Calico Kate

Woolly Bottoms

2012-02-09T04:07:00.000-08:00

Whilst Dad has been in hospital (& still is) I have been in charge of sheep feeding on the farm. This isn't a hardship - he refers to me as The Wannabe Shepherdess! Mum and dad have a small flock of Herdwicks, though they are for various reason spread out over three fields. I like nearly all sheep, some more than others, but I LOVE the Herdwicks. They look pretty and have nice temperaments and best of all have lovely woolly bottoms.

Even though they are a little muddy don't you just want to pat them? These are mostly last years lambs.

And these bottoms belong to some of the mothers

Ramulous & Remus, and Shaun

I love his little 'Pan' horns

Breakfast is a bit of a scrum, one for all and all for one, mothers but anyone and everyone out of the way!

Eventually they roughly end up divided into mums around one trough babes around the other.

Hello Hector yes I do have your breakfast here!

It started off foggy the other morning then it cleared to give us a day of blue skies and sunshine

But it's raining again today, so we're all a little damp.

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CKx

What to give a brother

2012-02-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

for belated Christmas and Birthday presents? He lives abroad; He reads - but I don't know what; He listens to music - but the last time I knew what type of music he was still in his teens and was a heavy metal fan; He is very tall - buying clothes is out of the question; was there anything I could make him? He wouldn't want a lavender heart - though his girlfriend might! He used to be an Officer in the RAF and served in both the Bosnia and Iraq conflicts. When he left the RAF they didn't want his uniforms back and some how I ended up with all his khaki camouflage gear. I have made 'Iraq Saqs' and 'Bosnia Bags' - drawstring kit bags, wash bags or lunch sacks for boys out of the trousers but I hadn't ever given him any. So there was the first idea.
A drawstring kit bag for his swimming kit, made from the top of a pair of trousers that went to Iraq.

Lots of pockets for stashing shampoo and locker keys.
Then I turned one of his, if not exactly war torn then certainly war worn, shirts in to a cushion, A1 is a large chap at nearly 6ft7" and by no means is he fat, but his clothes have a lot of fabric in them!

The cushion pad is a 65x65cm square and I had to take the shirt in to make it fit! I moved the Union Jack label from the sleeve to the front pocket and he is going to add his rank slide to the appropriate flap at the front. I rather think he will leave the inner behind when he goes back to Angola as it's a little bulky to go on the plane.

Then as I had inflicted pictures on everyone else at Christmas time I decided that there wasn't any reason why he should be left out.

This is called 'Sailing Home' and is handmade felt.

Sadly the close ups all came out a bit blurry but maybe you can just see some tiny little embroidered sailing boats heading to the shadowy isles?

I can report that he was pleased with it all, and found having his shirt and trousers back again most amusing!
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CKx

PS Don't forget the giveaway on my Calico Kate Originals blog, leave me a comment and for a second chance, pop over and Like my CKO Facebook page too. Only 10 days to go until the draw.....

Spiced Apple Jelly

2012-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

Thank you for all your get well soon messages. Foot is starting to feel better, interesting bruising coming out and it is still a strange shape, but still somewhat less painful today. :)

I had a request from a friend the other day for 10 jars of my Spiced Apple jelly. They serve it to their hunting, shooting, fishing guests with home-smoked pheasant, duck, or venison. I had 10 pints of frozen apple juice in the freezer and a real need to get it gone, so it was a request I was more than happy to fill.

I usually add spices to the apples when I'm boiling them up to make the juice, and indeed this juice had been spiced, however I decided it wouldn't hurt to add another little packet of spices to the mix before it got to stcky. So a shake or two of mixed spice and hefty grating of nutmeg and a good few cloves went in to a small piece of cotton which I then folded and knotted and added to the pan.

Juuust starting to simmer

Skimming, one of the two secrets to really clear jelly is skimming, skimming, and more skimming, every time a layer of white scum rises to the surface, skim it off.

Pouring 20 odd assorted size jars of Spice Apple Jelly

Isn't it a gorgeous colour?

I confess I am very fond of it too, on just about anything, pork, I dab it on the skin of chicken when I'm roasting it, talking of roast it is delicious with roast potatoes, and to make sticky oven baked sausages....

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CKx

Wall papering

2012-01-31T05:34:00.000-08:00

I am having some enforced sitting down today as, I stepped backwards off a ladder and on to a nail sticking out of a skirting board, I really should have moved the pile of skirting boards with nails sticking out before I started but I just wanted to get on and they were only going to be in the way for a wee bit. However I didn't and went over on my ankle. Heard & felt it go squelch, my brother had to come and rescue me as my decorating was definitely over for the day and I'd only hung one teeny tiny piece! B was taking a cat to the vet - ear infection - and going to the dentist. I am not a happy bunny! I've far too much to do to be sitting around although it does mean that I get a bit of a chance to catch up with some electronic things that I have been ignoring in favour of wallpaper hanging in the cold. It is very, very, very, cold down at the cottage, I regularly wear EIGHT layers on my top half plus tights under my trousers and a hat!

But in the last two/three weeks I have lining papered:

The spare bedroom

B's room

Our room - with 14 doors lined up to be painted

Three quarters of the sitting room, the fireplace still has to come out and then in so no point in doing that wall.

The hall - as seen from the bathroom. - New front door in the sitting room awaiting the attention of a chippie then a paint brush!

Two walls of the bathroom, as you can see the plumber has, at last, started work.

The new loo cupboard, I've only papered the top half as there's going to be tongue and groove cladding on the bottom half.

And I made a start on the kitchen, until pain stopped play!

Next is the woodwork painting. I LOATH, utterly detest and abhor woodwork painting! Dad has kindly booked his handyman to come in and do all the doors, and he is also going to paint the ceilings, but there is still a lot of skirting boards and window frames to do. Hey ho, I guess I will learn to love it! Then the fun will really begin - colours. I think we've most of them chosen, at least for this week!

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CKx

I've been and gone and done it ..... eeek!

2012-01-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

I have relaunched Calico Kate Originals and have been spending time putting myself about a bit... on the internet!

You can find the blog/shop HERE

The Etsy shop is HERE

I'm LinkedIn HERE

I Twitter from time to time HERE

and have a new Facebook page here!!!

Starting with a seasonal range of scented hearts and cards in time for Valentines day.

And so to celebrate I'm going to do my first blog giveaway,

I had been meaning to this when I reached 100 posts however, I think that was at the point that the two cats died so I didn't feel like being jolly, then Christmas happened and now it's all over so here it is:

Your choice of a scented heart and a card from those on the Calico Kate Originals blog.

all you need to do is pop over and have a look and leave me a comment (you can leave one here too if you like!) & for an extra go 'like' my page on face book. Tell me which is your favourite.

I'll do the random draw on, appropriately, Valentines day, the 14th February.

I'm very excited, rather nervous, and somewhat tired. It's back to the wallpapering tomorrow, I finished the second bedroom today so I'm starting on the hall in the morning. Night night.

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CKx

January house update

2012-01-11T04:21:00.000-08:00

Work has recommenced on the house! We still have no usable bathroom (I am so glad we’re not living in the house!) …

The electrician has been and is now nearly finished but has to wait for the plumber to come to completely finish. The plumber has been either too busy or on holiday, though he says he can start next week, I doooo hope so.

The bath we’re going to be using is in the kitchen.

The loo & sink are in the sitting room

My brilliant ebay purchase, sink & loo & cast iron bath all 1908 (original to the house it was coming out of, for £50, hiring the van and going to get it cost £90, so I’m pretty chuffed with £140 for my lovely vintage suite.

At the beginning of December my brother, A2, was still working hard. Here he’s getting to the bits I can’t reach, being considerably shorter than him.

And here we’re taking the fireplace out, well to be fair I mostly stood by & encouraged from the sidelines, whilst he belted rusted iron with a bolster hammer and crow bar.

I had a bash afterwards and removed the horrible tiles from the hearth, not sure what they are going to be replaced with but with most of the chimney breast still to come down – sledge hammers needed – there isn’t a desperate rush!

You can see the new (pink, although B assures me it is red!) wood burner in the background.

A week later than planned, on Monday I started to decorate the bedrooms by hanging the lining paper. I love hanging lining paper, the room instantly becomes clean and unsullied and it looks like something is at last beginning to happen. It is also nice starting to putting things in rather than just stripping them out. Did drop a tin of paint on my foot when the bottom cardboard box I was carrying a dozen in fell out. Now that did/does hurt!

Although work on the house took quite a sabbatical through December I haven’t been sitting around idle, or if I have been then my brain hasn’t been. I think, I hope, I am going to have something quite exciting to announce in my next blog in the next day or two and a giveaway to celebrate, so watch this space!

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CKx

Lovely parcel arrival

2012-01-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

Some time before Christmas I won a blog give-away on the lovely Silverpebble blog. It was the new Kirstie Allsopp book plus a starter kit for making little silver clay pendants, accompanied by a lovely card with a picture of embroidery, I must remember to look up the designer. I didn't get around to emailing Emma my address for a wee while, being distracted by making things, and then Christmas caught Emma up in a whirl and she didn't get around to sending it, so this mornings delivery was a very lovely surprise. Causing much squeaking and stroking of book to go on, much to the consternation of the dogs who would rather I gave them their breakfast than get distracted by exciting parcels!

I know not everyone is a fan of KA but I am and had been given her first book as a Christmas present last year, so I'm utterly delighted to have the second one too now. It was a toss up between reading or making straight away but dog & cat & B feeding got in the way and I am now going to save both and make them a special occasion - perhaps reading in front of the fire whilst B is on his machine later this evening. Pot of tea, fire, sleepy dogs, lovely book and peace - how blissful does that seem... something to look forward to I think.

We're finally back on line - there hasn't been any power in the village for 60+ hours! SSE though had provided us with a generator which meant we didn't have to go to Glasgow - I was SO relieved I can't tell you. Power cuts are OK as long as there isn't a life or death situation involved - literally - So my very grateful thanks go to the Scottish & Southern Electricity guys who came down for Fort William to plug us in (even if it did take a day and a half!).

So we were alright and mum and dad came down a couple of times for dinner and a shower. They got tree'd in with four trees coming down at various times but the Forestry were quite quick at sawing them out. As they live on top of a hill their water supply is lower than they are and so has to be pumped up to the house, no electricity = no water too, I get quite worried about them. The phone line has been down too several times so no internet or television. How much do I love living in the country?! A lot especially when the postman brings the new Country Living & Country Homes and Interiors magazines in the same week :))) A fire on and not a lot else to do? Talk about bliss!

Christmas tree and decs came down yesterday and I hoovered all the cobwebs down too *ashamed* they had become rather noticeable due to all the smoke dust that had got caught up in them. The fire sent out regular gusts of smoke, so we have been kippered! Big dog utterly terrified of the smoke alarm which went off constantly, she would try to hide under things for which she is way too big!

Off to Lochgilphead now for a few messages and to go to the post, I think we might treat ourselves to coffee and cake too, it seems like one of those kind of days!

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CKx

Happy New Year To All

2012-01-01T03:16:00.000-08:00

It feels odd not to have blogged after 25 days of doing it daily. I may well have done something sooner only my computer has finally died and I have to wait for B to leave his so that I can get on for a quick scout about.

It is a grey and rainy day here I think B & I had hoped for something 'nicer' to start the year with as it feels like it's been like this for the whole of last year. In fact his constant commenting on the rain inspired one of his Christmas presents, entitled "It's raining again"

Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful 2012.
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CKx

This was the hit Christmas present of the year - at least as far as my brother was concerned.
Introducing .... Mr Tedward Grey

Advent Calendar Day 25

2011-12-25T04:34:00.000-08:00

For the top of the tree, angelic Choir Girls

Wishing all my readers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a happy and peaceful New Year.

Thank you very much for all your lovely comments. I can't tell you how much I have appreceiated them and they have given my confidence a bit of a boost.

My love to you all
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CKxx

Advent Calendar Day 24

2011-12-24T01:37:00.000-08:00

Button wreaths. I had seen a flat button wreath and made a couple of those but I wasn't terribly keen on them, so I 'invented' these using buttons with shanks on the back. Well, at least I thought I had, when blow me I saw, in this months Homes and Antiques magazine, how to make some!! Huh!

Am a touch on the tired side as I was up until 3am this morning trying to get the last few things finished off. Still haven't quite made it. Sometimes I carry an idea around in my head for a while but it isn't until I get the scissors out and start cutting that I really know what I'm about to make. That was the case with these two things for the little boys or two very dear friends. I ended up being really happy with them.

Little FP is only just 5 months old, so this is a soft and cuddly barley bag that has lavender in to help him sleep. Dark blue fleece with a felt teddy bear with blanket paws and ears, and a black wool nose. I blanket stitched the paws on but rather fear that the first time the cover is washed the blanket will fray and come off! At least with something I have made there is a life time guarantee for repairs!

2p - the shepherd - is nearly four so this barley bag snake can either be warmed up to keep his neck warm or to lie alongside him in bed or just used as a bean bag.

Must get on, still things to finish, and then there's the wrapping, at least as we go to my parents for Christmas I don't have to worry about cooking too, though I do have to get some chocolate truffles made from a failed chocolate fudge mixture!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 23

2011-12-23T11:45:00.000-08:00

Little blue meeces. Made from felted wool jumper left over bits from something else - of course! I ran the hanging string through the body to become the tail too, the plan was that they would look like they are running up the tree.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 22

2011-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Denim Christmas Trees.
I was thinking today, as I made aprons out of an Ikea curtain that we used to have hanging up in our Arts Centre (another life!), how much I like using recycled fabric. It has already had a life and has softened up and become more user friendly some how. A quilt I made earlier in the year from my friends husbands old shirts had an instant cuddle factor that had I used new fabric it wouldn't have had. These denim trees are made from old jeans and are lovely and soft.

We're nearly there and I'm not nearly ready! I still have a few things left to make, tonight I need to finish knitting my brothers grey teddy bear.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 21

2011-12-21T10:40:00.000-08:00

Barley bag fleecy hand warmers. I should have photo'd these with something next door to them to give you and idea of size, they are quite little and fit in to a palm. You pop them in the microwave for a moment or two then tuck in to gloves or pockets. Made from the trimmings of red fleece left over from making a throw earlier in the year. Nothing gets wasted!

B had extra chocolate in his pocket today because we don't have a microwave! I am thinking that perhaps we should join the 21st century if only so that I can heat the barley bags I keep making and keep one, instead of giving them all away!

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CKx

2p as a shepherd with 'Shaun' the sheep his mum & I made the other day.

Advent Calendar Day 20

2011-12-20T04:21:00.000-08:00

Just in time to do the Christmas dishes, a stencilled tea towel - I checked that the fabric paint wasn't going to run by washing them once I had done them. Chewed my nails through the whole wash cycle!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 19

2011-12-19T01:27:00.000-08:00

A teeny tiny pine cone bundle hanging from gold threads and lightly sprayed with 'snow'. Well they are Alder cones really. I made some large pine cone 'dangles' hanging from dark purple ribbons for the Church Night Market which gave me the idea to make tiny wee versions as the larger version wouldn't fit into any of the pockets.
Yesterdays carol service was lovely, if cold, I had so many layers on that I could barely do my coat up! We had mince pies and mulled wine afterwards and although I had wished and wished for it to have snowed whilst we were in there.... it didn't. And it still hasn't, preferring to rain instead, I have seriously gone off rain!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 18

2011-12-18T04:57:00.000-08:00

As you have probably gathered I don't throw anything away if there could possibly be another use for it. These decorations have been made with some of the contents of the empty cotton reel jar. Small pieces of ribbon and buttons. The snowman was in the bits and pieces jar, I think he came from a Christmas card last year and I thought ideal for adding to the cotton reel headed to my friend with a small person. The spotty beads were a necklace from a charity shop didn't like the necklace at all most odd so it was bought purely for the lovely spotty beads. The Calico Kate Original hanging ribbon was from an incorrect order. I usually get them sent in an italic script but for some reason half the order came in this ariel type script which I don't like very much. However when needing some narrow ribbon for hanging cotton reels it came in handy, no idea what I'll use the other 20 odd lengths for though!

This morning was very cold and frosty, quite icy on the roads but gloriously sunny. I spent a short time on the beach with the dogs this morning over looking Jura & Islay which have been snowed on so were twinkling beautifully However this afternoon has clouded over and has gone quite grey. We're off to a carol service this afternoon is a very small chapel that gets used only a handful of times a year. The last couple of times it has been snowy when we've gone - it sits at the bottom of the hills surround by fields of sheep and cows. It is always bloomin' cold in there and you can see your breath puffing out as we sing, like lots of little steam trains. However this year although we are surrounded by snow there hasn't been any here yet which is a shame, still, I'm looking forward to it, wouldn't it be wonderful to come out into snow falling... I'm wishing hard!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 17

2011-12-17T01:43:00.000-08:00

I made these birds last year for sale at a craft fair only no-one wanted a 'bunting of Bunting' perhaps they didn't 'get' it. Anyway I still had a number of little wooden birds needing homes so I cut out some red felt tummies and I like them much more now! I made them from a piece of wood that came from a very elderly chest of drawers that had finally collapsed. Had fun with dad's bandsaw and belt sander, and the drill stand to drill the holes. It took almost six months for my thumb nails to grow out I had sanded parts practically all the way through to the nail bed! Ouch! But the red is felt & not blood!!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 16

2011-12-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

A little red and green felt Danish Heart basket. My friend C's little boy said when he saw it that 'it would be just right for strawberries mummy but we don't have any'. She resolved this by suggesting that chocolates might do instead!

She and I had a lovely time today making F a lamb for his role as a shepherd in his nursery play next week. Just a cardboard cutout to which we glued sheeps wool. He started off helping but once the glue was spread sticking fleece to cardboard wasn't very interesting! They have taken it home to paint a black face and black legs. As B&I have to go to Glasgow that day she has promised to take some photos of it in action!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 15

2011-12-15T02:03:00.000-08:00

A herd of Herdwicks!
Pompoms made from our homegrown Herdwick wool with little wool blanket faces. I hope they make you smile as much as they do me.

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CKx

A pic of us from 15 years ago yesterday...

Advent Calendar Day 14

2011-12-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Little bells made from bits of an old army blanket. I used the rest of the blanket to back a rug/throw I made for B for his birthday in October.

Although I hadn't planned it this way bells are rather appropriate today as it is our 15th wedding anniversary. Can't quite believe that the bells were ringing 15 years ago to the day as I am astonished we made more than 15 months never mind 15 years! We have had a tradition of trying to get each other small gifts using the Traditional anniversary gifts list. The year we were 'wool' he got socks (oh the inspiration!!) and I got the most gorgeous bronze sculpture of a rams head. This year it is crystal and I bought him a small collection of vintage cruets, some clear cut glass/crystal and some cranberry red. B bought me a small camera coz I needed one and apparently there is something else that hasn't arrived yet :)

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 13

2011-12-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

Little tartan stockings for today. Think we need to wear them! The weather is turning very nasty again and so I'm going to interrupt my knitting marathon to make some teacup candles. We got through rather a lot of candles last week and I haven't got around to buying some more but I have the raw ingredients so I'll make some instead.

I got VERY squeaky yesterday when I discovered that I was the winner of Silverpebbls Amazing giveaway for the new Kirstie Allsopp craft book (I have last years and was hoping I might get this years for Christmas!) AND a silver clay starter kit. I haven't ever tried making jewelry or trinkets like this so I'm very excited about having a go. Thank you very much Emma.

Now I must hurry away and make some candles......

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CKxx

Advent Calendar Day 12

2011-12-12T03:58:00.000-08:00

The contents of today's' pocket is small shell wreaths. I scoured the lochside for the smallest shells I could find and came across some coral like pieces which make up the twiggy looking bits. The circles are the cores of used up rolls of ribbon cut in half - I never throw anything away - can you tell?!

Well after 3-4 hours worth of ironing I got to the bottom of the ironing basket - there is now nothing, zip, nada, zilch, ironing left in the basket - except a couple of odd socks awaiting their partners to turn up! Now it is full steam ahead with present making. It's head down over the knitting machine today. I may be gone for sometime!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 11

2011-12-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Fat free, guilt free, wheat/dairy/gluten free Christmas tweedy puddings! You can get quite a lot to a pound!

Today is an afternoon for catching up with the ironing, I hope I can find a good film on the TV, or perhaps I'll listen to a talking book. Once I'm in the swing it doesn't take me long but getting there takes me ages! Tomorrow I have to pull my finger out and get on with the long list of Christmas presents I've still to make. I suddenly had an idea and thought through the design process, for something for my mum in the middle of the sermon in Church today! Not sure what that says about me or the minister!! ;)

Hope you're having a lovely relaxing Sunday afternoon

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 10

2011-12-10T06:56:00.000-08:00

Back on track with today's pocket contents: A little flock of birds.

They are simply a piece of card cut to a bird-ish shape with some fabric, I chose some vintage brushed cotton rose fabric, glued to one side, adding a contrasting fabric wing, a teeny button and then some ribbon to hang it from a branch.

Back in November here and earlier this month here I blogged about some of the things I was making for the Church's Christmas Night Market, I got the date totally wrong, it wasn't the 2nd of December but the 9th! At least I had everything finished in time!
There was a bit of debate on Sunday about when or if, the marquee would go up and the final decision would be made once the weather forecast had been consulted. Thank goodness it didn't go up a day early! We moved many of the stalls in to the Church itself, fashioning tables from boards laid across the tops of pews. When all the tables had been arranged and the goods laid out it looked fantastic. Lots of hand knitted hats & gloves and baby clothes, Bric-a-Brac, Christmas decorations, fabric & knitted toys and teddies, home made cakes and jams and jellies, pottery & glass, toiletries, jewelry and Christmas trees. We served a hot mulled wine tea drink from Whittards of Chelsea and I can thoroughly recommend it. I bought one of the left over tubs and have been drinking it all day. A great alternative to serving an alcoholic one) and hot mince pies to welcome the shoppers. Sadly not many people turned up but those that did all bought something and it seems that in the end we made around £900 a great effort altogether, especially as we hadn't done one before. There were definitely more helpers than customers at times but we had great fun and enjoyed chatting. Lots of discussions about what to do differently next year and what we wouldn't change too. Things that hadn't sold were wrapped up and safely put by for next year, and the baking and jams went to the Farmers Market in Lochgilphead this morning. I was delighted that three of my four knitted bears sold, I really hadn't expected them too! After seeing them my brother A2 requested one for Christmas!
Now that it is over I can concentrate on making my own Christmas presents and I should be getting my cards organised too.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 9

2011-12-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

Hello! It is nice to be back! We had power cut for 24+ hours and the phone line was brought down by a falling tree so we were a bit isolated for a while there.
The contents of yesterday pocket:

Thank you for all your concerns about our weather and welfare. Not having radio/TV/or computer we didn't really know what was being reported, or what was going on! The power, after several hiccups, finally went off at about 4 o'clock on Thursday. Had to get B off his machine in a hurry after only an hour. In the evening we lit lots of candles, read, played cards (which B won), had a game of scrabble (which I won) and then read aloud to each other pieces of prose and poems from a book called "When Love Speaks" a compendium of 'poetry and prose for weddings, relationships and married life'! B found it on the shelf and there are some really nice pieces in it. It was a lovely evening and made up for the horrid row we had had the morning before.
As the power was still out on Friday morning, we thought we would have to go to Glasgow so that B could dialyse, although in the end we didn't as the Hydro said that they could get a generator to us, so we waited and though that didn't happen after all, I was grateful not to drive to Glasgow in horrid weather especially as for the return journey the Rest and Be Thankful - our main route to the 'main land' - closes at 4pm and we would have to go the long way around. This adds a hundred miles and a couple of hours to the journey a pain in daylight and good weather, simply horrid in the dark, rain/snow and wind.
I keep an eye on a friends holiday cottage in the next village along from us and we saw that they still had power so I installed B in the light and warmth with the TV/radio and the paper and then headed back in to Lochgilphead to help set up for the Church Night Market. The power in our village was restored in the evening and after the market I came down to the house to check out B's machines and made sure that they were running OK. As long as the power stayed on over night we wouldn't have to go to Glasgow first thing. We stayed in the cottage last night as it was cosy & warm and after 24 hrs of no electricity through the storage heaters, our house was very chilly. It was with great relief that when we came home this morning the lights came on. I did the pile of dishes that had amassed during power out - we were saving the hot water in the tank for human washing - hoovered, put some washing on, made a bacon and haggis brunch, checked emails, got B on his machine for 5 hours and feel now like I have caught up with myself. I'm hoping that B's long time without a proper dialysis session - Tuesday, as Wednesday this week was his day off - hasn't set up anything horrid inside. He did a lot of sleeping yesterday a sure sign that he needed to be dialysed, and today was looking a little like the Michelin man, he complained his head looked and felt like a beach ball! So we'll be going gently for the next couple of days.
Just about to post up today's advent parcel and I'll tell you a bit more about last night's market.
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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 8

2011-12-08T04:12:00.000-08:00

A woolly star knitted from homegrown Jacob this time. The dark brown and creamy white has been blended to produce this lovely soft and pale brown. Although in the photos it looks quite grey it is actually a biscuity brown. Not quite sure how successful it is really as a star, the original instructions were to knit two stars, sew them together and stuff, however that then wouldn't have fitted in to a pocket so single stars it was. Perhaps it is better lying flat ...

But then it looks like a star fish!

Each one is made up of five little diamonds

The village hall has a Film night every so often and a couple of weeks ago they were showing Lemmony Snickett, in the children's slot, Mum & Dad and B&I headed off to watch it and I sat and knitted little diamonds as well! As it was also very dark I had to do it by touch and counting stitches with the occasional holding it up to the screen for a peer to see if all was still well!

As I type the wind is blowing a real hooley up the loch, there are herds, and herds, of white horses all a gallop. Great big clouds of sea water are being gathered up and thrown about, and at the house. The windows are covered in salt water. It's really rather exciting .... from inside!

Think I might get B on his machine early just in case of a power outage and make some flasks of tea as our camping stove is down at the cottage.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 7

2011-12-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Teeny Noel Bunting - Christmas x 4 I considered to be too much embroidering and so this was my compromise as I dislike the word 'Xmas'. Not sure you can tell from this that the little flags are on 11/2" high!

After the. most. appalling. start to the morning, I have had the best afternoon for a while. Managed to get the house decorated in time for the girls arriving stuffed some greenery about the place then threw some 'bling' at it. The 'tree' this year is a species rhododendron branch very candelabra like strung with shiny beads and folkys gingham hearts, red and gold balls, it's quite effective if I say so myself. I shall borrow a camera and take some pics in the next couple of days. Just about to make a very quick & simple supper - macaroni cheese- then it's hitting the sofa for an extremely well earned sherry or two!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 6

2011-12-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

Agghhh! Nearly forgot! So just getting in under the wire with today's pocket contents. Teeny weeny coin, or perhaps stamp, purses - they are about 2" sq.
I knitted them from Herdwick wool from the sheep on mum and dads farm. I have had the duck button since I was about 19 and worked at the Birmingham Rep with/for dad in the Props department. I spent a day sorting buttons a kind of one-for-you-three-for-me arrangement! I had a lot of ear rings made from buttons for a while! As mum is rather duck mad I have given that one to her, pleased to have found a use for it. The other one is a flower patterned button - the close up turned out to be too blurry to use here sadly - but it came from Belgium via a little box of buttons the very lovely Bayou sent to me last year, I am very pleased to have found a particular use for this one too.
I forgot to photograph the other two before they were wrapped and packed as they were the last things to be made, but one had a small shiny grey button (coz I made the loop a bit tight the button had to be rather small) and the other a white mother of pearl one.

Thank you for all your lovely comments about the things I'm putting up I really appreciate them and am enjoying your enjoyment as much as the enjoyment I got out of the making and giving of them. Did that make sense? sorry, 'tis awfully late! After an evening of baking - mince pies, apple and cranberry pies, fairy cakes, making some more peppermint, and orange creams - I'm some what bushed, but looking forward to a Christmassy girly tea party tomorrow afternoon. The decorations are going up in the morning :)
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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 5

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't these look like roses? In fact they are little organza bags of homemade peppermint triangles.

I got the recipe from I think the December edition of Country Living. It's so simple: Egg white, Icing sugar, Flavouring!

Whisk the egg white then add a bit at a time to the icing sugar along with a couple of drops of the flavouring. (orange and peppermint work well - though perhaps not together!) then knead to a stiff dough, roll out and cut out your shapes or roll into a sausage and slice, leave for a short while to firm up, dip in chocolate for an extra treat. Eat!

Cold cold cold here today with lumpy rain, hail and sleety stuff falling from the sky. A day to stay in and do some more sewing I think.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 4

2011-12-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

Cross stitch felt coasters.

Many years ago I came across a nifty tip for getting neat cross stitch patterns on to plain fabric. You place a piece of Aida over the top of your plain fabric, sew your cross stitch pattern through both pieces of cloth, then pull out the threads of the Aida. Only in this instance it didn't work! I think next time I need to use a bigger thread count and one who's threads aren't so securely dressed and compressed together! I tried soaking one of them to see if the dressing would come out, it didn't, so I clipped the Aida fabric as close as I could to the stitching and stitched everything together.

We're going to the first Carol service of the year this evening, an Ecumenical service for all the Churches and religions in the area. I love singing Christmas Carols, something that makes me really happy!

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 3

2011-12-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

The contents of pocket three, a paper doillie angel. The central stick & head were some coffee sugar swizzle sticks. I'd soaked the remains of the sugar off in boiling water some time ago and had hung on to the sticks just in case I could think of something to use them for. Well I've found a use for four, not sure what to do with the other 30-40 though!

Spent the morning in bed finishing off the appropriately titled 'The Christmas Angel' by Marcia Willett, and can thoroughly recommend it as it's lovely. Then this afternoon dad & I went to church and created some rather large and exuberant arrangements of greenery to decorate the church for Christmas. Long trails of ivy and arching branches of laurel, buddlia with dried seed heads we sprayed gold, cotoneaster with pink berries and bamboo with little green firework like shaped leaves. The 'bling', in the way of coloured baubles and tinsel will be added during the service in the morning and then we'll have coffee afterwards, for which I'm making some mince pies this evening and trying out a new ginger biscuit/decoration recipe, if it is any good I'll share it with you tomorrow.

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CKx

Advent Calendar Day 2

2011-12-02T03:18:00.000-08:00

Little blue toadstools!

Thank you for your lovely comments about my recent makings. Thought I would try to put up the contents of the pockets each day - or perhaps a couple of days at a time. But for now, having developed a heavy cold, I'm going back to bed with a pile of magazines and a hot blackcurrant juice - there are some advantages to feeling lousy!
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CKx

Crafts for Church and Advent Calenders

2011-12-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

The Church is having a Night Market tomorrow night and many of the ladies have been busily making things for it. Baking is being done last minute with books and bric-a-brac being collected up over the last couple of weeks. Having finished all the sewingy things I’d made with the vintage cloth kits (& I still haven’t sewn the features on to my knitted teddy bears) I wondered what else I could do that would be relatively quick, simple and not too costly to make. These are some of the things I came up with.

Button wreath tree decorations

Cat nip mice – I got hijacked whilst making these!

But one of the dogs ate the one I kept back for our cats to play with!

Some felt tree decorations

a couple of dozen each plus some gingerbread men that I’ve forgotten to photograph

Needing a stressless, sitting down something to do, one afternoon following a visit to the Dr’s, I stuck some paper shapes to 100 paper tags as gift tags, whilst watching two episodes of 'Land Girls' it was a rather nice afternoon!

I won’t mind if these don’t sell as I will happily use them myself!

Some small barley filled microwavable hand warmers

Spice stack tree decorations

Little felt stockings waiting for a small bag of sweets to be added.

There are some larger ones still on the sewing machine and some cotton reel tree decorations and some pinecone garlands still awaiting completion. I’ve got 20 jars of spiced apple jelly to take along, there’s some cakes I ‘prepared earlier’ in the freezer waiting to be taken out in the morning and I’m planning to bake some gingerbread biscuits this afternoon. It’s been lovely making things for this event, some how more enjoyable than doing things for craft fairs one my own which I decided not to do this year.

Advent Calendars

About four years ago now I made four advent calendars, one for B, one for mum & dad, and one each for my two friends the Carol/es. A long hessian hanging of pockets.

Apart from one year when we shared the filling of pockets, I have taken great delight in making little things to fit (or sometimes not quite to fit!) in the pockets.

Running late as usual I had to get the Carol/e’s in the Guaranteed Next Day delivery post yesterday I do hope that they arrived in time to be started today.

I filled up B’s last night and hung it up, I think it looks rather jolly filled with red and white stripy parcels.

So what’s in pocket number 1?

Little taffeta bags of homemade orange cream hearts dipped in orange spiced dark chocolate (courtesy of the Co-op & my current guilty treat, if you haven’t tried it, it’s divine and really worth the effort of tracking down & it’s Fairtrade.) I get as excited by everyone opening their parcels as I would if I were opening them myself. I have frequently forgotten what’s in each one so it’s often a surprise! Can’t wait to hear that the boxes have arrived at the destinations in time…..

Thank you all very much for your very lovely comments on my last two posts. Still a bit odd and some spaces around the house that used to be filled and the other three haven’t quite got used to it either but we’ll get there.

Happy Advent everyone, I’ll uncover some more pockets as they get opened.

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CKx

Then there were three

2011-11-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

I had planned to blog today as I hadn’t wanted to leave a sad post up for too long. However we have just returned from burying another cat and I don’t much feel like blogging a happy post.

(Thank you all so much for your lovely comments left on my last post. They were very much appreciated and helped enormously.)

Rothesay arrived at about this time of year 13 years ago, aged 3, ‘temporarily’. My sister-in-law was having asthma problems, central heating plus a cat weren’t doing her any good. The SSPCA and other cat charities she said she tried were too full shortly before Christmas so he came to us. Not knowing he was a ‘he’ they had called him Rosie, but we, knowing that he was a ‘he’, were unable to continue to call him Rosie and came up with Rothesay. Not sure that that is a particularly masculine name but it definitely wasn’t a girl’s name.

He wasn’t a cuddly cat always struggling to get down when you picked him up, but you felt honoured if he came to sit by you, on the arm of a chair to say hello, affectionate in his own way. He was a cat who walked by himself and thought he was a dog. He played particularly with Rowan our collie who had arrived just a wee bit before him and was still a puppy. They would share a bed and he regularly came for walks with us ‘talking’ all the way. He always sat up high, on work surfaces and kitchen tables so that we would talk to him on our way past. I couldn’t be in the kitchen without him round my feet waiting for a wee titbit ‘accidentally’ dropping his way. I think I’ll miss that most about him, he was my kitchen assistant!

This picture was taken four or so years ago, keeping me company in the garden, he had just jumped down from the table where he’d been too hot to hide in the shade underneath it.

Rothesay

with us November 1998 to November 2011

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CKx

A Grey Day

2011-11-18T06:53:00.000-08:00

A sad day, but I felt like writing something. Some of you whom I know on Facebook and elsewhere in ether-land will already know that today is a bit of a grey day for us. Not just because it is raining following a week and more of sunny days, yes I did use the S word, but because B & I had to make the decision to take our elderly gentleman cat to the vet today.

He had lost a lot of weight in a very short time and whilst he seemed furry and purry enough, last night he seemed ‘low’ and this morning he wasn’t looking so good. The vet suspected he had tumorous kidneys, as they were the size of potatoes, when usually in a cat his age they wouldn’t be much bigger than a broad bean. B & I with rather black humour said how ironic a condition given B’s and we wondered if Troy could be put on to B’s dialysis machine. I think the vet thought we were being serious! But we explained we were trying to lighten the situation, our way of coping, and preventing me from lying on the floor howling. I know it was the right decision but knowing it doesn’t make it much easier, it is still very, very sad. He was well enough to not be in pain, but was now ill enough to need to go.

I collected two teeny tiny kittens from a cat rescue centre in Kirkcaldy in Fife who became Troy, and his partner in many a kitten crime, Cressida. I was single, it was September 1995, they were six weeks old.

Cressida died following a botched neutering job at about 18months old. She had had a litter of kittens and we kept her daughter Tessa. Troy was a robust ‘uncle’ cleaning and rounding up kitteny miscreants. Tessa went on to have a litter and we still have her daughter Dorothy though sadly Tess was run over about 11 years ago. For the last 10 years we have had the same collection of five cats who, for the most part, have been pretty healthy and problemless. Archie has wondered off from time to time forgetting how to come home, but manages to find someone with a telephone to summon assistance and collection. Dorothy had a skin condition which ended up costing £500 but on the whole they haven’t needed much in the way of veterinarian care.

Troy was bomb proof, he was big and furry, and his purr, a little rusty sounding, rarely stopped. He moved house eight times, accepted the arrival of first B, then Bs cat, the various kitts, and three other adult cats, boxing ears when necessary and giving washes when required, and snuggling up with me in the evenings. Although a mummy’s boy, he was the patriarch of our feline family, hair shedder supreme, knitting needle end chewer and my lap warmer. I will miss him hugely. For a while my lap in the evenings will be chilly until someone realises there is a space and moves in to it and life will move on. We will bury him on the farm tomorrow, probably near to our old dog in the hen’s field.

The photo was taken just recently: a cat with a soft spot for a hot spot, such a good reason for not doing any more ironing!

Troy

August 1995 – November 2011

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CKx

Making things

2011-11-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

I may not have been around here for a wee bit but I have been busy doing other things. Craft ‘stuff’ and House ‘stuff’ have been taking up time and energies, leaving little for anything else.

A couple of months ago I volunteered to help an elderly neighbour sort out and sell via eBay his wife’s craft materials. She was the most prodigious crafter I have ever come across if her materials are anything to go by. I didn’t meet her sadly, although she only died a couple of years ago, she was bedridden for several years. Just some of the things she did include, water colour painting, spinning, knitting, crocheting, felt making, patchwork, embroidery & cross stitch, pyrography or pokerwork, chair caning and upholstery, model making, in fact I think if you can think of a craft she probably did it. She made rag dolls, sculptures, clothes, throws and blankets, wall hangings and pictures, cushions and scarves & hats. Her work adorns the house, pictures and hangings on walls and cushions and throws across chairs and sofas.

We started off sorting the boxes (& boxes) of sheep fleeces. This was quite difficult not least because I wanted to keep them all! Her fabric ‘stash’ is vast, I have worked my way through the large chest of drawers and have yet to start on the two shelved cupboards.

One of the boxes we came across had some fabric ‘cloth kit’ style toys. Some already cut out and pinned together waiting for stitching up. With a Church fundraising sale coming up I decided to continue to make up some of these kits.

I think these three owls are charming

Whilst this Noah and ark set, down right odd! There are only one of each of these four animals and Noah doesn’t have a missus. Without instructions I couldn’t work out how the ark was supposed to be made the pieces were too close together for cutting out never mind a seam allowance. To I did a bit of a botch job and sewed it to a backing cloth making a large pocket out of the boat bit to keep the toys in. I threaded a small curtain pole through the top so that it can be hung up. I’m rather concerned about the hippo and the elephant with their spots…. I hope they aren’t contagious!

Then there were these, at first I wondered if they were puppets or part of a circus out fit but without additional fabric or instructions I don’t know. So I sewed them up, stuffed them and sewed up the bottoms to make some jolly toys.

These I loved doing. The fabric is printed and some of them had a Made in the USA mark but their detailing is delightful. A series of nursery rhyme characters, Jack and Jill, then the Cat & the Fiddle (sadly for this montage I couldn't get his head in!) Little Bo Peep and Humpty Dumpty, then Little Boy Blue (I love the dog sleeping on the reverse) and the Mouse running up his Clock. I made these in to lavender pillows for tucking in to drawers as really they are too nice – in an odd & bizarre way – to be toys.

I also came a cross a knitted Teddy bear, at least he would have been had he been sewn up, so I sewed him up and thought I would have a go myself at making a couple more so that he wouldn’t be on his own. I thoroughly enjoyed doing knitting these but I haven’t yet got around to sewing on their faces. I think I am slightly nervous about giving them characters. I also think that they look more like cats than teddies so will have to add whiskers somehow.

The one with the yellow jumper and who has blue trousers was the one I found, I knitted the others including a not completely successful girl one with a knitted dress, her arms are very long!

Needing quickly & cheaply produced crafted items for the fair I was inspired by Thrifty Household and Silverpebble who had been making firelighters from fircones. I had some used wax candles which I softened in a bain-marie, then added some tangerine and clove oil

& a basket of dry pine cones,

Dipping the one in to the other

I created some lovely scented fire lighters

Thinking that just a basket of pinec ones for sale would look a bit odd, I set to with some stamps & brown paper bags to make some packaging, I also stamped ‘fire lighters’ on to the bags but forgot to take a picture.

Am working on several more things now which haven’t had their pictures taken so maybe another day.

The house is still being worked on and really it doesn’t look very different for the last time I showed you any pictures as my brother A2 & I have been sanding. a. lot. In fact, visitors need to be careful, if they stand still too long they'll get sanded!

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CKx

One day in June

2011-10-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

I realised the other day that I had taken some photographs with blogs in mind and then hadn’t done the blogs. The photographs are sitting in files on my desktop waving feebly to me from time to time. So here is one I planned for earlier in the year.

At the end of June the sun shone for a wee while so my M&D

And B&Me

Donned our wind & waterproof jackets just in case, and headed to Crinan for a trip on the Puffer

for a half hour chug around the bay during Crinan Classic Boats weekend. A weekend of wooden boats sailing around and racing each other.

This picture was taken two years ago when Dad and I were about to clamber aboard for the same trip, the weather was horrid, grey and wet, but this picture gives you perhaps a better view of the boat. The Puffer’s real name is the VIC 32, and she is the last seagoing coal fired steam 'Clyde Puffer'. Built in 1943 she is regularly spotted puffing about on the west coast of Scotland (More info can be found here www.savethepuffer.co.uk)

We went down on Friday morning and there weren’t many boats or yachts about yet, but we saw this little wooden boat arriving to join the party.

A view of Crinan over B’s shoulder, as we puffed out in to the bay.

There was sun to the left of us,

and rain to the right.

We waved to our friends Lucy & Andy in their farmhouse in the hills.

Afterwards we picnicked (one of very few this year) literally on the harbour’s edge, in the sun.

Then an amble along the front watching some lovely coffee coloured ducks

Appreciating the colours and shape of an old boat,

and the colours of this painted vessel (I think our kitchen is going to end up with something similar! Cream and green with a touch of raspberry.)

Thank you to every-lovely-one who visits, and leave such nice comments, they are hugely appreciated.

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CKx

B, with his still broken knee, was perched rather precariously here,

but he found it easier to perch than stand when the Puffer was at sea!

Just stuff

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

Usually it is B who is the one that isn’t very well in this house but for the past four or five weeks, just for a change, it’s been me. Someone removed my batteries without asking and I went from buzzing about because it was autumn, to completely flat, lethargic, bone weary, faintheaded to the point of dizziness and what felt like palpitations, my heart thundering in my ears, all most disconcerting. Took me a while to identify, some how, that I needed to go to the Dr’s where it also seemed to take a while to get the results of a blood test = anemia. So I am now on iron tablets and I am very relieved that the dizziness and palpitations have ceased and I am beginning to feel as though I have the energy to do things again. I've started clank when I walk and am a bit concerned about going out in the rain in case I rust (difficult to avoid and it seems to be endless rain at the mo) but otherwise things a definitely improving. Much sitting around though has been quite productive from the knitting and sewing angle. My big cardigan project is on the way to being completed, the several feet of knitting for the body is now finished and I’ve started the sleeves. I’ve knitted three teddies from an old pattern I found in a box of crafts I think however they look more like cats so I’m going to sew whiskers on them when I come to do the faces. I can’t take a photo of them I’m afraid as the camera is having a strop and won’t work. I’ve also done a bit of hand sewing too but pictures will have to wait.

I sewed together some sample pieces of knitting I had done on the knitting machine, before I got too dizzy to work it, and made this cushion cover

which I love, think I might need to do more of these.

Just before I went wonky I made these two quilts.

This one for my friend C the Boat who had given me a pile of tartan shirts no longer needed by her husband so I chopped them up and sewed them back together again.

Backed with a fleece throw and stitched together with buttons.

I then added one of the shirt pockets, with a new button. Pockets on quilts seem to have become a trademark of mine.

This one is for my dad for his birthday – I hope he doesn’t read this before Tuesday!

Made from 100% wool tweed samples, I love the shades of purples all very heathery.

I used a plain vintage wool blanket to back and edge it and although in these pics it doesn’t have any buttons there are now tortishell buttons on the reverse and vintage leather ones on the front.

I’ll be making one for B, for his birthday at the end of the month, next.

Now I have to go and meet the electrician at the cottage so more on that and our ‘new’ bathroom purchase next time.

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CKx

Season of Inspiration

2011-09-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

from Octobers Country Living Magazine

With the 1^st of September a real change arrived in the air. Suddenly colder and wetter it seemed than just the day before. Hot water bottles unearthed and blankets and rugs heaved out to be spread on the bed.

This one I made earlier in the year out of felted jumpers

and backed with a vintage blanket is a current favourite and is lovely and heavy.

But there also seems to be a shift internally, in me. Suddenly my mind whirrs with projects and ideas, my pencil flies across my pad at all times of the day and night, I write screeds of notes to remind me of a thought, a plan, a new project.

I don’t like summers much, regardless of weather, I often feel stultified and have little or no enthusiasm for much. Following a surge of energy in the spring for digging and planting, I am left with none at all for the following three months. I rarely sew, or knit, or walk the dogs with any show of enthusiasm. I don’t write or even think about writing, as you can tell from the dearth of blogs! Whilst not exactly bored I am certainly boring. The summer editions of magazines don’t light my ‘fires’ but often make me irritated with those beautiful pictures of gorgeous gardens and strawberry picnics in sunshine (which we rarely had, so, someone, please tell me where these photos are taken!!)

However, with the autumn winds, fires are stoked in the imagination and the sitting room, my internal boiler house of ideas is ignited and I have barely slept this week for the thoughts that need to be written down, the projects I want to start or to complete. In the evenings my lap is shared between knitting and cat.

The October editions of housey magazines are full of dark reds and glowing oranges and deep umbers, pictures of jams and jellies, bowls of steaming stews with home baked breads and of fires and pine cones, blankets and shawls.

from Octobers Country Living Magazine

And I’m pulling on my wellies before the dogs have woken up, insisting they come out Now! They aren’t ever far behind.

So now I’m going back to my sewing room, there is one quilt to finish and two to start, some felt to sort and some knitting to be done, and a story to think about.

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CKx

A beautiful blue flower from B to me this afternon "just coz"

House progress

2011-09-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

First the curtains came down and the carpets came up (very, very, very, smelly!)

Then the wallpaper came off,

B got nicotine poisoning and was ill for a couple of weeks so work stopped

And the kitchen with it’s polystyrene ceiling came out (smell getting better)

Goodbye dreadful yellow tiles

Wild and whacky 45 year old lino – which hasn’t come out yet!

I took a hedge came down – that was great fun and afternoon in the sun with a pair of loppers. The bedroom seemed to double inside once the light could come in the window

Sadly there isn’t anything to show just how tall this hedge was

About 12foot high and three foot wide! I had to get in it to remove the branches! Sadly it reveals the backs of next doors Leylandii but a couple of fence panels for growing things up will soon put that to rights.

One dead hedge now a pile awaiting chipping

We’re still waiting for the plumber to arrive to move radiators and to mend the heating system - three weeks and counting. But the builder’s been, changed doors, pronounced the roofing situation as terminal (ugh!) and went away again but called last night to say when he was coming back. We’re waiting for the electrician to come back from holidaying in Canada.

Meanwhile wood is being sanded and surfaces being repaired and prepared for decorating. 300 meters of lining paper purchased and discussions, many, many, discussions, about which kitchen to buy, and what bathroom fittings to have. I had no idea that taps could be so expensive.

Talking of taps ….. I may not have a kitchen yet, not even the kitchen sink, but I do have a lovely new and very shiny kitchen tap!

Now I’m off to do some sewing or maybe machine knitting, more on that another day though.

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CKx

Plans

2011-08-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

If I have learnt anything in the last five or six years it should be to NOT plan anything, as chances are something is going to happen to change those plans.

The most recent plan change (ignoring the one - planning for a (very little) holiday - that fell through the floorboards when B broke his knee)… the biggest, latest, really rather exciting plan change is that we are no longer going to build a house ….. but have bought one instead, well at least, it was bought for us! The building plan was becoming an albatross, the elephant in our life never mind the room; Snails in the Planning department masquerading as men; a chronically absent architect; estimated costs were going through the (non existent) roof; the stress was stratospheric. However a brief visit from foreign climes by my brother left us reeling and somewhat breathless, with a new plan and a new house (well four weeks later). Boulders of stress rolled off shoulders, the sighs of relief bent the trees, and I started to make plans….

It will be sometime before we move in to the new house as there is a lot of building work to be done, the roof to repair, walls to mend, inside to be stripped from floor to ceiling, the bathroom and kitchen to be hauled out and replaced, heating to be sorted, electrics to be checked, plumbing to be corrected, chimbley to be repaired…… I have a new list – several new lists and lots more ‘plans’!

So you may find that I start to use this blog as a bit of a diary as we slowly turn a not very inspiring 45yr old semi detached bungalow into our dream ‘cottage’; the wildly overgrown partial hillside garden full of bamboo (anyone got a spare panda or two?) into a haven for wildlife, flowers, & a couple of chickens!

The village we are moving to, only about 10 miles from where we are now, is nearer to the ‘real’ sea not a sea loch, and my dog walks will be very different. We tried one out the other day. My favourite kind of walks are circles, I get very fed up returning along the same way you’ve just walked. A lot of walks in this area are just that or perhaps ‘lollipops’ but not real circles. So I am really pleased to have found a usefully quickish circular walk I can imagine that I will be doing a lot.

Down hill, with this view; past donkeys, ponies and highland cows (photos another day);

along the shorefront

and then up through this little woodland track, out along the road and back ‘home’ again.

Next time some house and garden views….well, that’s the plan.

Thank you for returning to my rather dusty blog to say hello, I am getting blog fever again and visiting lots to read and starting to write again, but for now,

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CKx

A box of socks

2011-07-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Heavens it's been ages since I was here, bemoaning how I was doing nothing. Though I did think that that might change, it did, it has, but more on that another day.

I have cold feet. I have cold feet pretty much all year round and regardless of the weather. It's July and I am still going to bed in socks. My B can occasionally be very sweet (actually quite often but don't tell him I told you), and, deciding that I needed my own socks and not his, he purchased a box of socks.

A box of seven socks

A box of seven very pretty very girly socks, that he can't wear - ever!

But how to choose? Which ones to start with?

Personally I'd like to keep them in their box and just give them a pat every so often in passing

But I do accept that that is pretty daft and that really socks are for wearing and not for patting.

Rowan admiring today's choice

Pink ones I think tomorrow but that's all for today

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CKx

Kate's Room

2011-05-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

I planned to tidy up 'my room' yesterday morning, I didn’t think it was going to take me all day but it did.

Before

After – look you can see the floor!!

And the contents of baskets and boxes are sorted not just dumped but I still need the containers!

I love these trunks (cushion pads) the hamper (plain fabrics for embroidery - mostly) and the basket (felting fibre), oh and the little basket has scarves in for making necklaces

I wished every so often that I didn’t ‘do’ so much: there’s my candle making kit, & felt making paraphernalia; tapestry frames, both with and without a project on them; a paper making kit; two knitting machines with baskets, and cupboards, and boxes of yarns and wool; pots of rug making tools, card making gubbins; stamps and inks; fabric paint and water colours (although I don’t paint!!!) and; plain fabric, linen and aida and binca and hessian, muslin and calico; patterned fabric by the umpty-nine yards; Vintage fabrics; and cast off jeans, shirts, children’s clothes (even tho I don’t have any, I liked the fabric!!); my trunks are filled with cushion inners, shelves (just about) contain stuffing and quilting padding or groan with magazine cuttings and postcards for inspiration and reference ~ or fifteen years worth of Country Living magazines!

The two sewing machines I use most often (I have five including the hand singers from both grandmothers) have now been found

found,

and are wearing their dust jackets, they were hoovered clean of dust bunnies, wiped down and generally given a little TLC.

But now I have cleared the decks maybe;

B’s pyjamas might get their elastic in

These bags might get their appliqué and pockets added

That these pieces felt might get made in to sheep-shaped tea cosies.

This boat might get its planned patchwork sails.

Some of my fabric boxes got sorted so that this pile of RAF camouflage uniform have a chance to get made in to my range of ‘Iraq Saqs’ - beige and, ‘Bosnia Bags’ - green.
The uniforms saw action in both those areas with my brother now an ex RAF Officer. When I sell them 50% goes to the British Legion, they’ve been popular Christmas presents for boys.

Some jumpers sorted out to become a patchwork rug project,

hopefully before it gets too warm to need it!

I made this cot quilt three years ago for a new arrival,

it’s come back again to be repaired and made into a cushion to help him stop falling out of bed.

A boring pin board that needs a pretty spotty fabric cover

Having collated the card blanks and envelopes and cellophane covers,

I need to get on and make some ‘Heartfelt’ cards.

This picture needs finishing

And this one needs to be started.

Finishing touches made today and so now I just need to get on with things, only I had to go and do some gardening first! Sweet pepper seeds, and seeds for Dwarf Broad Beans and Borlotti beans and four types of pumpkin & squashes now planted, and tomato plants ordered (we’re really too late for seeds now so I’m cheating! But I've got some gorgeous Heritage varieties which we wouldn't have sown)

I think tonight I’ll be on elastic duty as I have also remembered a pair of Pj bottoms of mine also need some, they are now waaay too big :), they always were really, but at least they used to stay up!

More anon

CKx

Round up

2011-05-03T01:58:00.000-07:00

I had intended to blog at about the time of my brithday – 2^nd April – to follow on from last year to see if I had done any of my 40^th year resolutions. Ironically since my last post when I said I wasn’t doing anything I now seem to be doing quite a lot and the weeks are just flying by. Which I’m sure is a good thing but some things do go to the wall, blogs for instance. I have been Facebooking a lot (you can find me here or here or here!) and I witter on Twitter pretty regularly too @CalicoKateOrig, but my blogs have always been quite long and I just haven’t felt like I’ve had enough to say, or rather, enough time to sit down and say it! So one of this years resolutions is to blog less more often.

A quick catch up then over last month’s happenings: we opened the Studio Barn gallery in time for Easter

Much less mucking out required compared to last year! Still a lot of spiders, big spiders, HUGE spiders, am hoping that they will get the hint and realise that they aren’t allowed to live in the barn any longer (a faint hope for sure!) We’re doing some craft demonstrations this year, mum will be chair caning and I will be doing things like felt making or punchneedle work, and dad painting.

Unexpected lambs arrived on the farm with five sets of twins and three singletons the formally small herd has more that doubled in size.

& I LOVE cuddling lambs! This one was named for me, Frin – I’m very chuffed! (can you tell?!)

Actually I’d be happy cuddling the larger ones too as I love Herdwicks but they aren’t really so keen!

I have been felt making with their fleece though, using it ‘raw’ ie unwashed or combed, it smells fab, all sheepy! Mum and dad used to have Jacobs before the Herdwicks and I’ve been using their fleece too for example in this picture ‘Tide’s Out’.

One of the resolutions I did do last year was to knit a jumper, well I’ve knitted most of it, not sure I understand the pattern for the neck so need some assistance from my mother which I have still yet to do but nearly there. No pictures yet.

Another was to lose weight. I haven’t yet lost the 40lbs I’d pledged to lose, however I have lost 31 lbs and am on track to lose the last 18 lbs. Needed to lose more than I’d thought L! But I'm getting there. It hasn’t been easy but I’m loving feeling, well, being, slimmer than I have been for years and years although B not so pleased now I can’t wear my wedding ring any longer as it slips off!! But he has been very supportive which I have appreciated.

Rather late, but even the gorgeous, glorious Monty Don says it’s better to be late than early, and it is definitely better late than not at all, mum and I have started to plan the veggies, what we want to grow more of, in my case salad, broad beans & shallots and in hers: runner beans and onions, and what this year we don’t want to grow: Rainbow chard – don’t care how pretty it is even the chickens didn’t want to eat it! So started yesterday with finishing off digging over a bed and planting five rows of onions

Weeds out onions in

Watched whilst I work - My sensible girl in the shade

My silly sun worshiping boy!

and starting on the shallot bed only I ran out of shallots, they are on the ever lengthening shopping list for the garden centre whilst in Glasgow tomorrow. Now THAT I’m looking forward to!

Despite being on a diet I have been baking a lot recently, some for the freezer and some for the Studio Barn.

Calico Kate's Homemade Cakes!

And after turning out the fruit bowl I made Three Fruit Marmalade with tangerines, lemons and a pomello. My new jam funnel has just arrived in the post so I’m looking forward to wasting less down the sides of the jars!

I’ve been doing or finishing off some new artwork, some have been framed

Others are still waiting – think I need to sell something first!

This doesn't have a title yet

Hugo joins the Coastgaurds at Crinan

Well my wee office is freezing cold as there is no sun around this side of the house yet and I think it is time I went and rousted a man out of bed and went up to the farm to get on with the gardening.

More anon

CKx

They learn to blow raspberries at a very young age!

Doing Nothing, and Nothing Doing

2011-03-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

I went to see the Kings Speech the other week (brilliant btw) and while standing in the queue was asked by a friend if I was busy at the moment. Laughingly, though also ruefully, I replied no. Truth is I’m busy doing nothing at the moment and not feeling great about it. I feel I should be using this nothing time more constructively. I have the sense that at some point I will become busy (though doing what I don’t know) and will regret the fact that I haven’t used this nothing time more productively.

And the problem with not doing anything is that there is nothing to talk about, nothing to blog about. We had a trip via Glasgow and Fife to Dundee recently. I took the camera with me hoping that I could photograph some familiar haunts as we passed them. I was a student in Dundee and we used to live in Fife. But there was so much fog that there were no views of anything further than about 2 meters from the car and pictures of fog aren’t very interesting so that was a no go.

You’ve read umpteen dog walking posts over the years so I won’t bore you with any more of those. The weather hasn’t been doing anything worth taking pictures of either.

I usually keep myself busy making and creating things but since Christmas I haven’t picked up a knitting needle and the only time I’ve used the sewing machine was to repair the bottom of a duvet cover that had become unstitched – not very exciting.

I’m feeling guilty about a couple of things that are waiting to be done two pairs of curtains for a neighbour that I have had on my to do list for a very long time, some projects started a year ago that still need to be finished. I really ought not start anything new until they are done, only that has meant I haven’t done anything! I promised to knit B a jumper and bought him the pattern and the wool as a birthday present in October …. Only I have misplaced the pattern and feel I can’t knit anything else instead until I find it.

Another reason for my lack of creativity I think is that my sewing room imploded, or perhaps exploded, over Christmas and I had thought that I would ignore it for the Christmas New Year holidays and then on Monday I would get to sorting it out. Quite a few Mondays have passed since that thought and it hasn’t got any better. Probably worse in fact! I have just taken some photographs of the mess that it is in and will post these to shame myself in to action! In fact several Mondays have passed since I started writing this blog! And *NEWS FLASH* I have been starting, slowly, to do things.

Another recent prod in the ribs to action was reading this poem written by my dad Fishing Boats I can see in my minds eye the fabric picture his words create and I really want to sew it. If I want to sew then I need to be able to find my machine which is on here somewhere

And I need to be able to cut out and pin on the table on the right if you can see it!

Being able to open the door properly so that I can actually get into the room would help no end.

& I’ve rather lost the organised ~ it was once I promise! ~ storage I had on my shelves.

Conclusion: My room is too small. Or perhaps I have too much stuff, fabric, ribbons, buttons, stuff, glue, shells, fancy paper, candle wax, china, fibre, books, wool, thread, stuff……………. But it is all so important!!!!

I have been doing so much nothing that several Mondays have passed since I started writing this piece! And I have started slowly to do several things. I found B’s knitting pattern, ordered the right size needles and have now knitted the back and am well into the front whilst doing ‘nothing’ sitting in front of the fire and the TV . I went to a felt group meeting last weekend and made two pieces/pictures that I’m really pleased with and on a high for the rest of the evening finished off two or three pictures that same evening ready for framing, so maybe I’m finding my mojo again. I’ve lost weight which seems to have taken up a lot of brain space, still some more to go but it has made a very big difference, in a very short space of time, to how I feel.

We are off to a 1920's themed mystery party this evening in a minor stately home/castle near here and I can't tell you how excited I am about it. I fit the dress, I've got the heels & seamed stockings, the waist length pearls and a feather head dress. I tried it all on last night and felt fantastic so maybe I’ll even have something interesting to blog about soon, once I've tidied my room up!

More anon

CKx

Lovely nails, (if I say so myself) newly painted, very grown up looking, and most unlike ‘me’ nails, done professionally in time for the party. Lots of glove wearing has been going on so that I don’t chip them before this evening!

Hello!

2011-01-15T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hello again! I'll start by catching up and wishing you a Wicked Halloween, a Cheerful Bonfire night, a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

It’s been a long time since I blogged last, since I felt like blogging or even writing anything beyond our Christmas cards. To summarise, we’ve had bad news, sad news, and tough to take news but we’ve also good news. B has been ill, got better again and got out of doing the washing up at Christmas by breaking his arm at the beginning of December! I’ve got behind with the housework, the ironing, my OU course, my blogs, the Studio Barn website, and I daren’t go into my sewing room just now in case one of the teeter tottering piles of ‘stuff’ gives up and falls over burying me, never to be seen again, under the weight of a lot of fabric waiting to be sorted! (But as a friend said to me yesterday – what a way to go!)

We’ve had snow and frosty cold days – most of which didn’t get photographed!

I have been reading a lot, lots of easy reading 'chick lit', mysteries and murdery dramas, magazines and a couple of really lovely books, one being a perfect Christmas present, ‘Kirstie’s Homemade Home’.

Which is the sort of hard back book that makes you pat it in appreciation when you walk past!

And makes me itch to make and mend, sew and knit for far more hours than there are in a day.

And the book that has inspired me to start my blog again (and just write again) ‘Blogging for Bliss’

by Tara Frey, it has blogs that I already read, or at least used to when I was in the habit of reading blogs, and one I must pick up again soonest.

I am writing this longhand sitting in front of the fire which is almost too hot and being ‘real’ I can’t turn it down though I am letting it die down, and I’ll type this up tomorrow. I’m not sure where my blog is going to go at the moment but the first step was to dust down the cobwebs and just say hello again.

There’s been a lot of sitting in front of the fire recently – to the detriment of much of the rest of the house - and my side table groans under the weight of note books and magazines of the country homes and interiors variety. I have been interested by houses and interiors just about forever, cutting out and pasting in to scrapbooks (long after I should have grown out of this activity according to my mum!) pictures that appeal but now my interest is turning in to an obsession with a focus as we have recently heard (our good news) that we have been granted planning permission to build a little house on mum and dads farm. Repeats and reruns of Grand Designs, Location x3 & Relocation x2 in fact any programme to do with houses have become must views.

Meanwhile tomorrow has now turned in today and in a successful effort to avoid doing any serious writing (OU) I am making lemon marmalade.

This pile of lemons has been boiling away for the last couple of hours and once cooled I’ll be chopping up the skins. I haven’t made marmalade before as I don’t like the orange variety very much. I’ll let you know if it works!

So more anon, and hopefully it’ll be a little sooner than it was the last time I said that!
CKx

Yesterday

2010-10-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when bad news seems like the only sort of news, and when it feels as though your very foundations have been rocked, it is good to go somewhere breathtaking. Westport Beach at the top of Macrihanish bay is quite literally that, from the point of view of its beauty and because the wind is so strong it whips your breath away.

We haven’t been able to get here for several years and I had forgotten just how wonderful a spot it is I’m not going to say much today but just share with you some of the beauty of our time out day.

The dogs raced

and chased

and ran out of the shot

A kite surfer sailed his way up and down the shore and never once went over. (The little comma-ry shape in the middle of the picture!)

I paddled, deliberately, and B paddled, accidentally, he wasn’t wearing wellies!

I love pebbles and whilst this is mostly a very pebble free beach-

in fact as far as fossiking for sea treasure goes it is a bit of a wash out,

however near the dunes is a small stream and a gathering of wonderfully smooth pebbles. I collected photographs of them instead of pocketfuls.

Fossillised and sculptural sand blown kelp

Still glossy when washed by the sea

Grass ‘waves’ in the dunes

Intrepid surfer dogs

The light could be very strange and I think combined with the wind blowing sand creating a shifting surface,

it created these pictures with a strange quality to them. I haven’t enhanced or photoshopped them at all. I think they are quite odd.

I think you can you see the sand streaks here as it is blown by the wind.

Back to the car and grateful to be out of the wind, for a picnic and a welcome cup of tea from the flask.

Whilst my world isn’t stable I am at least a little calmer having been here for a couple of hours.

More anon
CKx

Shadow pictures, the only way I would take a pic of B ‘face on’ until he grows his beard back!!

Another trip out ...

2010-08-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

…. in glorious sunshine this time. After a wild and wet night the day dawned very bright with blue skies and a few puffy ‘Persil’ white clouds. Just the day, I decided, for us to head for the sea and to a beach.

So up one side of Loch Sween and down the other to Kilmory Knap Beach. I feel sure I have blogged about going to this beach & village before.

There is a tiny ruined chapel there, a dozen cottages and the beach and a lot of view, but not much else – that’s why we love it so much.

The view across to Jura is stunning and on a day like today with azure blue seas and clear blue skies it is spectacular.

The dogs, encouraged by B, had a great time tearing in and out of the sea chasing a plastic bottle or each other.

We stood and watched gannets diving and dogs running.

(this starts at the right hand side and moves left

– I’ve just discovered how to take multi pictures in one go & I love it!)

I remembered:
dog leads – as there are often sheep on the loose;
our waterproofs – just in case;
a flask of tea and a packet of biscuits - & the mugs;
the camera – often left behind;
the cushion to be dropped off at a friends on the way there or back;
my glasses …. but …..
I forgot my wellies and was wearing completely inappropriate footwear – suede, cork soled, clogs - for a walk such as this! However, I don’t suppose I would have done this

if I’d remembered my wellies so even though I slid over, brought to my knees in the mud, (a combination of wind, large dog, going downhill and stoopid shoes!) I got to paddle in surprisingly warm water or perhaps my feet were just so cold I couldn’t feel them any more!

From a gleanings and fossiking point of view this beach is particularly boring, aside from a few limpet shells there is very little of note. We did find this sea urchin though. I quite often collect our common sea urchin shells (as long as they are empty of course) but this felt a little heavy, I guess it was dead otherwise it wouldn’t have been where it was and upside down however I left it be ~ Just in case.

I’m terribly envious of the people who live in this house, facing the sea they must get to see all the weather coming in and blowing out again.

A really fabulous spot.

One last look before we head back up the path.

I love living in this part of the world.

On the road out of the village and looking back, that is the island of Gigha in the far distance.

Back along the road and we spied this lovely white beach,

the wind is lifting the tops of the waves and out in the far distance there is a white sailed yacht, it was a perfect day for sailing.

I love how quite often the stock & flocks around here aren’t fenced in, or if they were they get out.

These lovely gentle beasts allowed me to get everso close to photograph them, but perhaps they couldn’t see me for the enormous length of their eyelashes! They were beautifully glossy, their coats and noses shining in the sun and completely oblivious to the cars and people that passed them.

Patiently waiting until we had passed before she crossed the road!

We headed back home via mums for a basket of windfall apples so my next task is to boil them up for jellying.

More anon
CKx

Kerrera

2010-08-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago B & I played at being tourists in Oban. We were taking Dad to the hospital there for a minor op and as we had nothing we needed to do there ourselves, we pottered.

We visited the Oban War and Peace Museum, an interesting collection of war time memorabilia and photographs showing Oban in past times.

We picnicked in the car as it was too windy and potentially rainy to sit outside, but the highlight of the day, and the only bit where I remembered to take pictures, was a very quick trip to the isle of Kerrera.

We caught the complimentary Marina ferry. Oban’s Marina is on Kerrera rather than on Oban’s shores so the run an hourly ferry to the island and back for all the sailors and island visitors. It is a just a short trip barely 20 mins across.

Watching as we leave Oban.

A view of Oban I hadn’t seen before – from the sea

We followed the footpath to the monument at one end of the island. We were going to walk up to the monument but decided that because the weather was tuning inclement again.

(I loved this blue against the green ~ it was probably the brightest bit of colour on the island that day!)

But as you can see from the drops on my lens it rained – Heavily! Suddenly!

We decided we would catch the return ferry back to Oban so headed back to the Marina.

Kerrera Marina

A people & yacht watching moment

(it is lovely to be able to go on the odd day trip this year, B has been so ill over the last couple of years that we haven't been able to do this sort of thing often)

Leaving Kerrera on the ‘Kerrera’

Kerrera from half way to Oban – where it hadn’t rained at all!!

More anon
CKx

B&Me

I can't remember what he was saying!!

Country Shows and some Showing off

2010-08-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last week was a week of making and baking for the local Shows. First up was the Tayvallich Flower show. I entered Apricot jam and blackcurrant jelly, Apple Rowan and Rosemary Jelly, A chocolate cake that was a cause of some distress as whilst it was cooling over night a cat walked across the top so all in a hurry first thing in the morning I had to make another top layer. Disastrous and unsurprisingly didn’t win a thing with it! Two flower arrangements one in a candle holder and one in a kitchen Utensil – I used an old hand mincer! Green rubbishy weeds went in and out came lovely blue hydrangeas. I got a lovely comment from the judge but really it wasn’t an ‘arrangement’ as such!

(B’s arrangement bottom right and my candlestick arrangement

~which ‘could have done with a leaf’~ in the middle)

I had been asked if I would judge the children’s drawing sections and also models made from pinecones. I was very flattered to have been asked and had had no idea just how difficult a task it would be. They all deserved a prize really, lots of time and imagination had been put in to their 'posters for Tayvallich' and 'portaits of a bird'. There are some up and coming artists amongst the youngsters in the village and the established artists will need to look to their laurels before to long!

Bottom right here is a Beaver and top left is the two foot long crocodile

that got 1st prize, very hard to choose between these two.

B&I didn’t do too well for prizes this year however I got a joint 3rd for Apricot jam,

And B a 3rd for his white bread which he was very chuffed with.

Then on Saturday it was the Mid Argyll Agricultural Show. Sadly we didn’t get to spend very long there, however first thing in the morning I submitted: A cushion – for ‘A felted item’, a scarf for ‘Woolen scarf any craft’ (I did two as I made one in cotton yarn before I re-read the schedule!), a bag for ‘Shopping bag made of recycled fabric’, a knitted square to be donated to the blanket appeal, a 1/4lb of tablet and a jar of Blackcurrant jelly.

When we returned to collect things later I was absolutely thrilled to discover that my felted cushion had won First and Reserve Best Exhibit, and a 3rd for my scarf which I confess wasn’t quite finished and so shouldn’t have been entered at all! And a 3rd for a ‘bag made of recycled material’ which was a t-shirt/vest but I think there were only three entries!! And mum got a 2nd for this painting of a lily. Very, very chuffed was I that day!

We had a lovely time wandering about looking at Agricultural things, like these wonderful vintage tractors,

but as we had two of the dogs with us we steered clear of the animals however we did meet this interesting big chap,

Brenna the Wolfhound took one look at ‘Speedy’ (that really was his name) and nearly took B off his feet as she headed off in the opposite direction! Apparently the ower said, that was quite a normal response from dogs on seeing a big tortoise!

The two B’s together at the end of the day.
More anon
CKx

Arduaine Gardens

2010-08-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

Goodness we are in to August already, and I only blogged once in July. Not sure what happened to the rest of the month! I was caught up with jam & jelly making (24 jars of Damson jelly, 8 of apricot jam and some blackcurrant jelly) Cake making & of course therefore eating, I blame the weather July has been very cold and wet in Argyll. Making things for the Barn, bags, blackboard hearts, cards, felting, and all sorts of other things too. The dogs haven’t been walked as much as they ought as I have developed Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot which is incredibly painful. I did however take a walk on the beach the other day at Crinan Ferry, one of my all time favourite places to go, especially when the tide is out. I packed up wellies, and water proof jacket and trousers and a flask of tea. By the time I got there having had to spend a couple of hours some where else, the rain had gone and the sun came out! So despite feeling slightly thwarted – I had really wanted a ‘wet’ walk - dogs and I had a lovely time paddling

and they tore off across the sands woofing to anyone and everyone and just because.

On Sunday I spent the day at Arduaine Gardens. Pronounced Ardooanne or Ardoonie depending on whom you’re talking to is now a National Trust for Scotland owned garden in Argyll. It has fabulous views across the sea it is a beautiful garden to wander around at all times of the year. Last year the NTS threatened to close it and there is now a Support Group hoping to raise the £1.5 million it needs to remain open. We have signed the petition to indicate our support and visit it when we can

As a family we have known and loved Arduaine for many years. There used to be a campsite just half a mile or so along the road where we would camp and then explore the shore, one year us children made friends with a couple with a boat who went out fishing for mackerel, in return for our (probably unwanted and unnecessary) help pushing their boat out or pulling them back in they kindly passed on some of their catch. Mum cooked the fish with a ‘crumb’ coat of porridge oats or crumbled wheetabix - delicious!

It is beautiful garden in all weathers and all seasons and I never tire of wandering around the paths even if I don’t know all the plant names and will never remember them anyway, it is the ambience of the place I like, its calm gentility and quiet peace.

The peace was not exactly shattered on Sunday, but certainly disturbed a little.

There was a small craft festival on and mum and dad and I had taken a table and the Studio Barn on tour. The rain held off except for a very slight wet ‘haze’ that passed quickly.

During the afternoon I demonstrated needle felting on a blanket cushion cover, when finished it will be a daisy,

so rather I thought it appropriate that I was sitting in front of these pretty daisies.

I took a little walk around the immediate section of garden whilst eating lunch and loved these tall delicately purple stems of flowers.

I don’t know what the shrub is but aren’t the seed pods, which look like bunches of beans, great?.

At a ‘crossroads’ with a geranium covered roundabout in the middle two of the paths – this one leading to a green house, had arbours built over them. Sadly the photograph hasn’t done it any justice, but there was a lovely pale rose growing over this on the right hand side.

And in the other direction

the arch gets lost amongst the foliage, which is all very lush after the month of rain we have had.

And here was our table of wares. We had an unexpectedly good day. There were lots of interesting & interested visitors, including two coaches of tourists. One lot were off a cruise ship and seemed to all be Germans. Trying to explain needle felting was very difficult! Several people asked if I used ‘real’ fleece, when they knew that the family kept a flock of Herdwicks. I was rather shame faced when I said no! I countered this by explaining that the fleece I use is already washed and combed and minus all the bits of detritus that the ‘real’ sheep fleece contains. But I think I will give it a go, at some point. Really does seem silly not to!

More anon
CKx

Just a bit of stuff

2010-07-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting for a couple of months for a new car to be delivered to the car show room. Choosen last September and with a due date originally to be in March B has been beside himself awaiting the new car - Nissan had to makes ome more! It's a popular car it would seem. Finally on Monday we were in Stirling picking it up, a Nissan Quashqui. Although ordered in Caymen Blue it actually CameIn Aubergine, well the label says ‘Nightshade’ but aka Purple to you and me. After the Golf which was like driving a mouse – small and nippy - this is like driving a hippopotamus! It sort of wallows along the road, and is very large and fat! Currently a dog free zone we are appreciating having a nice new clean car with no warning lights going on! However dogs are not appreciating being left behind when we go out. Once we have worked out a seating arrangement for them they’ll be coming with us but just for a week or so they are staying behind, even though that also means that our walks are a little shorter and repetitive!

~ Purple Pansey the Hippopotamus ~

She is a very dark purple, just like a large, fat, glossy aubergine

…..on wheels!

It is a wet Saturday afternoon and this is the first Saturday afternoon I have had at home for what feels like weeks and weeks. I’m rather enjoying it! The new Country Living magazine was delivered to my doorstep (I took out a subscription to get the mug, I am one too!!) and thence to my bed by adoring husb along with breakfast mug of tea this morning. However I saved it to savour this afternoon whilst he is on his machine and the dogs have been walked, so in a state of complete calm I had tea in my new mug, a piece of cake and a new magazine. Bliss.

This one, fresh in from the loch and still damp,

has her eyes on my cake but was thwarted, apart from anything else it has raisins in it, and it is my cake!! Yes I know I don't need it but hey ho!

Sorry poppet none for you!

I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the computer recently – not, sadly, reading others blogs and surfing inspirational sites – but sorting out, setting up, learning how to do, and creating a website for the Studio Barn. Which can be found here http://www.studiobarnargyll.co.uk/ The learning curve was steep but the view from the top very satisfying. There are a couple more pages to add and more crafts and paintings will be added to it too but I am taking a couple of days off from doing it.

Because of the website I have done very little in the way of sewing – so much for my 40 mins a day pledge! I did however make a couple of fabric bags for a friends wedding present of rambling roses to be wrapped in.

This one was made from part of a pillow case, the pretty ruffle was from a long length kindly given to me by an on line friend and the gingham was a piece of shirt.

This one was once a tray cloth but I think it makes a pretty little sundries bag.

I’m planning to make some more like these for the Barn soon.

Earlier in the year I planted a couple of dozen white and purple alliums at the same time in assorted pots and tubs, mixing the colours in each tub.

Somewhat surprisingly the purple ones have come and gone and I am now waiting for the seed heads to dry before cutting them down and possibly use them for decorations at Christmas. The white ones however have only just started to open in the last couple of days. Very pretty but much smaller and they haven’t opened into a globe.

I caught sight of this single cornflower between two heads of white allium I love this blue and this flower, so pretty against the white.

And my favourite oxeye daisies growing up beside the bird bath. Love the rain drops in the water here.

So that’s just a bit of stuff for you! Must go as cats, dogs and B clamouring for dinner, in that order!

More anon
CKx

Channelling Oprah

2010-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling odd recently, out of sorts and as though I’m at a cross roads, with no sign post, no directions, no map and certainly no GPS (they don’t work well in this neck of the woods anyway). Something needs to change but I didn’t know what it is. I think I do now: Me.

Last week I had a couple of days with next to no Broadband connection and limited contact with the outside world. I spent it in my sewing room, and made things, lavender filled hearts, and lavender bags using vintage linen, a cushion, Kit bags in camouflage as something for the boys, I parcelled up soap dishes and although it was ‘work’ in that I would like people to buy these things it felt like playing, I enjoyed it I was happy.

It helped me to realise that I needed to stop doing something that was taking up too much ‘negative’ space and concentrate on my own ‘work’. To step away from something that was ‘safe’, and be open to anything new and different that might take its place. I know I have to work within my limitations, but I know what they are: B needs care and attention; financial constraints also impact hugely on what I can or can’t do. But having accepted these now, I can work, if not round them, then with them.

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the O Magazine Oprah Winfreys lifestyle magazine by C the Anchor. Whilst B&I were in Oban on Friday I went in to WH Smiths which carries a much bigger selection of magazines than the little newsagent in Lochgilphead and was overjoyed to find the last copy dog-eared and well thumbed already. I don’t/can’t get it often but when I can I devour it. There is always something to take away from it, an inspiring story, a piece of information, a book title to look out for, a recipe, a website link.

In one of those weird and wonderful if you’re open to it then it’ll find you ways this months seemed particularly and spookily apt…

“This month we celebrate adventure – the art of moving off the well worn path and into the unknown”

Not sure if you can read the caption under the title, it reads: “Step One: Cut out pictures of things you love. Step two: Paste them onto paper. Step Three: Realize you life’s ambition? Well… sort of.”

I very much believe in 'if it is for you it won’t go by you'. A rather fatalistic attitude that I have applied to getting jobs, and buying houses, and coming across a must have skirt – will it won’t it fit/look good on.

Visualising something that you want or putting out the question or the ‘want/need’ for something be it an item of clothing a new job or information I have found can often bring results. I remember a dream about a tartan tweed jacket. The image of this jacket stayed with me. Then the following week I walk in to a second hand shop in Helensburgh and there it was, on the rack facing the door, Laura Ashley, I almost didn’t breathe as I checked the size – mine - and it looked fab on. A similar thing happened with a pair of shoes only although I had had the dream B brought them home to me. Then on Sunday just I was contemplating joining Twitter and said so on my Facebook page. A couple of hours later whilst looking at the Hi-Arts website for something completely different I stumbled across a link to a 'social media explained' website and a page with the top ten most useful You-tube videos on how to use Twitter. This kind of thing makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

So I was already tuned in to this article. But it reaffirmed my current feeling that I need to visualise what I want, where I want to go and then put it out there and forget it until it happens.

Oprah’s ‘What I Know for Sure’ article at the back of the magazine is worth reading. It is a short piece but it is always thought provoking and inspiring. This month she says “I know for sure that all experiences contribute to who we’re meant to be.”

In the last few years I/we/B&me have been through the wringer, completely mangled flat, however, ‘what I know for sure’ is that I/we have come out the stronger for it and although I know that there are days when I will struggle to maintain any kind of momentum I also know that there will be days when everything works and something good will come of something I have done.
She also writes "Stepping out and doing what you’ve always wanted to do - even if it’s not dinner at the foot of the Pyramids but just a picnic for two on the porch (both of which I’ve been meaning to get around to)- is saying yes to life..”

B & I picnicked at Craignish Point, Ardfern on Friday on our way home. It wasn’t the bottom of the Pyramids and realistically, with the best will in the world, he & I aren’t going to do that. However more picnics and afternoons off need to happen and that, at the moment, we can manage.

So I have resigned from the something I had stopped enjoying, signed up for a web marketing seminar, joined Twitter and today I am having a day of press release writing, website building (or at least attempting) and blog writing. Though am being severely hampered by Tweet wittering, Facebook perusing and blog reading. Hey ho what the heck I’m enjoying it!

On my way home from town yesterday I called in to see a lady I met at Lovely Lucy’s wedding in May but hadn’t seen since. Jane & I clicked that day but didn’t get the opportunity to swap numbers (too much wine consumption had something to do with it I think!). Do you know how it is? Someone you haven’t met before but in no time at all feel that you have known them forever? Discover bizarre coincidences and similar likes and dislikes, well she was one of those people and really very lovely with it. So in my new spirit of adventure I called in unannounced. I was pleased I had plucked up the courage to do this as, although I was interrupting her working day, she was really pleased to see me and thrilled that I had thought to call by. We had a coffee sitting on the terrace of her lovely large garden chatting and throwing a ball for her happy chocolate lab to retrieve, time and time and again. She too is at a bit of a crossroads at the minute with her three daughters grown up and away. So Jane H I am sending you the O magazine to see if it helps you too! (Once the corner has dried off from being dipped in the bath!)

I have been trying to ignore the view from my study window which is spectacular. It is very sunny, blue skies, cotton wool puff clouds, and the loch is twinkling. It is slightly breezy, which is making the long grasses with their pollen laden purple plumes ripple like shaken sheets of fabric. Butterflies flit about and bumble bees visit the tall spikes of purple foxgloves. So why am I inside on this glorious day? It is safer and a lot less distressing to my nose and eyes at the moment if I enjoy it from inside and not out! I am felled by the summer lurgy again ~ Hayfever. I guess it must be like childbirth, once it is over you forget just how awful it is when you’ve got it, until the next time! So it is head down and focussing on my new direction. I wonder if hayfever can be cured by visualising not having it any more………..

More anon
CKx

Sadly the Highland cows that had been paddling up to their hocks in the water on the far side of the loch had wandered off by the time I got the camera out.

Blown Away

2010-06-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

by the kindness of strangers, except that she isn’t really a ‘stranger’ just someone I haven’t ever met but who seems to be tuned in to my wavelength many, many miles away in another country.

I have been feeling out of sorts for a couple of weeks. No reason I can really put my finger on and I am getting on with everything that needs to be got on with (except for the ironing!) but, I know I am grumpy and irritable, judgemental, and caustic, fractious and quarrelsome. Not happy and probably very unpleasant to be around – So my apologies to everyone, esp B who has to live with me & to C who cares and puts up with me.

Then this morning a parcel arrived. An unexpected parcel. A parcel full of the most delightful, thoughtful little gifts. As I said, I haven’t met the sender in person, only electronically, and I haven’t been a very good correspondent recently either. So when I received parcel in the post this morning it was with mixed reactions that included guilt. How she had tuned herself in to my out-of-sortedness from so many miles away I don’t know, but she could not have chosen more perfect things to put a smile on my face and it needs to be admitted a tear in my eye.

She is now officially my fairy godmother.

Beautifully packaged

A real treasure trove inside

A little wooden box full of buttons – probably my most favourite thing in the world ~ boxes of buttons

A tiny box full of ribbon roses

A little homemade cotton bag containing handmade soap that smells divine. And another box with pieces of old lace and a rose shaped candle.

A hand decorated little pad of post it notes ~ Illustrated so appropriately with one of my favourite story characters.

A card sending love and best wishes across the miles and success with the Barn ~ can you see the chocolate peeking out?

Lots of lovely chocolate, ostensibly to keep the doctor away ~ and guaranteed to keep a smile on my face!

So to ‘A’ ~ thank you, thank you, thank you, you have made my day all sunshiny.

More anon
CKx

Baking

2010-06-07T03:24:00.000-07:00

This week has been mostly one of baking, though I promise I haven't eaten all of the results

The daughter of a friend of mine got married on Saturday on her husband-to-be’s birthday. The mother of the groom was given my number to see if I would make him a birthday cake. I bake so I didn’t think it would be too onerous a task….. until she said it needed to feed 60…..and she wanted Happy 30th Birthday Adrian piped on the top, in blue butter icing on top of white glace icing.

I have a confession to make – I haven’t ever piped anything on top of a cake (or anywhere else for that matter) and I wasn’t going to have time to practise.

Whilst I had the ingredients out and the oven was on I also made, 3 banana loaves, 4 ginger cakes, a chocolate orange, an orange marmalade a spiced fruit and a plain fruit cake. These are now in the freezer and will be served to any visitors who would like coffee and cake whilst they peruse the art work in the Studio Barn!

Cakes turned out OK. Square and to be placed next to each other so that they had to be the same height – and they were, phew!

Placed on the biggest tray I had and knowing that I wouldn’t be able to move the cake once it was iced and making life difficult for myself I decided that the cake needed to sit on doilies as well as the tin foil.

At book club a couple of years ago we read The Hours by Michael Cunningham. This may seem like an odd aside to wander down, but in it one of the characters makes and ices a cake. She talks about the ‘crumb layer’ of icing. I hadn’t ever come across this before but it makes so much sense and explained why, on any cake I iced, there was as much cake on the outside of the icing as there was on the underside. I didn’t do the ‘crumb layer’, a thin under layer of icing that seals the crumbs on the inside. Add a second top layer and there aren’t any crumbs on it – result! Well I managed to remember this and so I did a thin layer of lemon butter icing around the edge to seal in the crumbs. Then two layers of glace icing on top to give me a glassy smooth surface to pipe on.

This was done on Saturday and then left in a cool room the door firmly closed and with dire threats to B should he let a dog or cat in there whilst I was out. All was well however and Sunday morning – in a slightly panicky frame of mind - I came to do the icing.

I gathered together measuring tape, pencil, knitting needle, pin, large marker. If the worst came to the absolute worst I was going to write on a piece of rice paper and stick that to the cake! I gridded out the lettering and then inked it in.

I had thought that I would simply press the knitting needle along the letters which would make a soft dent in the surface of the cake which I would then pipe over. I think that that would have worked if I was using Royal icing but the moment any pressure was put on the glace icing the top cracked and I couldn’t see the lettering. So I used a large pin, and perforated the letters leaving a little trail of dots in the icing below. It still cracked but not as severely as the knitting needle method. I do wish she hadn’t wanted blue though! For a start blue food colouring doesn’t taste very nice so I had to add lemon juice to it and I was afraid it would go green! It didn’t but I couldn’t get it darker then this blue. So with lip bitten with concentration I set to it.

Having managed to do the lettering I covered the sides of the cake in more butter cream then piped little blue daisy’s along the edge.

I still had icing left and getting carried away wth the daisies I did a second row around the bottom edge.

I like these ‘daisies’, don’t they remind you of midget gems?

Placed in a very large box it survived the half hour journey to the venue. Fortunately it tasted OK and thanks to four of the eggs being duck eggs it was a lovely golden yellow inside. Having told you at the start of this blog that I haven’t eaten any of the results of my mammoth two day baking session I did have a piece of the birthday cake. Just a little one just a taste to make sure it really was ok and that people weren’t just being ‘kind’ to me! Oh yum, wish I had made a third square now! Though my waist is rather relieved!

Anyone in the market for a quantity of lemon flavoured blue icing????

This week it is head down at the sewing machine so I must away.

More anon
CKx

PS this is my first ‘picture’ now framed and hanging in the Studio Barn which opens this week.

Recent doings and makings

2010-05-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of weeks ago my friend the Lovely Lucy married ‘Andsome Andy. It was a lovely day. The sun didn’t shine all day but it did at the right moments which was great. By the time it really rained we were all in the marquee and enough wine and whisky sunk that no-one cared! it was all in the detail as they say. From the embroidered napkins, to the afternoon tea tent with cushions and vintage china. B&I had a lovely time even if my hair was 'let down' a little enthusiastically! I hope Lucy & Andy did too. They sailed off for a local honeymoon on a yacht and I haven't had a chance to catch up with her yet but I hope to soon.

The other day was my mums birthday and as there is a limit to how many cushions she wants or can use, I rather think I reached that plateaux some time ago, so something had to be purchased. Full of a cold, utterly exhausted, but B persuaded me that we needed to go the Tree Shop at the head of Loch Fyne. He would drive I could snooze – sounded good to me so we set off. A little detour via Crarae gardens where unexpectedly they were having a strawberry and cream fundraiser and a wee open air concert.

The gardens, which are owned by the National Trust for Scotland now, are stunning at all times of the year time of the year and just now the rhododendrons are out.

So glamorous don’t you think?

They are beautiful, and also some blue poppies such an unexpected colour.

And this lovely pale pink Magnolia I think it looks like its made from Bone china or porcelain.

So plant chosen purchased and borne home. It looked a little bare in it’s unattractive pot and as I have been meaning to make some fabric boxes for a while I thought I would have a go.

But reading patterns is definitely not my strong point. Usually when I make things I do it out of my head. I’ll maybe draw a very rough template but generally I don’t follow patterns. I thought it would be so easy. The pictures looked straightforward enough.

However there must have been something in the wording that threw me. It took a lot of paper folding to try to replicate what the book menat and then holding of breath when scissors cut cloth. Fortunately I cut the liner first as I did it wrong after all. Once I had worked it out all went well-ish after that!

For some reason it turned out longer then I thought it was going to, very shoe box shaped which I hadn’t expected. Wanting something tall and narrow not long and thin! So I added handles and the possibly useless

‘box’ turned in to a much more useful ‘bag’.

Which mum was delighted with as she is going to use it as a library book bag. So all well.

Still on my sewing table are these bags

or at least these woolly objects which will be bags once I have lined them. I found some lovely 100% wool in a local second hand shop and have been knitting like a mad thing on circular needles. They’re great and it is so easy and quick. So a couple of days on the sofa last week and another one added to the pile. I have felted them a bit by washing then tumble drying them. Not as felted nor as shrunken as I had expected but they have definitely firmed up a bit.

I need to send some keys south that belong to a boat, thinking that I should attach them to something whilst I got around to sending them so that they didn’t get lost, I made some boat key tags ~ as you do when you've nothing better to do (ironing as always, OU writing........) They didn't take long.

Initialled CK for 'Calico Kate' except the one I need to send south which have the initials EV for their owner on.

I do hope she likes it.

And I have done another couple of pictures for the studio barns first exhibition – which is coming on pace have a look here.

This one might not immediately be obvious. Some people can ‘see’ it straight away others can’t.

It is a girl sitting and reading and a cat is standing on her shoulders.

In this one the girl was also supposed to be sitting with her legs stretched out, but I think I got the proportions wrong and the way her feet came out also looked liked she was running.

She was supposed to be sitting with a chicken on her knee, only the chicken looked odd so I changed it to a rabbit. When I realised that it now looked like she was running with a rabbit stuck to her hip, the balloon came in and the rabbit went out, and I’m much happier with her.

Still need to do something about her hands though. The first one (last post) is now with the picture framer. I was such a dither when it came to choosing a frame, what colour? float mounted or not? Mount card colour? And there was way too much choice. I am really hoping that I have chosen well but will have to wait a week to find out. The girls in the gallery were terribly flattering about it which was very nice, although they might just have been being polite!!

Well I’ve B to take off his machine now so must go.
More anon
CKx

Two girls and a kite

2010-05-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have been awake since about 3 o’clock this morning. Firstly because I had a really horrid dream then because I couldn’t stop ‘designing’ in my head. I could ‘see’ a whole series of pictures that I wanted to ‘sew’. I haven’t done any machine embroidery before and so this was something very new, and very exciting and I just wanted to get on with it. Though I tried hard to go back to sleep I failed.

Yesterday I walked from Crinan along the canal to my friend Lucy’s house to exercise me & the dogs and to have tea with her and to gossip about her forthcoming wedding. It took about an hour at a brisk pace but it was a glorious day and walking along with this scenery in lovely sunshine – I wasn’t complaining. My freckles have started to come out and I have a slightly pink neck around the top of my t-shirt. It was deceptively hot as there was a breeze coming in off the sea keeping the temperature down, I hadn’t expected to ‘catch’ the sun.

Both the dogs and I were grateful to have reached Lucy’s for a well earned rest and a drink – tea for me and water for them. They lay outside her little cottage in the shade and panted. By the time I came to go they were ready to start walking again, so another hour later and we were back at the car.

I’d have thought that with that amount of exercise, I think about 6 miles in total, I would have slept soundly all night but no.

I had been inspired by a picture I had seen at Lucy’s, a print of a piece of work by fabric artist Janet Bolton. And also by a beautifully illustrated book by Sarah somebody - I need to call Lucy and check this!

This had obviously played around in my mind and I could not sleep for thinking of pictures I would like to do. I had to get up and do some (very rough) sketches of my thoughts because if I didn’t I'd forget all about it when/if I went back to sleep.

But I couldn’t and even after a glass of milk and digestive biscuit my mind was racing and finally I gave up and got up. Dressed in sloppy Joes I went out and had a jog/walk along the road to the picnic area and back – about a mile. And I don’t, never have, jog! I don’t know what came over me. I alternately walked/jogged using the telegraph poles as markers. It was really rather special being out at that time of the morning. I met four of my cats, disturbed a heron, saw the fishing boat go out and watched a pair of mallards swim up the loch. Only two cars passed me and the only other noise was of bird song. I’m not promising myself I’ll do this every morning but I enjoyed it this morning. To warm down I took the dogs out for twenty minutes. I think they were slightly perturbed at being out so early but they didn’t complain, just demanded breakfast early too. So with shin and calf muscles zinging, I came in showered changed, had breakfast and then headed to my sewing room.

One basket of scraps, sewing machine, flat iron, and a towel to iron on and I was off.

With a bit of adjusting and rough paper patterns occasionally I cut out the shapes I could see in my head and laid them on a piece of old denim shirt.

I fixed them lightly with a bit of iron on wonder-webby stuff so that I didn’t need to use pins and after a wee bit of a practise with the embroidery foot I was off.

I started to add a frame in patch worked fabric as I felt my picture needed a little finishing off, and some other little details, flying birds and sheep on the hillside.

I was really pleased with the way the kite tail turned out.

A few buttons added to the ‘frame’ ~ 'just because'.

And here it is finished.

A little whimsical picture of two girls and a kite.

I signed it Frin in the bottom right hand corner. This is a nickname that my brothers use. I felt that this piece wasn’t like my usual Calico Kate Originals craft work and I wanted another identifying name. I liked the way it came out.

Sorry the close up is a little blurry but you should also just be able to see the tiny detailing for the sheep. Their black faces and legs were embroidered on though their fleeces were done on the machine. If I’m brave enough I might get this picture framed to hang in the exhibition, what do you think?

Later B dropped me off at the bottom of mum and dads hill road and I walked the dogs up, to see how the barn is coming along – dad has been taking out some of the partitions and spray gun painting it white – will update the Studio Barn blog shortly. Then when we gt back I had to go to bed for an hour or so, I had got very grumpy! I do hope I will sleep tonight. At least now that I have started these pictures and have the others roughed out perhaps my brain will go to sleep too.

Do let me know what you think, I’d be really interested to hear, the good and the bad!

More anon.
CKx

PS Exercise/diet is working ~ 3.3lbs down in the first week…..only another 36.7 to go ugh!

Mellow Yellow Lane Walk

2010-04-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

Our house is at the end of a lane leading up to a ‘big house’, the owner of which kindly allows me to walk the dogs around a field he doesn’t use, and up the drive. This is really useful as it means we don’t have to always go out in the car before going for a walk and I can walk them for their last thing at night pees safely too. It isn’t a long walk but a useful little stretch and runabout. They chase each other around the field in huge circles stopping only to snaffle some fresh deer droppings (yuk!). They were very good at running out of the frame that afternoon.

At the top of the field I sometimes cross on to the drive and come back down that way.

The house was built in 1912 and has lots of specimen plants, trees and shrubs in the gardens. The drive is quite formal for our local lanes and access roads, many of which are Forestry Commission tracks and are unmade, this one however has been tarmacked. In the late afternoon sunshine it was lovely to amble along and enjoy the spring feel to the day. It was one of the first really springy feeling days of the year, and on this particular afternoon the recent sunshine had brought out the Rhododendron flowers.

They are such handsome flowers.

These look so ‘bridal’ some how don’t they? Wouldn't a large bouquet of these matched with some glossy dark leaves look stunning.

These pictures were taken a week or two back and the flowers are already on the turn. White flowers now lie like fallen trumpets on the ground.

They smelt beautiful too.

Sadly I can't share that with you.
Although these are a fabulous red the over riding colour of that week was yellow. A couple of weeks on and the colours are turning blue and pink but when I took these pictures it seemed as though everything was yellow.

Brave and cheerful primroses & cowslips, brilliant green and yellow amongst the dry dead leaves of last year.

‘Wild’ daffodils under the trees against the field fence

And in the garden usefully disguising the fact that this bank garden would appear to be covered in ground elder. It is very interesting moving to a new house in winter when everything in the garden is dead and buried. Although I rather wish the ground elder was dead and buried we have been delighted to see so many daffodils coming up.

Some frilly ones in a pot by the front door, I have long forgotten (if I ever knew) what variety these are.

Coconut cake scented gorse

And these willow catkins which bullfinches seem to have been feasting on. Very exciting as I hadn’t seen Bullfinches before and although sadly one flew in to my study window and died, once I knew they were there I couldn’t understand how I hadn’t seen them before. Bright blush red chests covered the tree looking like apples or as though some one had been hanging Christmas tree decorations. They seem to have gone again now though, such a shame I was so thrilled to see them.

Nearly an auricular, but really a pretty primula, also by the front door, (needing a bit of dead heading ~ now done)

Even B's medical waste bins ~ very spring coloured!

Yesterday as I walked along the road to mum and dad’s farm I could see the new range of colour sweeping through the undergrowth, violets, and occasionally a single bluebell, still along way from that wonderful haze but an early promise of the show to come. The pinkish Ladies Smock and the brighter Ragged Robin are also now in flower. And yet there is still little in the way of green ground cover or leaves on the trees.

This tree looked green but it was the mosses and lichens giving the colour, its buds were still tightly wrapped. I love the old mans beard effect of the lichen on this tree.

So ends my quick burst of mellow yellow.
More anon
CKx

Birthday Tea Party

2010-04-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post something about my birthday party since it happened ten days ago, but somehow I haven’t got around to it. Can’t say what I have been doing as I can’t see any evidence of anything – except that there isn’t an ironing mountain currently (*Shock*), but that was only because I ‘discovered’ The Mentalist on BT Vision and have now watched all 23 episodes of American cop total nonsense, but enjoyable and certainly helps to pass the ironing hours.

The Occasion ~ My 40th birthday;
The location ~ Crear;
The theme ~ vintagey birthday tea party;
The activities ~ games and eating cake!
The food ~ sandwiches and cake, tea and more cake
The music ~ sounds from the 40’s

Getting ready for the day involved a trip to see the Lovely Lucy at her fiancés house where she has been gathering a stash of vintage china to use at their wedding in three weeks time. She had kindly said I could borrow some for my birthday tea party. It was a lovely day and this is the view from his/their house. Stunning isn’t it?

You can just see Jura & Isla in the far distance.

Then home to dig out my collection see what there was and if it was going to be enough,

And then wash it all and pack it up for transporting.

70 Fairy cakes had to be iced.

ansporting & packing these were a nightmare!

Something to wear had to be found. At 8pm the night before the party I tried on the dress I thought I was going to wear so that mum and I could make and alteration and make it hang like an Empire line dress. Dad had dyed a pair of brown nubuck suede shoes black – Charleston heeled Mary Jane’s but the brown didn’t work with the red of the dress – but… I hated the dress. I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to wear and although the shoes looked great I just could not wear that dress the following day.

Back home and I was on the edge of having a tantrum, I nearly called everyone to tell them it was going to be a pyjama tea party as I thought that they were going to be the only things I could wear and feel comfortable in. I called mum at 10pm and said we have to go shopping tomorrow morning. I have two skirts I could wear and a pair of trousers, umpteen shooe/boot combinations but nothing on top. So following a speedy dash around the few (three) shops that sell clothes in Lochgilphead first thing in the morning and thankfully found a blue cotton top that went with the trousers. High & wedge heeled black boots, a slick of lip gloss and I was as comfortable as I was going to get when not in pyjamas.

Pink Prosecco greeted everyone as they arrived.

Ever-so-very-good-friend C the Anchor was on handing out duty
She & husb, the lovely G, were roped in by B to make up sandwiches and organise the tea table, which they did admirably and I am really grateful to them for their help which included washing up at the end before driving back home to Fife.

We played musical chairs, and pass the parcel, and a version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey …… Feed the Puffin a Fish.
I painted it the night before and it nearly caused another tantrum as it fell off the wall before it was dry, though nothing disastrous happened.
I stuck three sheets of lining paper together and sketched out a big puffin shape in charcoal

Then painted him in

To give you an idea of how tall he was I made B stand next to him

Then on the day we cut out silver and gold fishes, blind folded everyone, twizzled them around to make them disorientated, and the pointed them in the direction of the wall to pin their fishes as close to the beak as possible.

And then it was birthday tea time

With A LOT of cake! As well as 70 fairy cakes, there were THREE birthday cakes (B did go a little overboard with the ordering) Scones, Battenberg, and shortbread, the odd sandwich was tucked in for good measure and then should anyone need anything else there were tunnocks teacakes and Ferrero Roches too!

But no-one complained!!

A week later and we were still eating cake but then I decided that the birds should really have the rest as my hips didn’t need any more!

One of the best things of the day was having my two brothers’ home for the weekend. We were trying to work out just how long it had been since the whole family were together and think it must be about five years. That the boys made such a concerted effort to come across from their far flung residences for my party really made my day. Our cousins from Glasgow were able to be there too.

A very BIG Thank you to everyone, for making my 40th birthday tea party a really lovely day.

Update on the 40’s checklist:
I’m keeping up my 40 mins a day craft work & my 40 mins a day house work, although unfortunately I haven't got in to the writing zone yet - I think abou t a lot though, does that count??
With the cake now finished, and the chocolates from Easter gone, the 40lb weight loss is starting. A ten mile bike ride and a three mile walk today. I really want to lose some thing before Lucy’s wedding in three weeks time. And I just generally don’t want to be C & C & L’s little fat friend Kate any more!

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CKx

B was the DJ for the afternoon, Miles Davies, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and others. Fab!

40 Years and 40 Minutes

2010-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I turned 40. Not quite sure how the heck that happened and certainly not grown up enough to be 40 but there we are.

I had a great day, breakfast in bed with parcels. Then Mum and Dad came round for coffee and cake. Then girlfriends for lunch and the afternoon (and more cake) and then dinner out with B and C the Anchor and her husband G. And this year I am making like the Queen and having 2 birthdays as I am having a birthday party later this month. The first one I think since I reached double figures!

It’s been a lovely Easter weekend – the weather was changeable with alternating rainy and sunny days but full of lots of nice people, and eating cake and chocolate!

I have recently come across Marmalade Rose and inspired by her not so little band of women who have all signed up to pledge to do at least 20 minutes craft work a day for a year. I have been completely inspired by this and Marmalade Rose has kindly let me join in. Though this last weekend I haven’t had a chance to add anything to the post or Flicker page because I have been too busy making Easter cards

And egg cosies

Entering the new decade in January I didn’t make any resolutions, too much going on with house move etc. to keep to anything I thought I might resolve to do. Now with everything more settled and entering my own personal new decade I thought I would make some resolutions. This was kicked ff in the man by the idea tha 20 minutes is a small, easily managed amount of time in which something can be achieved. I initially thought that I would do 20 minutes of craft work but also 20 minutes of housework. Becoming obsessed about the number 40 though has meant that I will increase this 20 to 40 minutes, not just for craft work but also for houswork or ironing, something I don't really really want to do.
So here are some of the things I am resolving todo this year.
1. 40 minutes of craft work a day

2. 40 mins of ironing or housework

3. I will limit myself to bursts of 40 mins of blog reading & writing as I can easily find myself here for several hours.

4. Lose 40lbs, I want to lose the unhappy weight of my 30’s – infertility drugs and depression have left their mark, so that my 40’s will be a slimmer decade.

5. Go through my wardrobe and turn out 40 items that I can’t, won’t, don’t, wear, eBaying them if possible.

6. Get a bike and cycle at least twice a week. If I cycled the Crinan Canal foopath from Crinan to Ardrishaig then that is just under 40 miles, it might help to shift the 40lbs!

7. Frame some of my work and see if I can get it in a proper gallery

8. Read a classic novel each month. Instead of my diet of American drama/murder and lightweight womens lit!

9. Finish my novel by doing 40 minutes a day writing or reading it through.

10. Have '40's' music at my party!!
Now of course with the best laid plans of mice and men and all that going astray I am sure I will lose some of the impetus along the way but hopefully I will be able to turn back to this post and remind myself of my public comitment to some of my resolutions.

I would like to come up with 40 resolutions but haven’t managed it yet I’ve only got up to 16 so I will just add to my list as the year progresses.

Another resolution to write at least 40 blogs in the next year and to give it a spring clean so I hope you like the new layout.

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CKx

A truly, madly, deeply, horrible day!

2010-03-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

It’s been a truly, madly, deeply, horrible day today.
Did I hear someone say it was spring?? I thought March was supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb not the other way around. It's snowing and sleeting and raining and windy and it is soo cold. I've gone to turn all the heaters up again.
We had to go to Glasgow today for B to have a hospital appointment. Just a check up. He visits three different clinics but as of today he only needs to go to two. I am so pleased. He has been discharged from one of them as there hasn’t been a repeat of the horrendous haemorrhage he had in July last year. It nearly ended his life but now you wouldn’t know it had happened at all. It seems like a great landmark to have reached.
That was the brightest spark in this horrible day. It is snowing, Snowing! There was about four inches on the Rest and Be Thankful on the way across and the drive was long and hard. I wanted to turn round and go back home. According to the radio the road was closed for a while, just after we had gone through it, due to the weather! Fortunately though it was cleared and opened again by the time we were headed homewards. We didn’t hang about in Glasgow as I had visions of us stranded somewhere between here and there, in a snow drift or at a ‘Road closed’ sign. I am an optimistic soul!

Whilst we were in the big smoke though, I needed to take the opportunity to go to Marks & Spencers.

Big mistake!!! I have a serious bone to pick with the designers of the changing rooms and their choice of mirrors. They have to be the most unflattering mirrors in existence. I was in to get an all in one body shaper thing to wear under a dress (an almost unheard of occurrence). Trying on various designs all purporting to be the same size, only they weren’t, isn’t the most flattering or stress free of tasks. It didn’t help finding a beached whale in my changing room. I came out with something I think fits, although I’m not a hundred percent sure, very red in the face and perspiring mightily. Located B on the sofas and then discovered that they had sited the lingerie department next door to the Café! Presumably so that one can drown ones obese sorrows in large slices of chocolate gateaux! Well, that’s what I wanted to do, actually I had a baked potato and salad and was very stuffed afterwards. I know, I know, so much better for me but nowhere near as nice as, *sighs* say, a slice of three tier Victoria jam sponge with butter cream….*sighs again*…

Picked the dogs up from M&D’s and got home tired and very much in need of a cup of tea or four. Just made tea, B putting his machine on when the door bell rings. Such an unusual occurrence here that the dogs don’t bark yet. I answered the door to find a man asking if this was The Manse as he had a delivery for us. We were expecting medical supplies so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. What was though was the size of his truck. A ‘fixed 18 tonner’ (like this one)

he said he wouldn’t be able to get it in to our driveway. (To be fair the bit off the lane is very 'protected' by rhododendrons!) So I had to reverse our car down to the road and load it up with boxes of medical kit which I then drove the 200 yards back to the house and unloaded. Hmmm cold tea, not impressed! The nice man, who apologised profusely, lots, said he would tell them back at the depot that they would need to send something a little smaller out in two weeks time.

So that was the end of my horrid day. Feathers ruffled and fluffed and rather damp with snow and sleet. But after an hour of ‘Archie’, ‘Hector & Molly’, ‘Duncan’ ‘Golly’, ‘Lexie’ et al, I felt a whole lot better. I have been watching Series 1 & 2 of the ‘Monarch of the Glen’, kindly leant to me by Lucy the Canal’s mum. Gloriously ridiculous and innocent and utterly watchable again and again.

I do wish the Beeb would rerun it. So the last episode of that this evening cheered me up no end and I got on with knitting some more of a little project which I will show you when they are finished and I can find the camera!

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CKx

Hmmmm think I'm stuck in the 1720's!!

Evening thoughts

2010-03-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Kidney failure: I always knew it could happen I just didn't ever think it would happen. He had always been so well. Climbed mountains hiked across hills and camped in the snow. When we got together he was earth and I was water and we met in the middle. Illness was a thing of his past and, thanks to his brother, he was well. Until he wasn’t anymore. It snuck up on us gradually. The signs were there, though not until we looked backwards. The doctors confirmed it. The end of annual check ups and a new routine of monthly tests. Then a date was set. 17 January 2007, 07.00 hours, Glasgow. I drove him to hospital (a journey of almost three hours each way) three days a week for four months. Learnt how to do it right and what could happen if it went wrong. How to stick needles in, how to take them out. The 4th of May is another memorable day. The first day we were on our own. Flying in tandem, solo. Sticking needles in someone with your fingers crossed is not an easy task. It worked, no problems, a successful maiden voyage. Now we are old hands and forget that worry. Until, that is, today when it all came flooding back.
For the last nine weeks B has been going to Glasgow three days a week to dialyse as, for various and numerous reasons, we haven’t had his new room set up in the new house. I admit I have enjoyed having three days to myself and a long break from the daily dialysis regime that has been ours for the last year or so.
Today the technicians delivered the new machine and took away the old one. Everything left all set up and ready to go. So B, who has been itching to get back to daily sessions as he feels a lot better and his blood pressure is much lower when he is, changed in to his pyjamas and we were off. Funny how some things come back to you in no time at all. Like bicycle riding. I suspect if I had thought about it – which I hadn’t – I might have got nervous going back to it after such a long break. But I didn’t, and so I wasn’t, and all was well.
I didn’t ever question that I would dialyse him and that we would do it at home when we knew it would be necessary. Even before I knew what it would entail. Even before I knew we were going to need to. I don’t have a medical background, I'm just very much a get-on-with-it-if-it-needs-doing sort of person and, fortunately, am not terribly squeamish. Consequently I haven’t ever given much thought to what it is I do. What my ‘job’ now is.
It was only just now looking at him, hooked up to the machine, his blood running dark red through the lines, two needles in his arm, an electric pump doing what his body can no longer do, that I thought, actually this is a big deal. What he has to go through every day to stay alive is a big deal. My part in this is a big deal. I haven’t seen it happen for nearly three months. An out of sight out of mind situation. I feel rather emotional about it all today. Perhaps it is at the loss of some of the freedom I have had recently, though I haven’t ever felt tied down by his treatment before. I haven’t ever wanted to kick over the traces and rebel against the constraints it puts on us. I am happy to admit I am a homebody, my hobbies and the things I enjoy doing are home based. Whilst I feel that our life in a new house will now find a new rhythm and routine, I wonder if I want to rail at the responsibility placed back on me. There is a rising bubble of panic inside my chest this evening.
The last three years has been a diet of dialysing and hospital stays. Near death experiences for both of us. Each time he has ‘died’ I wonder how long it will be until the last time, when won’t he come back around again, which ambulance journey or midnight helicopter trip will be the last. Sometimes I feel I can’t go on but the strength comes from somewhere. I pick us up, make him as better as I can until the next time. When he dialyses away from home he’s not my responsibility and whilst that makes me feel guilty it also gives me a sense of freedom. Now he is dialysing at home again and his health and well being is my responsibility. My burden, though one I am glad to bear. But my life back in limbo. However I love him and I wouldn’t have it any other way – unless it was that he would be better.
‘Love’ is such a little word for the amount of feeling that one can have for their life-mate. Sometimes too insignificant a word to use. He drives me mad, to utter distraction, he makes me crosser than I have ever been or thought I could be, but he can make me laugh until I cry, he also loves me more than anyone can, and forgives my many failings, and he buys me daffodils to say ‘Happy Thursday’.

Sorry this isn’t one of my usual meandering type of post, I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with someone this evening.

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CKx

B about to go on his machine in our old house.

A bit too thin here and with a brutally short hair cut