A bit of a run on duties for the next week or two.
Southdean Show - 2pm on Saturday - all the usual tents and entertainments plus stock judging, BBQ with real quality burgers, tea tent with yours truly assisting, great bookstall by Latimer Books of Kelso, model railway etc etc.
Next week there's another changeover in the cottage, and some admin work every morning in Jedburgh. In between times I am making some groovy collages and texture and pattern studies to display at the Crossing Borders Art Trail on 3rd 4th and 5th September. Lots more to waffle on about that in the next post....
Tra la la la... time for a cuppa or maybe a little lie down!
Pittenweem Arts Festival runs for a week from Saturday 7th August. For nearly thirty years this Fife coastal village has turned itself into one giant art exhibition for a week every summer. Last year was my first day trip there and I loved it. But with about 100 different venues to visit that just wasn't long enough. This time, my friends and I decided we deserved two days to enjoy the festival so we drove up early Saturday morning, and returned to the Borders on Sunday evening. In between times we....
We drove out to Ovenstone Artists Studios and admired work there. My favourite was Joanna Foster whose work you can see above.
I managed to snuggle up to Hugh at lunchtime but it was all too brief as he then donned chainsaw gear and went off to cut up wood. I retreated to the living room to catch the afternoon sun...
We had an awayday this week, to Jupiter Artland which is a lovely place to explore. 
And here we see Mr Roberts enjoying a latte puchased from the groovy caravan cafe. The wellies were advisable as some of the paths through the woods were squelchy.
As Bonnington House is a private residence there are some nice domestic elements visible too, like this dinky hen house
As the route we took did not return us to the entrance and shop, I can't give a good account of its contents though I am sure they'd have been tempting. One fun thing I did take in, though, was that they had Rob Ryan's deliciously designed parcel tapes for sale. He's a very talented man who does papercuts on a big, and sometimes giant, scale.
As hens age they often lay bigger eggs, but some are more aesthetically pleasing than others.....don't know which one was responsible for this effort today but I suspect she'd probably like a little rest now.
Woolgathering on Sunday 25th - all welcome, of course - I've done a page that you'll see over at the top right to tell you what we do. Always lovely to catch up and see who's working on what. These are new yarns I have just washed, some of them spun with fibre from my Woolfest haul.
Border Union Show at Kelso on 30th and 31st July - we'll be there with a stand to promote Hugh's off-road business FarxFour, with fresh coffee and home bakes for all so come and find us at the far side of the West Ring.
The first blackcurrants need picked. Strawbs nearly finished; the resident frog in the bed has done a grand job of keeping the bugs and slugs away but there's a wee moosie been tucking into a few prize specimens. Plans for boozy treats with some of these fruits....
Various tasks in readiness for Southdean Show on August 21st, and I'm on duty in the tea tent again this year and I get to make up the jar for Guess the Number of Sweets in the Jar - two great jobs for me!
Can you resist these? They make you smile, and every one that's made and sold brings benefits all round. Check out the website and find them in Fair Trade stores - there are masses of different soft toy animals in wool and cotton as well as great sheepy teacosies and accessoriesKenana Knitters started in Njoro, Kenya 1998, to help rural women find some much needed form of income using their spinning and knitting skills.
They're a self-supporting knitting co-operative, they pay themselves a fair wage and the sales fund a range of welfare projects in Kenya.
Knitting is ideal. It requires minimal equipment, can be done in snatches when time permits. When the rains come and the family crops and vegetables need tending, not much knitting gets done, but in times of drought and crop failure, when the family garden is bare of supplementary vegetables, money can now be earned to purchase the necessities of life.
The group generates two forms of income; buying the wool locally then creating more work by turning the wool into marketable products such as toys, bed-covers, scarves, hats and other accessories.
Wheeldale also had bags of Teeswater locks which shouted BUY ME - what could I do? And the buttons, well I was overwhelmed at the choice from McAnaraks but finally settled on these ones, for projects as yet unidentified...
And p/hopping? A whizz of an idea - generous knitwear designers give their patterns for free to Medecins Sans Frontieres - you choose your patterns, make a donation and get busy with the needles!There were lots to choose from at Woolfest where they raised over £1000, egged on by Clare's enthusiasm and ably assisted by Natalie at the YarnYard next door. Find p/hop right here and get busy! You know you want to...
any excuse...
I've been doing a fibre stocktake in readiness for purchasing more glorious colourful fibre at the great annual celebration of all things woolly which is Woolfest this Friday and Saturday. It's a treat for all the senses and an opportunity to see much missed faces like Helen of Ripples Crafts
as are the felt birdies. The hearts are at home and have been joined by some felt elephants which have not made it in front of the lens yet.
As it was a Woolly Day at MAKE, we were encouraged upstairs to a treasure trove of yarn bargains as well as a slightly more, ermm, unusual, collection of knitted soft toys. Gifted by the baker next door, each and every one was available to take home with you for a small donation to charity. Try as I might, I cannot fathom why anyone would want to knit an elf or a gnome or a dwarf, let alone seven and Snow White too.... ho hum, each to their own... 
Our homeward trip involved a brief stop at The Errington Arms just north of Corbridge for a drink in the sunshine. We'd have stayed longer and maybe enjoyed a bar meal if it were not for the ill-mannered barman. It briefly marred an otherwise excellent day out in the glorious Northumberland countryside.
We're hoping for a good turnout as there will be lots to buy or trade and plenty of scones and jam and cream to keep our strength up. I'm seeking sweet pea seedlings and tomato plants and planning on selling home-baked breads (olive and sundried tomato, anyone?) and cakes by the slice as well as those luscious coconut flapjacks which I am now slightly addicted to.
Hello, here I am full of the joys of Spring as we've just returned from a Wensleydale week! The Yorkshire Dales are a grand place to visit at any time but we really needed the break and chose a cottage in the quietest little corner to recharge the batteries. In the picture above you can see the little hamlet of Marsett in the middle distance on the right. Ash and Midge came too, and enjoyed running up and down the Roman road which was a sheep-and-lamb-free zone. 
As this stylish picture amply illustrates, it was not overly warm and I am not at my most elegant with a fleecy bunnet on my head! Having said that, my fashion sense does extend to having tiny little skulls and crossbones on my red bootlaces, but you'll have to take my word for it.
OK then! Not quite in the Hermes/Kelly Bag/latest Gucci thousand pound monstrosity league, but here's the wee bag I made. Just a titch to go over my shoulder and carry the essentials in my life - cash, paper handkerchief and lipsalve! The even titchier bag is for cards - mine and the bank's... 
The big bag is straight at the bottom, despite appearances to to the contrary, and embellished with red beads from a bracelet and dangly 'brass coins' acquired on Etsy and used in various projects since. Recycled zip and handle from cotton tape which I saved somewhere along the line. 
But the main attraction is the fabric which I have had stashed away for a couple of years now. Both are from Magie Relph's delectable African Fabric Shop where you fall in love every thirty seconds as you view another range of cloths. The indigo shibori ones above and these happy prints below are a few from my two mini adventure packs 
