Buy Design

2012-01-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

It's that time again.

Time to get started with plans and patterns and lists of things to do this year.

I just wish sometimes that the weather wasn't so miserable in January because it's hard to get-a-going to it's so blooming miserable outside. I'm fed up with winter woollies and welly boots and could do with a bit of sunshine to get me going again.

On the plus side, I have a lovely new framed certificate as my reward for coming second in the Christmas window competition... yay.. go me...

My next competitive challenge is come up with something wonderful for a Valentine's window display. I'm thinking of perhaps not crocheting my display this time, but you never know.

I'm currently waiting for marks for my latest OU assignment. I submitted it during the Christmas holiday, which now feels like ages ago and I'm feeling a wee bit anxious. Hopefully all will be well but it's a bit distracting and seem to have lost the ability to think of much else. The funny thing is that I really only signed up for the course for fun.... Who thought I was going to take it all so seriously ? I'm loving the fact that I'm learning new things and really challenging myself in a whole new direction. It's definitely good to try new things. It would all be a bit boring if we didn't.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a great start to 2012.

It's been a busy year here in many different and wonderful ways.

I'm taking a wee break from work till 5th January and I'm enjoying a bit of family time.

Will be back soon.

Fiona x

Then one foggy Christmas Eve...

2011-12-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

So... after major surgery to realign his little legs Rudy stood up for the first time.

Still not quite as stable as he might be, he used Andy's lovely wine table for a bit of additional support.

Then headed off to take up his position in the window.

Mrs Claus is keeping an eye on him, so hopefully he will be ready to fly in time for the big night.

( I think I might need to get out more.... keep telling myself he's just a toy...)

Windows are going to be judged this week.... ooh exciting..

My Creative Space

2011-12-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

I learned two very valuable lessons today.

No.1 Stitchmarkers are awesome little things which help you to make less mistakes, and save you from having to count to 124 sixteen times a day. (slight exaggeration there on the actual numbers but you get the idea)

Lesson No.2 Never rush a reindeer.

Poor wee Rudy here had two front legs at the back and two back legs on the front. It was all a bit wobbly and not a good look for one of Santa's little helpers. Hopefully we're on the right track now but he's just going to have to lie down till tomorrow. It's been a bit of a day...

Time now to link up with more effective creative spaces

And there are only 24 sleeps to go.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

2011-11-11T04:33:00.000-08:00

Mrs Claus is a wee bit fed up and could do with a bit of advice.

The question is.. How old is too old to be wearing matching outfits with your husband?

'It's all very well for these young ones,' she says but she really would like a bit of a change.

She's been wearing red all her married life and quite fancies a nice blue dress that she saw on the internet, but Santa says No Ho Ho..

She even thought a new hair style might be nice. Santa wants her to keep it white like his and wouldn't let her dye it brown, so she tried something a bit more extreme.

Shaved her head and got her nose pierced..

Not really a good look but it was worth it to see Santa's face.

It's all grown back again now, which is probably just as well.

The one thing she does like though, is her new red knickers.

I'm running a wee bit late this week but hopefully there's still enough time to join ourcreativespaces

New Look

2011-11-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Just a quick 'thanks guys'.

It's nice to know I was missed and I thought I might just have a wee play with typefaces since I was here anyway. Some blogs look really nice with lovely typefaces. I think mine looked a bit boring.

Time to click and see how it looks.
Nothing changed
Oh now it has

And now it's back the way it was.

Alive and Kicking

2011-11-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

Good grief.... Just realised how long ago since I announced I was going to bed with a runny nose.

You'll no doubt be relieved to know that I haven't been in bed with a runny nose since the 18th of October.

So much for blogging every day. I kind of got bogged down with STUFF.

The kind of stuff that just leaves you a wee bit drained at the end of the day.

I submitted my first assignment for my OU course and fretted about the mark.

Dad had a bit of a heart scare and ended up in hospital twice in two weeks.

Then the normal... working, making, planning.

Just normal but a bit overwhelming all at once.

Well, I passed my assignment, dad is recovering nicely, and I've pretty much caught up with everything else.

Normal blogging will resume with My Creative Space on Thursday.

Fiona x

Blogtober 18th

2011-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

And now I've got the cold.

I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself right now.

Snow is forecast, hopefully a bit further north than Alyth but it's mighty cold out there tonight.

I've got a red runny nose and I'm going to bed.

Click over to the left on the Blogtoberfest badge and see what is happening elsewhere and I'll do my best to be back with something interesting tomorrow.

Blogtober 17th

2011-10-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

So much for blogging everyday for a month. I've just gone and missed a whole weekend.

Do I need a note for the teacher or can I just tell you what I got up to?

Well... it was a birthday weekend for my daughter and since she is on school holidays we thought it would be a good idea to make a bit of a holiday out of it.

We flew from Edinburgh at tea time on Friday and headed to London.

We actually stayed in Colchester in Essex which turned out to be a really good idea as we had brilliant weather over the weekend and it was nice not to be in the city the whole time.

On Saturday we went in to the city with enough time for lunch and a bit of shopping before the main event.

We spent ages in Forbidden Planet as my daughter loves Manga, and Myths and Science Fiction.

She was in her element.

Surprisingly, even I found something which I just had to have.....

There are some truly gruesome crochet patterns in here.

I don't know why I would want to crochet a cannibalistic cockerel but you never know.

Then it was off to Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket for the matinee performance of Phantom of the Opera. Awesome, is such an overused word these days, but really it was.

On Sunday we made the most of the fine weather and headed down the coast to Clacton.

I love traditional English seaside towns and Clacton has everything you would expect.

Ice cream on the promenade and frothy coffee and a fortune teller on the pier.

While we enjoyed our frothy coffees Rhona tried to beat the 'claw'.

Despite her disappointment, I was really rather pleased that she didn't manage to hook a giant fluffy bear.

After all, we did fly Easy Jet and there was no way I wanted to pay excess baggage allowance on a giant stuffed toy.

So ... that's my excuse for missing two blogs.

Blogtober 14th

2011-10-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

All done.

It's my baby's 15th birthday today and I'm closing up at lunchtime.

Why be your own boss if you can't take an afternoon off from time to time ?

Blogtober 13th

2011-10-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

My Creative Space this week comes courtesy of MY BIG MOUTH.

The one that opens at all the wrong times and lands me with projects that I wish I could say no to.

So there I was showing some friends what I did with a 20 inch zip and a piece of ribbon ....

And now I'm trying to do it again, while taking step by step photos

Our Rural has been invited to entertain another Rural in November and despite telling everyone that I'm really not that entertaining I have have been volunteered to demonstrate.

Not quite a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Just a little coin purse purse from a zip and a ribbon.

You will find a link to the original tutorial for this purse on fruitfulfulfushion

Blogtober 12th

2011-10-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you see something and you just know the answer is NO.

However, if anyone thinks differently and wants a cute little crocheted bikini you know where to come.

Fiona x

Blogtober 11th

2011-10-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

I finished work today to a house full of teenage girls.

To be honest, there were only three of them and one of them is mine.

Still, it was really rather nice to go off and leave them to it.

Tuesday night is yoga night and it was definately a lot quieter in my yoga class than it was in my house.

I'm all relaxed, stretched and bendy now and looking forward to a really good sleep.

Blogtober 10th

2011-10-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

When I was about 12 or 13 years old my dad bought my mum a ring.

And since I was about 12 or 13 I asked to try it on. I was a skinny wee thing and although mum was very petite her ring was just too big for me. Over the years I repeated the question and waited and waited till it fitted me. The question then changed from "Can I try it ?" to "Can I borrow it ?" The answer to that one was always no. Over the years it became a bit of a family joke. Me asking to borrow the ring and mum saying I'd have to wait till she died then I could have it. That doesn't sound very funny but that's just the way it was.

When mum died in 2003 she was just 67 and I was 40. Far too soon and I wasn't ready to be without my mum. I don't suppose we ever are. Despite everything, my dad remembered about the ring and gave it to me just before the funeral. I spent ages just looking at my hand and realised something that I had never seen before. All my life people told me I was the image of my mum. I could never see the resemblance, but what I did see for the first time was that I have my mum's hands. Maybe I only saw it because I was looking for something but even now I sometimes look at my hands and it makes me smile.

She taught me to sew, to knit, to embroider. She taught me to write my name.

It seems fitting that I have her hands.

I also have my grampa's legs (they don't meet in the middle) but we don't talk about that.

Blogtober 9th

2011-10-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today I did something I don't do very often.

In fact today I did something that I hardly ever do.

Okay.... today I did something which I only ever do when I have exhausted every other possibility.

I read the instructions.

I tried being clever yesterday and it didn't work.

I thought I was being really clever posting a sweet little video on my blog but when I went back to view it, it wouldn't play. Hilary at quilary was left in suspense and and I do hate to leave anyone in suspense.

Hopefully, I've edited yesterday's post so that it actually works now.

And maybe I should read the instructions a bit more often.

Blogtober 8th

2011-10-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

Lets just see if I have learnt how to copy and paste.

Or maybe it's share.

I hope I have because it's Saturday, everyone is home and it's really rather nice.

Blgtober 7th

2011-10-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've been doing manly work today.

Not a single crochet hook in sight.

And just a sneaky peek at what I was making.

I think it's going to lovely once it's all clean and polished.

Pop back later and see for yourself.

Blogtober 6th

2011-10-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

I never really understood the concept of fingerless gloves.

Surely if it's cold enough for half a glove then it's cold enough for a whole glove.

I even found a pattern for wrist warmers. Why would you want to warm your wrists and leave your hands out in the cold ?

These impossible questions were answered for me this week by a child minder from Meigle. I now know that fingerless gloves are really handy when pushing baby buggies and tending to the babies in the buggies. Childminders and young mums alike enjoy the benefit of keeping the chill off the the top of their hands while maintaining freedom of movement in their fingers.

And ..... on particularly cold mornings wrist warmers are great for stopping the cold wind blowing up the sleeves of your jacket when pushing the buggies.

And so, armed with this new information, I have been trying out some fingerless glove patterns today.

This is my favourite one so far. Ably modelled by my youngest daughter, who tells me that fingerless gloves are pretty cool even when you don't have a buggy to push.

Time now to visit ourcreativespaces and see what everyone else has been doing today.

Fiona x

Blogtober 5th

2011-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

We're busy doing nothing

Working the whole day through

Trying to find lots of things not to do

It's been a nothing doing but doing lots of it kind of day.

We take turns in our house for early morning dog walks and today it was my turn. I'm not really a morning person and don't normally function until at least the second cup of tea. But today was an up and at it kind of day and I've been chasing my tail to catch up ever since. Had a busy day of making in the shop then had a visit from a neighbour who stayed for a long long chat. It was lovely but then I was rushing to finish a hat before rushing off to collect my youngest from dance after school. Quickly rushed dinner then off to a meeting tonight.

It feels as if I haven't achieved very much but I've certainly been busy.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot more productive.

Blogtober 4th

2011-10-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Someone, suggested revealing stuff that other readers might not know about you as a way of filling the time during Blogtober.

That might be a good idea if I was more interesting....

Does anyone really want to know that I used to play in a brass band ?

I do like a good book though so here are the last three books that I read.

This is what I'm reading in bed.

This what I'm reading after work and before bed.

And this is my all time favourite book.

So how is that for revealing something new about myself ?

Oh yes, I like to read and I like my bed.

Fiona x

Blogtober 3rd

2011-10-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

It's not all fun and games when you have your own business.

On the one hand it's a new month, a new season with so many new ideas of what to make and do.

On the other hand it's the end of the month with sums to do and totals to check. Cheques to be written and sent out to my suppliers, and cross eyes and upside down photos.

I don't know what I did there.

It was the right way up on the camera then the wrong way up on the computer. But it does reflect my mood at the moment. Oh well, at least I have a whole month before I have to do that again.

Blogtober 2nd

2011-10-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

The other day I came across a post where someone had pledged to buy nothing new for the month of October. It was the same day I came across the link for Blogtoberfest. Now blogging every day for a month might be a bit of a challenge but I believe it is possible. Buying nothing new for a month is just not going to happen.

( well I really needed a good winter coat and when the perfect coat presents itself... what's a girl to do?)

This afternoon we went for a drive up to Abernyte to the Scottish Antiques and Craft Centre. Pretty safe really since antiques aren't new are they ? I could easily have bought lots of old stuff to counterbalance the new coat but it was more of a browsing visit today.

I probably spent more time than was really necessary scanning all the old cutlery on display. This is just one of perhaps a dozen similar displays. Sadly I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

I saw some really quirky bangles made from old forks in Covent Garden a few years ago and have been wanting to create my own version with tea spoons for a long time.

This was my last attempt and it's not too bad but not quite right. I bought silver spoons, though they weren't actually silver which was pretty annoying. (and possible a breach in trading standards since they were marked as silver) I cut the fancy handles off and soldered two teaspoons together. It was all going really well until I got to the cleaning and polishing part of the task and discovered the silver plating disappearing.

Still with all those cabinets of old cutlery I'm sure to find the right spoons one of these days. So the next time I have 10 hours to spare I'm going to pack my lunch box and head back to Abernyte.

Fiona x

Blogtoberfest

2011-10-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

Well that's it. I have been and gone and done it.

I have just signed up for this year's Blogtoberfest. The challenge is on to blog every day for the month of October. Will I do it ? Will I find new blogs through the month ?

Will I run out of things to talk about ?

Only time will tell, and I'm looking forward to the journey.

Fiona x

New Beginnings

2011-09-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

The trees in my garden can't decide if it's spring or autumn. Leaves are turning golden and falling off (job for the men of the house to rake up this weekend). But other leaves are hanging on for dear life as the sun has made a bit of a comeback. To be honest, I'm a spring and autumn kind of girl. I don't like being too hot and I hate being cold, so I'm really quite enjoying our strange weather just now.

I was sitting on the back step this morning, seriously considering taking a day off to go out and play but my sensible side took over and after a quick snap of the tree I went in and opened the shop.

Tomorrow is 1st October which is the official start date for my OU creative writing course. Thoughts of "Oh dear, what have I signed up for?" are running round my head and I am beginning to think I just might be mad. Please feel free to tell me that I'm not.

Anyway, I have a massive coursework book to get through which is really quite daunting. The first chapter is trying to encourage free thinking, and free writing by basically waffling in a random way. Now I have been known to waffle quite a bit in my time so this shouldn't really be too taxing should it ?

Mind you, waffling to order isn't as simple as it sounds and I have written a load of nonsense in my new "writer's notebook" this week. Looking at my tree this morning though, made me wonder if I might be getting the hang of it. There I was in my little garden in Perthshire with my mind drifting off to Port Douglas in Queensland. We had a fantastic holiday there a few years ago and took a boat trip into the mangroves where we learned about special trees which can absorb sea water through their roots and still survive. I have no idea what these trees were called. I could google it of course but I'll leave that to anyone interested enough to do it themselves. However, these trees had special leaves which absorbed the salt from the water so that the other leaves could grow healthy and green. Our guide called them 'sacrificial leaves' which I think sounds so sad, yet totally amazing at the same time. Oh... and we saw sea eagles and crocodiles too x

Que Sera Sera ....

2011-09-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

What ever will be will be...

And whatever doesn't turn out the way I planned will just have to be taken apart and started again.

It's been a funny couple of weeks around here.

After the rush and excitement of Open Studios it all felt a bit flat for a week or so.

I'm just about back in my stride again and looking ahead to what my customers might want for Christmas. We are being told by the weather forecasters that we are in for another harsh winter so I'm hooking up a storm and crocheting the days away. At the last count there were another dozen cosy hats waiting to keep out the winter chill. So how annoying do you think it is to find that the country is being treated to an "Indian Summer" ?

The "boys on the bridge" assure us that the snow will be coming early this year so maybe I should just stick to the original plan for hats, mits, ear warmers and cosy scarfs. Mind you I do have a cute pattern for a crocheted bikini.

Crochet and Crowds

2011-09-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't really describe myself as an extrovert but I have been learning this week that I am bit of a show off at heart.

We are now half way through Perthshire Open Studios and I'm having a ball. It's so nice to have so many visitors to the shop who are genuinely interested in what I make, how I make it and where I get my ideas from.

I've been trying to have little projects on the go all week so that I can have something to demonstrate for my visitors. Crocheting bracelets has proved to be a crowd pleaser. Of course you can't keep doing the same thing over and over without getting just a little bit bored so I looked out a crochet book with a section on edging patterns and came across this one. It looks rather nice in gold and silver coloured wires with little glass pearls. I may be biased.... but I do rather like this one.

There are loads of creative people showing off all over Perthshire. Just look HERE and see.

And for the rest of the world just look HERE and visit Our Creative Spaces

Procrastinating..............???

2011-08-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Oooh ... It's not long now.

I think I discovered a new synonym today (just checked the dictionary to be sure that really means what I think it means. My English teacher would be proud of me)

I took some perfectly suitable posters for POS

Plugged in the laminator

...... and laminated them.

Dictionary entry for the day then is...

procrastinate - verb - to put off (an action) until later

see also.. laminate, crochet

And this is how I procrastinate over the last couple of days.

To be honest, the shop is looking really good.

Stocked full of handcrafted loveliness.

There are still a couple of little projects that I would like to finish off but I'm all ready for the big week and looking forward to meeting lots of new customers.

Eight days to go...

2011-08-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

..... till the start of PERTHSHIRE OPEN STUDIOS

You know that feeling when you know that you are well organised ?

It's not a feeling that I often relate to but for once I am well prepared. One of the best bits about POS is that visitors and customers are going to be expecting to see me working in my space, so even if we are mega busy over the first few days I can replenish my stock and call it "in house entertainment."

Since it's Thursday today it's time to show what I've been doing in My Creative Space.

But first I have a small confession to make..... I went to the Scottish Bead Fair in Perth last Sunday and spent a small fortune on stuff I don't really need but just couldn't resist.... Hopefully I'll be so busy over the open studios week that I will find that I really do need all the gorgeous beads that I bought.

You may remember that I dabbled with Chain Maille earlier this year. A lovely blogger called Ady told me about a great web site called Bead Sisters who supply all sorts of funky coloured jump rings and rubber 'O' rings for chain maille. I resisted the temptation to order anything from them despite being sorely tempted.

Now guess which supplier I spotted the minute I walked into the hall on Sunday. Oh yes... Bead Sisters were right there in front of me.

So.. this week I have been trying out new chain maille patterns. What do you think ?

Join the Creative fun and pop over HERE

My Creative Space

2011-08-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Today is the day to share my creative space with other crafty and talented bloggers.

Now the question is... what have I been doing in my space today ?

I finished off this teeny tiny newborn baby hat. I was at a little craft fair on Saturday where I had a selection of hats for adults and children and was asked if I would make a little blue one for a new baby boy who is due very soon. Do you ever feel the urge to say " No, I'd rather sell the ones I've already made. "

I actually know someone who regularly says that to her customers and surprisingly they seem happy to accept her terms. I don't think I'm bold enough to do that though.

I've nearly finished my first crocheted rattle and just have to secure some loose ends. This is a really clever idea which I found in a recent crochet magazine. The rattle bit is made by putting a few beads into a little sealable pot. I used a plastic egg which I had left over from Easter, surrounded it with toy stuffing and stitched in the loose ends. Now all I have to do is make a matching blanket and it will be ready for the baby gift corner.

I could have finished the rattle properly if only I could stick to one job at a time. I was easily distracted by some shiny buttons after lunch and decided to replenish my stock of button necklaces and bracelets. What had been a fairly healthy display of button jewellery, was looking a wee bit depleted after some recent sales. By this time tomorrow I'll be fully stocked again, unless, of course, I get distracted again.

Meanwhile, the idea of showing my Perthshire Open Studios brochures in the window along with Andy's rocking horse is proving to be a bit of a crowd puller and I've had lots of people popping in to get more info about the event. Oh, and I even remembered to send some copy to the local paper to promote the Open Studios week.

I think that's enough work for one day and it's now a good time to visit ourcreativespaces

Join in by clicking the link.

A fond farewell.

2011-08-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

The problem with making something that you really really like, when you are making it to sell, is that you kind of hope that no one will want to buy it. I made this quite a few months ago and was particularly pleased with the hairy texture. It was the first time I had used my new texturing hammer. I was starting to think that maybe I could keep him....

Then.... I had a lovely new customer today who took one look at my little Scottie Dog necklace and decided to treat herself. I'm sure he will be really happy with his new owner but I did feel a little bit sad to see him go.

Of course it's possible that I could make another one for myself but then it wouldn't be unique.

Is it sad that I went looking for photos of him on the computer...?

Anyway, the only one I seem to have saved was taken before he was polished. How sad am I.. Maybe I should print this one off, frame it, and keep it where sane people keep photos of their children.

Just kidding ( really...)

Too busy to blog ???

2011-08-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

Well no.. Not to busy to blog but it seems too busy to take photos to show what I've been busy with. To be perfectly honest I was waiting till I got some photos but it seems that facebook isn't working this lunch time so I've popped over to blog instead.

It's been a busy couple of weeks with lots of prep for a couple of events coming up. There's a wee craft sale on this Saturday at Airlie Village Hall from 10am till 2pm with soup and rolls for lunch and teas, coffees and cakes for anytime at all. I've been getting some new jewellery together for the day and since Airlie is just 10 minutes along the road I'm hoping to meet lots of future Buy Design customers and introduce them to the wonders of my little shop.

Then it's just a few weeks till the start of perthshire open studios and I'm busily trying to stock up and freshen the look of the shop for a busy week. Did a major turn around in the window this morning and have been getting lots of great compliments already. I'll tell you more about the open studios in the next week or so.

And as if that wasn't enough to be going on with I have just signed up to start and Open University course starting in October. I'm really excited, and just a little bit nervous about returning to study but life is all about new challenges and this will certainly be a new challenge.

Oh, and my husband has just graduated, having studied for a BSc with the OU over the last four years. We've had a couple of celebrations for him. One with the kids then one on our own. We went off for a sleepover in Blairgowrie. Yes Blairgowrie is only five miles away but it was lovely to go out for dinner and not have to come home till the next day. We had a very relaxing evening at the Altamount House Hotel. Dinner was delicious, our room was very pretty, we had a lovely walk in the grounds after dinner and breakfast was fab.

The challenge has now been set and my man keeps telling me that I'm going to get the study bug myself. Meanwhile I keep saying that I'm only doing one course and that doesn't mean that I'm going to be studying for a degree. Mmmm we'll see. Obviously, if he can do it whilst working full time then so can I. But I'm definately not committing myself just yet.

To match or not to match.....

2011-08-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time to get back into some jewellery making today and played with some dinky little charms that I found in my favourite bead shop. Now a normal person would have used two matching charms but that would be predictable wouldn't it ? Instead I thought it would be nice to combine two of my favourite things.... tea and cake.

I did carry on and make several other pairs of earings which actually match but for some quirky reason these are my favourites of the day.

There is an Exhibition and Sale of Work on this Saturday at Airlie Village Hall from 10am till 2pm which I have been invited to. I'm trying to decide what to take with me and am currently thinking that a combination of jewellery and hats and scarfs would work well. Woolies and Jewellies...

I got these cute little dice beads a couple of weeks ago and couldn't decide what to do with them until this afternoon when they seemed to calling out to be made into little girls bracelets.

I've finished up with a dozen different colour combinations and sizes.

I even sold one in the shop this afternoon to a lady with little wrists who said they were far too nice for kids and wanted one for herself. It is very satisfying when that happens and kind of confirms that I'm on the right track.

I rather like the lilac and purple one myself and I do have skinny little wrists..

Show and Tell

2011-07-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

It feels a lot like showing off but why have a blog if you're not going to show off once in a while...

Anyway.. another bright side of a rainy holiday, apart from not feeling guilty about buying a vintage sewing machine, is that you get the chance to do indoor activies: like the stained glass workshop that I went to with my son. In the little town of Beccles where we were staying, we found Cobweb Crafts, and we found that the owner John Wilson offered Stained Glass tuition. It's a craft that I have always wanted to try and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

I had a brilliant morning learning how to cut glass and leading, how to solder the joints and how to finish and polish my work.

John had drawn out a plan which included the big circle and I couldn't get away from the idea that it should represent the sun. ( the one that was missing for most of the holiday ) In my mind, the blues represent the water of the Broads, and the rain, and the sea at Great Yarmouth, and the blue sky which appeared towards the end of our holiday. It's not perfect, and I can see where I could improve if I get another chance to try this craft, but I'm pretty pleased with myself.

You should be able to see John's work at http://www.villagestainedglass.co.uk/

Summer Holidays

2011-07-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

We seem to have an unenviable talent for picking the one week and the one destination with the worst weather of the summer and going there for our holiday. You may recall the great Caledonian Canal adventure from last summer. Feel free to revisit the scene, just click WET

This year was no different, apart from the fact that we were in Norfolk instead of the Scottish Highlands, and that we stayed in a house boat instead of a small cabin cruiser. But the rain was just as wet and the wind just as windy.

Loving the windswept look here. I realised a long time ago that the best way to avoid being in embarassing holiday snaps like this is to always be the one holding the camera.

However, one good thing about rubbish holidays is that you don't feel guilty about treating yourself to something special that you just happen to spot in little craft and antique centre on the last day of your holiday.

Just look at this little beauty.

Isn't she just the loveliest sewing machine you have ever seen ? Can you tell how excited I am ?

I even got the original instruction manual, packed full of handy sewing tips.

And... a full set of gadgets and gizmos and some very bizarre looking attachments which are just calling out to be put to good use.

Is it wrong that this is the high light of my holiday this year ?

Just to prove it's not all about me... Here's a saucy hot dog from Great Yarmouth sea front.

My Creative Space.

2011-07-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

What could be better than a little dolly to match your blanket ?

Maybe a little dolphin to match your blanket.

I decided our baby corner needed something new and colourful. These little blankets are just the right size for tucking little toes in, all nice and cosy in the car seat. And since each one has it's own matching toy they make the perfect travel set.

For once I can honestly say that I didn't go out and buy any more yarn this week. The benefits of keeping even the tiniest bits of yarn have certainly paid off and my secret stash ( the one we don't admit to ) is looking a lot more respectable.

Now I will just have to put together some other colour combinations and make some more baby travel sets.

I'm off to visit some creative spaces now. Why not come along HERE

My Creative Space

2011-07-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy little beaver in my creative space this week.

I love visiting 'Our Creative Spaces' on a Thursday to see what other crafty people are doing around the world. Click HERE to join in.

It looks like I've made a bit of a woolly club sandwich here, when really I have made nine lovely knitted and crocheted scrarfs and shawls.

Okay.. so it's summer in Scotland and even though the weather has been terrible this week, it's not really the season to be buying new scarfs. I'm calling this 'forward planning' since last winter I spent November and December crocheting hats and scarfs like a mad woman just to keep up with demand.

Scottish Summer................

2011-07-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Does this look like summer to you ? Streams of rain water running down the road and the kind of puddles that van drivers just love to drive through at speed. There's nothing quite like an accidental splashing from a white van and a big puddle.

Strangely enough, some of my happiest childhood memories involve going out play in shorts, gagoule and Jesus sandals.

Maybe we were just easily pleased in the "olden days". When it wasn't raining, and when the sun was shining, we used to spend hours sitting at the side of the road bursting tar bubbles. It was a quiet street with very few cars passing by which meant that in between splashing in puddles and bursting tar bubbles, we had plenty of time to make up words from the car number plates. Bonus points for the longest word of course.

Sadly, my children won't play anymore..

Meanwhile, across the road at the church hall the anuual Kirk Sale is taking place.

Just closed for the afternoon which is why there are no bargain hunters to be seen here. The people of Alyth are very generous, donating unwanted stuff every year. And the bargain hunters of Alyth just love it.

The sale is open all week from 10 till 4pm, then again from 6 till 8pm.

Who knows what the final total will be but I'm pretty sure that last years figures are going to be beaten.

I heard yesterday that the total on the first day was £2900. Pretty impressive for a small town with a population of around 2500, and that was just on the one day.

I wonder if they have any brollies...

My Creative Space

2011-06-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

My Creative Space today was ever so slightly hi-jacked at lunch time when a text message reminded me of a deadline I had forgotten about.

The simple question "Is your bear ready for the Teddy Bear Trail ?" lead to the one word answer "oops"

I've mentioned a few times about our various window competitions here in Alyth.

The teady bear trail is slightly different in that there is no prize for any shop keepers. The idea is that by having a Teddy Bear theme in all our windows over the summer will encourage people to take a walk around town, looking in windows and answering the questions on an entry form along the way. The hope of course is that people will become more aware of what is available in local shops and will therefore be more supportive to local businesses.

This years teddies will all have different flowers which have to be identified.

The long answer to the question was that my flower was ready but Teddy ( who I had decided, perhaps a little rashly, to knit ) only had one arm, his head was in the bag with his ears and his body was only half stuffed. Poor Teddy.

So this afternoon, instead of making jewellery, I was knitting, stuffing and sewing him all together.

Before he got down to work, posing in the window with a fetching button-hole flower, he had a wee shot on the rocking horse.

To be honest, he is a wee bit chubby, and his head is a wee bit wobbly but he is quite a cutie.

I hope people will recognise what kind of flower he is wearing because for once in my life I actually followed a pattern for this one.

Feel free to answer that one but unless you are prepared to walk round Alyth on a rainy summer afternoon there's no prize for getting it right.

Visit other creative spaces by clicking HERE

Short attention span ??

2011-06-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

One Pattern

Three crochet hooks

Three very different yarns

Three unfinished cowl / scarfy creations.

I don't think calling them 'scowls' would be a very good idea.

I like to think that I have been product testing, or working on design development, or simply multi-tasking.

Some husbands (who shall remain nameless) simply ask if maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to finish one project before starting another one ?

Maybe a special scowl of my own is the answer to that question.

Just a technicality.............

2011-06-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a wee bit peeved and a big bit annoyed.

Blogger won't let me post any comments on the blogs that I have been reading for the last week or so.

If anyone is feeling neglected by me then please don't be. I'm still reading and enjoying my favourite blogs and hopefully I will be able to get commenting again very soon.

Fiona x

I wish I was an Aran Cardigan...

2011-06-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

He really doesn't look very happy,does he, sitting in the corner with his arms folded.

Maybe I should go back to the start of the story and explain the title.

France '98, to many people was all about football. There was a World Cup or European Cup, or some kind of big football tournament in France that year. But that meant nothing to the Dorchester Family. For us, France '98 was going to be our first foreign holiday as a family and we were really looking forward to it.

To go back even further.. when I was a wee girl, my sister, mum and I always seemed to get a new Aran Cardigan for our holidays. Walks around our campsite after dinner were always preceded by the instruction "don't forget your aran cardigan, it'll be chilly later"

So I decided that for our first camping holiday in France I would be needing and aran cardigan. I started knitting in plenty of time, or so I thought, but it wasn't finished by the time we set off on our big adventure. Needless to say, I somehow survived a holiday without an aran cardigan.

France '98 was so much fun that we soon arranged France '99 and a couple of weeks before we set off I got my knitting out and managed another sleeve. Yet again time got the better of me and another holiday without an aran cardigan passed by. I could go on and on and on about the inch that was knitted in 2000 just before we moved house.. the time I thought about knitting the second sleeve but couldn't find the pattern... the time I found the pattern and finally, the time I admitted I had completely lost interest in the cardigan and didn't even like the pattern any more.

And now, this morning, the last of the aran wool was used to finish off this little chap.

He was allowed to climb on the back of my chair.

Had a wee shot on the rocking horse.

And yet he still looks a wee bit sad. Dreaming, perhaps, about what it would have been like to be an Aran Cardigan.

Was it all too much , do you think, for him to see me start work on a new cardigan this afternoon ?

Visit Creative Spaces HERE

Blown Away............

2011-05-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just as we were getting used to life without snow..

And just as we were getting used to a bit of sunshine..

And just as we were considering putting the warm coats away till next year...

Blooming gale force winds and torrential rain.

I'm not going out there with my camera just to prove a point but it truly is wild.

Enough, that people have been posting local road reports on facebook with photos of fallen trees blocking the roads to Perth and Dundee, but I just saw a photo of an upside-down trampoline in the burn. Some poor children in Alyth are going to be very upset to find out that their trampoline has flown over the garden wall and drowned.

Hopefully normal life will soon resume.

Our Creative Spaces

2011-05-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

This week I have spent a fair amount of time rooting around in the "change tin".

I think everyone has one of these where various family members drop their loose change. The denomination of the loose change depends very much on the person doing the dropping, the size of their purse, or the depth of their pockets. You very rarely find anything more than a twenty pence in ours, though occasionally a fifty pence appears. However, for what I had in mind, I was happy with the selection of one pence pieces at my disposal.

I was inspired by a Creative Space which I found last week and wanted to make a special bracelet for myself. Wendy at littlegreenbums had been playing with loose change too.

This is what I made.

I chose five pennies from five special years, representing five special people in my life.

I drilled two holes in each coin, filed and tidied the holes, polished all the coins with my favourite new toy... a perfect little mini drill with polishing attachments... then linked them all with little copper coloured jump rings. I was so pleased with my special bracelet that I went back to the change tin and found five special coins for my sister.

If you want to join in with other creative people sharing their creative spaces click Our Creative Spaces which is a new blog from Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

2011-05-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today I was working on a special order for a customer using my super funky French Knitting bobbin.

Everybody seems to have a different name for this particular craft.

French Knitting, Catty tails, Ratty tails, bobbin knitting, dolly knitting, are just some of the names I have heard of.

Anyway, my little bobbin, dolly, thingamyjig is a long way removed from the hand made thingamyjigs that my sister and I used when we were young. Way back in the 'olden days' .. possibly before the invention of plastic.. when thread used to come on wooden bobbins, we waited patiently till mum had finished two reels of thread. My dad hammered four small nails into the empty reels and voila !! our own little knitting thingamyjigs. Somehow we never really made anything other than long knitted tubes which could be used as scarfs for our dolls.

Todays project involved fine wire and cute little square beads and became a pretty little necklace.

My customer was passing by just as I finished and I forgot to get a photograph.

I'll just have to do another one now and be sure to get a picture.

Pop on to kootoyoo to see more Creative Spaces. Just click HERE

My Creative Space

2011-04-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

The last time we had a royal wedding of this magnitude I was 18 years old with a boyfriend who feared that weddings were infectious. Obviously, spending the day glued to the television watching the wedding would have given me ideas so we spent the morning climbing a hill behind the quarry nearby. The afternoon was spent listening to Elvis Costello and The Clash. A fine musical selection and well known antidote to romantic notions. This time round it will be an ordinary working day for me, but the bonus of having the shop next to the house means I shall no doubt pop my head round the door from time to time for a wee look.

So.. to get in the mood I used my creative space this morning to crochet my own little royal wedding cake.

Cute....?

More creative spaces are over HERE at Kootoyoo

Royal Wedding Souvenirs.... mmmaybe not !!!

2011-04-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today I'm linking with Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday which you can visit by clicking HERE

It's well worth visiting.

I didn't actually go looking for shadows this week and only realised how quirky this one was when I came to do a completely different post. My friends and I had a club night at Mel's on Friday. We are not so much 'ladies who lunch' as 'ladies who laugh'. And there was certainly a lot of laughing on Friday night. Mel sets little challenges every month and this month's challenge was to create a tacky Royal Wedding souvenir.

Obviously, the tackier the better.

Mel excelled herself with this Catherine Middleton topsy turvy doll made from two wooden spoons. Below we have 'common Kate'. Just an ordinary girl with a penchant for fashion. You may notice the stylish chamois leather, gypsy style skirt, the curtain ring earings and the special monogrammed yellow tee-shirt.

Above, we have Princess Catherine in her wedding finery. Note the self styled carrier bag wedding dress and a the exfoliating scrunchy hair. What a lovely shadow she makes.

Elaine also got the tacky element just right with her special Royal Wedding toilet roll holder.

There's really not a lot I can say about this that Elaine did not already say in her authentication certificate that came along with her souvenir.

Perhaps now I should add a disclaimer about how I had no part in these creations and that Buy Design does not specialise in tacky souvenirs. Elaine and Mel really are incredibly talented and creative ladies. Can you just imagine what they could do if they harnessed all their talent for good...

Lost in a good book.

2011-04-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Does anybody else forget the time when they are absorbed in a good book ?

When I say "good book" I don't necessarily mean a great literary tome, or anything truly deep and meaningful. I'm a bit of butterfly in my reading habits and will read just about anything... apart from mythology, science fiction, instruction manuals, or anything really boring. I've been know to sit reading crochet patterns, which some people may think is really boring but hey ho, we're all different I suppose.

Today I have been caught up in intrigue and suspense.

Which is my way of saying... oops I forgot to take some photos and now I have nothing to blog about.

Which means a very short post today and I can get back to 'Alone in Berlin' by Hans Fallada.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-04-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

I wasn't the only girl looking for shadows around here today.

My poor Angel doesn't know what to do with herself now that the sun has come out. Being white with short hair she tends to get sun burn and we have to put sun block on her nose to stop it peeling.

She does look good in the shadow under the the old garden table though.

She's a bit of a rubbish model though because as soon as she realised I had the camera out she got all camera shy and headed back indoors.

Would you like to see more shadow shots ?

Pop over to Hey Harriet by clicking HERE

Rocking rolling riding..

2011-04-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

After yesterdays nonsense I thought I ought to redeem myself and prove to the world that I'm not completely mad. When I was a wee girl I always wanted a rocking horse. I also loved singing along with The Seekers, singing about the train to morning town. I used to dream about singing along with The Seekers while rocking on my rocking horse.

I really wanted a rocking horse for my children, but that didn't happen either. Totally skint when number one was born, fairly skint when number two was born, and by the time number three came along number one and number two were too big for a rocking horse and it seemed a bit extravagant to buy a horse for just one child to use.

I probably won't get to keep this one for long, because he is so lovely and I'm sure someone will be taking him to a new home very soon. But until that happens I can enjoy having him in the shop.

A very talented man called Andy White made this beauty.

Have you ever wondered what joiners do when they retire ? In Andy's case the answer is.. make rocking horses.

Isn't he just gorgeous.

Fiona x

Cracking up ?

2011-04-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

Am I maybe getting over egg-cited ?

It's not long till Easter now and I think I might finally be cracking up.

These little egg heads are looking forward to hatching but I'm a bit worried about what they might turn out as. The black and white one is a bit of a bad egg and has ambitions to be a jail bird.

The red one was named Pearce by his mum, an avid James Bond fan with a soft spot for Pearce Brosnan. Sadly little Pearce, an Emo at heart, misunderstood and got his eybrow pierced. Mum was not happy.

On a happier note Ike, in the fetching stetsun, wants to be a country and western singer.

Wee Morag in the tartan bow just wants to look nice.

Not sure what to eggspect from the other two girls but I think the will be just fine.

On the other hand, I may need to have a lie down somewhere calm...

Bunnies Galore

2011-04-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

There appears to be an abundance of bunnies in Alyth today.

We have just enjoyed a beautifully sunny and warm weekend and I'm full of hope for a lovely summer this year. I do hope I'm right.

With only two weeks till Easter, and full of the joys of spring I decided that today was the day to start putting my Easter Window display together. Oh yes.. there's another shield at stake but I fear the competition will be fierce this time round.

So would you like a sneak preview ?

I'm not quite finished and I think I will rearrange things a bit more until I am satisfied but here is the progress so far.

I've been crocheting bunnies and carrots and daisies to my heart's content for the last couple of months. I think somehow I would like to create a hill for the little guys to play on though that's going to require some thinking about.

I love my 'easter tree' decorated with eggs and ribbons. It reminds me of our holiday in Eastern Europe this time last year, where the trees in the town squares were decorated in ribbons, and where the fabulous Easter markets were an absolute treat.

I'm not liking how bad the paintwork on my windowsill looks. A reminder of how harsh our winter was and a reminder that I need to speak to my painter to get things tidied up again.

And here are some more bunnies along the street in my friend Mel's window.

I love her daffodils on the back cloth. They are made from cut out paper petals and fairy-cake cases.

It's such a simple idea but they are really effective.

Hopefully I'll have some more windows to show in the next few days.

My Creative Space

2011-04-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

We all know by now that my official status as a jewellery maker has taken a bit of a hit recently as I have become more and more obsessive about my new love of crochet. Of course I decided to learn to crochet so that I could use the techniques I learned to create new and exciting jewellery. I just never planned on getting so carried away with myself.

So.. to the point of todays post.

It's Thursday again which means that it's time to share what I have been working on in My Creative Space. Feel free to click HERE and visit Kirsty at Kootoyoo.

I came across an interesting looking pattern and decided to challenge my crochet and jewellers skills at the same time.

I had hoped to be able to work this pattern in fine wire but that proved a bit tricky so I used a shiny, textured crochet thread instead. Now that I have done the pattern once though I think I will probably try again with wire as I have a feeling that it could result in something fabulous. How's that for confidence then ???

What I should have said, is that I would love to be good enough to crochet a fabulous, unique and totally gorgeous necklace using fine enamelled wire and although I'm not entirely sure that I'm up to the task, I'm prepared to give it a go. I'll let you know how I get on.

Whilst I can see ways of improving this one, or maybe just adapting it a little bit, I must admit that I am pretty pleased with myself.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-04-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long time since I played along with Shadow Shots on Sundays.

The main reason, of course that it's been a long time since we had much sun up here, and when we did have sun it was accompanied by gale force winds and freezing temperatures, and the thought of taking my thermal gloves off just so that I could take a picture was a little less than appealing.

I know that I am a big jessie at heart...( that's a big wimp, or a big softie if you aren't Scottish )

I've never claimed to be an intrepid explorer.

Anyway.. I was passing heyharriet today and stopped to see her amazing shadow shot. If you haven't visited before then you really should as this week's shadow is a cracker.

Now, from my living room it looked like there might be some sunshine in the garden so I quickly grabbed my camera and nipped out to see what I could find. I don't have a huge house and it certainly doesn't take more than a few seconds to get from the front room to the back garden but the sun had all but gone by the time I got out. Nonetheless I was not to be deterred in my search for a shadow.

Okay, so four wheelie bins in a row may not be everyone's cup of tea but they do look rather fine with their shadows on. Oh.. and since you are obviously drawn to the gorgeous blue car, I thought I should include a totally gratuitous shot of my baby.

She could do with a bit of a wash right now but I do love my car. She is a Chrysler PT Cruiser and the best car I have ever had. I always wanted one but always thought it was a bit extravagant and settled for something a bit more compact. A couple of years ago, though, my husband had a bit of a tumble in my small sensible car and ended upside down in the middle of a roundabout. Now don't panic. He was absolutely fine, but the car was a complete right-off. Thanks to a very generous insurance company we were able to replace sensible with gorgeous. He likes to tell people that he nearly died just so that I could get my dream car, but that's a bit of an exaggeration.

And in case anyone was wondering if I enjoyed seeing Showaddywaddy..

Here's a slighly dodgy shot of 'the boys' on stage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre on Friday night. It was a great night of music, nostalgia and a few laughs.

Showaddywaddy......?

2011-03-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

I think I'm showing my age a bit when I say that I am really really excited to be going to see Showaddywaddy at Pitlochry Festival Theatre this weekend.

If you are now thinking "Showaddy..what ?" or "Showaddy..who ?" then I can only feel sorry for you that you are not old enough to have experienced the glam age of mid '70s music. Of course, I was just a child at the time....

If I can only contain my excitement for another day and concentrate on work I'll be doing well. I seem to have forgotten how to take photos these days.

There's been a lot of crochet going on and I am nearly ready to start on my Easter window so pop back in a few days and see how it turns out.

Scrap Happy Theatre Company

2011-03-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

I've been working today !!!

Not a life shattering event for most people but I don't normally have to work on a Saturday. I realise that having Saturdays off is a luxury that most shop owners only dream of. This is when I appreciate having nearly grown up kids, who are willing to work in mummy's shop for a minimum wage, so that mum and dad get to go out to play for the day.

However, today I had a craft fair in Blairgowrie organised by Scrap Happy Theatre Company. This is a local youth theatre group and the kids performed on stage throughout the afternoon which was great to see. What a lot of talented young people live in our small rural community. So, it really didn't feel too much like working to be honest... sell a bit.. chat a bit... watch a performance... chat a bit more. Not bad for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

My neighbour was a lady called Clara, who I have met a few times now. She uses precious metal clay, (PMC) and makes some lovely jewellery. I found out today that she has started blogging but is still finding her way around Blogger. So if you fancy a look at something a bit different, please pop over for a visit to clarasmithjewellery

My Creative Space.

2011-03-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the annual Federation show for Angus SWRI. It's open to the public on Friday and Saturday at the Reid Hall in Forfar. Today was set up and judging so my creative space was cleared out this morning when my friend Cathy came along to collect my entries. If you were reading here last year you may remember me saying how bad I am for leaving things till the last minute. The schedule for the show comes out in September, and like last year I ticked off a few things I would like to enter for and this time told myself that I would work at a steady pace and get everything ready well in advance.

So ... what do you think happened ?

Well I finished off my 'Novelty Doorstop' on Monday afternoon.

My 'Button Necklace' wasn't so much of a challenge as I make lots of these to sell in the shop, but I did have a bit of a challenge just choosing which one to enter.

My 'Knitted Toy' was a bit of an afterthought.

I have been busy crocheting bunnies for Easter and had kind of forgotten that I had said I would knit a toy.

This little guy was knitted on my day off on Tuesday, sewn up and stuffed on Wednesday and has his nose and eyes sewn on at 11pm on Wednesday night. I really should be better organised in future....

And finally this 'Christmas Themed Cross-stitch' was re-framed on Wednesday afternoon as I realised the original frame exceded the size specified in the schedule.

I think I now qualify for a big fish supper from the chippie for tea tonight. Or does that sound like a reward for being disorganised ?

See Creative Spaces from all over at kootoyoo

My Creative Space

2011-03-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

I've been Chain Mailling again. This chunky bracelet chain was made with big 14mm jump rings and is another Byzantine chain. I want to try different sizes and patterns to see how they all turn out and I love the colour of this one.

This one is based on a Box Chain but I misjudged how many links it would take... a mixture of the size of the links and the extra chunkiness of the pattern. But I suppose it's all part of learning a new skill. I adapted the basic box chain by splitting it up with flat rings which made it go that bit little bit further.

Some people might call this a mistake but I think I will call it an Original.

More Creative Spaces are over at Kootoyoo

My First Chain Maille

2011-03-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

I have been popping back and forward visiting the lovely blog of Crafty Ady quite a bit recently.

She has recently become addicted to the art of Chain Maille, and I was inspired to have a try myself.

I was lucky enough to have some project cards which gave pretty good instructions on getting started.

And like Ady, I may have discovered a new addiction.

This one is called a Bizantine weave and was recommended as a good place to start. It was a bit fiddly getting started but I got the hang of it quite quickly. 104 gold coloured jump rings went into this and it's the perfect size for a bracelet for my skinny wrists.

Please have a wee click on the link above and see the amazing creations of Craft Ady.

My Creative Space.

2011-03-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's been a wee while since I shared my creative space and today might not be the best day for my return.

It's been a complete nightmare of a day, interupted by endless phone calls and text messages about my poor broken car. On the plus side, it's no longer broken, and I finally managed to get a lift to Perth to collect it from the garage before they closed for the day. But it was all really frustrating. I love my car and seeing it being driven away on the back of a recovery truck yesterday was enough to bring a tear to my eye.

Anyway, amidst all this frustration I decided to get to work on a repair job for a customer.

Now if there is one thing I hate ....

Actually while I'm ranting, I may as well say that there are a few things I hate.

Ironing

The News of the World

Red Audis (one ran me off the road into a ditch last year and I, irrationally blame all red Audis)

Phone calls from telemarketing firms ..especially the automated ones.

So, back to my creative space... If there is one thing I hate it's admitting defeat. It was a close call today though. I was challenged with the task of restringing a five stranded pearl necklace. One strand was intact but since the catch was broken, that had to be restrung along with the others. Two strands had been restrung previously by the owner who admitted she had made a bit of a mess of it. One strand was almost intact but snapped at one end and may or may not have lost some of the tiny 1mm pearls. And the final strand was mostly in bits in a plastic bag. So there we have it... Around 600 assorted pearls, ranging in sizes from 8mm down to the tiny 1mm.

Here I am reaching the final straight. Time to decide on the clasp.

Don't even try to guess how many times I was on my hands and knees, scouring the floor for dropped beads.

Obviously no photos of that stage as I was way beyond the mood for framing shots and the chance of me throwing the camera was just too great.

In the end it was all worth while.

I'm really pleased to have been able to bring this sixty year old necklace back to life and I hope it's owner will be equally pleased.

To enjoy some less stressed out Creative Spaces just click HERE and visit kootoyoo.

Happy Bunny

2011-02-25T09:38:00.000-08:00

He looks a little bit startled actually, but I'm a happy bunny to have finished this little chap.

Does anyone remember me talking about the window competitions that we have here in Alyth ?

I may have mentioned that I won the Christmas competition...

I was rather chuffed about that.

Last year we had a competition for valentines day which I didn't win BOOO !!!

This year we an Easter competition and I have been giving a lot of thought as to how my window should look. Obviously, big bunny here will have to take prime position. I still have about a month to let my imagination run wild so who knows just who or what will be there in the supporting roles.

Any suggestions will be gratefully received as I have a tendency to get a bit silly.

Can't believe I just admitted that ...

Fiona x

Recycling update

2011-02-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Me and pencils don't really work together.

I have a lot of stuff going on in my head but as soon as I try to illustrate it with a pen and a piece of paper it just seems to get a bit lost in translation.

Anyway, I have done my best and hopefully these pics show how to cut fabric strips as I did yesterday. When you finish cutting the fabric you can roll it in to a great big ball of yarn-like stuff and crochet it into a mat or whatever takes your fancy.

I've even recycled and old receipt for the purpose of this demonstration. A bit easier to photgraph on the kitchen table than an old teletubby duvet cover which I am in the process of cutting up now.

And now the clever bit with the guide lines drawn in .. tee hee..

Obviously there are wee kinks in the yarn where you turn the fabric but they crochet in quite nicely and I think they kind of add to the effect.

If you change colours along the way the ends will have to be worked in but hopefully that won't put you off.

A little bit of recycling

2011-02-18T12:26:00.000-08:00

I did a bit of cutting and crocheting today. It was meant to be a practice run really but I'm quite pleased with the result.

This was a piece of fleece fabric, left over from a long forgotten project and left to languish in the basement with a lot of other long forgotten projects.

I had come across an article recently about recycling fabrics by cutting them in to strips and crocheting them into a bath mat. The strips are about 15mm wide and crocheted on a 10mm hook so once you get past the cutting the crocheting bit is really quick.

I think, to be honest that the fleece was a bit too thick but it worked up really quickly and is now about 12 inches in diameter and that only took four rounds with my big fat 10mm hook.

I'm going to have to root around for something else to cut up now as I have just about run out of this fleece. It would obviously defeat the purpose if I went out and bought fabric wouldn't it...

Happy New Year.....

2011-02-05T12:11:00.000-08:00

Maybe this posting should be called "Happy New Month"

Or maybe " Where have you been since Christmas ?"

I could tell you all about our terrible weather, the layers of thermal underwear that have made getting dressed each day a bit like the preparation for an Arctic Expedition.

I could tell you that frostbite had got the better of my typing fingers, not to mention the difficulty of crocheting with your gloves on.

Or I could just say that I have been enjoying a bit of a blogging break.

January is always a bit quiet... (really quiet this year !!) and I try to use this time to plan my strategy for the year ahead. I've just started planning which craft fairs to do. Is it just me or does there always seem to be two good fairs on the same day and I have yet to figure out how to be in two places at once?

Maybe that could be this years' challenge... Possibly not.

I hope everyone out there is well and I look forward to catching up with all my favourite blogs now that I am back on the computer.

Fiona x

Oh, and by the way. A friend of mine has just joined the blogging world. Kerstin is a very talented ceramics artist and has some of her work in Buy Design. Maybe you would like to pop over for a visit to

alythceramicstudio to offer some bloggy encouragement.

Santa Clause is coming to town....

2010-12-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not about to show any more snow and icicles here today. Not because there isn't an abundance of snow and icicles just waiting to be photographed, simply because we're getting a bit bored of them now.

It's now four weeks since our first snow fall and the novelty has worn off. I'm missing grass and black roads and walking the dog without having to worry about her getting lost in a snow drift... And just simply walking without fear of landing on my bum when that sneaky black ice hides under innocent looking snow.

However, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I have many reasons to be happy. Snow has definately had a beneficial effect on business and shopping local is 'the new black'. Why would anyone willing trek all the way to Dundee or Perth in this weather when my little shop is so much easier to get to.

So.. one more day in the shop then it will be time to sit back, relax and enjoy Christmas with my family.

The Tree is decorated, the cupboards and the fridge are well stocked. Presents are all wrapped, with the exception of my sister's which I haven't quite finished making yet, but we won't be seeing her till next week so no need to panic.

All that remains is for me to wish all my blogging friends a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a successful and happy New Year ahead.

Lots of love from Fiona xoxo

Reasons to be cheerful

2010-12-10T05:32:00.000-08:00

Two weeks since the snow started falling on Alyth we are enjoying (???) a bit of a thaw today.

With temperatures soaring above freezing point to the dizzy heights of 2 degrees it's a great chance to get the paths and drives cleared up a bit. Icicles have been falling steadily off of door and window frames. My son 'helped' to dislodge a massive icicle yesterday from the back of the house, which in one way was good, ie it's not threatening to pull the drainpipe away from the wall. However it landed on my rotary clothes line and left it totally mangled. Hey ho... I wasn't planning on hanging my washing outside anyway.

The big reason to be cheerful though is that I won the Christmas Window Competition. Yoo Hoo..

If you didn't see my previous post then click HERE

I'm really chuffed to have been picked as the best window in town.

Now that the streets are getting a bit clearer of snow I will get out and about and show you some of the other window displays over the weekend.

Wherever you are, stay warm xoxo

Shadow Shot Sunday

2010-12-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

During the summer.... ahh seems like a long time ago.. I came across the blog of Hey Harriet with the lovely challenge of photographing shadows and posting them on Sundays to share with shadow followers around the world. I really enjoyed looking at everyday things in different ways and trying to improve my photographic skills along the way.

So in a bid to get away from talking about snow I decided to look for shadows here in Alyth this morning. The sun was very weak, but any sun at all and no snow is a blessing so I did my best.

That's me, in the middle. My shadow looks like the Bishop in our chess set. A bit bizarre as I'm pretty sure I look nothing like a Bishop but then they do say that the camera never lies...

It was just a quick walk through the wee park and it looks so pretty.

So far the burn hasn't frozen over as it did last winter. It was lovely to see the sky so blue and the hills in the distance. I'm going to have to try and get some shots in the evening when the lights along the burn are lit. We have been adding to them over the last few years and they now go all the way up to the second bridge and look gorgeous.. so Christmassy.

No excuses for this shot which I took yesterday.

He's a Fireman.

One of the local volunteer firemen to be exact.

They came out to remove some massive icicles hanging from the roofs. We were all a bit concerned that someone could get hurt if the icicles fell off.

So that's it for now.

Shadows

Snow

and Firemen.

Have a look over HERE for more shadows x

Two sides to every story..

2010-12-02T04:05:00.000-08:00

On the inside of My Creative Space is a lovely fluffy snowflake.

And on the outside.... real live icicles.

Visit lots of creative spaces at kootoyoo.

Just click HERE

Day 5 in the Winter wonderland

2010-11-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

There's not much "going out" happening around here as we reach day 5 of the Great Perthshire Snow of 2010. So there has been plenty of time to crochet hats for the family. Rhona wanted one with ears and that's just what she got.

Night time photography isn't my best achievement but you hopefully get the idea here.

Despite heavy snow on Friday night there was still a great turn out on Saturday evening to see the switch on parade. Here comes the pipe band leading the parade.

Not really going that fast but somehow I got a nice effect as the band passed the shop.

And here comes Santa on the four wheel drive which all self respecting Santas will be travelling in this year.

Last year he travelled by tractor but this year the tractors were a bit busy digging cars out of snowdrifts further up the glen.

And then came Sunday. Such a lot of snow.

The drive was cleared on Saturday to get my car into the garage and now look at it.

Going to be a big job getting out of this. Thankfully we don't have to be anywhere for a couple of days.

I decided against hanging my washing out on the line. Good choice I think...

Besides which, the tumble drier is in the downstairs toilet and while it is tumbling away it makes the toilet really warm and cosy..

Nearly lost my wellies in the snow.. In some parts it came up over the top of my super Jelly Bean Wellies.

Ha.. in some parts it came up over the top of my wee dog.

No wonder she is so keen to get back in the house before it starts to snow again.

Time to get crocheting more hats for the shop I think, and maybe a couple of dog coats.

We're walking in the air......

2010-11-29T04:29:00.000-08:00

So here it is in all it's glory.

This years Christmas Window display is The Snowmans Christmas Ceilidh

Good old Santa sitting in the corner waiting patiently for his guitar solo, while Jock Bon Jovi, the famous Perthshire Piper plays 'Highland Cathedral' on his pipes.

Tough competition this year with some really good windows around the town.

Judging isn't for another week or so, so I will keep you posted on how we get on and show some more of the windows just as soon as I get them photographed. Bit tricky to do that today as what feels like a mountain of snow fell over the weekend. But hey ho.. at least it feels Christmassy around here.

Victorian Day

2010-11-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday 27th November was the date for Alyth's Victorian Day

A quick recap if you weren't here last year.

Victorian Day is the day we switch on our little town's Christmas Lights. We are very proud of our Christmas Lights as they aren't provided by the local council, but have been built up over the last few years by enthusiastic fundraisers and many many coffee mornings.

The day starts with shopkeepers in Fancy Dress, endless photo opportunities, a charity Victorian Style Market in the afternoon, then the switch on parade up the main street and into the Square for music from Perthshire Brass and Alyth Pipe Band.

There are certificates for the best 3 fancy dress and a shield for the winner as chosen by the Citizen and Young Citizen of the year.

All round, it's just a lovely day to be part of.

Big thanks to 'my man' for tackling the job of clearing the path in front of the shop. We had our first snowfall on Friday night and the morning was freezing cold.

Me and my Boy. Since Megan went to Uni in Aberdeen my son Calum has been helping out on Saturdays. He is studying drama and quite enjoyed playing the part of distinguished young gentleman.

I loved my Mary Poppins outfit. Not quite the weather for a '...jolly holiday..' but I kept singing Mary Poppins songs throughout the day. It was ... supercalifragelisticexpialidocious.

Heather in the paper shop spent the morning dressed as Paddington Bear. Sillly girl, ate all her marmalade sandwiches in the first half hour.

Young Kirsty, Super Kirsty helps out in the Tee shirt printing shop next door to Buy Design.

Michael was not a great advert for the Barber of the town in his big affro wig. He was too busy reliving the '70s to care that his hair and moustache were different colours.

If you watch Scottish Television, you will no doubt recognise Isa and Jaavid from 'Still Game'.

If not, then just take my word for it, these two were great.They came 3rd in the competition.

These cool hippies were kept busy in the Co-op. Serving customers and posing for photos.

David in Hobbies tried shouting 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here' but it was Muriel's day off so he just had to work.

Pirates took over in the chemist shop but they seemed to be working pretty hard so we let them carry on.

Audrey and Bill looked just like the Victorian Post Master and Mistress.

They were chosen in 2nd place. I love Audrey's dress.

The staff at The Alyth Hotel came 1st and get to keep the shield that they also won last year.

I can't get over that the Boss is in the Scooby Doo suit.

My favourite though is Wee Jack in the Scrappy Doo outfit.

So those are the highlights from my camera.

More about the parade and the switch on next time.

Fiona x

My Creative Space.

2010-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

It's been all go in here this week.

It started on Sunday morning, bright and early with a collection of tractors and cherry-pickers on the street as the 'boys' of the town started to put up the Christmas lights.

The average age of the 'boys' can only be imagined but they are a hardy lot who work really hard every year to make our little town gorgeous over the festive period.

I was hoping for an action shot but got out with my camera just in time for tea break.

Believe me though, they worked really hard and we are all really looking forward to the switch on parade this coming Saturday.

Saturday 27th November is Victorian Day. This is the day when the shop workers (and anyone else who feels like it) get the chance to dress up in fancy dress and just enjoy ourselves and be a little bit silly. I can't wait to get our costumes out this year as we had such a good time last year.

The end of the day sees the torchlight parade up the street and the switch on of the Christmas lights.

There is a prize for the best-dressed staff on the day, but really it's just good fun.

Victorian Day is also the target for getting our windows ready for the Christmas Window Competition.

I'm just about there now.

A quick break now for dinner and I will be back with the results of what went on in My Creative Space today. In the meantime have a look at other spaces HERE at Kootoyoo.

( little confession here.... I can't get my photos to load just now and I really want to hit the computer... so in the interest of my sanity I will leave and come back later..)

You can tell it's nearing Christmas when.....

2010-11-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

....... you attend a cake decorating demonstration and find that the cake is made of florists oasis and that the decorations aren't made from sugar paste.

Now I'm all for trying something different but floral art and cake decorating are not high on my list of accomplishments. Visions of some of my confectionary creations still horrify my kids who would plead for a 'bought cake please' whenever they were inviting friends round for birthday tea.

Likewise, give me a bunch of flowers and I will stick them in a vase, tweak the occasional bud to face the front, and feel like I have created something wonderful.

So I hope you enjoy the one and only floral / confectionary creation which is ever going to be seen around here.

xoxo

Fiona

My Creative Space

2010-11-11T01:21:00.000-08:00

If you have been reading my blog for a while you may remember me telling you about the Christmas Window competition here in Alyth. If not, then have a look HERE

So it's that time of year again and my Creative Space has been taken over with plans for this years window.

I seem to be knitting and crocheting non stop with stuff for the window and for customer orders.

I am having a Christmas Shopping Evening with ginger wine and mince pies on Wednesday 17th November which is less than a week away..... and really want to have my window dressed nicely for the occassion.

Most crafters and makers are really busy at this time of year but still seem to find the time to share their work on kootoyoo . Well worth a look if you can spare the time from your busy schedule.

Love from Fiona x

RSVP

2010-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Buy Design

I am sooo looking forward to your Christmas Window Ceilidh.

I got a lovely wee tartan shawl to match my favourite hat.

Is it true that Jock Bon Jovi will be playing his pipes ?

See you soon.

Love from Maisie McSnow x

RSVP

2010-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

Dear Buy Design,

Thank you for inviting me to your Christmas Window Ceilidh.

I can't wait to see all my friends again.

I have my outfit sorted and all I need now is a bit of lipstick.

Lots of love from Sally McSnow.

xoxo

Neighbours....everybody needs good neighbours..

2010-10-27T04:29:00.000-07:00

I thought I would shame my photographic skills and tell you about my neighbour at Abernethy craft fair last Saturday. Her name was Jo Cound and she is an amazing photographer. No digital cameras for Jo. She is a proper photographer with proper cameras, real film, negatives and her own dark room where she develops and prints all her own work. I have seen her work before at other fairs but we have never been neighbours and so this was the first time I got to chat with her and to hear more about her work. She is soo enthusiastic about her work and can tell the story of every photo she has taken. Her work mostly features landscapes and nature and every one is a work of art. If you fancy a look click HERE and visit Jo's website.

I felt a wee bit inspired to try some nature photography myself and took my camera (digital of course) with me and Angel on our walk yesterday.

Like a proper artist ( ha ha) I thought I should name my shots.

Come back Angel, I want to take your picture.

COME BACK ANGEL.. oh never mind.

Forget Angel.

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn.

Mmm... nice wellies.

Rooting around. Is that a mini waterfall ?

I may as well admit that I will never be a photographer, but I did enjoy looking around a bit more than usual. It's so easy to take for granted that I live in a beautiful part of the country and sometimes it's good to remind myself how lucky I am.

Fiona

My Creative Space

2010-10-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

I finished knitting a scarf for myself. Maybe not a major achievement for most people...

However, these days everything that I make is destined for the shop so it's a bit of a novelty to make something and keep it.

I used Can Can yarn from Rico Designs, which has to be the strangest yarn I have ever used, and a little bit quirky to work with, but the results are amazing.

The colour doesn't look as gorgeous in this photo as it really is which is a shame but never mind. The ruffles look really complicated but it's actually really easy to knit. Just 7 stitches and knit for150cm.

You have to knit into the yarn rather than wrap it round the needle, and as if by magic, a super ruffled scarf appears.

I thought you might also like to see this mini granny square, crocheted with 0.2mm wire.

This is for a customer of mine who wants to disguise an unsightly button on an evening bag.

The purple is the same colour as her dress so it will coordinate nicely with her outfit.

I'm off to visit some more creative spaces at kootoyoo and see what everyone else has been doing today.

Fiona x

Busy Monday

2010-10-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to do something that I haven't done for a very long time.

A bit of card making

I have a craft fair on Saturday at the Museum of Abernethy, which is a really nice setting for a spot of Christmas shopping or for just treating yourself to some handmade goodies.

I haven't done many shows this year and fancied trying something a bit different for my first outing of the season. It's nice to feel that you have something new to show and that customers won't be looking at your stall thinking it's just the same as last year.

Soo.. a bit of something different.

I have a natty little template for a hand-shaped card which is perfect displaying bracelets. There are times when you want to give a wee present to someone who is going to say "aww you shouldn't have!"

Jewellery cards are the perfect solution.

Managed to finish off a dozen of these cards today. Lots of different colours and with simple crocheted wire and bead bracelets.

Along with some necklace cards and ear ring cards these will be on my table top card stand on Saturday.

I'm going to have to think out just how this will fit in with the rest of my display but it will certainly be a new look from last year.

Fiona x

Happy Sunday

2010-10-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

I think my get up and go might be on it's way back from wherever it went.
I got a new super-duper phone today and I can't wait to take some photos in the shop tomorrow (once I figure out all the mysterious apps there will be no stopping me)......
In the mean time I'm relaxing in front of the telly, watching Taggart, drinking coffee and catching up with blogs I haven't had time to read for a while.

Bloggers block ???

2010-10-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there is such a thing as Bloggers Block or do I just have too much going on in my head these days that I never seem to finish anything.
The ironing basket is taking on a life of it's own and may soon reach ridiculous heights.... ha ha too high for me to reach without the step ladders.
The top two shelves of the book case are perfectly tidy... the bottom two have stuff left over from tidying the top two.
The living room is lovely and tidy but somehow the hoover got left upstairs. Upstairs is hoovered but not so tidy.
I think I may be needing a holiday but since that is not about to happen any time soon, I think the next best thing would be a kick up the backside and a stern 'talking to'.
And so, having thought about blogging, and having blogged about nothing, I shall have a word with myself and get back on track again. So many things to do, so many things to plan for..... Ah it's tough being creative somedays.
Fiona x

My Creative Space

2010-10-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

My Creative Space today has been mostly Green. Green isn't normally my colour of choice which is probably why I seem to have so many green beads in my box, all waiting patiently to be turned into something lovely. I've spent a lot of time looking at my green beads and have been fairly uninspired by them. I don't wear much green myself and so I felt at a bit of a loss as to what to do with them. However, there are lots of green accessories in the shops this autumn and wanting to keep up to date with current trends I made today Green Day.

While I was making this one I had some customers in who loved the antique look of these beads which work really well with this gold coloured chain. Possibly my favourite 'make' today.

These are similar to the ones above but more oval in shape.

Now I wish I knew the technical name for what I'm about to say but Hey Ho I don't know everything. Can't believe I just admitted that though. These beads have wiggly black squiggles on them. It might be called scrifito. But that might not be how to spell it. Whatever it's called though they are very effective and just a little bit quirky.

And yes.... there are still plenty more in the box so there may be another Green Day very soon.

You can visit more creative spaces with more colours at kootoyoo

My Creative Space.

2010-09-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-09-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Sunday Shadows in Broughty Ferry.

2010-08-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

My knowledge of flowers is pretty hazy. I often think I know what something is called, but the truth is that I'm just guessing most of the time. This lamp-post shadow though, reminded me of what I think is called a Lupin. The chances are it's called something else entirely but it does look a like a long stemmed little bud to me.

We had our 'summer' holiday at the beginning of July and it's seems like a long time ago now. That is perhaps why we have been out and about playing at being tourists for the last couple of Sundays.

Today we went to Broughty Ferry which is only about forty minutes away from Alyth and had a lovely walk along the front at the side of the River Tay.

I did wonder if I could pass this shot off as a shadow shot but there is a big clue there which you just might spot if you look closely...

Can you see the train on the second bridge?

The Tay road bridge is at the front with the Tay rail bridge about half a mile further down the river. If you walk along the riverside under the rail bridge you can still see the supports for the original Tay Railway bridge standing out of the water. It collapsed on 28th December 1879 during a terrible storm. Most of the passengers on the train that was crossing the bridge at the time died due to the cold water rather than drowning. To be honest, I hate crossing the bridge. I know it's not going to collapse but I always find myself looking out for the old supports in the water.

On a lighter note... We found the biggest thistle I have ever seen in the ornamental gardens in Broughty Ferry. My husband is 5ft 8in so you can see it is quite a large thistle.

A lovely walk along the shoreline.

And a visit to Broughty Castle for some local history

Then it was time for a late lunch at the Chinese Buffet on the City Quay in Dundee.

Home on time to join Shadow Shot Sunday at heyharriet

I've got to deliver a child to swimming club now but will be checking out some more super shadow shots this evening. Have a look yourself. There are lots of lovely bloggers to visit.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

2010-08-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping that when I check out the other Creative Spaces at kootoyoo I will find that I'm not the only person to have been distracted today. I fully intended today to be a jewellery day, and even tidied up my boxes of findings..

But then I noticed that my shelves were really messy. They have been pretty messy for a while but I was obviously looking for distractions today so I tidied up my shelves of stuff. I even cut little inserts for the big boxes so that I can see where all my little boxes and bags are.

Then I looked out the back window and spotted this.

This fabulous heron can usually be seen flying around the Den of Alyth and swooping down into the water at an impressive rate. Today he decided to perch on my neighbours roof. I have no idea why, but maybe he got distracted too.

On my way back into the shop I had to pass my little box of crochet hooks sitting invitingly, beside my bag of yarn.... Well what would you do?

Five more squares for my next throw.

This throw is kind of a sampler of lots of different stitches, patterns and textures.

It's probably about 60 squares short of being a blanket at the moment but I'm really enjoying the process.

More Creative Spaces, and possibly, more distractions over HERE

Fiona x

Sunday Shadows

2010-08-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

Okay I admit it. We didn't actually go to Paris today to take photos of shadows.

We did go to Dundee to buy a guitar case.

But the guitar shop was shut.

So we went to Dundee Museum and galleries.

We had never been before are were really impressed.

So.. no guitar case, but lots of history, art and culture, including the current Titian exhibition.

Oh ! and a nice cup of tea and croissant at the outdoor cafe.

What an amazing building and what a lovely blue sky.

Sometimes it's good to take the time to really look at your local area.

You don't have to do all your sightseeing on holiday.

I'm off for a look at some Sunday Shadows HERE at Hey Harriet.

My Creative Space

2010-08-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on scarfs for the Great Scottish Winter. I'm pretty sure there will be a big demand as we are expecting snow in September. It is possible that the weather forecasters have got it wrong, but it's always good to be prepared. This is where my crochet obsession is proving invaluable. Who would have thought there could be so many different ways to loop wool around a little hook?

Today's scarf features a 'V-stitch'

Feel free to join in.....

Start with a chain which is a multiple of 3 chains plus 4 (e.g.19 = 15 +4 or 22=18+4)

For the foundation row work one treble into the fifth chain ( we are on UK terms here. I think UK trebles are US double crochets) do one chain then one treble into the same chain as the first one.

It should look a bit like this.

Miss two chains then 1tr, 1ch, 1tr into next chain.

Repeat this to the last 2chains. Miss 1ch then 1tr into last ch.

Turn the work and do a 3ch turning chain.

Do 1tr, 1ch, 1tr into the chain space of each V shape.

Repeat to the end of the row then make 1tr into the top of the turning chain from the row below.

Turn and do the same again as often as you like until your work is the required length.

I usually use a hook one size bigger than that recommended for the yarn so that I get a more open lacy texture. It's good to play around with different sizes though and see what happens.

Hope you enjoy.

Maybe another stitch next week ?

Have a visit to kootoyoo for more creative spaces. There are soo many clever people out there.

Fiona x

How to pass an hour....or so

2010-08-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about tutorials recently. I love when I come across a 'how to' post on the blogs that I visit and I reckon it's only fair that I share a little something in appreciation of all the lovely tutorials that I have enjoyed. Now taking into account my dubious photography, and having realised just how tricky it is to point, shoot and knit at the same time.... Here is something simple that my friend Cathy showed me.

If you are anything like me, it's quite possible that you will have some fancy/fashion yarn at the back of the cupboard. Something which caught your eye, which you just had to buy and which you still haven't found a purpose for. I think the pink one was called Firefly but I'm not sure about the other one. They usually come in 25 or 50 gram balls and 25 should be enough for one scarf. Recommended needle size for these yarns is 3.5 / 4mm but this little pattern uses 10mm needles and knits up really quickly.

There are no fancy stitches, just knit.

Here is one I made earlier.

Start by casting on one stitch.

Knit one

Increase one stitch

Increase in both stitches

Then increase one stitch in the first and last stitch of every row.

Keep going until you have around 80 stitches, making sure that you have about 3-4 meters of yarn left for casting off. I usually aim for 86 stitches, but if you are running short of yarn you can get away with 70 stitches and still have a nice wee scarf.

Cast off loosely then weave in the ends.

The only problem is that every time I make one I sell two and now I'm needing to replenish that empty corner at the back of my wool cupboard...

Hope you enjoy, and thanks for all your tutorials.

Fiona x

Sunday's Shadows.

2010-08-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Look what I saw today.

If you ignore the poor framing and the red and white No Entry barrier at the bottom, I think it's pretty cool.

We had a run out to Dunkeld today and enjoyed a walk along the river and around Dunkeld's ancient cathedral. It dates back to the early 1400's, hence the ongoing restoration work which explains the No Entry barrier. I just loved the way the sun was shining through the arches which are so bright on the ground and yet everything else is in shadow.

I often visit Kylie's blog Chasing Purple Dreams HERE She is a very talented artist and I love to see how her work develops. Kylie often takes part in Shadow Sunday HERE at Hey Harriet.

So for the first time I am about to join in and send this shadow shot out to join lots of other super shadows.

Visit Hey Harriet if you want to see them all.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

2010-08-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

My space this week is pretty busy. There are just under five weeks till Perthshire Open Studios

and just about five months till Christmas which means lots of preparation, lots of making and lots of controlled panic..

My pattern this week reads like this..

*knit 1, solder1, crochet 2 tog. Rpt from *

insert 1 tea then start again.

Have a visit to Kootoyoo for some more creative spaces.

You can also visit Perthshire Open Studios on Facebook HERE

What a difference a little box makes..

2010-08-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've been making some little silver rings this week. I keep them very simple, mainly twists and coils. Sometimes I like to add texture, either by hammering or by feeding the silver through the rolling mill along with textured fabrics. So far I have had some lovely results with lace and cross stitch aida.

If anyone has any handy hints on photographing shiney things I would be eternally grateful. I always have a bit too much glare from the flash which really isn't the look I am after.

Anyway.. This week I got some new boxes delivered, and I love these little ring boxes. I had been making do with other boxes but they weren't quite right, and whilst my rings are handmade, they looked a bit 'tooo' handmade in the wrong boxes. Does that make sense to anyone else but me?

Since the minimum order for ring boxes was 50 I think I am going to be making a lot more rings in the future.

Fiona x

Can anybody tell me where the summer went !!!

2010-08-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Now you wouldn't be far wrong if you thought I was talking about the weather. Talking about the weather is one of the most popular past-times in Scotland. And to be perfectly honest there has been plenty of weather to talk about. Since the schools broke up for the holidays at the end of July we have had everything, everyday apart from snow ( maybe shouldn't have said that..)
However, what I was really questioning was how we have reached the second week of August without really noticing. My youngest daughter goes back to school next week and I am amazed at how quickly six and a half weeks have gone by.
That kind of explains my lack of blogging recently. I was distracted by STUFF. Days out, shopping for new school uniform, weather beaten holidays, cinema trips....by the way I loved Toy Story 3 in 3D. Have also been catching up on some reading. Nothing high-brow or intellectual, just fun reading. If you like gritty thrillers I would seriously recommend Lisa Gardner. Real page turners. If you like something a little sillier, I would suggest Agatha Raisin books by M C Beaton. Agatha Raisin is a 53yr old nosey parker who keeps stumbling upon murders and kind of accidently solves the crime. She's not exactly Miss Marple but she has amused me this summer.
Oh and my lovely little net book came back from net book hospital and is as good as ever. Not too expensive to repair but I did need a new keyboard.... so I am now keeping my tea at a very safe distance.
Normal blogging will resume any time soon.. so much to do.. so little time.
Fiona xx

Accidents will happen.....

2010-07-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else love Elvis Costello? Late '70s, early '80s.... I am definately showing my age now.
No photos today and just a few words of warning. Maybe no one else is quite so clumsy, or so lacking in common sense, but just in case I shall share what I learned.
A nice comfy chair, a netbook, a cup of tea, and a clumsy person is not a good combination. In the words of the great Elvis Costello ' Accidents will happen ' It's more a question of when? rather than if. My poor little netbook is now hopefully drying out with no lasting damage. My computer repair man is coming round tomorrow and I have been told DO NOT TRY TO SWITCH IT ON. Apparently any moisture left inside may short circuit something vital and could totally kill my hard drive. I wish I had known this before I tried to switch it on last night.
On the plus side... I don't have sugar in my tea because it acts as a conductor and can make the damage worse than it already is.
I have now out stayed my welcome on my daughter's netbook so bye for now and hope to resume normal blogging very soon.
Fiona x

My Creative Space

2010-07-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Today I have been multi-tasking...

A bit of knitting

A bit of crochet

A bit of French knitting

A bit of inspiration, a bit of imagination and a bit of a combination.

And here is the result.

I had a request for two long stemmed white roses. Since none of patterns matched exactly what I was after I improvised. Knitted the base of the bud. Crocheted the main part of the flower. And since the stem needed to stand tall I used a little French knitting dolly and reinforced the stem with a bamboo skewer through the middle.

Other creative people are showing what they have been up to at Kootoyoo. Click HERE and have a look.

Urban Crochet

2010-07-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

Just a wee something I spotted in Dundee yesterday.

The drain pipes outside the Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre.

No idea who did it, or when they did it, but it made me smile to see these crochet flower garlands.

Caledonian Canal Cruising

2010-07-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm back on my comfy sofa after a week spent on the Caledonian Canal. Who would have thought that cruising the canal in July could have produced such extreme weather conditions ?

We enjoyed three kinds of weather... Raining. Just stopped Raining. & Just about to start Raining.

Combined with Wind. Lots of Wind. & Oh dear lord is that a Hurricane?

But guess what ? We had a fantastic time. It's true that in the first few days my temper frayed and my language reached an all time low. But considering that none of us had done any kind of sailing before and that we sailed into the worst weather conditions on Loch Ness, I think we did surprisingly well.

Our first night was spent berthed at Urquhart Castle Bay. There is a big difference between watching an instuction video on berthing and tying up your boat and actually doing it, especially in strong winds and I was a bit scared that we would wake in the middle of the night to find ourselves adrift in the middle of the loch. It was quite a relief to wake in the morning exactly where we should be.

Our second night was spent at Fort Augustus, a lovely little town dominated by the five locks that take you up onto the Caledonian canal. The canal itself was created to give a safe passage from Fort William on the west of Scotland through to Inverness in the North East. It meant that ships could avoid the dangerous waters of the North Sea and get supplies through to the other side a lot quicker. It was started in 1822 and finished in 1847. It's all pretty amazing even by modern construction methods but way back then it was literally dug out by hand. The locks join up Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, Loch Ness and Loch Dochfour and covers about sixty miles.

The locking system at Fort Augustus involved two crew members pulling the boat through each of the locks as we moved up the steps. Definately MAN work. Calum and Martin did a grand job and Rhona and I put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea when they got back on board.

Not really much of a sea dog but Angel got little treats from the lock-keeper at Fort Augustus. I think she is particularly pleased to be back home. She got quite good at jumping back onto the boat after her walks but had to be lifted off and she doesn't like being lifted. Poor baby...

Stopped off here at Kytra Lock for some lunch before heading out on to Loch Oich. It looks so peaceful and we should have appreciated it more at the time because as soon as we were through the lock the wind really got up and sailing across the loch in a little cabin cruiser was pretty scary. We heard along the way that a weather warning had been issued and that the next loch down was closed off to boats due the severity of the winds. So all we had to do was keep going and get berthed at the Great Glen Water Park at the end of Loch Oich. What a job we had berthing there... The wind was so strong and we were really grateful to a couple of fellow travellers who got to help secure our boat. We could never have done it alone. Our boat was one of the smallest in the fleet which meant it was easily caught by the wind and could go into a spin just when you were about to throw the ropes to shore. Pretty hairy......

A few days later....

Well, not many photo opportunities in torrential rain, and gale force winds. Pretty dodgy trying to get the camera out when you are concentrating on not falling in the water while securing your boat.

By Thursday the winds had died down, which was a huge relief. You know you have experienced a lot when you are holding ropes at a lock, rain dripping off the end of your nose and you agree with the lock-keeper that it's nice to be out of the wind.

I spotted this rainbow on Thursday evening just before dinner and guess what ?

After dinner we had four full hours of Just stopped Raining. Martin and I took Angel for a nice long walk along the canal tow path into Fort Augustus and stopped at the pub for a wee drink before heading back. We met up with two ladies who we had met previously at The Great Glen. They were canoeing the length of the canal. We talked about a yacht which we had seen tipped over on the loch earlier in the day. They had actually seen it go over and decided to get off the water for a while to sit out the worst of the storm. They were camping most of the route but were treating themselves to a night in a guesthouse. I was truly impressed by these ladies who had certainly earned a night of comfort.

Here are my hardy crew on our last night. Thank goodness I was the one with the camera and that it's not smelly vision. Damp, and barely washed, we weren't exactly at our best but we felt so proud of ourselves for everything we had achieved during our journey. Calum did a great job steering though choppy waters and berthing in appalling conditions. Rhona, at only 13 has steered a cabin cruiser on Loch Ness and ably assisted in berthing and securing our boat. Martin did a bit of everything and was a true star keeping our spirits up during the worst bits. I like to think of myself as a master of knotting and anything rope related.

We treated ourselves to a fantastic meal out for our last night at a little restaurant nearby. Thankfully most of the diners were fellow mariners and there was no dress code, but the food was excellent and would not be out of place in a classy city restaurant.

Leaving Lock Dochgarroch and heading back to Inverness.

We will no doubt be comparing bruises and boat related injuries for a few days yet but we would definately do it again. I could tell you about a particulary ropey roping incident when I thought I might never crochet again.... Or the time we nearly lost Martin.... or the lady we saw who misjudged the distance to the pontoon and landed in the water while berthing (not me thank goodness).. But I think I've just about covered everything now.

Back to work in the morning.

Fiona x

My Creative Space

2010-07-01T02:33:00.000-07:00

I have always been a little bit (okay a big bit) in awe of people who can draw. Artists always tell me that everyone can draw.. that even I can draw.. but I know that whenever I try to draw something it never looks like I want it to. This isn't a major problem in my life. I have found many ways to be creative that don't require any drawing skills. However, every now and then, I want to make something that needs to be drawn out first and I get so frustrated that my doodles don't look the same on paper as they do in my head.
I've had a couple of ideas which I wanted to try out in silver for a while and yesterday I spent the afternoon in my basement doing just that.

I found these templates in my Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of crafts and used them as the outline for some silver pendants.

This is my favourite one. I still have to do some serious polishing but so far I am really pleased. I hammered the silver before cutting to give him a hairy look then added the flat collar after. Do you think he should have an eye ? I'm still undecided. You barely see the eyes in real Scottie Dogs because their hair is always in the way so maybe he should stay the way he is.

Still a bit more work to do on this one but at least she has an eye! It's not very clear but I hammered the little wing with a kind of feathery texture though the rest of the bird is flat. I'm thinking now of a wee branch for her to sit on... or maybe a couple of friends then linking them together in a bracelet..

It's been a while since I did any silver work and I had such fun with these ones. I really ought to do it more often. Will just need to buy more silver.

For more creative spaces click HERE and visit Kootoyoo.