Vibrant emerald green fades quickly to muted dusky brown. Our Hebridean sky becomes more complicated with squally clouds edged in black and orange-red speeding above us. The wind carries wild autumn seeds of Hogweed and Bishop’s Lace that will settle and sow themselves to flower next year. Goldfinches eat the last Self-Heal seeds and sparrows …
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Hush now, slip into a heart-warming Autumn
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Summer: dreams of vibrant wildflowers and handknit woollens
Summer feels on the wane and it has been beautiful. Still the sun shines bright and warm and the clover keeps on blooming. Skylarks tumble and dive, collared doves coo to one another, the calves are frisking about and the lambs are getting big. Sunshiney days of relishing the warm breeze and the salt air, …
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Spring: Wild dog roses and sombre thunderclouds
The mist-kissed breeze brings the sweet scent of dog roses blooming on the wild hedge near the shore. Their pink and pure white petals lighten the mood of grey clouds. Spring feels almost like Summer this year – the days are hot bringing rumbles of thunder and early butterflies; Small Whites and Small Tortoiseshells find …
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Darkness descends, Autumn
The wind is howling, the rain is lashing our faces. Suddenly it is dark when last week it was light. Sunless days have arrived with Autumn. And we love it. The fire is lit and tended with care. Wool blankets and downy quilts warm our bodies while good company and laughter warm our hearts. Mellow …
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Summer: long days of languid daydreaming
Summer in the Outer Hebrides. The sun uplifts us, we’re early to rise and feeling wise. Adventures beckon in the wind gusting off the sea. Sparkles of salt spray drench our smiles. We splash in the cold water and run through the marram grass and red clover, the wild carrot bearing its crowns of seeds …
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Feature: Stitched up and loving it – patchwork
Smitten by hand knitted and EPP {English Paper Piecing} patchwork. Slow-stitching pretty fabrics together by hand, hand knitting squares and rectangles in favourite yarns and connecting them with feature stitches, making all kinds of garments and homewares in flourishes of treasured patchwork pieces. Making patchwork by hand is a satisfying long term project with all …
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Spring: dawn chorus makes our hearts sing
“And a bird overhead sang Follow,And a bird to the right sang Here;And the arch of the leaves was hollow,And the meaning of May was clear.”~Algernon Charles Swinburne~ The dawn chorus of robin and song thrush, blackbird and wren. The sweet scent of gorse on the breeze. The clear blue of wild bluebells and a …
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Metamorphosis: Hecla Wrap design commission for Uist Wool
Being so close to my heart it was an honour and delight to create a new knitwear design for local mill, Uist Wool. The brief was to create a wrap and knitting pattern that would showcase the sublime, extra-long ombre gradient of an exclusive version of Uist Wool’s Astair laceweight yarn. And at the same …
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Winds of Autumn clearing the debris
It is almost always windy here in the Outer Hebrides and we have few trees for protection. And now in the coolness of Autumn the wind is blowing harder so that everything is refreshed and made to tingle like our skin and glow brighter released from under the weight of things no longer needed. We …
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