Gallery
Orkney Islands
A Walk to Sacquoy Head
We took a walk to Sacquoy Head, Rousay at the weekend, to celebrate our oldest daughter's birthday. Some spring warmth and sunshine returned to us, just in time and the stunning scenery made it a birthday to remember. We haven't rushed to explore every inch of Rousay,...
A Week of Snow and Ferry Rides
What a weeks it's been! While easter brought celebrations of spring, we were plunged back into winter. It began with 60mph winds and was quickly followed by constant snow showers. It certainly hasn't done my garden any favours and yet I can't deny that it has been a...
Winter in the Orkney Islands
Having lived in the Orkney Islands for 16 months now, we have experienced all of the seasons and while spring has to come in top place, winter is definitely my second favourite. I remember that before moving here, I read some very depressing accounts of Orkney...
Self-Sufficiency
Dried Flowers and Vegetables Galore!
Well, it's been a while since I last sat down to write here and during that time, our garden has filled with flowers and vegetables galore! My blog has taken a back seat these past few weeks, as we have been busy planning for the future. We know that we need more...
Hatching Ducklings for the First Time
It was with great excitement that we received a box of hatching duck eggs through the post, nearly six weeks ago. We have often talked about keeping ducks over the years, but prior to moving to the Orkney Islands, we lived in built up areas, where poultry and fowl...
Sowing Seeds for Years to Come
It was one of those four seasons days today. It's quite a common phenomenon in the Orkney Islands: rain, hail, snow, bright sunshine and blue skies, and high winds all in one day! So, we opted to have an indoorsy kind of day. Matt had managed to get hold of a bag of...
Craft for Kids
Weaving Christmas Stars Tutorial
I have finally found time to write a tutorial for the woven stars, that I made at the end of October. Although I originally made these with handmade cordage, I have worked the tutorial with yarn, to make it easier for children. If you can't get hold of any willow or...
Woven Easter Placemats Tutorial
This woven easter placemat tutorial, is a great way to introduce kids to weaving and all that you need to do it, is some coloured paper, scissors, ruler, pencil and glue stick. If you haven't got any paper the same size as ours, don't be put off. The measurements are...
How to make Felt Beads
I thought that I would share this little tutorial on how to make felt beads. They're really easy to make and are also a great way to use up little scraps of felt. Older children will be able to make these for themselves, or you could make up a bagful of these, for...
Basketry & Natural Crafts
My Work with Natural Dyes 2021
I have been continuing to work with natural dyes this year, building on what I learned in late 2020. A lot of these dyes have been used on raffia for my basketry, but I have also been trying to keep track of my results on some quiltmakers cotton, so that I can, over...
More Uses for Dandelions and other Spring Leftovers
Spring is a plentiful time for collecting plant fibres to use in basketry and dyes. You may have seen in my earlier post, Making Dandelion Paper and Dandelion Beads that the petals of these wonderful springtime weeds, can be turned into a wonderful textural paper and...
Making Dandelion Paper and Dandelion Beads
The past week and a half, have been a busy time of working with dandelion petals. I have been waiting for the arrival of dandelion season, since the end of spring last year. Like lots of you, we foraged for dandelions in 2020, to make dandelion jelly. It was...