Shetland Peerie Makkers

If it wasn’t for knitting, it’s likely Shetland would still be on my list of places to visit one day . . . Instead with my rekindled love of knitting, in 2012 I flew to Shetland for a 4 day visit for Shetland Wool Week.  Little did I know quite what an impression Shetland – […]

Delving into the Delights of Dorset Buttony!

Blog post by Geraint Ashton Jones. When your hubby is a photographer & you task him to photograph some Dorset Buttons instead of his usual subject matter of landscape, wildlife or rugby players! Click here to see more images & read the blog post.

Black Isle Show

I mentioned on Episode 6 of TJFrog Podcast I’d pop up some more photos from the Black Isle Show 2017.  A few highlights for me. Onions!  I always love the ‘competition tent.’  I’m amazed at the work people put in & the consistency & size they achieve in the veg section. Quite a show off! […]

Fancy Tiger Crafts

Last year work took us to Denver, Colorado giving me the perfect opportunity to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts. Celebrating their 11th anniversary on 8 July 2017, Fancy Tiger Crafts describe themselves as specialising in ‘supplies for the modern crafter.’   And walking in is like being enveloped in a big woolly hug.   Then as […]

Woolfest 2017!

What a fantastic weekend at Woolfest 2017! As a first time vendor and having never visited Woolfest before it was with nervous anticipation that I entered the auction mart on the Thursday afternoon.  Seeing it for the first time all empty, it felt smaller than I imagined – how wrong was I?!  It’s a huge […]

EYF 2017

EYF 2017, my third time as a vendor & the most elated exhaustion I’ve experienced post show!  The run up to EYF 2017, alongside my usual preps for my Dorset Button stand & running Dorset Button workshops, saw my TJFrogWool delivered 2 ½ weeks before, my Dorset Button fabric bags picked up on the day […]

My Crofthoose Hat

Last October I went to Shetland, my third visit for Shetland Wool Week and three years since I last took in this amazing event. Many of you may know the Crofthoose Hat pattern designed by Ella Gordon, the elected patron for Shetland Wool Week 2016.  Offered as a free pattern this is a fantastic way to get knitters involved […]

Exciting Times Ahead!

TJFrog is now over 2 years old & so much has happened in that time both for the business & on a personal level.  During this time a couple of TJFrog projects got put on the slow, or even the back burner while many miles were clocked up between Skye & the South Coast of England.  The […]

The last months of 2016

December arrived with the weather officially warmer on Skye than where I use to live in the South of England and here at the end of December that is still the case! With only a couple of icy days and Storm Barbara & Conor to contend with, on the whole, we have had a mild […]

Autumn 2016

There is no denying when I wake up & see a sunrise like this it adds an additional sense of wellbeing to me & injects some energy to my day. Having said that the grey, misty, cloudy, wet days, also have their own beauty, producing a monochrome landscape.  According to the Met Office, for the North of […]

WIPs – Finish It or Frog It?!

Last weekend saw Louise of KnitBritish and Leona-Jayne of Fluph shop, Dundee collaborate & hold a #bigwiprip session – Rip up your works in progress (WIPs), frog your project, and release the yarn for a new exciting knitting pattern! Still working through jet lag from my trip to the States, a trip to Dundee was […]

April Weather

Saturday morning started off like this . . . . . . and by the afternoon it looked like this. Snow settling on the ground is a rare sight for us with being so close to the sea.  So I felt drawn to watching the snow showers on and off throughout the morning!  In the winter […]

Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2016

Whether a vendor or a visitor at EYF you will all have had your own experience of this unique & innovative yarn festival created by Jo & Mica.  Or maybe you were unable to attend & have enjoyed a vicarious EYF experience via various social media sites.  The EYF vibe is simply magical.  This is more […]

Sun, Snow, Sheep – Skye

Plentiful sunshine today, blue skies & snow topping the very peaks of the mountains to showcase the Skye landscape. After the winter storms we’ve had calmer weather in recent days, with the weather reaching a peak today. The Skye Bridge looking across to the mountain ranges of Skye. Blaven – Blà Bheinn on the Elgol road. […]

A Leap Year in more Ways than One

With the transition from one year to the next it is with great interest I’ve read many online 2015 reflections and 2016 business plans and goals from people across the creative community. 2016, a leap year, brings an extra day to help with fitting all those plans in! A year ago, I wrote about TJFrog […]

Pies & Pom Poms

Over the past few months Skye Pie Cafe has appeared in my social media feeds a few times and left me wanting to share in the experience.  Opening for 4 days in December we fixed the date in the diary and popped along to sample the pies! Glenview is home to rooms, a gallery and the Skye […]

On The Turn . . .

One of the things I’ve found living on Skye is how distinct the seasons are, whether they be accentuated by the vast and plentiful array of flora or the varying weather conditions.  Today was one of those days where it would have been all too easy to stay indoors and keep cosy and warm rather than […]

Holiday Project – Crochet!

I am currently working on a crochet project for myself!  It’s not often I swap the knitting needles for the crochet hook.  I had selected this particular project to take on holiday for its portability and as it’s cotton it wouldn’t be too sweaty in the hands in the heat.  With the loss of my Nan, the holiday had to […]

My Inspiration

A week ago today my Nana sadly passed away.  Even though she reached the grand old age of 95 it was still very sudden and unexpected.  My Nan taught me to knit as a very young child and little did I know then just how much knitting would eventually become a big part of my […]

It’s been a while . . .

Last time I blogged I was feeling elated and exhausted post Edinburgh Yarn Festival, and about to embark on a Norwegian cruise to take in the fjords alongside some knitting and crochet workshops.

Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2015

Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2015 – my first big show as an exhibitor!  Huge thanks to Mica & Jo, the organisers, for giving me the opportunity as a newbie vendor.  I had an incredible weekend – exhilarating, exhausting and inspiring all rolled into one.

Winter Walk – Armadale Hill

Since the New Year, 100+mph winds, horizontal hail coming off the sea, thunder & lightning storms, snow and various weather elements all in one day have continued to batter us.  In one of the few breaks we have had in the weather we took our first hike up Armadale Hill.  The footpath from the Armadale road just up […]

TJFrog Leaps into 2015

I am not one for making New Year Resolutions although as one year passes into another I tend to have a ‘To Do’ list for the forthcoming months.  Top of the list for 2015 is to focus on taking TJFrog forward, and with us now fully ensconced in our Skye home it’s time to get immersed in the inspirational […]

The Makery, Bath

Last Sunday I had the privilege of running a Dorset Button Christmas Decoration workshop at The Makery, Bath.  As part of their Open Day, The Makery ran a series of 1-hour taster craft workshops.  If you are not already familiar with The Makery do take a look at their website or even better take a trip along to […]

Singleton Button Challenge

Earlier this year, Anna McDowell of Henry’s Buttons set a challenge to bring the Singleton Dorset Button into the 21st Century.  This involved making a Singleton button using traditional methods on a 25mm ring with a free reign for the decoration on top.  The whole button had to be no more than 30mm in height.  All buttons […]

5KCBWDAY7 – Looking Back, Looking Forward

  The final challenge is: “Look back over the last 7 days & look forward to one year for the 6th Knitting & Crochet Blog Week.” The last 7 days: I have found it quite a challenge to blog everyday even with a theme to follow. I have been doing shorter blogs than normal. It has made […]

5KCBWDAY6 – Views of Others, Views of Yourself

  The challenge today is to: “Write about another knitter or crocheter that you admire.  Write about what you have been told about your knitting.” A particularly different one for me today as there are just so many knitters and crocheters who I admire.  So I’ve decided to go back to 2008 when I picked up […]

5KCBWDAY5 – Something a Bit Different

The challenge today is to: “Blog different to how you normally blog.” Today I’ve invited my hubby to be my guest blogger.  I gave him the brief and a very tight timescale and this is what he came up with: Social Knitting Fingers twitching, needles clicking. We’re knitting in the round. Chitter chattering, always nattering. We’re […]

5KCBW4 – Conversations Between Workers

The challenge today (oops yesterday) is (was) to: “Write a descriptive introduction about a tool you use for your craft, then write a dialogue between yourself & this item.” The tool I am lost without in knitting is my needle gauge – the problem is – I can never find it when I most need it! […]

5KCBW3 – Experimental Photography

  The challenge today is to: “Refresh skills at creating attention grabbing pictures.” My photography skills are pretty basic. I usually focus on trying to get everything I want in the picture, ensure colours reflect the true colours, as much as possible, and then ‘point and shoot!’ Occasionally I get my hubby to take the […]

5KCBWDAY2 – A Dating Profile

The challenge for Day 2 is to: “Write a dating profile for one of your finished projects.”   I’m known as Colour Craving and my design is a creation of Stephen West. I first arrived on the needles in September 2013 as part of a Stephen West Mystery Shawl Knit Along on Ravelry and I fully fledged in […]

5KCBWDAY1 – A Day in the Life

  Day 1 of the Knitting & Crochet Blog Week has arrived – the challenge today is to: “Describe a day in the life of a project that you have made, or are in the process of making.” I am a WIP of TJFrog – a scarf in the making – and I am kept […]

Loch Lomond to Skye

A round-up from our recent trip, one that we regularly take up the West Coast of Scotland.  Beautiful views whatever the weather. Morning light over Loch Lomond:

Blogging Challenge

As a relative newcomer to blogging, I am still finding my way with the whole concept. So when I saw a post by Eskimimi Makes about the 5th Annual Knitting & Crochet Week, 2014 I decided to bite the bullet and commit to taking part.    

Yarn Shop Day – Saturday 3 May 2014

As part of a nationwide campaign to promote independent yarn shops, today has seen a large number of shops taking part in Let’s Knit Magazine “Yarn Shop Day” with many holding special events, workshops, promotions and discounts. “Love Your Yarn Shop” first came to my attention through Twitter and when I looked up who in my […]

Willow Basket

This week my Mum and I went back to Spin A Yarn in Devon to do another Willow Workshop – this time a basket! It went from this . . . to this . . . and finally I produced this . . . A great day albeit I need to toughen up my thumbs! Now […]

Shetland Wool Week – Revisited

Workshop and event tickets for the 2014 Shetland Wool Week, 4 – 12 October, went on sale today! For the last two years I have been extremely fortunate to go to Shetland Wool Week, although sadly this year I will have to give it a miss.  Despite this I have still been spending time exploring […]

Knitting Group Entertainment!

An unexpected enjoyment I have had since I took up knitting again is being part of a knitting group.  Our group came together in 2009 when we were all doing Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket, Arabian Nights.  Although no longer all doing the Mystery Blanket we continue to meet every 3 or 4 months at one of our […]