On Saturday morning I was in Edinburgh and took some photos from a different viewpoint. Most of these were taken from either the Royal Mile or North Bridge.
The Royal Mile begins at the top end with the castle and finishes at the bottom with Holyrood Palace.
St Giles Cathedral
Observatory
This afternoon I spent a little time finishing this simple pincushion. I had a similar one which had seen better days and I loved using it so decided to make another but in a different colour. I filled it with natural coloured wool roving which gives it a nice feel.
I’m not making enough progress on “Flock” as I keep changing floss colours. In fact, I’m just about to go and unpick some stitching I did last night as I don’t like the result when I see it in daylight.
Our local area is awash with yellow at this time of year – if you drive around you are surrounded by lovely fields of yellow. It looks good but causes a lot of problems with allergies.
I’ll finish today with photos of my two little friends. Poor Brandy takes a back seat these days with the little live-wire taking centre stage. Mind you, when she oversteps the mark he soon lets her know.
We like to relax.
Thanks for visiting today. I hope all is well in your part of the world and the weather is being kind to you. Take care all.
Promise of what's to come.
We recently added a weeping cherry to our back garden and when we brought it home it had a lot of lovely blossoms on it. Unfortunately a cold snap has not been good for any of our flowers/shrubs these last couple of weeks but luckily, I took a few photos before it stopped blooming.
My stitching progress has been sporadic to say the least. I am so easily distracted and end up trying new things and then going back to what I should be doing. Flock is still slower than it should be as a result of numerous colour changes.
I should receive the third part this week, I’m trying to keep up so that I don’t end up with part twelve arriving and me still stitching part three.
I’ve been working on the little knitted bunny, mainly putting it together – knitted toys are quite time consuming. I also started a neck warmer in a sort of Norwegian design. It took me a while to work out how to do the knitted braid edging. It’s the sort of thing that you would pick up quickly if someone was showing you but trying to work out written instructions wasn’t so easy.
I’ve also been doing a small amount of crochet. I wanted to crochet a Kindle cover rather than knit one so I decided to use hand painted yarn to save me lots of colour changing. I don’t know how it will work out but it’s worth a try.
I’ll finish with a photo of this little lady who has a fascination for a toaster grill that sits on our kitchen unit.
Thanks for dropping in today and for your recent comments too. It’s always nice to welcome new visitors and also I’ve found a few new blogs to visit as well which is great. Until next time, take care.
I bought this flower this morning when we were driving back from Edinburgh. We have a little purple corner outside our patio doors and I thought it would fit in nicely as we had just lost a plant with recent frosts.
I’ve been making a bit of progress on Flock but not as much as I should have. I’m now onto part two and part three came out yesterday. It’s a fun piece which I’m glad I decided to stitch.
I would have been further on but I’ve started a couple of new things and then changed my mind. I was going to stitch a pincushion but decided to make one from Week’s Dye Works wool felt instead. I’m hoping to sew it this afternoon.
I’ve also been knitting this little rabbit which is gradually coming together. This morning I bought some wool to knit something completely out of my normal knitting zone. Hopefully I will have some of it to show in my next post.
This fox was very close to my husband when he was working in Edinburgh a week or so ago. If you look at the photo in my last post which shows the side of a large building as you look up to the castle – he was working there and this little fellow came to visit most days.
On the subject of wild life, this little one loves to watch the birds in our back garden and this photo shows her totally engrossed.
I’ll finish with a photo of a lovely little plant we bought a few weeks ago. I can’t remember it’s name but I couldn’t resist it as it’s in my favourite colour.
Finally a little Scottish word to finish with – “CUDDIE” - I wonder how many of you have heard this term or know what it is. Look below for the answer.
Thanks for stopping by today and for your recent comments. Have a good weekend wherever you may be.
(A “CUDDIE” is a horse or donkey. Usually called an “auld cuddie” if someone has put a bet on a horse in a race and it loses.)
Yesterday we were in Edinburgh and although it was sunny, it was very cold. Our spring has stalled and it’s been cold for the last few weeks.
Looking across Princes Street Gardens
Looking up over the Bridges
Looking up to the castle
The centre of Edinburgh isn’t pretty at the moment as tram lines are currently being laid. The work has been ongoing for a while now and it’s really causing problems getting around in a car.
I managed to finish the little monster below – she’s a Rebecca Danger design called Penelope. She was fun to knit although I made a couple of minor changes to her.
Penny
I’m not quite sure where she will end up – she would make a good “cheer up” gift I think.
Poppy is still looking for a playmate and Brandy isn’t too keen as you can see.
Little Miss Teeth
I’ll finish with a photo that I think gives an odd illusion. To me it looks as though the flower is floating. Thanks for stopping by today and for your comments. I’ve had a few new visitors, of late, which is lovely.
In my last post we were basking in summer temperatures and this week we are back to winter temperatures in style. It snowed all morning on Tuesday with us and it’s been freezing cold with wind chill.
On Saturday we had a day trip to the Lake District in England and although it was cold we enjoyed it as we always do when we visit the Lakes. I took some photos, including the one above.
Derwentwater.
The mountains.
This week I’m enjoying being on annual leave and it’s given me time to do a little more crafting. I managed to finish the needlebook – it’s not perfect but for me it’s okay.
I’ve also been working on “Flock” which is turning out to be quite a fun stitch. I’ve changed a lot of the colours and am happy with the way it looks so far. The next chart is out and it won’t be long till I move onto it.
I’ll leave you with a few photos of my little friend.
The Bag Lady
I have teeth.
And finally this one where she looks like she is smiling.
Thanks for popping in today and have a lovely Easter weekend wherever you are.
Well the plants certainly think it’s Summer. It’s been an amazing spell of weather since the weekend with temperatures reaching twenty degrees. Records have been broken for March temperatures in Scotland and the UK.
This magnolia, along with other plants and shrubs, is coming into blossom way too early. If we get a cold snap, which is almost guaranteed, then we will lose the flowers.
I’m hoping the weather might hold for next week as I am taking a week of annual leave leading into Easter weekend.
I’ve made a start on “Flock” which is a fun stitch. The only problem I’m having is that I’ve changed the fabric colour as I couldn’t see me stitching on red pear linen and it’s giving me thread colour issues. The colour choices look different on my choice of fabric so I’m having to change out some colours to suit. You wouldn’t think that the linen is off white from the photo.
I don’t usually do this type of design where it builds up over a year of charts but I’m hoping that I will continue to enjoy this one.
I’ve also started to “finish” the florentine needlebook. I’m not using the silk lining that came with the kit as it’s very stiff and crinkly, not my type of fabric at all. I hope I don’t regret the fabric choice that I’ve made – it’s an old Hoffman fabric that I’ve had for a long time.
As a follow up to my last blog post, I’ve now had my Kindle for almost a week and can honestly say that I am enjoying using it. It’s so light to hold and the print is an excellent size. I chose a very soft cover for it – the inside of the sleeve feels so soft and the Kindle slips into it very easily but wouldn’t be able to fall out.
My view is that for novels it’s an excellent tool but for needlework, knitting etc I will still be buying traditional books.
In some ways it’s renewed my pleasure in reading if that makes any sense.
Thanks for popping in today and thanks to those of you who say hello when you stop by. I’ll leave you with a photo of Poppy – she’s grown quite a bit of late and is turning into quite an athletic and acrobatic cat.
I love this time of year when colour starts to appear everywhere.
Today I’m on a day of annual leave and it’s good to find time to just “be” instead of rushing around with work, chores and errands.
This morning I took the plunge and ordered a Kindle e-reader. I’ve debated long and hard about this as I really do enjoy the feel of a book in my hand.
The thing that tipped the balance is that quite often new paperbacks come out in a larger size format and I find that both my wrist and hand become painful when I read in bed.
I decided that the new smaller and lighter Kindle might be the answer as I currently have around six E V Thompson books sitting waiting to read and I know that I’ll just end up with problems if I try to hold them. Most of the books that I currently want to read are available for the Kindle so this made the decision easier for me.
I’d love to know how other people feel about the whole e-reader debate as I find that people have very strong views for and against the concept. My husband has had one for ages now and loves it but my son won’t have one (mind you he has an i-pad) as he says he prefers books he can hold.
On the stitchy front, I’m almost finished the florentine needlebook and then it will be the scary stage of finishing it. I’d like to make a matching scissors sheath and cover for a pincushion that I use often.
I can honestly say that I have enjoyed stitching this more than anything for a long, long time. Mind you, it’s not stopped me from buying several new designs which I couldn’t resist.
I’ve made a start on one but not enough to show a photo. It’s the new Samsarah monthly series titled “Flock” – I love the idea of the verse running across the design and the simplicity of the birds and shapes in it.
It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Scotland – I hope the sun finds you wherever you are.
It certainly found this pair. Thanks for popping in to visit.
When I visit other stitching related blogs I’m always impressed by the way other stitchers seem to choose fabric and threads with ease.
Why do I have so many issues when it comes to choosing fabric? I recently started a Lizzie Kate design and I began by stitching on 32 count Lambswool -
- after getting this far, I decided that, firstly, I didn’t like the way it looked and secondly, the fabric wasn’t a pleasure to stitch on as it was very uneven in it’s weave making it difficult to work on.
I then did a test piece last night using 32 count Flax which I think looks better but I don’t enjoy stitching on “floppy” linen as much as the starchy linen.
I didn’t have a problem choosing the linen for the Florentine needlebook as the pattern will cover the whole area and it had to be 35 count permin to keep the shape etc. I’m really enjoying this piece, it is so relaxing to stitch as the pattern is so simple.
I have been knitting but I’m not going to show any photos as every time I post photos of things I knit, it’s the kiss of death and the project invariably ends up in the bin. Suffice to say that I’m having a go at a cute monster by Rebecca Danger and if it works out okay then I’ll post a photo (fingers crossed).
This little one is still causing havoc with her antics, she’s such a full on little character and recently we’ve been debating whether or not she needs a little companion. We’ve always had two cats in the past but this time we’re not convinced that it’s the right thing to do so rather than make the wrong choice we’re holding off for the time being.
It’s such a hard life, is it not?
I’ll leave you today with a photo I took a few minutes ago of a lovely hellebore in our garden. Thanks for dropping by and welcome to the new visitors who’ve dropped in recently and said hello. Thanks too for taking time to comment.
We were in Edinburgh at the weekend and I took some swan photos. I never tire of seeing swans.
Landing Gear Down.
Splash Down.
A plane coming into land at Edinburgh Airport.
At the other side of the water is a large open space where people walk their dogs.
A grey day in Edinburgh.
I’ve not posted of late as I seem to have no needlework progress to show. I have started so many projects and then abandoned them for various reasons that I’m getting very frustrated.
My knitted camel was a disaster – once I reached the head, you would have needed a degree in knitting to follow the pattern.
On the stitching side of things I’ve just not been inspired – I begin something and then it feels meaningless. I’ve never felt like this before. As a result, I decided to have a complete change in type of design and I’ve opted for a few bargello (hence the title) designs. The one below is the simplest and when finished will be made into a needlecase. I am really enjoying it and find it very relaxing.
Bargello or Florentine ?
This little one is still causing chaos and also a degree of worry too. She spent last Wednesday at the vet being spayed. She was a sorry little one for several days and only perked up at the weekend when we returned to the vet and she was given a couple of injections.
Snowdrop?
Flower Girl ?
Hopefully, my interest in stitching will pick up again and I might just find something to knit that doesn’t need such advanced skills. In the meantime I’m going to continue with the bargello and see where it takes me.
Thanks for popping in today, hopefully I’ll be back sooner next time. I’ll finish with another photo of Poppy (I can’t resist). Take care, no matter where you are.
(These berries are an amazing colour – I couldn’t resist this shrub which I think is called Callicarpa.)
I didn’t post Scotland on a Saturday as I decided to wait till today so that I could share a Scottish poem with you to celebrate Burns night which is today.
Many of the poems by Robert Burns can be hard to follow because of the language used so I chose one that I thought was a bit more reader friendly.
“Up In The Morning Early”
Up in the morning’s no’ for me,
Up in the morning early;
When a’ the hills are covered wi’ snaw,
I’m sure it’s winter fairly.
Cauld blaws the wind frae east to west,
The drift is driving sairly;
Sae loud and shrill’s I hear the blast,
I’m sure it’s winter fairly.
The birds sit chittering in the thorn,
A’ day they fare but sparely;
And lang’s the night frae e’en to morn,
I’m sure it’s winter fairly.
by Robert Burns (January 25th 1759 – July 21st 1796
I’m not going to a Burn’s Supper this year. As you probably all know the main food served is haggis and along with it “bashit neeps” and “champit tatties”.
Which translated means mashed turnip and potatoes. I quite enjoy turnip mashed with butter and black pepper but I tend not to eat haggis these days. I don’t dislike it, it’s more of the case that it doesn’t agree with me.
All this talk of Scotland has got me thinking of what is in the news at the moment about a vote to decide whether we split from the United Kingdom.
I don’t usually mention anything political on this blog but it’s so topical just now that I thought I would touch on it in the passing. Although I’m Scottish in that I was born in Scotland, I am first and foremost a UK citizen and don’t want this to change. I like being part of Great Britain as a whole and feel that the union of the four countries is important to all of us living here.
I’ve made some progress on the stitching and knitting front. The camel is coming along fine, it’s fun to watch it take shape. I’ve started a new stitch on 35 count lambswool – it’s a needlebook which should be stitched over one on 28 count but I’m just not comfortable with over one so hopefully it will still look okay.
The shaker box in the next photo was the other craft gift that I received at Christmas. It’s made by a gentleman in France and is a really neat design with a lift out tray for your tools etc.
I’ll leave you today with a couple of sunset photos that I took a few days ago. We’ve had some lovely skies this month which is unusual for this time of year.
Thanks for popping in today, I hope you enjoyed a little flavour of Scotland.
PS Karoline – I’ve visited many bakeries in England and I’ve never encountered fruit slice – I think it is a Scottish recipe. It’s very easy to make though,if you would like the recipe.