Vintage Squirrel

Too lovely to use......

2012-02-03T22:12:00.000Z

Helloooooooo! It has been so gorgeous here over the past few days and it makes me happy. Crisp and clear, bright blue skies, glorious sunshine, frosty, cold, wrap-up-warm days. Love it. Love walking the dogs on days like these too.

Our twelve year old daughter has been busy making things at school. She presented me with two lovely gifts. It made my heart melt. Hand made by her for me. Precious.

I love the trowel but I can't bring myself to use it. What if the lovely red paint chips off? What if I bend it? I know it has been made as a practical, useful tool but I am going to hang it up, place it on display, for all to see!

She also made a photo frame. I can't remember ever doing anything as exciting as this. Mind you, I never got Technology at school, girls went to Home Economy and learnt how to cook and sew. I do remember in P7 having to knit a tabbard. Why? Whoever thought that would be inspiring for a 12 year old? Still makes me cringe thinking about it. Still it could have been worse - my mother had to knit a pair of knickers...... yes, KNICKERS! I can only imagine that wool knickers = scratchy. Too cruel! Not that she ever wore them. No one in their right mind would wear scitchy, scratchy, rough wool pants.

Here is the photo frame. Rob took a photo of her in her lovely Almost Unwearoutable beret. She is in a pose inspired by Vanessa of Do you mind if I knit, one of our favourite blogs. How sweet. The frame lives on my bedside table. It's 5x7cm or so, just a lovely, neat size.

Well, we are off skiing in the morning, so I must get an early night, as we get up at 6.30am (middle of the night in my mind but worth it). Before I go, I would like to say a big cheery WELCOME to new followers. Hello! It is exciting and lovely to meet you and I will try hard to get over to visit you if I haven't already.

Have a lovely weekend,

Katie x

The Annie Sloan painting adventure continues.....

2012-01-24T14:57:00.000Z

Good afternoon. That sounded rather formal, didn't it? Hello! That's more like me. I have been painting and trying to sort out my messy work room. I will show you it when it is tidy and organised because it is quite frankly, an embarrassment and shockingly messy. Piles of paper/books/drawings/mags, stuff falling out of boxes, a table groaning with mess, bag upon bag of wool. I have never properly gone through boxes and looked for a place to house everything since we moved proper in November, but that is all part of this week's plan............ which is why I have taken to painting, anything to stall, to put off, to forget what I should be doing. Do you know that feeling of disorganisation or are you incredibly tidy? I can be both, believe it or not.

As you will have guessed, when I bought this it was a dark brown, varnished magazine rack. I could see it was a nice shape, a useful piece that was crying out for a bit of Annie-ing. So I painted the inside first, 2 coats of Emile, then the outside in Old Ochre. To make it a bit more interesting I stencilled it using Duck Egg Blue. One side is stencilled more than the other, for no reason really, it just felt right.

I then waxed it. The old varnish shows through in places along the grain and I could have rectified this by repainting and waxing again but I like the vintage look it gives the piece and in this instance, it looks intented and not accidental.

Off at a tangent ...... a daffodil in the garden is about to blossom. The top bud in the photo is particularly fat. I've read of other people experiencing early flowering in blogs recently. It's so cold that I am surprised it hasn't suffered from arrested development. Any in your garden? It is just bonkers really but I do love a bit of colour, even if it is one wee flower!

Cheerio and see you soon!

Love,

Katie x

Making oatcakes

2012-01-19T16:32:00.001Z

Hello! Is it snowing with you? Is it cold? It's both of these things here and that combination always induces in me a desire to bake or cook. So, on went the oven and out came the few ingredients required to make oatcakes.

Recently, I have taken to eating three every morning for breakfast, spread with butter and topped with a generous spoonful of honey as it's quicker than porridge but with all the health benefits oats have to offer. They are the easiest thing to make, keep for ages and are very cheap, costing about £1.20 for 28 oatcakes. Artisan oatcakes from a supermarket or deli, cost about £1.50 - £2.75 for about 8!

I like to use the Oatmeal of Alford, medium ground, which is milled in Aberdeenshire and the basic recipe is printed on the back of the packet. I have altered it slightly to my taste.

They are delicious just as they are but sometimes I embellish the recipe with seeds, whatever happens to be at hand, such as sunflower, hemp, pumpkin or linseed. Today, I also added two sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped, just enough for a subtle hint of a taste. You could add chilli or cheese, coriander or caraway seeds. If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear them!

They would make a lovely gift, packaged up and tied with ribbon.

Here is the recipe and if you give it a go, I'd love to hear how yours turned out!

1 lb (470g) medium oatmeal

half tsp bicarbonate soda

6fl oz (165ml) hot-ish water

2 pinches salt (24grinds of the salt mill!)

1 tsp caster sugar

2 dessert sp extra virgin olive oil

Put oatmeal, salt, bicarb and sugar in bowl
Make a well in middle and add the oil & hot water & mix
Knead the stiff paste into a ball
Roll out as thinly as poss (use a little flour on the board & rolling pin)
Cut into triangles or circles (I used a wine glass as I haven't found my pastry cutters yet)
Bake at 180C fan for 20-25 mins

Happy baking!

Katie x

Feeding deer and other things.....

2012-01-12T23:01:00.000Z

Hello! How are you all? We are almost back to normality. The children went back to school on Monday and I have spent my week sorting out household admin and doing boring chores but everything on the list has been ticked and that is always a good feeling, isn't it? Can't believe how warm it has been and hanging out the washing on Monday, I noticed that in a sheltered spot by the fence, the daffodils are more than 6" high with big fat buds! How bonkers is that?

We spent the holidays down at Ardverikie and on Boxing day and New Year's day, took our friends and family out to feed the deer. The Estate has been doing this on and off for years, depending on the climate, as it helps give the animals a better chance to get through the winter.

It is the most amazing thing being soooooooo close to these wild, huge, majestic beasts. They have an aloof look about them as they peer haughtily down their nose at you! They are very skittish, any quick movements and they are off.

The photos are not as good as I hoped because it was very overcast and blowing a gale, at 120mph, or is that a hurricane!? I can't remember it ever being this windy for so long. Nearly 50 acres of trees on the Estate have been lost, all blown over. Sad, especially the Noble firs that were about 200 years old. It changes the landscape quite dramatically. Mother nature at her most ferocious.

At least we still have a roof over our heads and I hope you do too.

Cheerio!

Katie x

Such sad news for New Year.....

2012-01-04T23:24:00.002Z

our lovely, talented, artistic, clever, musical, well-read, amusing, culinary guru, organic veg farmer, felt maker and interesting friend Diane, aka caravanartist sadly lost her battle with cervical cancer yesterday. It is a hugely sad day indeed but we pray here at Vintage Squirrel that she has found peace and comfort with her Maker and that her partner Donald will also find comfort in Him too. We will miss her very, very much and have such fond and happy memories of our friendship and time with her. We had hoped she and Donald would visit us here at Ardverikie this Spring and that we would have taken them out on this boat for a spot of trout fishing, something else she was very good at. Goodbye Diane, you enhanced our lives,

with very much love

Katie xx

finishing a little machine embroidery.......

2011-12-22T16:17:00.002Z

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you have left on my last 2 posts and indeed throughout the past year, it means an awful lot. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
In response to your comments, I will be making felt puddings and robins again next year but rather than just selling them at Christmas fairs I will put them on-line too - promise!

I have been making some gifts. I do love a session on my sewing machine. My mum gave it to me as a present just before I got married 18 years ago and it has been a faithfull old friend indeed. This hot water bottle cover is made from the softest pure wool herringbone tweed, woven down in the Borders. I always use Scottish tweeds, tartans and checks.

The person receiving this will like the colour and is very fond of birds. When drawing out the design, I envisaged a singing blackbird but it's beak is chunkier than I planned and it now looks more like a tweeting pigeon - oh no! It was fun doing the lettering although, I am no good at small, much better at big and bold! I think that may come from having parents who were art teachers, always encouraging me to fill the whole page! I have noticed that I suggest it to our children now.

I padded it with a light wadding and lined it with a pretty floral chintz. It should be very cosy, all that wool and insulation! Think I shall make some for our own hotties as we use them every night and even take them camping in the summer.....well, it can be chilly and there is nothing worse than cold feet!

Now all I have to do is to say that I hope you all have a LOVELY CHRISTMAS and may it be filled with LOVE, JOY and LAUGHTER..........and DELICIOUSNESS!!

Katie xx

Needle felting, wet felting.

2011-12-19T20:12:00.000Z

Hello! Hope you are all well and sniff free? We have one sniffer in the household and we are filling her full of echinacea tincture, our favoured remedy of relief.

I decided not to do any Christmas fairs this year although I did take a last minute table at our Primary school fair. It was a great way of meeting people. I have enjoyed making the orders of robins and Christmas puddings I took. Every robin makes me smile. They each have a different personality. The Shetland wool is so soft and easy to felt. Very theraputic.

I haven't updated my website for more than 6 months so it was a lovely surprise to be asked to send some work out to the USA again. Exciting and I know that the above pudding has gone out to Australia. That gives me a lovely warm feeling! The brooch and scarf below are to be delivered locally.........and I have just noticed that the card has my old phone number on it! Oops - will have to dash off and change that now before I forget!

Just a couple of things to finsish off but I can do that sitting by the fire, supping a warming glass of red wine. Lovely. Cosy. We are feeling Christmassy here at VS! Hope you are too.

Off to do that card - be back later in the week!

Toodle ooo the noo!

Katie xx

Newest painted furniture (using Annie Sloan paint of course!)

2011-12-14T21:13:00.001Z

Brrrrrr....... is it chilly with you? Hello! I am winging plenty of warm, cosy thoughts to you all. It gets dark about 4 o'clock at the moment, but hey, in little more than a week the days will begin to get longer, which is a cheery thought, is it not?

Once you start slapping on the Annie, you just can't stop. It's addictive. Slap, slap, slappity, slap! Annie Sloan paint is fabulous and can be used on almost anything without any boring prep. It is satisfying to see something non-descript and invariably brown transformed by a lick of paint. This table was.....yes........jobbie brown, dull and I (bristling) found it more than vaguely offensive in colour but a pretty shape and a useful, versatile size. I had fun experimenting and used a huge crocheted doily as a stencil, which was pretty tricky but I was pleased with the effect. It's fun and quirky, don't you think? I have wax varnished it and may give the shelf a bit more of a white wash before I go over patches with a light brown wax to give it a vintage feel..........just what vintage squirrel is all about really!!

Next, another kitchen chair. I also stencilled this but used a proper one this time lent to me by my sister-in-law Painty Cait. I think it came from the fabulous Stencil Library based in Northumberland. When we lived in Northumberland, the cousins who own the company, occasionally used to give tours of their fascinating, stencilled home to very small parties. They have stencilled 'wallpaper', floors, furniture......everything, including their patio! Amazing and almost bohemian it is not in the least bit over powering. I went on 2 tours to their house because once was just not enough as there is so much to take in. Very inspiring. I particularly loved the Neisha Crosland-esque stencilled wallpaper in one bedroom. I'm not sure if tours still take place but if they do, I would highly recommend it.

Keen to try out a sample pot of 'emile' (soft heathery purple) and making full use of the pretty blossom stencil, I painted this little chest of drawers in duck egg blue first. The colours are lovely together. It is now in use as a bedside table.

I have a couple of other pieces in the process of being transformed and will show you when they are finished. I think I may need to begin selling them though as I am quickly running out of space!

Cheerio for now!

Love, Katie x

I'm not quite sure where to begin............

2011-12-06T14:06:00.001Z

Hello! I have missed you all. How are you? I have soooooooooo much catching up to do and since it's been busy here with moving house etc it's probably best to begin with now! I have been felt making and painting furniture but I can show you photos of that later in the week.

The snow has been falling in the Highlands since Saturday night. The photo above is looking over to Ben Wyvis from the back door. The thick blanket of snow lies right to the shore. Isn't it beautiful? The school bus has been struggling and some schools have beginning at 10am or even closed but it's all part of the adventure! Having said that, it was horrible battling up the A9 in thick snow on Sunday evening coming home from a weekend at Ardverikie, on my own with the children. Rob was staying on to work. The estate office is attached to the house we have use of (the flat roof extension to the right in the photo below). It's easy to get to work for him, he just has to walk through our kitchen and into his office.............can't ever get snowed in.......although he may not get home to us! At 1066ft above sea level, it's prone to snow in winter.

The children had their first try at shooting clay pigeons with Highland Activities. They use what was Golly's Cottage in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen. It's just as you would remember it from tv. They use it as a changing room and waterproofs store for quad biking and gorge walking. We went quad biking in the summer here and it was great fun. You drive round the estate and even along the beach, whizzing in and out of Loch Laggan. Loved it!

I much prefer coming here in the winter though as it can be a midge ridden place in the summer and I do get bitten to death. This summer they were fierce. Makes me itch thinking about it! Winter brings skiing - yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Right, I must get back to felting. It's good to be back here, I have missed blog land!

And more importantly the Archers is just beginning!!

See you soon,

Love

Katie x

farewell home.............

2011-11-02T14:42:00.000Z

Hello! How are you? Life is good but hectic in the Highlands. Just want to let you know that I won't be around for a wee while. My lovely parents-in-law are heading north to look after the children and dogs for a week while we head south to pack up our worldly possessions. Our house will soon to belong to someone else. Boo hoo hoo HOOOOO!

We have been married for 18 years. During the first 12 years of our married life we moved in and out of 12 houses (army quarters or our own). For the past 6 years we lived here so I am out of practice with this flitting (Scots for moving house) lark.

We have been 'camping' in the rented house since late July. We had to leave our home looking as if we lived there otherwise it would have be even more difficult to sell an empty house in an impossible market. I am sooooo looking forward to having our belongings around us again though.

Still, I have been enjoying hunting for a new home. Looking round other people's houses is great, isn't it? I love it! It's good to have a legitimate reason for being nosey! We have seen some interesting places and a couple of unbelievably messy ones, which is surprising really and clearly they don't watch Kirsty and Phil or Grand Designs etc.

Also itching to begin a new garden though it's a complete bummer to have left an asparagus patch which took 3 years of patience and nurturing to establish. Thank goodness we enjoyed our first full cutting in May.............it was DELICIOUS! I have an entire car load of plants potted up and ready to head north......most of it unlabelled so that's going to be interesting come next year!

Hopefully I will be back again later next week. Will catch up with you all then and will probably enjoy an evening off unpacking to read through some blogs (large glass of wine to hand - think I might have earned it!).

Love,

Katie x

Introducing Tiggy......

2011-10-25T14:03:00.000+01:00

Hello! Zipping past to say hello and to introduce our little dapply puppy. Sorry that posting has been erratic but it will be for a wee while longer......I'll explain soon. Nothing mysterious, just complicated!

Porridge's daughter Tiggy has been with us for a few weeks now. She is very sweet, even if she does chew everything in sight! We have given her a cardboard-box-bed so she can eat her way through as many of them as she likes as they are free to replace! When Porridge was a puppy we bought him a lovely wicker bed which he ate one evening, so we have erred on the side of caution with Tiggy but she will be given something decent in time.

She has a penchant for eating socks. Sometimes we haven't noticed until the following day, after her breakfast (if you get my drift!) and then the sock munching has become apparent on the lawn. She has eaten three brand new pairs of Fergus's so far, one welly sock and several attempts at others.

Butter wouldn't melt, eh, Tiggy, you sock devouring hound?!

She likes to sleep on top of Porridge. Double decker dog. He doesn't seem to mind although the first time was quite disconcerting! He now has a resigned look on his face.......whatever! She hangs off his ears and mane. Tolerant dog.

Happy days in the house of poop and pee!

love,

Katie x

the view from here

2011-10-06T23:12:00.000+01:00

...... last month

last week

yesterday,

and today.

Hello! Is it chilly with you? We woke up to see the 'Ben' (Ben Wyvis) dusted with snow. Pretty but cold! The fire has been lit. Fortunately Rob came home this evening from Ardverikie with his camera cable because I have been unable to find mine. He woke up to snow there too. Tonight I was able to download all the photos I had taken since late July! Bit of a task but now you can begin to discover the Black Isle with me! Shall we go on a wee tour over the next while?

Cheerio and keep cosy!

Katie x

oh I do like to be beside the seaside......

2011-09-28T23:23:00.001+01:00

Well, here is a big cheery HELLO from the sunny Highlands! Hasn't it been glorious? Bed linen in this house has been laundered then ironed by the wind! The breeze was balmy today, yes, BALMY and it was so lovely to feel the sun on my skin. And to think I got my ski jacket out last week and actually wore it! I spoke to my sister-in-law this afternoon and she was looking forward to a trip to London to meet up with a friend for a few days and was having to unpack all the summer clothes she had carefully put away last weekend. Yes, winter boots and thick jumpers may just be the wrong attire at this moment. Feels slightly odd though for the weather to be so great but the evenings to be so short, doesn't it?

I was just looking at some of the things I have collected around our shores. The lovely pebbles in the top photo are Tiree marble. I haven't polished them, they're just naturally quite shiny and smooth.

These ammonites are from North Yorkshire.

I get very excited when I find shards of spongeware china. Look at that lovely big chunk in the bottom left corner of the photo below. It has a bird on it and is my favourite piece. I found a lot on Islay but I have discovered a few great bits around here. I found some on the beach near my Grannies home and did wonder whether it may have been a piece of her discarded china. I have a plan for this haul but I don't have nearly enough yet and it will take me weeks to organise and arrange them. I will love going through it all.

.....wonder what I'll find tomorrow..........

Cheerio!

Katie x

...nearly 10 weeks without the internet and I HAVE MISSED YOU!!

2011-09-26T17:58:00.000+01:00

Hello! I have missed you all so much and have such a lot to tell you but I don't quite know where to begin! Think I may have to do this over a number of posts until we have caught up! I have been without broadband for more than 2 months.....yes, it was a nightmare and SOOOO frustrating but this morning after a 2 hour long phone call to foreign lands and a new router, I was finally able to access the internet. WEY HEY!! YIPEEEEEE! We had 7 weeks without a phone too!! Right that's that over with and I am NOT going to bore you with it any longer!!

I notice I have some new followers - HELLOOO to you and a big cheery welcome!!

We have moved to the Black Isle and very lovely it is too. It is wonderful to sit writing this with a glorious view over the Cromarty Firth every time I look up from my laptop. I enjoy beach combing, the smell of the salty sea air, noting when the tide is in or out and being able to walk the dogs on the beach or along a pebbley shore. Life by the sea is bliss. My beach china collection has almost doubled in size in these 10 weeks and I've been collecting glass and china for probably 8 or 9 years now!

Our house is in the process of being sold and we move out fully in November. Whilst Rob was in the army, we moved every 18 months/2 years, so that bit doesn't phase me but this time we are leaving our home and that is a different feeling altogether. Life is slightly disjointed for the next wee while but it's fine and it's an adventure! We haven't seen anything here yet that we would like to call home or knock down/ remodel but perhaps we'll find a plot and build a house. There is no rush, we just have to be patient....... hah, that's easier said than done!

Now I need to catch up with all the blogs I enjoy reading which is going to take quite a bit of time and perhaps more than one evening! I will be back again on Wednesday. It's so good to be back with you. Cheerio!

Love

Katie x

Alert - cute puppy update!

2011-07-14T16:33:00.001+01:00

Just thought I'd pop by to say 'HELLO' and to give you a puppy update! Well the total count in the end was NINE! Yes, 9 little gorgeous bundles of cuteness. Cute, cute, cute. And a huge litter indeed for a first time Mum. Luna was one of 13 herself, which is an enormous litter, so maybe it's a family thing!

Just how on earth will we decide which one we would like to keep when it's time to choose? Hmmm, this is going to be a tricky dilemma!

Cheerio!

Katie x

Proud Porridge

2011-07-10T22:27:00.000+01:00

Hello! Rushing in to tell you all the great news! We spent several hours this afternoon quietly watching something which was compulsive viewing, taking place in a large wooden pen. Today Porridge has become a Daddy. Mother, Luna, is an amazingly calm and gentle Mummy to 6 puppies (so far). Three are just like Porridge and the others are white with black patches. Luna is liver and white but black and white must be the dominant colour genes because brown has yet to feature. Tomorrow we will get an update on numbers. It was very special to witness the birth of a puppy. Such a wonderful treat. Cecily thought it amazing. Marnie at 2 years old watched, whilst sucking her fingers as if it happened every day. Fergus left the room quite quickly looking slightly green!

Will be back again soon!

Katie x

Gone fishing.......

2011-07-06T23:43:00.000+01:00

Hello! Did you have a good weekend? Wasn't the weather glorious? We decided to celebrate the end of term with a long weekend at Ardverikie. Family time, relaxation and some fishing was what we required. Sunshine was a huge, unexpected bonus.

On Lochan na h-Earba, the children both caught their first brown trout. Isn't it beautiful? They filmed a bit of Mrs Brown here as well as many scenes in Monarch of the Glen of course.

..... rowing back for lunch

.......casting practice

There is an idyllic natural swimming pool with a water fall nearby and even although we had forgotten to pack wetsuits, my hardy Scots children and husband just got straight in there........well, maybe not quite straight in. It was more of a dip-your-toe-in then inch forward a little, gibber and shiver a lot, inch a tiny bit further, THEN plunge forward and swim. The water was perishingly cold and I have much admiration for my family and their sense of adventure and fun. I volunteered to take the photos!

Whilst Daddy was busy at work on Tuesday, we ventured west to see the Commando monument near Spean Bridge. The mountain above the toe of the far left boot is Ben Nevis.

We arrived home today feeling buoyant and refreshed. Can't wait to go back again! The only draw back was the cloud of midges last night. The Highland midge is the worst. For a wee, minute creature, they are fearsome and savage and bite like nothing else!

Bye for now!

Katie x

2011-06-27T23:42:00.000+01:00

Hello! Did you have a good weekend? The best part of mine was at 10.45pm on Saturday. The sky was on fire! The sunset was fabulous and it's colours wonderful, from gentle pale yellow to dark slate grey to bright pink and blazing orange. When I got into bed Rob said "Where have you been?" and I replied "Where do you think? At the top of the climbing frame of course! Look out the window." "Ah, of course!"

See you soon!

Katie x

P.S Wasn't the Nadal v Del Potro game exciting tonight?

Making yoghurt

2011-06-20T11:56:00.000+01:00

Hello. Did you have a lovely weekend? It rained all day on Saturday here but we visited St Andrews and the sun shone briefly there. Sunday was lovely and the perfect day for eating strawberries with home made yoghurt!

I bought a Severin 7 pot yoghurt maker when we last lived in Germany about 10 years ago. We used it a lot and through 2 house moves it was rather forgotten, until about 4 months ago. We blew the dust of the box and got going and it hasn't been out of use since. It is incredibly easy to make, very cheap and much healthier than most available.

How to make: Warm up a litre of UHT milk until finger hot. Stir in 1 or 2 tbsp of any natural, unflavoured, unsweetened yoghurt. Pour into the jars, switch on and leave for 3 or more hours and hey presto, 7 pots of delicious, creamy, thick yoghurt. Add desired flavouring. YUM! We particularly like honey with blueberries or strawberries or banana and maple syrup. The children love choosing their toppings.

Note: you don't have to bother heating the milk but it speeds up the process. You can also use fresh milk but it needs to be scalded by raising it to a very precise temperature befor cooling quickly again to a specific temp, i.e it's a faff! UHT is easy to shove in the cupboard. You can keep the 7th pot to start off the next batch and can keep doing this 3 or 4 times before having to buy another small pot of natural yoghurt.

Some yoghurt makers have a one litre tub but the Severin is brilliant with it's 7 generous, individual pots, easy for packed lunches, picnics and pudding! I sound like some sort of sales rep but no, I don't work for Severin!

Each batch cost less than £1 to make! How cheap is that for no-nonsense, healthy food? I googled them just now and there is one for £21.99 on amazon and another with an extra set of jars for £29.99. My favourite shop bought yoghurt is, on special, £3 for 2 pots, ie 1litre, so you only have to make a few batches until the machine has paid for itself - we make 2 or 3 lots per week!

Right, I am off out to do some gardening. See you soon!

Katie x

P.S When did yoghurt drop the 'h' to become yogurt? I just spell checked and it, then looked in the fridge and there on the little pot was yogurt! I am sure it has an 'h' and it looks wrong without it..........doesn't it?! Is it all in my imagination? When did this happen?

A garden visit. Guess where?

2011-06-15T20:49:00.000+01:00

Hello! Well life has slowed down to a lovely pace at Vintage Squirrel and I am keeping on top of things. Isn't that a good feeling? I don't like being frantic but prefer to be gently productive because life doesn't seem to pass by at such an uncanny pace.

Recently Rob had a fabulous and exciting job added to his portfolio. He is now Factor of a well-known estate. On Sunday the gardens were open to the public, for one day only, on the National Gardens Scheme. The garden was jam packed but most people had come to see the house and other well-known spots around the estate. I'll show you some photos of the garden first, then some buildings and you can guess where we were!

a pleasingly shaped maple

a bed of gorgeous candelabra primulas

guddling in the burn

the picnic hut

quite a big clue.......

an even bigger clue....

the biggest clue....

have you guessed?

Yes, you guessed correctly! Rob is now Factor of Ardverikie, or Glenbogle as it was called in Monarch of the Glen. We were very excited when he was asked! It was lovely to see where Archie sat on the beach, look up to Hector and Molly's bedroom (the house wasn't open), imagine Lexie coming out of the back door and to drive over the bridge, past the gate house. It was a great series, wasn't it? Did you get cosy and settled on a Sunday evening, glass of wine in hand, TV on, ready for the next daft episode? I loved it and it became a ritual. The Gate House is only one of a few properties available to rent for holidays and you can see them all here.

See you soon!

Katie x

Tour of the house, Part 2!

2011-06-11T14:22:00.000+01:00

Hello, good afternoon and welcome! Is it sunny with you? It's raining here and quite chilly but we could do with the rain as it saves me from having to water the veg patch and pots - another thing ticked off the list! The miserable weather also gives me time to sit and write this post and to continue the tour of our house. I don't much want to move, leave our friends, our lovely village and our home but we can't continue to live apart from Rob and for him to come home exhausted from his extensive weekly travels round the north of Scotland. Anyway, on with the tour................

So, also off the hall is the cloakroom and then through an opening into the kitchen......

We spend the majority of our time in here and we love this room.

Sometimes we move our table down to the big windows and have our comfortable chairs & sofa round the wood burning stove, which is lovely and cosy in the winter.

I love to take my coffee, tea or even my breakfast out here. It's a lovely sheltered suntrap.

The photo below is looking into the kitchen from the french doors. My table is below the window and is where I sit now writing this post!

From the cooker, we have a wonderful view through the big windows, across the garden, over farmland and up to the hills and woods beyond. It is lovely to cook here. The laundry (with pulley, used daily) is off the kitchen. The door below leads to the bedrooms ,bathroom and pantry.

So, through the door is the bathroom, which was a kitchen. I began to paint it Farrow and Ball's Vert de Terre (like the hall) but after battling with knotting fluid problems, I resorted to the paint Goddess, Annie Sloan and her Louis blue and Old White. The floor is F&B's floor paint in Matchstick. As you know we clad the walls, floor and ceiling in 19mm floorboards and are very pleased with the effect. Certainly will be using this idea again!

Next room is Cecily's, then Fergus's (not shown) and lastly, our bedroom.

And that's it!

Of course, if you'd been here in person, I'd have baked a cake and made you a cup of tea.

Back to twice weekly blogs from now on.

Enjoy your weekend!

Katie x

Come in and I'll give you a tour of my house..... part 1!

2011-06-10T00:21:00.001+01:00

Hello! I have missed you! Yes, I have been very neglectful of this blog.........and of yours - so sorry but I will catch up with you all. I have been manic, a positive whirlwind of domestic energy but at long last, the house goes on the market tomorrow. I am exhausted at the thought of having to maintain this spotless, neat and tidy home because I cannot lie, we have to work hard at being tidy. More space = more piles + more stuff! I love to have a look round a house and thought you might too? It's late and there are quite a few photos, so I shall take you round in 2 separate posts. Come on then!

The front of the house. You'll have to join the 2 photos together as I don't have a wide-angled lens and the cottage is nearly 100ft wide! We never use the front door but it is in the old part of the cottage and the new part is everything to the left of the black down pipe. We had to re-roof and slate the whole house, which was quite a job in itself.

We had wooden double glazed windows made for the whole house too. The 2 chimneys on the left in the photo below are dummies but I was adamant that the cottage would have looked unfinished without them. They were rendered to look like sandstone and so well done I have had to tell 2 building surveyors that it is not real stone and they are actually hollow inside!

Now round the back. This side faces south and as a result, our home is lovely and bright and all the main rooms look out over the garden to the farmland, hills and woods beyond. The brighter section to the left of the kitchen is new wood and will take time to tone down and season to blend with the rest.

Now in through the back door...

and into the hall. Under the whole window seat is boot storage - brilliant when you have as many pairs of wellies as we do!

Off this is what we use as our guest bedroom and my store room. I won't show you the en-suite!

Next, into the sitting room..

We tend to use this room in the winter and it is very cosy when the wood burner is lit but being modern and enveloped in a blanket of thick insulation, this doesn't happen very often! Cecily enjoys having her violin lesson in here every week.

I am weary and must go to my bed BUT I shall finish the tour tomorrow or Saturday.

Night, night!

Katie x

a wee bit of Shakespeare (the Scottish play)

2011-05-26T23:12:00.000+01:00

Hello! How have you been? I have been trying to catch up with you all and read through blogs, as and when I can. Thank you so much for all your lovely comments about the house and garden - you keep me bouyant! Thank you.

Update : the builders have gone, particulars are being draughted, photos will be taken next week, Home buyers report will be done tomorrow. EEEK!

The weather has been WILD. Monday was scary. We lost our power. Lovely mature trees have been blown down and enormous boughs lie strewn across fields.

I took these photos tonight from the bottom of the garden. The sun was shining but the sky was fabulous, dark, brooding and ominous.......rather fitting when photographing the famous Dunsinane hill (photo below).

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until

Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill

Shall come against him.

Shakespeare's Macbeth

Act 4, scene1

I do love a bit of drama!

See you soon....... maybe at the weekend.

Love, Katie x

hello, hello, HELLOOOOOO!

2011-05-17T13:27:00.001+01:00

Hello! It's so lovely to be here. I have missed you! How are you all? I must say a big HELLO to all my lovely new followers, as well as the seasoned ones, of course. I must also apologise for the disappointing lack of posts and will try hard to get back into twice weekly witterings and will pop by even if only for a quick catch up over lunch!

We are now into week 7 of finishing-the-house-to-put-it-on-the-market! Eek! The bath was finally plumbed in on Saturday, yes........the 3 days ago Saturday. It has been much anticipated and delayed. There was a queue. It was heaven to have a long soak and ease weary muscles. Sheer bliss.

Meanwhile as I paint my way along the woodwork at the new end of the house (below), the painter has been in for 10 days, doing the old cottage. Wood work takes forever and cannot be rushed. On Friday, the hall and a bedroom will be carpeted (old end, remodelled) and we can crack open the champagne, as we will be at the end, AT LAST!! YIPPEE!

Of course, as I spend my days inside, it is glorious outside and the garden looks fabulous. I am really looking forward to weeding......how mad is that?! I long to be let out.

The branches of the azaleas are so heavy with blossom some look like they may break. I think they clearly benefit from a prolonged period of cold weather as they have been fabulous for the past 3 years. The smell is sweet and heady and drifts across the garden, particularly in the evening sun and in an ideal world, without an imminent move, I would love just to sit in the garden for a few minutes and enjoy it but all I do is dash across it to feed the hens, hang the washing out or walk the dog!

Next week though, having finished inside, I plan to spend each and every day in the garden, rain or shine. It looks great in parts and a touch neglected in others but not for much longer!!

The lily-of-the-valley has also been fantastic. We have a bank about 2 feet deep and 18feet long and I wonder if it is the reason the house is named Lilybank? I like to think so.

Just wanted to include a couple of photos of the Royal Wedding. We spent a lovely day with friends and got the bunting up and china out. Cecily made the wonderful Union Jack cake below and also decorated the dog, Porridge. Did I mention he was asked to be a Dad? He has spent the past 2 weeks with a lovely Springer, Luna and once they got the hang of making puppies, I am told they couldn't stop, so hopefully, sometime in September we should have a baby Porridge!! Very exciting but trying not to think about it until we know for sure Luna is in pup.

Well, I will be back later in the week and now that I have said it, I will stick to my word.

Enjoy the next few days and I hope you get out a bit more than me!!

BYE, BYE!

love Katie x

A bit about the garden and the house!

2011-04-20T14:11:00.000+01:00

Hello! Isn't it lovely, this warm, sunny weather?! Hope you have been enjoying it?

The rhododendrons are beginning to flower and the big fat buds on the azaleas are ready to burst open too - I love their heady, sweet scent and the garden will smell amazing when they flower.

We have been gardening, digging up and dividing herbaceous clumps, enjoying bonfires and have done a lot of weeding too! The garden is looking pretty good. I will show you soon!

Pansies self seed round the garden and are as prolific as weeds but I would never evict them! I encourage lots of self sowing, mostly of fennel, eryngiums (common sea holly and Miss Wilmott's Ghost), lemon balm, aqualegias, forget-me-knots and anything else fitting of a cottage garden really.

The builder and joiners have been in for more than 2 weeks now and things are moving at a good pace. The finishing touches to the woodwork in the bathroom should be completed today. I asked for the floor, walls and ceiling to be clad in flooring, something they had never done before. 'Are you sure you want flooring on the walls and ceiling?' YES. It looks great and just as I visualised. Old cottages in Scotland were traditionally, entirely lined with wood and I wanted to do the same, only modern t&g is flimsy and so thin, it's almost transparent. The flooring we have used is 19mm thick! Great sound proofing too! It will be painted in three different shades of Farrow and Ball. I have almost finished the boring task of painting knotting oil on each and every knot of VERY knotty wood. I can hear sanding as I type!

The plumber should be in next week. No bath yet, but we do have a very smart oak tongue and groove door out of the kitchen now! I shall take some more photos soon but won't bore you with any more of the building works any longer today. Glad you can't hear the incessant noise!

Off out to the garden to get some potting up done. I think we'll be moving more plants than furniture!

See you soon, I hope!

Katie x

can you tell what it is yet?

2011-04-16T13:22:00.000+01:00

said, of course, in an Australian accent. Good old Rolf!

Anyway, hello! How are you all? Hasn't the weather been great? And the lovely warmth has made everything spring up and grow so quickly. The weeds are being swamped and disguised by the big, beautiful clumps of herbacious plants - phew! Means, things don't look as bad in the big flower beds as they did a couple of weeks ago but I still need to get the dreaded weeding job done and that's exactly what we will do this afternoon and tomorrow after church.

Recently I saw these large rusty letters and just had to have them.

They are about 10"/25cm tall, some rustier than others

and will look great on an exterior or interior wall of the shop/workroom we plan to open when we move to the Black Isle.

It will be wonderful to have a dedicated place from which to sell handmade goods and run courses.

I know that the right property is there for us, somewhere and I have no worries about that at all, it's just difficult to be patient! And, I need to concentrate on finishing off our present home and getting it on the market....... although we are almost there!

Have a lovely weekend!

Love, Katie x

Love it blog? Lovely blog? Kind blog?

2011-04-12T19:20:00.000+01:00

         Dicentra in my garden.

What does it matter?! HURRAH! What a lovely surprise. I am SOOOOOOO delighted to have been awarded this by the lovely Susan at The View From Here Having lived in Germany for 4 years, I should know liebster means but I never studied German at school, I was a French and Italian scholar. The German I can speak is only related to food, shopping, menus, directions, road signs etc.

I now have to display it in my sidebar with a link to Susan. It has taken me ages to get the logo on this page, never mind anywhere else but fingers crossed! I must pass the award on, choosing 3-5 blogs I enjoy with less than 100 or so followers or new blogs. A hard decision.   Some blogs I follow don't have the number of followers visible, so I couldn't choose them as I didn't know if they met the criteria.

Anyway, without further ado..........

Bird Ahoy   for your lovely work
Andamento for those wonderful views from your bicycle
Wild Acre   for gorgeous flowers
Magic Beans for making me laugh - lots
Painty Cait my sis-in-law who keeps me up-to-date with the latest in decorative painting

Thank you ALL for the comments, support and encouragement you give me, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Hope that wasn't too gushy a speech, but I do mean it.

Now for some auriculas that have survived 2 harsh winters and still look fabulous! Hardy or what?

Love, Katie x

I am LIVE!

2011-04-07T19:03:00.000+01:00

Hello from a very excited Vintage Squirrel!! My new website is now LIVE - yippee!

You can visit it here !

As you are aware it was very frustrating to build and almost resulted in my laptop being thrown out the window (more than once!) and induced tears of annoyance and anger (very unlike me). The biggest hurdle was technical support, which is based in India and any replies to e-mails pleading for help (lots of them) took days to arrive in my inbox, instead of hours. Anyway, enough said!

So while the weather is good, I have been out taking photos and have begun to stock my online shop. This may take some time to fill but, hey ho, Rome wasn't build in a day!

If you do fancy taking a peek at the site, any practical criticism would be gratefully received!

I really appreciate my bloggy friends!

I will be back again soon with some even BIGGER news!

Hope the weather is lovely where you live!

Love, Katie x

A post about art, bathing and building.......

2011-04-05T22:48:00.000+01:00

Hello! How are you? Busy? It has been manic around here! Firstly, my parents joint exhibition opening. They say it's their last BIG one and they have both been painting since they began art school 50 years ago, so maybe! Above and below are watercolours by my Dad.

Below, pastels by my Mum. She always paints on the spot. Dad, on the other hand, sketches manically, takes notes, holds colour in his mind like no other person I have met and then paints from his sketches. Photos courtesy of our daughter using Daddy's phone!

We had a friend, Mr Binnie, up from Hampshire to stay for 5 nights. So began the first of three x eight mile walks over 5 days. The dog has been in his element. He's been a very springy Springer and enjoyed dips in several different and remote lochs around Perthshire.

The builders arrived today and began the VERY dirty task of digging up the only concrete floor in the old part of the house. The doors were sealed up and the gale force winds blew a lot of the dust away but still, it has found it's way into the new part of the house. HMPPHH!

BUT by the end of the week we might be able to have a bath - yippee! We haven't had a bath for nearly 4 years......but incase you think we may smell rather pungent, I must tell you that we do have 2 showers, so we haven't suffered from hygienic neglect or been ousted from the village like characters from Horrible Histories. Remarkably, the bath is in perfect condition despite spending 4 years upside down at the top of the garden (enamelled stainless steel, incase you were wondering!).

So, off to tidy up. It's a bit of a guddle round here! I'll be back though on Thursday with some news.

Love, Katie x

A welcome spot of gardening.....

2011-03-29T14:25:00.000+01:00

Hello, hello, hello! How are you? Good weekend? Good week? I spent the whole of last week on my laptop building a new website and encountering nothing but technical problems. I wish I had stuck with what I already had even if it wasn't quite how I wanted it to be. But no, I wanted it to look better and not be confined to a look dictated by the limited templates on offer with my last host. So, in my wisdom, I bought MrSite. It should have an 'h' in it. It has been a disaster so far and nothing but a frustration. Hopefully I will be live again sometime this week........but I am not holding my breath!

Anyway, enough of that. I received a lovely parcel this morning from frenchknots.typepad.co.uk consisting of a book and a bar of dark choc.....mmmmm, my favourite sort too. What could be better than beginning a new book with a delicious treat and maybe a wee glass of red wine?

The garden is beginning to flourish and the bees are buzzing past laden with pollen. I have even seen a little fritillary butterfly.

I have sown trays of seeds and planted out parsley, onions sets, broad beans and hardy annual flowers. The kale has been a great success and considering our long, hard winter, looks surprisingly good. It makes wonderful delicious 'seaweed' to have with a stir fry and the children like it too, which is always a bonus!

Looking forward to our first harvest of this year's rhubarb. This is a red leaf variety but I also have a green one, both kindly given to me by a friend 2 years ago. I have just passed a bit onto my neighbours. It's a very generous plant and makes lovely chutney later in the summer.

With all the new growth and bright cheery flowers, the garden is a great place to be. What a difference moving the clock forward an hour has made to the evenings too.

Hope you can all grab some time outside to potter about.

Love Katie x

Nipping in to sing about the Spring Fling!

2011-03-15T13:27:00.000Z

Hello! Did you have a good weekend? I do hope so, although I am sure your thoughts are dominated by the horrific disaster in Japan. How harrowing for them and to have to contend with a further nuclear and radiation disaster on top is unimaginable.

I have been very busy felting and creating recently, so I am whizzing through quickly! I am taking a table at

Kinrossie Village Hall Spring Fling

this Saturday, the 19th

11am - 1pm

tea & cake available

Have made lots of lambswool brooches in ice-cream colours....

printed seed packets for the thrifty and keen gardener who enjoys collecting and growing from seed,

as well as my usual needle felted brooches and necklaces, with a sprinkling of new lines.

Only hope we don't have another weekend of snow!

See you soon,

Katie x

Gilding with silver leaf and a bit of Monty

2011-03-11T13:28:00.000Z

A happy Friday helloooooooo to you all! It's a bit raw and wild outside, so I have been holed up in the warmth of the kitchen doing things! Not too keen on gardening in wind blowing horizontal sleet and snow at me but the sun occassionally peeps through, so it's not all bad!
Two pairs of mounted antlers have been lying on our shed roof for the past 4 years, chucked up there whilst we demolished our byre and extended the house. Rob kindly allowed me free reign (no pun intended!) on them and so I have been considering how to modernise these antlers. Last night it came to me.

Out came the queen of paints, Annie Sloan, in chateau grey (in the north east of Scotland this looks nothing but green), and some silver metal leaf. I bought this about 8 years ago along with some copper leaf and size and didn't get round to experimenting with it until last night...... once I'd found it!

Following the instructions, I painted on the size evenly and thinly and left it for 15 minutes. Then came the fun part. There were no instructions on the back of the silver metal packet, so I just had to give it a go. Leaf is not easy to control! It's so light that I found breathing was a no-no, along with quick movements, so I held my breath and moved like a stealth gilder, creeping up on the leaf very s l o w l y. The kitchen was covered in gorgeous silver sparkles- it got everywhere!

I'm pleased with the results. I like the way the green paint shows through the silver in random crackly patches. The antlers have weathered beautifully and are covered in a layer of soft mossy green. Ahhhh, silvery green loveliness!

You'll have guessed, of course, now that you know me quite well, that I have stepped into gilding mode and will have to leaf, leaf, leaf until it is all used up! What to do next? Ohhhhh, my mind is whirring. I only have 2 packets left though, so I must apply the brakes and think small. Should also have phoned my expert sister-in-law Cait first for some hot tips and advice. Must give her a call.

I am sooooooo EXCITED that at 8.30pm tonight Monty Don will one again grace our screens. A large glass of wine and visual bliss! I can't wait to see round his wonderful garden. I like Monty. Have done for many years.......do you remember him on Pebble Mill at 1pm? Twenty years ago, a close friend stood right next to him on a railway station platform and was so overwhelmed by his handsomeness that she was rendered temporarily speechless. I was surprised when she told me she hadn't managed to say a single word to him as she is naturally composed and very articulate - but such is his beauty! So, enjoy your Friday evening viewing, if you are a Gardeners World fan and if not have a lovely weekend anyway!

Katie x

An unusual offering

2011-03-09T10:31:00.000Z

Good morning! I hope the sun is smiling down on you? We had a dusting of snow overnight but it's a beautiful day, bright blue skies, quite Alpine really. The 'icing sugar' will disappear fast..........hopefully! The hens began laying again on the 1st of March. Yesterday we found this wonderful, miniature, green offering in the hen house....

Hens often lay a strange egg at the beginning or end of the season. She is a Welsummer cross which we hatched under our wonderful broody bantam. She usually lays a lovely big, green egg as you can see below. When these pale olive green eggs are cracked open, the pretty duck egg blue of the inside of the shell is revealed and looks wonderful against the bright orange yolk.

How to eat an egg like this is the question! I'm not sure we have a spoon small enough to eat it with. The little mustard spoon might be a suitable choice?

It looks a bit daft in an egg cup!

We will keep it until the weekend to show Rob (and everyone else who visits). Maybe Porridge will have it as a treat in his breakfast on Sunday morning.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Katie x

Blue sky gardening

2011-02-28T15:40:00.000Z

Hello! Did you have a lovely weekend? The sun smiled down on us all weekend and it looks like it will shine for the rest of the week. Not a cloud in the bright blue sky today. The windows are all wide open and the house is airy and fresh. Lovely! All beds were stripped, washed and hung on the washing line and there is not a thing in the laundry basket. Such a nice feeling! I think Spring is close!

Thank you all so very much for your thoughts on whether or not to plant up the veg patch. I knew blogland was the place to work out what to do! Your comments and advice were so helpful - thank you! As a result, I have cleared 7 of the raised beds, decided what to plant in them, bought some 1st early tatties (home guard) to chit, some fresh carrot seed (quick growing 'early nantes'), oh and 100 red onion sets. I have looked through my seed tins and have more than enough to fill the garden 3 times over , so I don't even have to order any, I can just get sowing.

I dug up and potted some snowdrops and spring snowflakes (below) to take with us to spread about our next garden. We have a lot of spring bulbs here so there is no vacant gap in the borders!

I love these. They remind me of those Victorian floral postcards, 'Greetings from Perthshire.....'

I potted up a lovely hellebore and put it at the front door. Although we rarely use this entrance, I'm sure our Postie will enjoy it's pretty flowers. It faces north-east, so it should flower on for quite a few weeks.

I have made a list of plants to divide and spread about (as well as popping a little bit aside for us) like this pretty primrose. We may need a separate lorry just for the plants!

Rob took down the greenhouse, methodically marking every piece so that, in theory, it should be easy to put together again. We can think about glazing later.

We cut back so many plants that we were able to have a bonfire on Saturday AND Sunday. Bliss! Looking forward to a few more days out there. It's so satisfying having a clear up, isn't it?

See you later in the week,

Katie x

Design details

2011-02-25T13:51:00.000Z

Hello! Yesterday the sun smiled down on us and today is warm and lovely too after a rainy night! I hope it is sunny where you are. It makes such a difference to feel a little warmth on your face and to sit outside with a cup of tea. I needed that this morning having done a manic hour and a half of gardening. I can be very productive armed with my secateurs! After walking the dog, I thought I would take a stroll round the church yard, camera in hand. It is amazing how much detail there is on headstones. Look at these lovely swirls...

Differents styles of lettering and numbers from early Georgian through the Victorian & Edwardian eras , the World Wars and into modern day.

Beautiful, bold, stylised leaves and flowers

The mausoleum is in a sad state of disrepair. It's a shame this has been neglected by the family.

Is it ok to really like a headstone? This is my favourite.

A guardian angel with a stern, even fierce, look about her!

Other interesting things.....

I hope this weekend the weather is kind enough to allow us to really get stuck into getting the garden tidied. It would be great to dismantle our sorry greenhouse and maybe even have a bonfire. I do love a bonfire.

Enjoy your weekend too

Katie x

Mucky carrots and vibrant greens

2011-02-22T14:57:00.000Z

Hello! Hope you are having or have had a good half term? Shame the weather has been poor. We had a lovely time near Peebles staying with family. We took the children, cousins and the dog for a very long walk along the river Tweed. Harry, my sister-in-law cooked a wild salmon, which was recently caught on the river. YUM - a really special treat which looks and tastes quite different to farmed salmon.

Yesterday, a neighbour gave me a carrier bag full of mucky, organic carrots, grown half a mile away by her son. They had just been lifted out of the soil. Here, farmers keep them in the ground all winter, covering huge fields in giant blankets of straw to protect them from frost damage, lifting them when required.

These carrots me think about ordering seed. I love to browse through seed catalogues, deliberating over which variety to try next and returning to old, reliable favourites. We have a productive veg patch but I'm just not sure what to do this year, with a move looming in the summer at some time. Should I bother? I almost bought some red onion sets on Saturday but held back. I feel it would look so much better for potential house purchasers to see the veg patch looking used and green rather than empty and brown.........what to do?

I made 2 varieties of soup today. We have it quite often for supper because the children have school dinners every day and soup is filling but light after a 2 course lunch. We are very fortunate to have a great school cook for our 21 pupils, who makes everything for them, from scratch. No shipped in meals for us!

So, some of the lovely carrots have been transformed into carrot, lentil and coriander soup. The other soup was a real throw together but I have to say, having had some for lunch it was delicious and very quick to make. I sauteed a red onion, added a small bag of frozen peas, a large bag of spinach, a tin of coconut milk, some seasoning and then blitzed it. Give it a try! It looks amazing, a really vibrant green and is packed with iron.

I am looking forward to getting out into the garden......it seems such a long time since I have done any work there and I miss it terribly. Still, new green shoots are appearing everywhere. Exciting, isn't it?

See you all soon!

Katie x

forgotten vintage treasure

2011-02-16T17:20:00.000Z

Hello! Hello! Helloooooooo! That sounded quite a cheery greeting on this miserable, wet day, didn't it? Before anything else, thank you for all your lovely comments about the big kitchen cupboard. I still haven't found those little pictures I want to decoupage, to finish it off. It is so much brighter at that side of the kitchen now and I still keep gazing at it and rearranging it's contents! Anyway, today we have been playing around with ink and paper. I made these and Cecily has had a fun time playing with all my stamps and colourful ink pads, making pretty pictures. We have played some board games too and made a huge, big fat chocolate cake to devour with copious amounts of Earl Grey tea! Delish.

Let me tell you about these images. Rob came home one evening carrying a big box he'd rescued from a skip. The box contained 30 or 40 printers blocks advertising clothing, home furnishings and the latest must-have's for your 1950/60's home, such as the 'new top control hoovermatic' washing machine.

The box lay in a corner of the shed for more than a year until yesterday. I dragged them out, cleaned them up and had a go at printing them. Don't you just love the latest trends in mens' knitwear below! I can tell you are eyeing your knitting bag, itching to get out those knitting needles and fashion something equally stylish for the man in your life!!

It was fun to see how they turned out as it's quite difficult trying to read print backwards. First I printed them onto paper and then I wanted to know how they looked as greeting cards. I put the paper and card on the floor and used my wieght to print them - well, I had to improvise somehow. Wish my Dad still had his printing press, so much easier than jumping up and down on a small wooden block!

I used a special ink pad designed for use on metal but I think a trip to our local art shop for some real printers ink is what's needed and I think using it with a roller would give better, less blotchy results.

Once I have perfected the printing, I will put them on my website and/or get them onto etsy as it would be good to share these fun images. There is a fantastic one with a big ball of wool and knitting needles but I haven't found it yet (I put my favourite ones aside last year and have temporarily misplaced them!)

I know you are all desperate for a stylish 'house coat' in quilted satin, aren't you?

Well, I suppose I should drag myself away from the computer now, get togged up, put wellies on and take the dog out again into what is left of this dreich day. See you again soon.

Katie x

Slapping on the Annie and a little decoupage: Part 2

2011-02-11T18:53:00.003Z

Hello! How are you? This poor, snowy weather is very productive, encouraging me to stay in and get on with things. Things like emptying the big cupboard, unscrewing endless cuphooks, piling up plates and covering the table with mugs, bowls, eggcups and cookery books. Yes, I finally got round to finishing the kitchen cupboard (or 'press' as we would call it in Scotland). Do you remember it?

A great, versatile shape and size. A handsome piece of solid furniture. Drawback? It was a horrible, jobbie brown. Is that too rude? I found it's colour offensive!

Now it is a lovely, bright, bluey green called Provence. It no longer lurks but stands cheerily in it's space.

Inside, I painted it Old Violet. The kitchen china stands out really well against the deep colour instead of struggling to be seen against the brown.

Even though our kitchen is usually flooded with light (the windows face north, south, east and west) it was so dark and dreich outside today that I found it hard to take decent photographs. What a difference it makes, having a lovely, jolly cupboard. Last night, I kept opening the door and enjoyed re-arranging the rows of china. I would leave one door open and just enjoy the contrast of colours. How silly is that?! It's just as well Rob was away as he might have got fed up with me faffing and fawning over a cupboard.

Of course, I couldn't help but include a little decoupage. I may well yet add a few more pleasing pictures as I saw a lovely butterfly and a little wren in a mag - I just don't remember which one! They'd look quite good flying about at the back of the cupboard. I got some lovely Emma Bridgewater tissue paper to put on the shelves but when I cut a piece to size and laid it on to see the effect, it just didn't look right, a little fussy for a simple press and too busy for the ordered china.

I still have to give the outside a second coat and seal it with a layer of clear wax but that can wait until I have found the butterfly and wren!

Well, I do hope you have a lovely weekend. No doubt, I will see you again on Monday or Tuesday.

Katie x

Lichen and moss

2011-02-07T13:53:00.000Z

Hello everyone! Did you have a good weekend? I am feeling good now, back to normal. Thank you for all your get well wishes.

We woke up to a thick covering of snow this morning, which was quite a surprise to us. Rob said it was snowing at 6am as he began his journey north. The back road to Dunkeld was bad and when he made it into Dunkeld, he then had to take 3 runs to get up the rise and onto the bridge by the Taybank Hotel! It was worse near Pitlochry and two cars had turned over, driving too fast in heavy snow..........there's always some idiot who does this. When he arrived at the office, they thought he was joking about the weather as not a flake has fallen in Inverness today.

Rather than posting snowy, cold, wintry photos, I thought I might share some I took recently of different lichens I see in a wood I like to walk through.

It is not a big wood but a long, thin one, which was probably planted as a wind break.

It is a pretty wood, full of native trees, dog roses and wild gooseberries. There is a decent patch of snowdrops and in summer a lovely, sprawling, purple carpet of 'lesser centaury' spreads across it.

Only 2 other people venture through the wood as it is sandwiched between fields and not easily reached.

It is busy with wildlife though and the dog loves all the scents he picks up. We have seen rabbits, hares, a covey of wild partridges, hedgehogs, lots of birds, buzzards, pheasants and roe deer. It is heaven for a spaniel with a keen nose and a desire to investigate every thicket (at high speed).

I was amazed at just how many different mosses and lichens I could see in a 20 metre stretch and I feel that I should only show you a few incase you get lichen overload!

Last week's gale did very little damage to the wood - I wish the same could be said of my greenhouse though. Sixteen panes of glass were thrown more than 20 feet across the drive to the back door and I spent over an hour in howling wind and driving rain carefully picking up every little shard the following morning. It was quite dramatic but thankfully no one was hurt and the car tyres are still inflated!

Right, I'd better get a pot of soup made - it's that sort of a day! See you soon,

Katie x

Floral recovery

2011-02-02T14:43:00.000Z

I feel a whole lot better today. Having nursed our lovely daughter back to health last week, I then came down with Swine Flu. I went to bed on Thurdsday and only really got up again on Tuesday. Having sent her back to school on Thursday, I now realise it must have been a real struggle for her...........not a good feeling for any mother.

The worst bit for both of us, was the aching eyes and eye sockets. Yes, sounds strange but our eyes really hurt a lot. My Dad had Swine flu last year and he said it was the worst part for him too, apart from shaking uncontrollably - fortunately, our fever didn't manifest itself in us quite so alarmingly!

I had a wee wander round the garden today and was surprised to see so many flowers out, considering they lay under thick snow for 6 weeks. Mind you, like soft fruit, I think prolonged cold stimulates good growth in spring flowers. We should have another fantastic crop of raspberries this summer.

A little dose of colour is great medicine and it really lifted my spirits this morning.

Hope the hens don't scratch them up.

See you soon

Katie x

Nuno felt

2011-01-24T20:57:00.000Z

Hello! Before anything else, I would like to say THANK YOU for all your lovely comments recently. It means a lot to read them and I appreciate them so much, especially since they come from such talented and creative people - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I do hope you had a lovely weekend? I spent an enjoyable and absorbing day at Hat in the Cat Studio in Perth on Saturday (yes, I did get the words in the right order!) learning the process of Nuno felt. Jeanette Sendler and Alison Mountain, the artists/teachers who own the business are accomplished, inspiring and great fun, as were the 3 others attending the course. There was a lot of laughter.

All 4 pupils chose to use very different colours of both felt and silk which meant no two scarves were even vaguely similar, except in size. This side of my scarf ended up looking quite tartan-ish although you can't really get a true feeling from the photos.

I laid no fibre on the other side except along the edges, to create a border. Since both sides look quite different, it is reversible - bonus!

The felting process is a surprisingly rough treatment of what are really very delicate materials. You roll gently for what seems like hours and then you get rough, tough and throw the scarf around in the sink making sure it is hot and beaten into submission! This is soggy but great fun! All of a sudden the wool really felts down, tightly grips round the silk, the silk shrinks and you get this wonderful bubbly effect.

It's an amazing texture and very tactile. It makes you want to run your hand all over it.

It's not a scarf for everyday use as it is too delicate to stand daily wearing, more a special occasion accessory. I can now appreciate why these are very expensive to buy at upwards of £85 - the whole process takes the best part of a day, to make one smallish scarf, using a large piece of very expensive silk. The class is a bargain at £55!

You can use other fabrics, other than silk and I would like to begin experimenting with these. Several ideas have been forming since Saturday and I am keen to develop the technique translating it for use in different ways, Vintage Squirrel style. My mind is buzzing away, which is great as I hoped these courses would inspire me to expand the range for sale on my website and get things on etsy too.

I have been working as mother and nurse today. C has been off school with a temperature and a nasty chesty cough. She is a little perkier now, has eaten some nourishing food and walked the dog twice with me, so she's had some fresh air and a bit of exercise. Even though she feels lethargic, we had lovely day together. She'll be 12 this year, so you have to cherish these times, whilst poorly or not! Well, I'll see you again later in the week. Katie x

I'm keeping my tea cosy

2011-01-21T20:27:00.000Z

whilst waiting for the tissue paper to be delivered that I ordered for my latest Annie Sloan project. I am still not sure exactly how I am going to embellish the cupboard but it is coming along and all will be revealed soon! So, in the meantime, my little teapot, which holds just enough for a big cup for me and 2 smaller ones for the children, desperately needed a cosy to keep the brewing tea warm whilst we rush around in the morning, making porridge, etc, getting ready for school.

The body is made from the hood of an old, favourite jumper. I kept the cherished garment going for ages but once I had begun to darn the darned darns, I realised it was time to pop it into a hot wash and transform into something else.

I used scraps to make flowers and leaves, decorating each with free embroidery on my sewing machine (it's great fun 'drawing' with the darning foot) or needle felting on some gentle, sparkly wool. I had a lovely time immersed in the button box too. I think it has evolved into quite a quaint and old fashioned looking cosy, although it began with no real design, which is unusual, as I normally have an exact picture in my mind (or sketchbook) before I begin.

It seems to be doing a great job at keeping our Earl Grey hot. Wool is hard to beat as an efficient insulator. When we bought our cottage, the hot water tank in the attic was wrapped in old jumpers. Quite stylish and very thrifty. Mrs Suttie, the previous owner, lived here for 72 years. She was 102 when she died. She was of the generation who never threw anything out - pioneer upcyclers! Upcycling is trendy now but it's not a new phenomenon, it's just been given a catchy name! We should all embrace it, shouldn't we? A little creative thought can make for a fun couple of hours.

Tomorrow, I am off on another day course, this time exploring Nuno felt. Whilst I have a lot of experience in needle felting and a bit less in wet felting, I have none in Nuno. I think we are learning to trap other fibres, like silk, with wool. It was a while ago when I booked it but it looked very interesting.

Hope you have something nice planned for the weekend? Rob is home and ready for supper, so I had better get my apron on! See you next week,

Katie x

The next Annie Sloan project.......

2011-01-17T12:13:00.000Z

Did you have a good weekend? I did, thank you, went on a course and learnt how to make millinery felt and a hat with it. I just need to make a little decoration for it before I feel it is finished and then I will show you! The snow and ice has been washed away and we now have our garden back! Yay! I am surprised by how much growth and how little decay has taken place under 6 weeks of snow.

Well, I have decided that the next thing to get the Annie treatment is a big cupboard in our kitchen. We got this from our village hall about 5 years ago. It was destined for the skip - can you believe it? We made a donation to the hall fund and carried it home, up the road to our house ( hard work because it is very heavy). We then squeezed it into the shed, where it lived for 2 years whilst we extended our cottage. It stands about 6 and a half feet high, is 5 ft wide and 11 inches deep, which is the perfect depth for dinner plates and most of the cookery books. It is always much admired but although we would never part with it, it's just too brown for me to live with.

So, finally, with an eye to moving house in the summer, I have chosen to paint the outside 'Provence', a lovely muted aqua colour and the inside, 'old violet' which is a dark, almost slatey, blue - good sea-side colours! Haven't yet decided what else to do with it though. Should I tissue paper the shelves? Should I decoupage birds? Stencil? What sort of stencil should I design? Can't decide - what do you think? Maybe something will come to me as I empty it.

I got a little side tracked on Friday and ended up making a hot water bottle cover. It turned out well. I felted an old cashmere jumper a while back and chopped off one of the sleeves to use as the basic shape. The cuff of the jumper is now the collar of the bottle. I then appliqued and hand stitched a little posy of flowers using other felt trimmings from past projects (never throw little bits out!).

My chilly feet warmed up very quickly and the cover is so luxurious and amazingly soft that I wish I had made it years ago. Later today I am going to chop off the other sleeve and make another, otherwise, it could lead to arguments!!

Right, I am off to empty that cupboard and get painting! See you later in the week................

Katie x

paint, tissue and a little decoupage....

2011-01-11T13:55:00.000Z

Hello, hope you had a lovely weekend. On Friday morning, I locked myself and the dog out of the house. The key broke in the lock. I had no other keys or my phone. My neighbour kindly took me in. Porridge (our dog) had to be closed into their garage as he is terrified of their dog. I sat and listened to him howl while my neighbours went into town to shop and get a new key cut. Rob couldn't make the 2 hours drive home early as his car was being serviced. Fortunately at lunchtime my friends arrived back, we tried the new key in the lock, it turned and the door opened. Phew! I was keen to get on with my projects.

I had always intended to paint this little set of shelves, it just took me 4 years to get round to it. I bought it because it was a pretty shape, small and therefore versatile, even though I hated the dark brown hue of the oak. Last week I could stand the brown NO LONGER!

So, with 2 more colours of Annie Sloan recently delivered by my brother-in-law Gibson, I unscrewed the shelves from the wall and slapped on the Annie! The first coat is a greeny-grey, the second a watered down old white, roughly but thoughtfully applied.

The tissue had been on the shelves to cover up and try to disguise the brown a little but I liked it so much that I couldn't think of burning it even if it was worn, torn and dusty. So, I gently wiped it clean and stuck it to the newly painted shelves. I then sanded and wiped off some paint to give it a 'distressed' look before covering the whole thing in a layer of mid coloured wax to age it.

I like the way the tissue doesn't neatly cover each shelf, wrinkles here and there and has stained a little from the wax. The tins displayed on it now sit comfortably and sing out from their new perch! I love it.

I really enjoy transforming something with a quick lick of paint. It's so easy, especially with this paint as it covers everything with no need for sanding or prep beforehand. You can use it on metal and even outside...........NO, I musn't even consider those possibilities yet!

Having already begun painting a chair back in October (the seat and back), I decided to finish it as it sat in the kitchen looking half done and abandoned. I had stencilled the matching one with a little dark swallow and wanted to keep with the 'bird' theme that seemed to be emerging , so decided to cut up a sheet of pretty wrapping paper to decoupage on to it.

I popped a stamp on the seat and a bird on the back.

I put a very dark blue colour in patches, under the main coat, where I wanted to sand back. It adds a little interest and shows through well but in a subtle way.

My Country Living mag was delivered and what was in it but the paper I had used on the chair! Please note I paid only £2.50 for the sheet, not £3.10. Bargain!

I have decided to begin a big piece of furniture next and may just get going on that tonight.............oooh, I can't wait! Perhaps I'll have some photos to show you later this week. Bye, bye, see you then!

Katie x

Kitchen bliss

2011-01-08T18:02:00.000Z

We have just come in from walking the dog in the new, soft, powdery snow. We picked up lots of kindling in the wood. The children took their sledges in anticipation of coming down the school brae. The kitchen woodburner is lit and the hot chocolate has been drunk. Two happy boys are building a tall lego tower and the dog is stretched out on the floor, asleep in front of the fire. Father and daughter are working either side of the cooker on different recipes. One is making Polpettone al Sugo (Antonio Carluccio's meatloaf in tomato sauce), the other chocolate cream pots from the new February issue of Country Living. Kitchen bliss!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T14:41:00.000Z

Hello everyone! Happy New Year! I hope you have had a lovely Christmas? We had such a relaxing holiday. We spent a lot of it outside, walking the dog or sledging. The rest of the time was spent cooking and enjoying friends company over long drawn-out meals! I had a lot of orders before Christmas. This tea cosy was one of them and I loved making it.

The most fun order was for a friend. He wanted a football sized robin! I laughed a lot whilst it took shape. It hung in the kitchen until we delivered it on Christmas eve, on the way to my parents-in-law. It is the Boeing 747 of robins but despite it's obese proportions, is incredibly light!

My parents-in-law's home looked so welcoming, the windows lit up and the fires burning that I couldn't help but leap out of the car and photograph it as we arrived.

Sledging beckoned us on Boxing Day

and even Grandpa had a turn!

New Year's eve was spent, as usual, at the kitchen table with 6 friends, eating, chatting and laughing. We only got up to toast the New Year and promptly sat down again for coffee and to continue conversations.

On New Year's day we decided to walk up Dunsinan Hill. On the summit are the remains of an old hill fort, said to be Macbeth's fort. I'm not sure whether this is true or not but one thing is certain, that after skidding, slipping and gingerly finding our way up the icy path, the 360 degree views are absolutely stunning. (We headed back down off-piste, springing through the heather tufts that stood proud of the snow and got down in a few minutes, so if you fancy a walk up this hill anytime soon, avoid the path!)

The children went back to school today. It's always a struggle to get back into the swing of term-time mornings but we walked the dog up the snowy school road and managed to get there with a few minutes to spare. I have been painting furniture again and have incorporated a little decoupage. I'll take some photos and show you in my next post.

Well, before I go, I must thank you all for your lovely comments and support over the last year. It was my first full year of blogging and I really got into it and have made some lovely friends, something I never imagined I would get out of it. It just didn't cross my mind. I would however like to blog less randomly and will endeavour to publish 2 posts a week form now on........and today is Thursday - didn't think that one out well! See you at the weekend then!

Love Katie x

P.S What about the Archers? We feel emotionally drained in this house! Rob has taken to having his lunch at 2pm and listening on his laptop at work, if he's in the office! My sister-in-law phoned to talk about it straight afterwards! We all knew that Helen would have her baby and that that story was potentially disastrous but Nigel falling to his death.........? A close friend who has also listened for decades has gone skiing in France for a week and we spent New Year's day discussing what might happen in Ambridge. What a week to choose to go skiing!

Stepping through the back of the wardrobe......

2010-12-04T20:48:00.000Z

This morning we walked the dog up towards the school. You can just see it at the top of the field behind the stand of trees. The hill to the left is Dunsinan, as in the Shakespearean play McBeth.

The sun was trying hard to break through the snowy clouds.

Trees are so heavy with snow that limbs are crashing off under the weight.

The icicles have been fantastic and are getting longer every day. The children have been snapping them off and enjoying them like ice lollies!

I feel as if we are characters from the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -I'm relieved it's two friendly woodland elves hiding behind the tree and not the Snow Queen!

I made the dog some new bedding from some lovely Scottish tweed, woven up in Keith. It was a great joy relegate his minging old fleecy blanket to the boot of the car (although I may not be able to suffer it there too long either!)

He does seem quite appreciative of my efforts!

Hope you are all enjoying the snow and keeping warm!

Katie x

Two and a half feet under!

2010-12-01T18:14:00.000Z

We often get snow in Scotland in November but not as much as this.

As you can see we have quite a bit!

We were without power on Sunday night but got it back by Monday afternoon. Thank goodness for woodburning stoves and gas hobs! People in the village were delivering flasks of hot water to those without means of boiling a kettle.

On Sunday the snow fell for 13 or 14 hours non-stop and in this area we experienced thundersnow! This consisted of heavy snow, sometimes blizzards, huge flashes of lightening followed by thunder. WOW! It continued for 11 hours. We walked up to church in full ski gear and the small congregation spent a large part of the time laughing as Sid preached about 'seeing the light' whilst these bright flashes and loud claps of thunder raged outside! I googled it today and thundersnow is a rare thing here in the UK. We shall never forget it!

Much hot chocolate has been consumed, cakes have been baked and big pots of soup made. I love being snowed in. The Christmas cake will be made tomorrow.

We have been sledging but it's quite hard to make a run when the snow is up to the childrens waists or higher in places! Fortunately, we live in a very agricultural area, so although the snowploughs and the gritters haven't been round (busy trying to keep the main roads open), a kind farmer came through the village in a big tractor with a snowbucket this morning. On Tuesday, another neighbour came over in his vintage forklift with a bucket on it and cleared the top 2ft of snow off our drive and levelled what was left so we could get our wee car out. This has meant that today my husband has been able to get to the main road, then to the A9 and up to his office in Inverness. There is very little snow up there.

I am trying to keep the birds well fed. They are all puffed up to keep cosy.

Our hens haven't been out of their ark since Saturday.

Not sure how we will put the bins out but then I don't suppose the skaffies will be round anytime soon! The postie hasn't been since Friday.

Our mad Spaniel is springier than ever and loves this weather!

I am trying to get some work done for my last Christmas Fair. I wonder if it will even take place. This is the view from my work table.............. mobility is not looking promising! My car has rear wheel drive and is hopeless in this weather, so there is little point in trying to dig it out. Why did we sell our Landrover County?

Help for Heroes

2010-11-08T20:25:00.000Z

Hello, hello! I have a very warm and cosy feeling after our wonderful Handcraft & Vintage Christmas Fair. Lisa and I pulled it off! When I mentioned to her that I wanted to do this, I did so knowing she would jump at the chance to help me and I couldn't have done it without her. It was very much an equally shared team effort. Thank you, thank you Lisa - ready to talk about the next one?!! It was a great success and we raised over £1800 for our chosen charity, Help for Heroes, almost twice what we'd hoped for.

About 500 customers visited. The WRI poured hundreds of cups of proper percolated coffee and tea and cut as many slices of delicious cakes and homebaking.

Visitors came from near and far.....and by far I mean 2 hours drive!! Two lovely bloggers, Louise and Anne made this journey just to come to the fair - thank you it was lovely to meet you both. They hoped to meet up with another local blogger, Dancing Beastie but sadly their visits didn't coincide. We also had visitors from Fort William and Devon!

Stall holders also commited to coming from quite some distance, My Baboo with her lovely textiles from Glasgow Miss Ballantyne, a medical herbalist and maker of the best soaps and face creams in the world (well, I think so!) and Rebecca of Cucuu with her fabulous hand painted beads and appliqued purses and bags, from Edinburgh. Ali came from Sterling with her popular hand made cards.

Diane, our Pershire Open Studios buddy sold lots of her beautiful photographic cards, vintage bits and felted pieces. My best seller was the robins and I ended up opening an order list for family, friends and anyone local! Lisa and I, as we have done for the past 4 years, set up our stall together, mixing our wares, which compiment each other well.

My sister-in-law, Cait of Carte Blanche, a specialist decorative painter, had a great selection of painted vintage furniture and decorative pieces. Gillian Morris, Eggshell & Chalk also came with her painted furniture and worked very hard for us selling raffle tickets too! Thanks Gillian!

I persuaded 3 friends Hannah, Jackie and Morag to take a table. We cook a meal together once a month, which is always great fun. Anyway, they combined their skills making a wonderful array of edibles, cunningly named Santa's Guilty Pleasures! They all but sold out completely.

Mariliese Richmond brought along a selection of her lino prints. We had the lovely Jean Calder with her fabulous luxury knits and 3 different tables of ceramics which changed over the 2 days.

My father-in-law. the author Angus Whitson even managed to attend on Saturday, having only been discharged from hospital the previous day, having suffered a heart attack! It was wonderful that he made it along to sign his books for the line of loyal fans!

Diane's partner Donald Clerk (on guitar), played traditional music for us. Everyone enjoyed their music and it created such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. On Friday he was joined by Jim Brown on his accordian and on Saturday, Fergus played small pipes and whistle.

It was such a fun and enjoyable two days and to know that we have contributed a little towards our brave soldiers is wonderful. My husband served in the Army for 17 years and his regiment, the Royal Dragoon Guards is in the process of coming back from operations over the next few weeks. They have lost 4 men.

I now need a few early nights to make up for all the late ones! See you soon!

Katie x

Tiree

2010-10-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

What a fabulous week on this beautiful windswept island/

It was lovely to waken to this sunrise, looking from the cottage towards the Isle of Mull/

We went right round the island this time. This is the golf course, which looks more like an obstacle course! I don't play golf but if I ever do, I'll play this course first because I would reckon that if you could get round this one, you could play anywhere!

Daily beachcombing was a necessity, but clearly some treasure isn't pocket sized.

We phoned Callum who sold us 2 huge lobsters he caught that day. The children loved their first taste of it which is a complete bummer as we'll have to share with them from now on. Whose bright idea was that?!

We had a shower of rain each day but they lasted only a few minutes. It's so windy and flat that the rain clouds are blown to Mull and the mainland very quickly. Friday was horrible all day but we still took the dog for a long walk on the beach and got soaked to the skin but the thought of hot chocolate and marshmallows kept spirits high!

Another photo of that amazing sunrise. The light was beautiful and quite undescribable. The wee island in the front left foreground is called the Dutchman's Cap.

Going home it was a surprise to see snow capped mountains but the dramatic scenery on a beautiful sunny day makes for a lovely journey home. I love Scotland.

And the winner is....?

2010-10-24T20:21:00.000+01:00

Hello! How are you? We spent a lovely week on Tiree but more about that later because I have more pressing news!! Late this afternoon we put your names in this rather fetching hat. It's a Kepi that my husband rescued from a pile of rubbish destined for a skip (I love to rake on a skip too - bit like Stig of the Dump, do you remember that series?)

My glamorous assistant then pulled out a piece of paper and the name written on it ..........

drum roll..........bit of a pause.............. I can reveal with all the suspense of Strictly Come Dancing......... bit more of a pause.............that the winner is........................even more of an unnecessary pause that's verging on becoming annoying.....................................

Magic Bean!

Big round of applause!!

Congratulations Magic Bean!

Please e-mail me at mrskwhitson@aol.com so I can get your details.

Anniversary GIVEAWAY!!

2010-10-16T23:53:00.000+01:00

It's almost a year since I began blogging and I didn't think I would enjoy it half as much as I do. I really get a great deal from it but I never imagined or even considered that I would make friends or meet such lovely people through typing words on a computer at home!

So my dear readers, to celebrate my first whole year of blogging and as a thank you for your support, encouragement and friendship, I would like to give away a flower brooch.

Please leave me a comment, telling me which colour you would choose if you win and how you will wear it.

You have a whole week!!

Next Sunday, the 24 th, with the help of my glamorous 11 year old daughter, we will put all the names into a fancy vintage hat and pull out a winner!

I shall then get busy felting the winner's brooch!!

So, get thinking about colour!

Let your friends know too!

Oh and I also have wool in 3 different grays and black..................

and some juicy purple, mauve and lavender!

Indeed, wool in most colours!

See you soon and goodbyeeeeeee!

Katie x

The art of letterpress

2010-10-07T16:06:00.000+01:00

WOW!!...... is what I thought when I saw this.

John Easson of the Quarto Press has been printing by traditional letterpress from hand-set type for over 40 years. His large printing room is fascintating, full of different presses and case upon case of type. It smells quite pleasantly of a mixture of ink and oil, I suppose.

Yesterday, we went to collect these posters, which he has skillfully produced for us, for a forthcoming event I am organising with my friend Lisa.

They are a work of art.

Don't you just love that pointing finger?

I love the old fashioned wording of the small type; 'the gentry and members...', 'delightful seasonal requisites....' and 'just off the A4 high road....' Fabulous! It really has the Victorian feel I was hoping it would and is very sophisticated.

It is of traditional broadsheet size, that is more than 20" x 14" - huge in comparison to todays favoured A4 and bigger even than A3. Impact size!

I put several up yesterday, straight away!

They look FANTASTIC and really eyecatching.

John also printed a limited edition of 6 special ones for us on card to sell at the fair.

He has signed and numbered them. How special, kind and generous of him.

He is now working on postcards for us. I have seen the set for them and had to read the whole thing backwards, of course! It's so interesting. My dad had a printing press for years in his studio, which he used for printing his lino cuts. I wish I had had a go on it before he sold it. The whole process really appeals to me now but nevermind, you don't think that when you're a teenager.

If you enlarge this photo you'll get a good close up look at it!

I do hope you can come along! It'll be a great day out and we have stall holders coming from as far as Glasgow and Edinburgh to take part. I can't wait, it's so exciting!

Well, we have 80 of these to display, so I had better get out and about.

See you all soon.

Katie x

WARNING............

2010-10-04T22:44:00.001+01:00

......once you have seen these photos, you will have SHED ENVY!!

I have a very part-time job, gardening for a friend. I love it. I spend 2 blissfully happy hours a week weeding, pruning, cutting back or moving plants and generally just doing what I feel needs done, how I want to do it. I can treat the garden as my own, which is very trusting of Christine, as I can move plants around and just get stuck right in...........and I do!!

There are 4 sheds dotted around Christine's garden and I hanker after a shed of my own just like one of these. Any one would do, as they are all very cute and each has it's own lovely feature. Above is the tool shed. Can you see the vent at the top? No? Well here it is, a little closer.......

Isn't it lovely? Of course, there's one on the other side too.

It feels very wrong to call these beautiful garden buildings 'sheds', they are so much more and the white harled ones are really quite big and grand.

These harled buildings sit at opposite ends of a long hedge, facing each other.

They have decorative roof vents. I'd love a vent like this as a feature in a corner of my garden, let alone the building on which it's perched. The other vent has chicken wire round it, I assume to stop birds nesting.

Two roofs are slated and two are lovely red wriggly tin, the favoured covering for my dream shed!

You can just imagine Peter Rabbit racing into the tool shed to hide in the watering can!! That almost happened today but it wasn't Mr McGregor chasing him but a spaniel, a labrador and a wee westie!

Gardening can't fail to be enjoyable when surrounded by these beautiful structures, can it?

Well, dear readers, I am so glad I was able to share them with you and thank you Christine for allowing me to do so!! Happy gardening everyone!

Web design

2010-09-30T11:02:00.000+01:00

Wasn't yesterday horrible? It rained all day long here. Rob came home from Inverness for the night as we had a birthday tea (we now have a 9 year old son) and commented that the river Tay was very high. I quite like holing up on these dreich days, lighting the wood burner in the kitchen, felting or sewing and of course, I had a big fat chocolate birthday cake to bake!

Today is glorious, not a cloud in the bright blue sky. No, that is not a bit of white fluff on the photo, it's the moon. Here it is more clearly.

The cobwebs today are amazing. They cover the hedge like a blanket.

Fantastic. Some are just as you would draw them, very regular in design and symmetrical,

while others are a frantic and frenzied, intricate mess!

I assume that they are made by 2 different types of spider?

I love autumnal days like these! Hope you are having similar weather where you are!

See you soon!

Stencilling and jelly

2010-09-27T17:22:00.003+01:00

A week! Where did it go? I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last post. I have been lost in the world of chalk paint. Last week I visited Carte Blanche (my sister-in-law and her husband) to buy some Annie Sloan paint (she's the only stockist in Scotland). Cait said I would love it, she just didn't tell me how much I would love it! I arrived home at 3pm with a basket full of paint pots and a borrowed stencil, and by the time my daughter's violin teacher had arrived at 3.40pm, I had almost finished stencilling swifts round the walls of the loo!

Oh, it is LOVELY paint and very easy to use.

The last stencilling I did was a commissioned one off piece about 15 years ago!

I had forgotten what a pleasing thing it is and how quick it is to do, that is, if you haven't had to design and cut the stencil, which takes a lot of thought and time.

I then painted the chair above and popped a swallow on it too!

I wanted to give this wee chest of drawers a bohemian feel but I still have quite a lot more to do to it before it looks the way I want it to........if it ever does. Still, if I can't get it to work, I suppose I can always paint over the lot and begin again!!

Rob arrived home from Inverness with a basket full of plums and apples, so we got busy making jellies. Last year we made these recipes and the jars were eaten at such a pace, we decided to double the quantities this time! The recipe for the apple, plum and chilli jelly is from Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and the plum and cardamon from a preserves book. Let me know if you want either of the recipes.

Oh well, back to Annie Sloan and her very fine paints - better not stand around in this house too long or you're bound to be painted by a chalk crazy woman!!

A present for................

2010-09-20T18:06:00.005+01:00

ME !

Recently, I discovered the lovely blog Bird Ahoy. On Wednesday, Lesley had posted some photos on her blog of her new pebbles and one of them jumped out of the page so quickly, that I just HAD to have it!! I immediately opened an etsy account and went straight into purchase mode.

It came beautifully wrapped in pretty tissue, secured by little bird stickers. Included was a little linen pouch.

Isn't it lovely? The pebble is smooth and tactile and makes you want to turn it over and over in the palm of your hand. There is a beautiful dark grey line, shadowed above by a subtle, chalky yellowish line that arches its way across the bottom corner and this has cleverly been used as a branch upon which this cute, carved bird sits. I'd like to think it's a blackbird as I love to hear their sing songy, melodic calls.

The necklace is finished off with a simple, effective and attractive pebble toggle and grey cord. No much wonder there is an eleven year old in this household who has her beady little eye on it - looks like I might have to share it !

So far, so good.......!

2010-09-16T17:10:00.000+01:00

Thought I might pop by and show you some photos! Perthshire Open Studios week has gone very well so far. The weather on Saturday morning was pretty horrid but fortunately it cheered up in the afternoon and Diane, Donald and their friends were able to sit outside and play some 'tunes'.

Sunday was brighter. Lots of people stayed to have tea and cake in the garden - when the sun came out it was lovely!

When I left yesterday afternoon, the studio was looking pretty empty, which is great from a sales point of view but it does mean that we are all frantically creating until the wee hours, once we get home!

These are Lisa's cute appliqued notebooks and lavender pillows.

The following 2 photos don't do Diane's gorgeous cards and original collages any justice.

Look at this gorgeous wool boa Diane made. Rob bought one from her for me a couple of years ago in lovely heathery tones and it has been much admired. No surprise she has sold all that she has made so far!

Well, I must get back to felting, I have 2 days off and must create enough to re-stock for the weekend!

See you soon!

An amazing sunset

2010-09-11T22:57:00.000+01:00

Wasn't the sunset lovely on Thursday night? I stood in the stubble field behind our house and admired it for quite some time. It was truly amazing and the colour radiated 360 degrees. To the north the clouds were bright orange, underlined in a zingy neon yellow.

Looking south, above the Kip (name of the hill behind our home) the sky was deep pink against dark grey, voluminous, brooding clouds.

To the east, the colours were really gentle pinks and light greys and looking westerly, peachy tones with pale blue sky in the background.

I thought I would take the dog out for a quick walk but the evening was almost balmy and with a sky like that, I couldn't help but stay out a lot longer than intended.

These are some photos I have taken from home of sunsets over the past 4 months - typically, our camera batteries had gone flat and I couldn't photograph they sky on Thursday!! It's a good illustration of what I saw but I hope you all experienced it too.

Night, night, sleep tight! xx

Perthshire Open Studios

2010-09-07T11:13:00.000+01:00

Thank goodness it is pouring with rain because it has been incredibly dry. Yesterday walking up the road to school, which is nestled amongst huge fields, was like something out of Arabian Nights. The soil is so dry that the wind was blowing it off the fields and it felt as if we were battling through a sandstorm! I need to be indoors creating for the Perthshire Open Studios which begins this Saturday and not feeling tempted to garden.

Once again Lisa, Diane and I are getting together at Primrose Hill Studio, 2 miles north of Alyth. There will be a wide and varied selection of textile homewares, fashion accessories, photography, ceramics, textiles and painting, PLUS live traditional music on the deck again, tea and cake being served in the garden and a home produce table. Do please come along and join us, it would be lovely to see you!

Ch...ch...ch..ch....changes!

2010-09-05T22:49:00.000+01:00

...sung in the style of David Bowie (glad you can only read and imagine and not hear that!).

I have been cracking the whip! Rob has had 3 days off in between changing jobs - yes, he is waving goodbye to commercial surveying and embracing rural practice/land agency. Next year it will mean a move for us, as he will be based in Inverness ......I'll miss it so much here, we have made some wonderful friends.

Anyway, that aside (I can't dwell on it long incase of tears) and back to the cracking whip! It has been 2 years since we built our extension and there was still a bit of ground to be dug out as it was higher than the foundations. We lived with a small ha-ha under the big kitchen windows for too long and I had had enough and decided that the gravel would be ordered and the shovels deployed.

After 2 days of excavation in boiling hot weather, we were able to down tools, stand back and admire our handiwork. What an enormous difference it has made. We now have a lovely al-fresco dining area and we have already made good use of it in this fabulous weather (although those flipping wasps are driving us all demented).

I have also built a dry stane bench. Four years ago I went on a course with my Dad. We both really enjoyed it and we certainly learnt enough to be able to mend or build a small wall. With all the spare sandstone from the build, I was able to build a wall along our veg patch but I still had surplus stone. It lay neatly in the drive until yesterday, when I transformed it into a dry stane bench. I finished it this morning, dressed in a skirt, pumps and a t-shirt, ready to go out to church - just couldn't leave it alone until it was complete............at least I got as far as the sturdy gloves! Rob came out and gave me one of those 'typical!-I-just-knew-you'd-be-out-here-doing-this-dressed-unsuitably-without-those-steel-capped-boots-on' looks and his eyes went straight to heaven!

Of course, now that it's finished, the weather forecast for next week is not looking great and I guess my post dog walking, pre felting, morning coffee will have to be drunk in the kitchen - typical!

Sausages!

2010-08-30T14:18:00.000+01:00

Last week our kitchen was a hive of gastronomic activity. The 2 electric mincers buzzed on for hours, the kenwood chef blitzed up bread, dried fruits, veg and herbs, whilst our minds were a blur of flavours and thoughts of what to make first! The dog kept his beady eye carefully on the floor all evening!

We were making sausages using the pork from our home-reared, Saddleback x Tamworth pigs. They had very happy and natural lives, foraging about freely in their paddock, sleeping under the stars and cosy in their wriggly tin, tattie box sty!

Morag and I mixed up ingredients, cooking off a little of each one to test for flavour, adding a bit to the mix here and there until satisfied with the result and moving on to the next concotion! Rob and Jim were in charge of the machines, mincing the meat and filling the casings. It was great fun!

We ended up with 5 varieties to freeze:-

*prunes, honey, red onion, chilli, garlic and chinese five spice
*apple, red onion, lemon thyme, grainy mustard and sumac
*apricot, leek, purple basil jam, cumin and garlic
*cider, leek, sage and garlic
*a breakfast sausage of apple, sage, orange and leek

It's so good knowing what has gone into our meat and particularly, what hasn't.
Even more satisfying is the fact that the onion, garlic and herbs were grown right here in our garden! Not a single tiny piece was wasted - anything we didn't want was sent by the butcher to be made into biofuel.

Bring me sunshine......

2010-08-26T12:38:00.001+01:00

It is pouring down outside - thank goodness I am not doing my gardening job this morning, I would be a wee bit drookit! Think we all need a little brightness, something cheery on this overcast day..

Those pesky wasps ate right through the bottom of the biggest sunflower and it crashed down on to the tattie patch, so I picked the huge sunny flowers and now they adorn the kitchen!

Aren't they lovely? They are a variety called 'moulin rouge'.

My favourite part of the garden is outside our bedroom window where the fennel has been gently self sowing over the last 2 years. It's like a very beautiful, natural net curtain, that swishes in the wind, a resting place for wrens and goldfinches and because it's diaphanous, it doesn't impair our view down the garden, only enhances it. Quite enchanting and very cottagey!

The other plant that self sows well is eryngiums or sea hollies

and the bergamots I planted last autumn have done well too. I love their smell and the flavour they give to Earl Grey tea - I cannot contemplate beginning a day without a cup, it is essential to my well being!

I hope you are all feeling a little cheerier now on this dreary day!

Vegetable gardening

2010-08-19T22:38:00.000+01:00

The vegetable garden this year has been providing us very generously indeed with delicious meals.

I dug up all the red onions, shallots and garlic and laid them on our drystane dyke (dry stone wall for any non Scots!) to dry in the sun. Last year my garlic harvest was very disappointing but this year I have been patient and given them an extra 2 months in the ground and the reward has been worth it - huge fat bulbs!

The shallots are enormous - I rather forgot about them so they have taken revenge. As I chopped one last night I could barely see what I was doing as my eyes were watering so badly that I should have actually just popped the children's swimming goggles on (make mental note to put them in the drawer under the chopping board after I have finished writing this!).

The courgettes are coming thick and fast and when I mooted omelette the other evening, my darling son said, "please can we have it plain with NO courgettes, pretty please, please, PLEEEAAASSSSSE?" We had something else entirely because I thought he was right, we have had courgette overload recently (make another mental note not to plant so many seeds next year, ie only 2 or 3). That said it does make a great soup if you saute some roughly chopped courgette with shallot or onion, clove of garlic, sprinkle on some boullion and pour over a tin of coconut milk bizz it up then stir in a big handful of chopped coriander - YUM!

Funny thing though, as I was harvesting the garlic etc, I noticed a couple of wasps, then realised there were LOTS - arrrgggghhh! They were feeding on the bottom of a stem of one of the huge sunflowers that has self sown right in the middle of the bed. I hosed them with the very violent jetty setting on the head, blasting them deep into the soil, removed the bountiful harvest to the wall, then went back and bludgeoned them with my hand fork as they crawled slowly to the surface! Sorry if that offends anyone but it was hugely satisfying as they are horrid and I react badly to them if stung. Why are they here on earth anyway, they don't seem to do anything worthwhile like bees or aphid eaters?

When Rob came home this evening we went out to the garden and picked a big bowl of raspberries (which has now been made into raspberry liqueur) and broad beans to have for supper in a lemony, bacony pasta. I love going out, picking something then cooking it. I must plant some salady things, coriander, spinach and buy some more Japanese onion sets for the end of next month! Hope you are enjoying your garden. See you soon!

NOT Nit camp...........

2010-08-16T22:11:00.000+01:00

....... Knit Camp! Two or three people said they immediately thought of little, crawling, itchy beasties found in hair when I mentioned I was going here with 2 friends - clearly they didn't associate me with wool and knitting needles but it's far more disturbing they connected me with nits!! We've all had to deal with it at some point as parents and fortunately it has only affected us once in 11 years but we have friends who deal with it termly, as their children return home, heads crawling, from boarding school - makes me itch just thinking about it! Yeuk!

The residential camp had been running all week with classes to suit everyone from exploring Japanese knitting and sock design workshops to spinning and natural dyeing.

We, however, went for the day, on Saturday to shop and browse round the 50 business that had come along to sell their wares.

These gorgeous wools had me trembling with excitement and I had to try REALLY hard to only buy what I needed and not every single shade. Jackie and Charlotte were very patient!

There was also a lovely vintage button and buckle stall which we all drooled over and bought some fab bits from. Every item was smartly presented on mounting board, description and price neatly written on the back and it was soooooooo cheap.....

wish they had a website.

Treasure Island

2010-08-13T18:33:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday, we got up VERY early and yes, I managed to leap out of bed, pre 5am, throw on my clothes and pack the car, whilst Rob walked the dog (what a good man - he wasn't even coming on the adventure). The children and I were driving to Oban to catch a ferry to Tiree.

It was our first trip to the island and most certainly not our last! It is heaven on earth - glorious, wonderful! We beach-combed every day and the island is abundant in what we term treasure.....cowrie shells. Bliss!

We stayed with friends and this is the view from their cottage....

A few feet from the front door, across the machair, is the beach and of all the beaches we visited, Christine's was my favourite.

We often had a beach to ourselves

We found lovely china, coral, sea glass and yellow snail shells to add to the already vast collection!

Tiree has the highest sunshine hours in Britain and we certainly enjoyed 4 days of them. I guess because it is so windy and flat, any rain clouds are blown over the island faster than the rain can fall.

We visited the island's Pottery http://www.tyriipottery.co.uk/ and would have filled the car boot save for the fact that they had been so busy the shelves were bare! Still, I did get a couple of lovely pieces.

How cute is this cottage with it's red tin roof and lovely stone byre.....my dream home!

The children spent hours in wetsuits, pottering about in rock pools

and messing about in the clear, azure blue, tropical looking sea, which was incredibly warm in comparison to the north west or the north sea!

Can't wait to go back but next time we'll take Rob!

HELLO!!

2010-08-05T21:46:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone and hello neglected blog, remember me?

We've been off on our holidays!

We camped, with 2 other families, in the far north-west of Scotland - very brave of us as the weather was not good and we managed to last 9 nights! This was our second year here and we met lots of people we'd made friends with from the previous year. My parents-in-law kindly looked after our dog Porridge, which was a huge relief as last time he became quite ill after gulping down litres of sea water as he swam around in pursuit of a gorgeous black cocker spaniel called Bonnie - she was able to relax this summer!

We did however have some very great days out at sea catching buckets of mackerel, enough to feed half the campsite.....literally! Our neighbours brought a heap of enormous, freshly harvested, wild mussels! YUM! Launching and recovering our boat proved difficult to begin with, but with our pal Steve's 18 stone of Welsh rugby players body, we soon mastered it! One day we were joined by some porpoises and also saw a basking shark, which was fabulous as I believe they are in decline.

The children had lots of fun in the sea, body surfing and skim boarding and for the most part, didn't really seem bothered by the poor weather!

One day we headed up to Durness and visited Smoo cave, which is quite spectacular but apart from the cave, I thoroughly enjoyed the graffiti, which is very eco-friendly and great fun - someone called the Fonz left their signature but I doubt it was Henry Winkler, sadly!

One good thing about rain is that it keeps the dreaded Highland midge away, so we came home with very few bites!

Still, as much as I love the drama and ruggedness of the west coast of Scotland, I am an east coast girl and we have very little rainfall in this part of north east Scotland, so next year we are looking to Morayshire or the Northumberland coast - any suggestions?

An eventful Royal Highland Show!

2010-06-30T11:51:00.000+01:00

Gosh it was 5 days of hard work!

I only managed to get finished setting up by 9pm as Shirley (who got off her flight from being on business in London all day) walked over to the showground and helped me for 2 hours!

The Show was then open from 9am until 7pm each day, so it was quite a challenge to get through the commuting, airport and show traffic AND feel calm, collected and in plenty of time!!

I had help from 3 glamorous assistants, namely Shirley, Morag and Veyatie - thank you so much, I couldn't have managed without you and your support.

I stayed in Edinburgh with close friends who kept me very generously fed and watered and was woken promptly every morning by the delicious 4 year old Annabel, who chattered on and on, making me smile and laugh and most importantly, preventing me from falling back to sleep (I am rubbish in the mornings)!

The other stall holders were lovely, friendly, helpful and had some great tips for a first timer like me.

The run up to the show was challenging as I had to look after my parents, who came to stay for 10 days beforehand as my Dad had an operation on his hand and then my Mum fell over and broke her arm! Neither of them could drive, cook etc, so the logical step was for them to come here but it did disturb my work plan somewhat! However, they were at home for the children after school and it meant I could ferry the porcelain up and down to the kiln for firings without 2 bored children.

So it was the icing on the cake when I was presented with this fabulous surprise for my work......

I was totally taken aback and had to wipe away the tears!! Shirley was crying too - the photographer, show committee and judges must have thought we were a couple of over emotional women!!

Think it's probably a bit over the top to sleep with it under my pillow!