under my jacket on these chilly dog walking days. Just offset 2/2 rib with some increasing to sit over my shoulders. As it's me it's done on two needles instead of an obvious grown-up competent knitter's circular needle.

And here we have knitting by others more talented by far. Anne knitted socks using my Peppermint Patty hand dyed yarn and send me this pic, and the wonderful sainted Jess knitted these gorgeous RPM socks for me in my Rhubarb and Custard yarn. Happy feet!

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....

cut, stitch, knit, cut, stitch, knit...

Yup, creativity rules here, and I am having a fine time, thank you very much. There's the annual Christmas Fayre here in the village hall in three weeks' time and the following weekend I am going to Paisley as the school where my niece teaches is having a fair then and it seemed like an ideal time to catch up with Marie and hopefully sell to a completely different audience.

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!
Now I must grab the moment and take the dogs out while the sun is shining. Before I forget, though, there's a Wool Festival in St Abbs on the Berwickshire Coast next weekend if anyone local-ish fancies a treat. Find out more at Woolfish (great name for a business)

All the news that's fit to print

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!

Further Adventures

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

Felt Hat, Squirrels and the Sea

Although it seems a while ago already, we really enjoyed our few days away with the little caravan. On departure day I took the dogs to kennels while Hugh did vehicle checking stuff. On my way back through Hawick I visited a fantastic exhibition of contemporary Mongolian felt! This very impressive collection has travelled to various British venues and is now off to Sweden, I think. What I had not appreciated till I got there was that much of it was for sale...... There were some stunningly complex rugs and wall panels, a complete yurt, bags (I was very tempted), costume, slippers and shoes and wonderful hats. 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.
I've more pics for another post tomorrow, you lucky people!

Ice Cream

I am going to tell you more about how the Art Trail went, and then about our wee break in Dumfries and Galloway, but not today.

Because today I need to broadcast about the forthcoming

GREAT EVENT!

On Saturday 27th from 2pm, the local village hall is transformed into

The Southdean Ice Cream Parlour

Sit down to a choice of delicious homemade ice cream dishes,

coffee and shortbread and more,

all served by those delightful men in kilts.

Yup, it's time once again to raise money for

Macmillan Cancer Support,

and what better way to do it than by tucking into ice cream?

Ready, Steady, GO!

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.

We're open every afternoon from 1.00 till 6.00 and there will be coffee and cake on offer, so you HAVE to come because otherwise we'll eat all the cake and that would not be a good thing...

I am feeling better about my 'stuff' as I have managed to make quite a few new things for the event, not just collages but little things too, which will make their way to The Border Tart in due course too.

The Crossing Borders website is growing - more artists are adding their info and images as they get the hang of it, and while it has a few glitches it's coming along. Drop by and see what you think.

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.

Spin Span Spun

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.
Meanwhile, there's little to report in the way of NEW stuff. Hugh is cutting grass for anyone and everyone, in between building us a new woodstore and fixing the car. I've been painting fences and sheds and endlessly weeding and cutting our own grass. The compensations are fresh fruit and vegetables on the table. The BAD bit is that I seem to have developed a reaction to strawberries! This is miserable news - what could be nicer or tastier than fresh picked strawberries on my breakfast cereal? But even two or three sliced up and munched is bringing me out in demented itching and red palms and face, which then spreads to knees, soles of my feet (?!) and back. Doesn't last for more than half an hour or so, but not nice at all. And this is our own strawbs, no nasty pesticides, no sprays or anything else on them. And they are the same plants as last year when I had no reaction at all. Ho hum.

Seduced

I've been to Woolfest. Can you tell?!
Oh, it was like all the sweetie shops in the world, rolled into one! It's been running annually since 2005 and I've only missed one year, so far. In my view it gets better each time. though maybe it helped this year that I knew what I wanted to look out.
There are textile shows in other parts of the UK but none like Woolfest which takes place at Cockermouth, in the Lake District, a little under two hours' drive for me. So it's virtually on the doorstep, and it only costs £5 to get in! For those of you who may be thinking, yeah, but, so what? who wants to look at wool and sheep? I would say GO NEXT YEAR! Chances are if you are reading this you have an interest in handmade textiles in some form, and Woolfest is so much more that wool! As well as the bigger companies (that's big in this field, I don't mean multi-nationals!) there are lots of stands with individual makers' goods for sale - everything from kits to yarns to embroidery silks and fancy beads and fair trade buttons, beautiful rag rugs and felts in glowing hand dyed colours, stunning handknits, amazing angora and cashmere and silk fabrics and so on and on, as well as all the raw materials to make your stuff from scratch, and spinning wheels and knitting needles in all shapes and sizes, and demonstrators and workshops and live music and sheep's milk ice cream...... I've been doing quite a bit of spinning lately and my stocks were getting a bit patchy (honest) so I bought some lovely bright colours of wool fibre, either as tops or carded. There's Merino, Shetland, Corriedale and Wensleydale in the top pic, as well as angora and silk waste.
Below you can see a close-up of some super fine dyed Merino in palest pink and pistachio on the left. Along the top is dyed angora and below and two little heaps of dyed Wensleydale locks. I am itching to get started on new yarns now! 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.