Summer So Far

We are nearly two weeks into our school holidays here and we have been having such wonderful weather for a change! We have been busy visiting family and making the most of the good weather here at home as well. I picked these sweet peas from my Dad's garden last week and they have been filling the cottage with their heady scent which I find so uplifting and relaxing at the same time.

My daughter and I went to visit my Auntie and Uncle last week and we had a very enjoyable couple of days going for walks by the river and generally relaxing.

I found this little hut quite enchanting nestled into the woods, surrounded by wild flowers.

The River Feugh

We had a little swim in here one morning. Not as cold as the sea off Iona last month but very invigorating all the same! I have happy childhood memories of playing in this river with my brothers and cousins during the long summer holidays and I like to think that my children will have happy memories of time spent here too.

Back at the end of June we went to Ceres Highland Games, the oldest free games in Scotland.

Lots of colour among the competitors.

I enjoy some aspects of the games but took myself off round the village after a while as I had spotted an interesting little shop called, Hand Made Home. Just my kind of place!

Set in a tiny cottage, Hand Made Home offers a variety of new and vintage items for sale as well as hand painted furniture and made to order curtains and blinds.

I really enjoyed chatting to owner Sarah about all things handmade.

The shop layout is constantly changing as the furniture sells and new pieces are painted up for display. 

My daughter chose a cute little sewing kit for a summer project which we are saving for a rainy day. There is so much paddling pool fun to be had at the moment that sitting still learning how to do blanket stitch will have to wait.

To keep up with what's new from Sarah at Hand Made Home, you can find her on Facebook here.

Of course the beautiful weather brings with it glorious sunsets!

The clouds here looked so like merino fibres laid out ready for making into felt!

So with all this going on and children to entertain, I have not had as much time to make things. I did make these new sheep wrist cuff bracelets at the end of last month. They are very time consuming though and so they cost a bit more than my usual ones.

Sheep Cuff Bracelets £20

Available here

I have also made some new textile heart pendants.

New earrings will be in stock in August.

So everything is ticking along at rather a laid back pace here. Normal service will resume mid August. 

I hope you are all having a great summer!

ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ  ♥  ღஐƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒஐღ

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

5.30am on the north east coast of Scotland.

The promise of a lovely sunny day.

We didn't spend all of our holiday sitting on wind swept beaches. Having children aged 6 and 13 can be quite a challenge on holiday as they both like doing different things. The beach is usually a good option for both but some days it's nice to go and find other things to do. 

Scotland is great for museums and places of interest.

While my husband took our daughter to the 'Tain Through Time Museum' in Tain, I took my son to visit an old friend of mine from college. 

Brodie Nairn and his partner Nicola Burns run the contemporary glass studio 'Glasstorm' in Tain.

It was great to catch up with Brodie again. We haven't seen each other in nearly 20 years!

My son and I were delighted to be able to watch Brodie at work and he explained to us about his latest commission pieces. 

You can follow this link to see some superb glass work and read more about the Glasstorm Studio.

I also met Fiona Byrne who works at Glasstorm. Fi makes her own glass jewellry and has an Etsy shop which you can visit here 

Below is one of my faves from her shop.

'Summer Anchor Pendant' by FiFi Loves Jewellery

Another highlight of the holiday was visiting the lovely village of Dornoch.

Lovely cottages in warm sandstone with beautiful gardens.

A castle on the main street which is now a hotel.

Ahh.... the relaxing scent of summer roses.

And where did this inviting door lead to?

 

 A peaceful and enchanting walled garden.

It was so nice to just amble around and wander in and out of some lovely shops.

Since we got back from holiday I have been busy making small framed felt landscapes and felt bookmarks for Room 15 in Oban.

Today would have been a good day to be in Oban. They set the World Record for the longest 'Strip The Willow' ceilidh dance this afternoon! Some german tourists apparently thought they were going to witness some nudity!

I have also had a couple of orders for 'Highland Coo' pictures.

Not difficult to find the inspiration with a whole herd living next door.

I went out to lock the shed the other night and heard lots of munching and snuffling going on behind the hedge.

I turned round to see this little cutie peeking through.

Just look at the length of those lashes!

It's easy to order something from me. Just send me an email telling me what you are looking for and we can work out something unique to suit your budget.

aileenclarkecrafts@tiscali.co.uk

'Wee Chubby Coo'

SOLD but you can order similar.

Last but not least on my list of things to share is that despite the dreadfully wet weather we've had for the last while, it dried up enough to go out picking flowers this evening.

These are all from our garden or the verges beside the farm track.

Can't wait for the honeysuckle to come out and fill the house with it's heavenly scent. I also can't wait for the sun to come out again....maybe tomorrow?