F i E L D y

A Week of Inspiration - Day 7

When I was planning the ‘groupings’ of objects for my week of inspiration I managed to divide them into six distinct sections and I was wondering how to round off the week and it suddenly became clear to me that the only way I could round off this week was to pay tribute to the person who has been my biggest inspiration – my lovely Mum. I keep this picture in my workroom and although it is not the best picture I have of my Mum it is my favourite – taken circa 1971 whilst we were on a family holiday in Italy. I think she is looking at my brother David.

My sister and I always had the most lovely handmade clothes (not that we spoilt brats appreciated them at the time) made by Mum. I was always begging for clothes from Tammy Girl or various catalogues, anything rather than wear something handmade. I had no appreciation then of the time, effort and love Mum put into making things for us.

I learned to sew at my Mother’s knee – first on the old Singer that belonged to her Granny (known to us as Little Granny) which is now in the fireplace of my workroom…

 

And then, when deemed competent enough, on her electric sewing machine.

I use  Mum’s sewing machine all the time despite having invested in an all singing, all dancing new machine 18 months ago. Mum's machine is like an old friend - solid, dependable, irreplacable.

I love it, it is the best machine ever  (over 30 years old and still going strong!!) – and every time I use it it I think of my Mum and how happy she would be to see the way that sewing and making has once again become part of my life. We didn’t have a great deal in common, she never understood my career choice (probably worried about the instability of it all) but what we did bond over was sewing and making and the satisfaction gained from creating something and a job well done.

The month of March is always a strange one for me because it was a week before Mother’s Day 12 years ago that my Mum died unexpectedly whilst on holiday in Spain. I couldn’t tell you the exact date – it never really registered with me – but for me the whole month of March is a month of remembrance. Maybe subconsciously I planned it this way, who knows, but for me , paying tribute to my Mum and showing gratitude for the sewing skills she passed onto me is the only fitting way to round of this week of  inspirational handmade loveliness.

So – in memory of Mum and just because I want to, I am doing a retrospective Giveaway. I custom made this heart shaped keyring/bag charm in 2 colours for a customer and this is the colour she didn’t choose!

It will be winging it’s way to NESS who's name was chosen at random from a hat from the few people who left comments on posts over the past Week of Inspiration. I would like to say to you all, thanks for reading and commenting – I appreciate it!

Getting My Head Together.

In a previous post I discussed the need to develope your stall display each time you do a event or at least as you go along, to keep it interesting for both yourself and the customers.

Today I have a project to share which I have been meaning to do for some time. When I first started making shower hats I needed something to display and photograph them on so I picked up the cheapest polystyrene head I could. I got mine from Myers in Glasgow who represent Retif. (they also sell poly torso’s, hands etc for display)

 

 This head was very cheap – and looks it. It is also a bit lightweight so easy to knock over, easy to dent and very smooth,  so difficult to get the hats to stay on properly. I don’t know where I saw it but I saw a mannequin torso covered in different fabrics and thought that the same idea might be applied to my display head to make it more interesting. I had an old calendar (I usually make thank you cards and gift tags from my old calendars) that was perfect for the job so I got to work.

I tore the images into smallish strips of paper and got to sticking……..

It is best to put the PVA glue (any other type of glue will not work) onto the polystyrene neat and to have some glue in a pot slightly watered down (not too watered down or it will soak the paper and make it tear) to fix the paper. Also before you start sticking you should test the paper for colourfastness or it could get very messy. Then all you have to do is work your way around the head until it is covered and voila…..

 

one Brocante-style head! My head is now heavier, non-slip and less liable to denting. The paper and glue give a really nice finish and it is now easy to keep the hat on the head - it looks pretty too! All it cost was the price of the head (roughly £6) and £1.99 for a bottle of PVA. It is a great way of recycling bits of fabric, old magazines, maps, calendars etc and gives you something unique for your display.

After covering my head I still had some pages of the calendar left and as I already have loads of tags from last years calendar recycling I decided the images would make great mirrors – yes mirror mania strikes again!

Here are a selection that I made up…

 

I always have 2 calendars each year – one for social events and one for work so instead of making yet more gift tags from the second calendar I made some lovely abstract mirror sets.

Both these mirror sets and others are now available in my shop.

I did two events over the weekend and the mirrors were quite popular and a welcome addition to my product range. I think they will come into their own at xmas as they are ideal stocking fillers.

I am feeling very positive after 2 days of craft fairs that although not hugely lucrative were highly enjoyable. I met some more lovely crafters and bought some fab baby gifts for my friends' wee girl who I will be visiting for the first time this week! I have also been commissioned to make a handbag for one of the stallholders I met yesterday which I am looking forward to making. Blogs on both to follow this week!

I have decided to spread the mirror love and give these four sets of one mirror with six gift tags (image below) to the first four people who leave a comment on this post.

What the hell - It brightens up a dull March day!

 

New Beginnings.

After alot of humming and hahing I have finally got around to opening my new etsy shop: MoFlo Studio. I named the shop after the area in Glasgow that I live - Mount Florida - known as MoFlo by it's residents!

Although I love Harris Tweed I was beginning to feel a little restricted by it and was in danger of becoming a tweed bore (perish the thought!) so I have decided to have a little side project on the go where I make limited amounts of items out of fabrics that I find unusual and lovely thus enabling my fabric addiction by encompassing all manner of fabrics - the sky's the limit!

I started with some shower hats......

made from Liberty prints that I like. A while ago I was in dire need of a new shower hat and found it really difficult to find one that wasn't "grannyish" and so I have made a few in different patterns - who says you can't be stylish whilst showering? I have also made make up bags to go with them and some small purses and sunglass cases. Likewise I have been using a couple of different Echino fabrics to make purses and sunglass cases plus a very few clutch style handbags. I LOVE this fabric - great to handle and such pretty designs!

The first bags I made were this one in Leopard.....

and this bag with an owl print...........

neither of these made it to the shop - I showed them to my friend Elaine and she fell in love with them instantly and bought them both! However, a couple of others did make it so please pop over for a look. 

Another new project that I have been working on is my new blog called 300miles - well, it's not exactly mine entirely but I set it up and have gradually been adding to it. Now it is in a fairly OK state so I am happy to share it with the wider public whether they are interested or not!! There will be 3 or 4 of us contributing to it over the next couple of years as we chart the progress of our shiny new theatre production created entirely by us from scratch! So, if you are interested in all things theatrical please pop by occasionally to see what we are all up to. I am very excited about this new project - my co-collaborators are all very creative and talented people who I have been friends with and worked with for many years, although not always at the same time. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in these sorts of project - it's been a while!

Wishing you a very happy Bank Holiday weekend - hope the sun is shining on you!

A Mixed Bag.

I haven't got anything specific to post about today - just a couple of random thoughts and a giveaway. Firstly I wanted to say how great I thought the drama about Boy George that was on BBC2 on Sunday night was -  just brilliant! I was a teenager around that time and it totally took me back (in a good way) You can catch it on BBC iPlayer for the next couple of weeks. The documentary about Britpop that was on after it was also a real trip down memory lane too although I was never much of a New Romantic - I preferred David Bowie and The Smiths  - still do (  by the way, am I the only one to think that Phil Oakey is the only pop star from that era to actually improve with age!?) The clips of the strikes and of Mrs Thatcher sent a chill down my spine - not a good time for Britain - still don't trust the Conservative party (but enough of that)

I also wanted to recommend some fab cleaning products that I have just discovered - no doubt many of you already know about them but I was very excited to find these Method eco cleaning products at my local Homebase...

I also found this site which is very informative. Oh, and the bodycare range I was going on about in a previous post is also available online here.

Now that I have got that out of my system we can get down to the more serious business of this weeks Giveaway! I have a few bits and pieces that I have found while tidying my workroom that I feel I can live without and that need a good home. This one is for all lovers of yarn. I bought this book and these mini-skeins from Alchemy Fibre Arts when I was in the grip of severe yarn fever..........

but after attending a spinning course I realised that it was not for me and that I should stick to trying to master crochet and knitting (still failing on the knitting front sadly) before adding yet more hobbies to my ever growing list (feltmaking too fell by the wayside after a rather disappointing attempt)

So if you fancy exploring a new skill just leave a comment on this post and I will put your name into a hat - will do the draw on Sunday 23rd May at noon.

Also up for grabs are 4 metres of iron on plastic coating. 

It is 45cms wide and is supposed to be used to waterproof cloth - I tried and failed to come to grips with it but if some brave soul out there wants to give it a go,  be my guest - first to ask will receive! There are some tutorials on how to use it online.

Finally, as I have not posted any Yogi Tea Wisdom for quite some time I leave you with this thought....

Are there a few things lurking in your workroom that you could live without? Why not have a rummage and do a giveaway - it feels good!

Balmaha Walk.

I really loved my week of dog sitting as I was out walking Belle in the most lovely countryside every day and at the same time getting fresh air and exercise. I mentioned to my friend Laurence that I was missing it and he suggested we do a weekly walk on a Wednesday with his dogs. He lives near Pollock Country Park so the dogs go there every day so we thought it would be nice to try different places that they (and Laurence) had never been to. Last week we went to Mugdock Country Park and this week we went to one of my favourite places of all - Balmaha on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond.

It is about an hours drive from Glasgow but so worth the journey. Best of all there are several walks around the area and a great pub called The Oak Tree where you can get coffee and scones at the end of your walk!

I think it is safe to say that the dogs absolutely loved their first visit.....

and they were totally entranced by the large body of water. At first they were a little cautious....

but Oinagh (the bolder of the two) took the plunge and after a little encouragement.....

Murphey took his first steps in....

He went deeper and deeper trying to get a wee stick that kept floating just out of reach....

and was genuinely frustrated as it floated just beyond reach........

but due to a chance gust of wind that blew the stick back towards him he was eventually successful....

They were both rather interested in the ducks....

but luckily the ducks were too quick for them! This is a really beautiful walk - not too strenuous but with amazing views - it is heavily wooded and there are several small secluded beaches which is a great mix. The bluebells were just about finished but the wooded areas were carpeted with wild primrose...

 

a sight which transported me back to my childhood!

At the end (and beginning) of this walk you have to cross a bridge which is not suitable for little doggie paws so the dogs needed to be carried. Of course by this time they were soaking wet and Laurence insisted that he carried them both so I didn't get soaked - what a gent!

I'm not sure that they were that impressed!

One final look at the loch........

and we were off to The Oak Tree for the most delicious cream scones and cappuccinos - yum!

The first name out of the hat for the pincushion giveaway was Petit Filoux and the second was Isobel - Congrats!

Morningside Makers Market.

Last Saturday I attended the Morningside Makers Market for the first time.........

and had a fantastic day! The location itself is great as it is in a very nice part of Edinburgh and there are alot of great design/interiors shops a stones throw away which are great to explore if you get a chance to leave your stall for a few minutes. The event was well run, well attended and had an exceptionally high standard of work on sale - a refreshing change from some of the events I have done in the past. There were about 25 stalls selling a variety of crafts - some people I knew (Isobel and Eleanor) but most were new to me although I had seen their work online - it was great to put faces to the products. I am so glad that I have booked for a few events as places are going fast. I would highly recommend it as both a stallholder and as a customer!

I was in between Cherith Harrison and Alison of AliBali Jewellery - they had lovely stuff on both their stalls which I could have spent alot of money on (if I had any!) and just next to Ali was Moira Dickson who does the most beautiful embroidered textile art. I was looking at her work - agonising about whether I could justify spending money that I don't have on one of her pieces that I particularly liked, when Moira suggested a swap as she wanted one of my Wee Hotties! Needless to say I was delighted and agreed straight away! Isn't it lovely!?.....

It now has pride of place in my home studio!

I had a couple of new bags to show....

I really like the Resin Bow clasps. The bags are quite wee as the clasps are only 6" wide but I think they are the perfect size for an 'occassional' bag. I kept the labels on the inside as there is enough going on outside with the bow clasp. 

When I got home I felt really energised and tackled my workroom which was really chaotic. The tidying turned into a serious spring clean and I found a few things that I could live without so I thought that I would have a few wee giveaways. The first giveaway that I am going to do is for these two pincushions. I thought that I had sold them all last year at Edinburgh but found these two lurking at the bottom of a drawer!

If you are interested just leave a comment on this post and you will be entered into the draw. First out the hat can choose the colour that they would like and second will get the one that remains. I will do the draw on Fri 14th May at Midday GMT.

Have a great weekend!

Diversion Tactics.

You know how when it is really important that you buckle down and address important issues to do with your life, you manage to find other stuff to do that prevents you from dealing with those issues? Yes, we've all been there!
We all find ways of avoiding 'dealing' with stuff and diverting our attention from the really important matters. In case someone out there is running short of ideas on how to do this, why not try some of the following ideas - I have found them to be very useful over the past week or so..............

make some cards and tags from last years calendars/diaries.............

make some nosebands for working horses and donkeys abroad.....

crochet yet more mitts..........

or alternatively knit some mitts (I saw some on Gigibird's blog and thought how nice they looked!)

Or you could sit and admire the print you have finally managed to frame and hang in the kitchen whilst drinking far too much coffee....

After all that perhaps you might be in the right place to deal with tax, bills, health issues, cash flow etc etc etc. 

I am delighted to announce that the first name out of the hat for the draw for the wool was Claire so she gets to choose which colour she would like and Frogdancer will receive the other ball - Congrats ladies!

I meant to mention that Isobel has posted a few pictures of our trip to Harris over on her blog if you would like to visit - more coming soon I hope!

Tenth Time Lucky.

If at first you don't succeed.......... keep casting on until you get it right! Yes, this is the tenth time I have cast on for the Noro Striped Scarf and finally I think I have cracked it. I have been doing so much crochet lately that I thought it would be a good idea to get back to some knitting but it has been so long since I tried that it was like starting all over again. All this scarf calls for is a K1,P1 rib over 39 stitches. Well, that threw me for a start. I tried a few times (once I had managed to work out how to hold the needles again) and just couldn't get it to work. Then I realised that the pattern I was following had an extra stitch (this rib only works over an even number of stitches) as the person had added an extra stitch for doing a special edge (which of course I haven't worked out how to do) After several more attempts which saw dropped stitches, broken yarn and tears of frustration,  I went back to basics and got my favourite starter knitting book out and started with the instructions for casting on (I hadn't even been doing that correctly!) and once I had got the basics right it started to work. My problem was that I thought I knew what I was doing rather than actually knowing.

Anyway here is my scarf as it stands so far............

The original pattern uses Noro Silk Garden but I am using Noro Kureyon in 3 colours - 2 balls of colour 52, 1 of 138 and one of 206. Look at all those ends to weave in - you change the colour every 2 rows _ I wonder what a fringe down one side would look like?

The finished scarf is supposed to be 6ft long (72 inches) This piece you see in the picture is 7 inches long and represents the following time spent:

1 omnibus edition of The Archers - approx 1 hour

1 film - The Sons of Katie Elder - approx 2 hours

2 episodes of Anna Karenina - approx 2 hours

1 episode Frasier - 30 mins

1 episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - 1 hour

so in total about 6 1/2 hours or roughly 55 mins an inch! I see I have an awful lot of TV watching ahead of me - I say watching but what I mean is listening as I daren't take my eyes off the knitting!

Starting this project has allowed me not only to reduce my stash but to use the lovely needles I bought some time ago at a local charity shop - so many great knitting bargains to be had. I bought  4 pairs of metal needles for about 75p a pair - they look like they are from the 50's....

I love the funky colours and as much as I like wooden needles I find the metal ones easier to work with as my tension is quite tight when I knit.......

I tried googling Atan but all I came up with is that it is an inverse tangent!

I have been so enjoying all the mitt crocheting I have been doing recently and have quite a few comments about the colour of the New Lanark Wool, that I have decided to do a little Giveaway which will help reduce my stash further. I am giving away 2 balls of New Lanark Wool ( one ball is plenty to make a pair of mitts) so you have 2 chances to win one. The first name out of the hat will get to choose which of the two lovely colours they would like and second out of hat will get the other colour. Here they are.....

They are both 100% scottish wool and they are both Aran weight in colourways Clematis and Blueberry. Just leave a wee comment on this post and you will get entered into the draw. Closing date at 12 noon GMT on Sunday 31st Jan.

And the winner is.......

I have just done the draw for the Wee Hottie and the winner is.... Tea & Cake! Please send me your address and I will get your hottie into the post.

A huge thanks to all for taking part - I love discovering new sites and I love giveaways ! I am planning another very soon and I will also be putting links to all the suggested sites and commenters sites in the sidebar for a month so please go and check them out.

Have a great Sundayx

New Year Inspiration.

As it is the start of a New Year and a new decade I would like to share a few things with you which I hope will inspire you as much as they do me.

I never cease to be amazed by the wealth of creative talent out there in blogland, all available to enjoy at the click of a button and by the power of Etsy to actually have and enjoy in your own creative space. I have a corner in my workroom (as I am sure you all do) that I call my creative corner and it is here that I put all the books and objects that inspire me to do something - to stretch myself and try new things, master new skills. And of course there are those things that are just beautiful, that make you happy just to look at them and to marvel at someone else's artistry. So here is my little collection of objects that I would like to share.....

It is no secret that I absolutely love The Daily Pincushion for the beautiful embroidery and patterns so imagine my delight when I came across these two Etsy sellers who make the most gorgeous embroidered brooches - wearable art!

This is by Beedeebabee.....

and this by Applique........

You could write what I know about embroidery on a pin head and I am totally in awe of their skill as am I of this lovely ladies' ability...........

look at the detail.......

such a pretty little face!

Another very talented lady is Marjji who makes lovely objects such as these sweet little bunnies...

see how cleverly she has needle felted the faces before embroidering the details!? The design is so simple but absolutely captures the essence of these wee bunnies.

Last but not least is this wee horse given to me by Caireen for Xmas - how well she knows me...

Made by the very talented Andrea Williamson - Horses, Scottish Wool. Fair Isle - does it get any better? I love it!

So there you have it - these are some of the things that inspire me - what inspires you?

I know that in past months I have been a rather erratic blogger but I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has persevered with me and my lacklustre blogging and still drops by from time to time.

I am going to give away this Wee Hottie (very useful in this horrible weather we are experiencing) which I damaged slightly when pressing it  ...

 

Very slightly damaged!

to someone selected at random from the comments section on this post. If you would like to take part just leave a link to your fave inspirational site or item/object that inspires you (could be absolutely anything) in the comments section. I will draw a name from a hat or some other suitable recepticle on Sunday at Midday GMT.

I know, some girl aren't I? Don't blog for ages then turn up offering damaged goods for interesting info! What a cheek - but that's me all over! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Magazine Giveaway

Better late than never!! This months Sew Hip goes to the lovely Isobel......again!!

Sew Hip Giveaway.

Almost forgot! Issue 6 of Sew Hip goes to Peitseoga.

Housekeeping - The Final Edition.

Don't know about you but I can't take much more housekeeping - it is only because it has taken up so much of my time recently that I have been banging on about it - usually it is the last thing on my mind!
Anyway, today I have finally got it together to post about the mini-refurb in the flat and to discuss the merits of various paints that are widely available now. I am a bit of a paint connoisseur having spent the first 8 years after graduating working as a Scenic Artist/Designer in the theatre industry. I have worked with every paint product imaginable, at one time I even used to make my own paint using size (animal glue), whiting and pigment - you can imagine the smell! That way of making scenic paint has been phased out as thankfully these days even the most basic Trade Emulsions are pretty good plus it was pretty unpleasant to work with all day long.
My favourite paints to use are these............

Farrow & Ball (now available at Homebase), Crown Trade Historic Colours Collection (Available at Crown Decorator Centres) and Craig & Rose 1829 (available at B&Q). All of these have a great range of colours to suit a period property and a lovely chalky matt finish. However, if I had to choose one paint above all others it would be the Craig & Rose. Not only is it locally produced I have found that it goes on much better and covers better than F&B. The only drawback with C&R is that the colour range is quite limited - luckily I like most of the colours and have managed to find colours within the range for all the other rooms in the flat. F&B paints are highly pigmented which give them a grainy texture when applying. This also means that it takes far more coats to cover. It is also £7.00 per 2.5litres more expensive than C&R. On the plus side the F&B colour range is extensive and there are a few colours that you just can't match elsewhere (believe me I have tried) and once you have applied several coats it has a wonderful rich depth of colour and a great matt finish. I have painted my hall in F&B 'Rectory Red' and the walls look like velvet! Both C&R and F&B paints are eco frindly which is also a plus.
Choices for the Kitchen and Bathroom were pretty straightforward. These for the Kitchen.............

Craig & Rose 1829 'Deep Sung Cream' and Farrow & Ball 'Brinjal' and for the Bathroom....

Craig & Rose 1829 'Eau de Nil' - all in chalky matt emulsion finish. The choice for the bedroom was much harder. I had originally painted it an orchid white colour but apart from the fact it was looking very tired it was also incredibly bland. I experimented with a few colours.............

before plumping for a Dulux Heritage colour 'Victorian Sage' in a matt emulsion. It is the pale green sample above the fireplace. I am embarrassed to admit that after mucking around with lots of different samples the final colour choice was made after a visit to one of my local deli/cafes 'Gusto & Relish'. I popped in for a coffee with my friend Anna and we both admired the wall colour. We asked to the waitress if she could find out what the colour was. She heaved a sigh and quoted "Dulux Heritage Victorian Sage". It appears alot of people ask for that information! I tried it and liked it so that was the choice finally made. If only I had gone in there sooner I would have saved a fortune on matchpots! To finish the fireplace I also needed to paint the tiles and fireplace recess so I used this...........

I wouldn't ordinarily use spray paint but I found this in a box the cupboard and thought it would be OK for such a small area. The tiles were painted with Craig & Rose 1829 'Grate Black' . It goes on like emulsion, is water soluble but because of its high PVA content it dries to a dull metallic finish which works well on tiles and metal and gives a good solid finish.
The painting went well, no mess or fuss as someone else was doing it! The only small bit of painting I actually did was the fireplace and that's when it all went horribly wrong. It seems my common sense desserts me when I get near that fireplace. I masked off the carpet area in front of the fireplace and sprayed the inset. Then I painted the tiles and went out for dinner. When I came back I removed the masking and found this..........

Yes I had f*****ed up my newly cleaned carpet. I tried to get it off with nailvarnish remover (acetone) but that just made it worse! The really stupid thing is that I knew at the time that I hadn't put enough paper down but I was in a hurry. The solution to the problem was radical but necessary - I cut the affected piece of carpet out......

I was able to follow the line of the old hearthstone which I then painted with the same paint as the tiles. I think I have got away with it although there are still a few remnants of spray that I can't do anything about. Walls look nice though!
The Bathroom before and after....

I had the ceiling painted the same colour as the walls so it is like a cosy cocoon of creamy green when you are in there - very relaxing.
And the Kitchen ........

or rather a corner of it - a very tidy corner I might add, compared to how it was. My kitchen is not a fitted kitchen but a disparate variety of floor standing and wall hung cabinets. I had the flat valued a couple of years ago when I was thinking of moving and the estate agent walked in and said "Oh, it's very West End isn't it?"  What she meant I am not quite sure but I prefer to think she meant arty and bohemian. Delusion is my middle name.

The winner of this months Sew Hip is...........Debs.

Filling the Well.

I have been feeling a bit flat lately - distinctly lacking in motivation. I finished my last job about a month ago and promptly fell ill with a nasty virus which dragged on for quite some time, leaving me rather tired and listless, unable to do anything requiring focus and energy. However it is not all doom and gloom as I had rather a jolly time drinking coffee and watching too much TV namely 'Homes Under the Hammer' and 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' which I absolutely LOVE! (Jeremy Brett is superb as Holmes) However, all this came to an untimely end when I embarked on some serious home improvements which saw me camping out in the living room surrounded by all the c**p from bathroom, kitchen and bedroom. I also set myself a stupid schedule of unrealistic targets (sound familiar) with regard to what I could get made for the upcoming Wee Green Market. For some reason I felt really resentful at the amount of work I was doing sewing wise, exacerbated by the withdrawel symptoms of trying to wean myself off the bloody TV!
Luckily I had arranged to go over to visit Caireen

Long Time No Blog.

Two posts in the whole of March - must try harder. Have just finished my latest contract so hoping that normal blogging will resume shortly but until then I have just popped by to say that the recipient of this months Sew Hip is Isobel (Bella Bheag)
Oh and I also wanted to show off the final addition to my home workshop................

I have wanted one of these for ages and finally got this on eBay. It holds 60 reels of thread which I thought would be plenty, but I still have a load of thread in the drawer!

Secret Lives!

For the past few weeks I have been visiting an Osteopath (recommended by a friend) in the hope that she will be able to rid me of the constant soreness in my knee and elbow tendons (old horseriding injuries that have been aggravated). She is a lovely person and obviously wants to help people but I have been rather perplexed as to why she apparently enjoys my cries of discomfort when she is manipulating my joints, saying such things as "If it doesn't hurt you are not getting your moneys worth!" whilst smiling cheerfully.
All became clear on my last visit when she revealed on my latest visit that she has just signed a deal with Penguin to publish 2 more of her books! "Books on Osteopathy?" I innocently asked. Oh no, nothing like that - it turns out that she writes crime thrillers in the same vein as Ian Rankin ! Grisly murder and psychopaths! Time to find a new Osteopath maybe!? She didn't tell me what her pen name was but did say that she had been nominated for a New Blood Dagger Award last year so, after a little detective work of my own (get it?), I discovered that my osteopath is also known as Caro Ramsay and this is her first book!!
On the subject of books I have recently immersed myself in 3 - yes 3 - of the latest books by Alexander McCall Smith. Two from the Isabel Dalhousie series ....

and the latest book in the 44 Scotland Street series.....

 I love these series - I find them very comforting to read, like dropping in on old friends. Their descriptions of Edinburgh life and characters are so well drawn you feel that you might well bump into these people whilst wandering around the city. Of course it helps knowing the city fairly well as he mentions specific locations and local characters but it is not absolutely necessary to in order to enjoy the books. If you are interested the first book in the 44 Scotland Street series is called , rather aptly, 44 Scotland Street and the first in the Isabel Dalhousie series is called The Sunday Philosophy Club.

As promised I have done a draw for Issue 1 of Sew Hip and the first out of the hat was Ambika. Second out was Caireen who will receive Janes' copy. Please email me your contact details and we will send the mags. Remember I have 2 copies of Issue 2 to giveaway at the end of Feb. I have just received Issue 4 and I have to say that I think that the magazine is getting better each month.

PS I am trying to sove a 'mystery' of my own - I seem to have lost my category cloud even though I have been to the content section and selected it etc etc and also cannot get my lists for albums to link to pictures on amazon automatically like it used to - any ideas????

Move it on.

A few years ago I was working on a film in Newcastle and had the good fortune to be lodging in a beautiful 3 storey victorian terraced house with a lovely woman called Kathleen who, although retired from teaching, still worked tirelessly for the local community, had her own organic allotment, was a master recycler and had a house full of the most lovely textiles. I was on the top floor next to her sewing room where she created patchworks from recycled fabrics bought from charity shops - in fact there were piles of fabric all over the house which the many rescued cats would nestle comfortably (please don't imagine that this house was in any way dirty or shabby - it wasn't) At the time I was staying there I had not rediscovered my love of making things and remember thinking that it was rather a waste of space to have a whole room devoted to sewing - obviously I was wrong ......
The job itself was very stressful but the saving grace was that at the end of the day I was able to come back to a beautiful house and a good chat with Kathleen. Alot of the fabrics she had 'rescued' ,as she put it, from the charity shops were earmarked for some project or other that she had in mind but the rest were just there waiting to be "moved on" to someone who would appreciate it.
I took on board alot of what I had learned whilst staying in Newcastle so when I returned to Glasgow I started to recycle properly and got a composter. I had a big clear out and "moved on" alot of things I no longer needed or wanted and I continue to do this on a regular basis. The satisfaction that can be gained from doing these small things is, for me at least, enormous.
I had a massive clearout on New Years Eve - every cupboard and drawer has been thoroughly cleared - I found things that I had no idea I had and have "moved them on" to various people who might have use for them. After the massive clearout I went around the whole flat with some burning Sage (compliments of Caireen- all the way from New Mexico) and 'smudged' the whole flat. I thoroughly recommend this as a way of invigorating the energy of your environment and reconnecting to your home and the things in it.
I started to think that it would be a good idea if, rather than wait for an annual clearout to 'move on' items no longer required it would be nice to try and make a habit of moving things on as I went along. I already have a couple of magazine subscriptions that I pass on to one of my friends as soon as I have read them and she in turn passes them on or recycles them. - likewise she passes on mags to me which I pass on or recycle. So finally I come to the point. Just before Xmas I treated myself to a subscription of this new magazine.......

I have now had 3 issues and realise that although I do enjoy it to a certain extent and it does have some useful information in it, it is not really 'for me' so I would not want to keep it for reference or anything like that so I am proposing to 'move on' every issue as new and intact with patterns etc (once I have read it) to a different person chosen at random from the comment section each month. This is not a cunning way to get more comments - you only have to leave one comment during the whole of each calender month to be eligable and it will not matter if you leave one or ten as each commenter will get one chance as I will be using the pick out of the hat method! By doing this I get to move on something useful to someone who will enjoy it and the recipient will get the chance to try out a new publication at no expense - if by some chance the chosen commenter already has a subscription or has bought that issue I will contact the second out of the hat to receive the mag. I will start with Issue 1 at the end of Jan (it was published in Dec) and continue through the year until October when my subscription will run out. Hope you want to join in - it's just a bit of fun for the start of the yearx

I am also thinking about starting a book swap (craft books) - would anyone be interested? If you are like me you probably have one or two books that you have bought without really looking at it properly and now realise it only has one or two projects in it that you really want to make or you have moved onto a different craft altogether or you would like to try something new but don't want the expense of buying a new book. Haven't worked out quite how it would work - suggestions welcome!

I was browsing yesterday and came across a link to a new online craft magazine called UKHandmade  on Middle of Nowhere - well worth a look, as is the blog! It's quite good this internet thingy.