My Creative Space.

It's seems like ages since I joined in at kootoyoo and shared my Creative Space.

I started off this morning with two fingerless mitts and one ruffled wrist-warmer.

There is a definite Autumnal feel to the mornings around here which means that in just a few short weeks we will be layering up with woolies and looking for lost hats and scarfs.

Or..... you could just crochet new ones.

Or.... you could pop in to Buy Design.

I have been crocheting up a storm in the last few weeks and now have loads of hats and scarfs in the shop.

What I would really like to make now is an earwarmer. A bit like a wide hairband that keeps your ears warm. I think I last saw one being worn by one of James Bond's glamorous assistants but I can't find a suitable pattern. I may have to make one up myself, which may or may not end in tears.

The reason I have 3 different gloves is down to my tinkering with an existing pattern whilst trying to decide which one is the right shape/size/style.

The pink one is nearly the same as the pattern but has a few less rounds as the pattern seemed huge.

The green is nearly the same as the pink but done on a smaller hook as I have tiny hands and wanted it to fit snuggly.

The grey one is supposed to be a wrist-warmer and I stuck to the pattern on this one, but I'm not sure that it's the right size. It's still seems pretty roomy to me, which may just be because of my skinny wrists, but it might be a bit rude to ask someone with big wrists to try it on for me.

So today in my creative space I am trying to decipher my notes at the side of my patterns and trying to make neighbours for each of my mitts.

Does anyone know if matching mittens are compulsory?

Click the link at the top to visit creative spaces all over.

Fiona x

Back to normal..or as close as it gets.

When you don't know what to expect do you overestimate or underestimate ? Do you hope for the best and prepare for the worst ? Or are you totally relaxed and prepared for anything ?
Perthshire Open Studios is over for another year and I am now trying to assess how successful it has been for us. I had been hoping to be really busy with loads of visitors and fantastic sales and that didn't quite happen. We did however have a lot of lovely visitors who seemed to really like Buy Design and who said they will definately be returning in the future.  Hopefully this means a busy Chrismas for us.
The general feedback from other participants is that it was very quiet compared to previous years, but since this was my first year I don't really have anything to compare it to. What I do know is that in my experience ( not vast as I have only been open for two and a half years ) September is generally a quiet month. It's too early for most customers to be thinking about Christmas and they have just paid out for summer holidays and new school uniforms.
I seem to have spent the last week talking, talking, and talking again about how I started making jewellery, and how my hobby has developed into my business. I do like talking but I was starting to feel a bit talked out by the end of the week. So this week I am back to the business of making again and looking forward to the next challenge.
Oh... and we have just seen our daughter off  to Aberdeen University to study psychology. It's been quite a week all round.

Perthshire Open Studios

Tomorrow sees the start of  Perthshire Open Studios  Hopefully all the hard work this week will be well worth the effort. This is my first year taking part in the Open Studio week and so I'm not really sure what to expect. Many thanks are due to Ali, Maureen, Mary, Mark for restocking their spaces this week and to Cathy who will be minding the shop and showing her glass engraving next Saturday. Also to Sylvia who's husband distributed brochures in Dundee this week.
No time for photos this week as I have been busy making instead of blogging about making.
Have a look at the link above to see a bit more about the Studios and the artists taking part.
Fiona x

Sunday Shadows in Montrose

When I got up this morning it was very grey with not a hint of sun in the sky. I thought I would have real problems trying to find shadows of any kind but it's Sunday which means joining in with Shadow Shot Sunday at Hey Harriet so I just had to see what I could find.

Just after church we headed off to Montrose and were happy to see the clouds burning off and the sun breaking through. By the time we had reached Montrose, about 40 minutes from home, the sun was shining and the shadows were out in force.

Crossing the railway footbridge to get a better look at the sea, I just had to get my camera out for the first time. Lovely lattice work shadows and my man looking out to sea.

We stopped off for lunch in The Picture House, which is an old cinema, converted into a pub/restaurant, and had a lovely meal, then set off for a walk along the harbour and down to the beach.

Along the way we spotted this..

...which belongs to this..

Isn't he fabulous. His name is Mamse and he belonged to the Captain of a Norwegian Naval ship during the second world war. The ship spent long periods of time docked at Montrose and Dundee during the war years and the fabulous Mamse was pretty much adopted by the people of Montrose. According to the information board...

... he was a very brave dog dog and received the doggy equivalent of the George Cross.

It seems that he also had his own bus pass hung from his collar and whenever the towns bus drivers saw him they would stop and let him on board. Can you imagine sitting on a bus, minding your own business, and being joined by an enormous St Bernards dog ?

Further along the way we thought about going down this staircase with the wibbly-wobbly shadows,

but the swelling waves kind of changed our minds.

Nobody wants wet feet on a Sunday walk.

Not even this guy.

There are fabulous statues and sculptures all over Montrose. Some are historical figures, important to the town in some way, and others like this one are related to ordinary seafarers.

No beach would be complete without some colourful bunting around the children's play area.

So much for my hazy morning. It's been a lovely day chasing shadows.

Have a wee click HERE to see some super international shadows.

Have fun.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

Last week I was seriously distracted in My Creative Space and I had great plans to show a more focused side of my character this week. Things just never seem to go according to plan though, do they?
Today's distraction though was all for a good cause.... True Love.
Today's distraction is a top secret anniversary present for a customer's wife.
 Mr Romantic and myself  had a bit of chat, found the perfect stone, in the perfect size and perfect shape.
We considered the perfect style of chain and the perfect setting for the stone.
And so, my work today has no photographic evidence yet.
I just hope I'm up to the task, and can produce the Perfect Anniversary Present.
Wish me luck......
You can join the fun of peeking at the creative spaces of artists and makers from all over the world by clicking HERE and visiting Kootoyoo.