Hello from north Fife!
This blog post should have been all about our upcoming Open Studios event but of course with everything being cancelled due to Covid-19, our annual event cannot go ahead. Trivial of course in the greater scheme of things. These are strange days and despite being someone who works from home, it has taken time to settle into a new home life routine. I have a 14 year old daughter and my husband at home so it's not the same work/life routine at all. Who could settle into a normal routine anyway! We're all just doing our best and it's appreciating the little things that will get us through.
One of the first things we did as a family was tidy out and patch up our old shed and reclaim it as space to sit out and relax in. We know are very lucky to have a garden and outdoor space at this time and we are making best use of it.
I gave this shed it's first make over back in 2011. There is a blog post about it on here but it had become a dumping ground again and had started to leak. We thought it might be beyond repair but with lock down coming upon us we realised we wouldn't be able to afford a new one and couldn't go anywhere to buy supplies to fix this one so we re-purposed an old shelf unit for wood and used perspex from an old picture frame to replace some broken glass and we have our little shed back!
It's a great space to relax in as it's often too windy to sit outside here but this gives the feeling of being outside and is a nice change of scene.
It's great fun in the evening with the heater on and all the fairy lights twinkling.
The pattern for the crochet shawl I'm wearing above is Tasty Tamarind by Mijo Crochet made with a Blackberry Mint Chip Scheepjes Whirl.
I love the colours of this whirl and although the pattern is meant for Scheepjes Whirligig yarn, I found it easy enough to make with a 4 ply whirl.
My next crochet project is to make another one of these wraps and write the pattern down as I go. I made this earlier this year and made it up as I went along. The yarn is by Monsoon Calamity. It's 4 ply stranded cotton and comes in the most amazing colours!
Crochet Gradient Yarn Wrap
Designed by Me in Nova Cotton Yarn by Monsoon Calamity.
The next one I am making is in Fairy Lake also by Monsoon Clamaity
Another non crafty make was this fruit loaf and lentil soup! The soup was one of my best ever. The loaf is lovely but I can't make it often as it's just fattening. A tasty treat every now and then though.
The best thing about living where we do is having lots of places to go for a walk.
These are our nearest neighbours.
We have woods within walking distance of the house.
And endless fields to look out across.
There's a lot to be said for appreciating what is on your own doorstep. ♥
As I mentioned at the start of this post, our annual Open Studios event was due to happen at the start of May. I hadn't really started making in earnest for it before it became obvious that it wouldn't go ahead but I did make this batch of bookmarks in preparation. They are now listed on Etsy.
I also have a few of these covered notebooks made. The picture on the front is an original felt piece sewn onto purple tweed. The cover is designed to be removable so the notebook can be replaced when full or swapped out for an address book or diary.
I had also started a series of long pictures in readiness for Open Studios. I've sold two already but this is my favourite one and it's still available.
I'm also keeping my little stock of Sheep Brooches and jewellery pieces topped up.
So that's just a wee round up of life in lock down here at Aileen Clarke Crafts. I am still able to post parcels. I do all my post online and walk to the nearest post box. Anything too large to go in the post box gets collected by a friend who passes the house every day. I leave a bag on the door and the parcels get dropped at the post office which she goes into every couple of days anyway. Pictures get sent by courier.
If you would like something sent directly to the recipient with a message from you, that is a service I can offer at this time.
