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A podcast for people who love knitting, Dorset Buttons, creativity & Scotland, especially the Highlands & Islands.
Welcome to the 7th episode of my podcast – On The Croft Part 2
Thank you for listening again or welcome if you are a first time listener.
The Weather
We had our first 40mph gust, nothing unusual here for this time of year although an indication the weather is on the turn.
August has brought a few summer days with fresher temperatures at the end of the day.
I chat about bracken & my relationship with it. I dislike it immensely, the only thing I love about it is how it signifies the change in seasons illustrated by the colour in this photo as the bracken begins to die off.
The heather continues to brighten up the moorland and the Rowan trees seem to have suddenly produced lots of red fruit.
Making
Gullfoss is all sewn up & I’ve yet to get a photo of me in it or my Burrafirth. For now I’ll leave you with this peek of them.
I cast on the Starting Point Shawl by JoJi using Eden Cottage Yarns Milburn 4ply. Sorting out which order to do the 5 colours in did take a while & a fair bit of swatching. Of course if I’d done this as part of the mystery KAL I wouldn’t have had this problem! Now I’m off and away and enjoying the process & there’s enough changes in it to keep me interested even though there’s a lot of knitting involved.
I have yet to decide on what yarn to use for my Bousta Beanie which will be going on my needles later this month. Stash diving coming up!
My latest book acquisition is A Year of Techniques by Arnall-Culliford Knitwear. At a first quick glance it looks very well laid out & I’m looking forward to delving further into it and casting on a couple of projects.
I spent 2 days in Cheshire with my Mum at a Debbie Abrahams workshop as part of her Mystery Blanket Club. We had a small purse project to do & I’m pleased I finished all the knitting at the workshop and did the blocking & sewing up back home.
Dorset Buttons
I reveal one of the commissions I’ve been working on – Dorset Buttons for a duvet cover for the Thistles On Skye Bed & Breakfast. Geraint, my husband, photographed these. Watch out for a blog post by him about photographing these in relation to his usual subject matter.
My outing to the local craft fair at Plockton on 18 & 19 August turned out to be memorable in a different way – I got stung by a wasp! Listen here to hear about the sting remedy I received.
I have 2 new & big shows I’ll be vending at in September.
First up Perth Festival of Yarn on 10 September swiftly followed by Yarndale on 23 & 24 September.
Local Lowdown
I talk about SEALL our local arts promoter who bring various Scottish traditional & contemporary cultural events to the island.
While helping at front of house during a recent event I found myself next to the Gaelic Gins tasting table – I tried a weeny bit!
I also tell you about another unexpected event that brought a smile to my face & made me appreciate even more why I live where I do.
Skye Showcase
This month we continue the conversation with Sally who owns On The Croft.
This time we hear about some of the items she makes for the shop, the connection between Harris Tweed & where she lives, what happens to the fleece from her Jacob sheep as well as finding out how her husband became a wood turner.
Photos courtesy of Sally Algrave. Sally’s needle felted pictures – Highland Coo, The Fairy Pools, Sally’s Dog.
Sally’s poncho made with Harris Tweed.
Ponchos, Cushions & Felted 3D Animal Kits
Sally’s hand-dyed wool produced from her own Jacob Sheep a mixture of hand spun & mill spun.
The result of my shopping trip at Sally’s. Hand-dyed wool from her Jacob sheep and the two on the right are hand-spun.
Music – the music is One Frog For a Prince, by Ron Patton & licensed from Melody Loops.
Bye for now.
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