Thread finds in a charity shop, Sheep and a quick chat

 HI, I'm still here although I've not blogged for a while. I have a question, I have photos etc of our travels going back to September, is anyone interested in me doing some catch up blogs and maybe posting them in January?

Threads in a charity shop, Toucan. This kit has been started and I'd love to post a photo but I've left it in the van which means it will possibly be a couple of weeks before I see it again.

To make up for this, I have started a new kit called Ewe are my Sunshine, purchased in Bridlington at the beginning of the month in a charity shop. More expensive this time but so cute. Costing £4.50 but will hopefully give me hours of enjoyment. 

 

I've had a look on the website and it looks there are a few of these kits in the same set. full overage but small 12.5 x 9cm so shouldn't take too long.

I've been trying to add a few stitches everyday, here's my progress so far, days 1-4.

 Original artwork by Thomas Joseph.

I have been spinning, knitting and making lace so will update in the next post.

Thread finds in a charity shop, Toucan

 Hi,

I'm starting a mini series of embroidery kits found in charity shops, basically reviewing the contents and ease of use. I will be stitching each kit so I will share the progress on each one.

To start us off, I have Toucan by Simply Make craft kits. purchased for £1.49.

At first glance it looks like an easy kit, labelled as embroidery by numbers, designed in the UK by West Design Products Ltd

Threads come on a card, needles and needle threader are provided, the design is printed on a piece of fabric ( very frayable) and a plastic hoop is also included. Where there is a slight problem is the instruction which state that you can use satin stitch or long and short stitch but doesn't indicate where to use either stitch, direction of stitch, order to stitch the parts in. There is a diagram about how to do each stitch but that is it.

Not really beginner friendly in that respect.

Lets see how long this one takes and what t looks like once completed.

BAL part 10 (bucks point lace)

 I've not been able to take part in the Bucks point zoom sessions for a while, mainly due to being away and campsite internet not always being the best. However, we have now moved on to another book.

To be honest, I'm not so keen on a lot of these patterns but I started at number 1. Busy bees.

This is as far as I got with it, I simply don't like it much. So , before starting the next one, I dug out Louise Wests book on Bucks Point and had a bash at this one.

A bit more my style, I plan to carry on until the threads on the bobbins start to run out then have a think about where I go next with this.

looking for the sheep at the Great Tapestry of Scotland

Well, we seriously underestimated the amount of time needed to take in the Great Tapestry of Scotland. Another visit is already on the cards for next year especially as we will be in the area having booked the campsite for next years music festival already.

My photos do not do the work justice so I'm going to find a couple of links and will post them at the end. Also, when faced with the sheer amount of embroidery, I decided to look for specific thing, mainly sheep!

These are just a few of the sheep spotted amongst the panels, all sides of life both current and historic were pictured, here are some of my favourites.

Looking at the different stitches and techniques, I am tempted to start embroidery again :-)

For further info and much better pictures, visit this site. The Great Scottish Tapestry    and there is an interesting collection of videos here covering the tapestry being displayed in different locations before ending up at its permanent home. These help show the sheer scale of the panels and the work of so many different embroiderers in Scotland

It came out of the mist.....

 

On a very foggy Sunday we went out to see a new memorial, On Freedom's Wings, to the RAF crews of  World War 11. This full size sculpture can now been see from the roadside but not on our visit.

                     A moment after this photo was taken it disappeared again into the fog.

Sunday was a special open day and judging by the number of people we passed as we left, it was well attended. They are still working on the site so visiting times are limited at present.

 

 This project has been funded entirely by donations and is run by Bomber County Gateway Trust who estimate that over 35,000 motorists a day will see it as they travel along the A46 between Newark and Lincoln.

We bought a few souvenirs and will return when the skies are brighter although I appreciated seeing it for the first time appearing out of the fog as opposed to a quick glimpse as we hurtle by in the van.

Melrose part two

 Four days in Melrose gave me plenty of time to explore my surroundings, there are a couple of National Trust gardens and I chose to visit Priorwood gardens between the rain showers. They have an honesty shop and a few books for sale. The shop had at least half a dozen varieties of apples along with fresh vegatables.

The garden is the only one in Scotland that was originally devoted to growing  flowers for drying, there are also wood land walks and an orchard although I was driven back by the rain I managed to spend some time looking at the flowers.

Another stroll around found me down by the river Tweed looking for the foot bridge

found it !

                                                          Chain bridge built in 1826

Slightly closer to town is the old rail station, the platform is accessed via an arch in the original station building that is now a casino.

The platform has been preserved and can be easily seen from the road. There originally was a plan to replace some of the track just in front of the platform but this may rely on both funds and younger people to join the local preservation society,

We will return to Melrose, I really want the cardigan in the last post :-) plus good cafes, excellent deli and comfortable campsite make it the perfect place for a post festival unwind.

Colours of Gala

 One of the advantages of Melrose , in addition to it being a beautiful place, is that you can travel by public transport to Galashiels which is home to the Great Scottish Tapestry but more about that in a future post,

As we stepped off the bus we came across our first piece of art, seriously, how can you not smile at these ?

The first one is called Dolly, presumably a reference to Dolly the sheep that was cloned the Roslin Institute, part of Edinburgh University in 1996

Just over the bridge we came upon a painted wall, steam engines always grab my attention as you may know.

Other walls were adorned with painting and graffiti adding colour to what could be a dismal day.

The last picture depicts Sir Walter Scott. 

A quirky statue of Robert Coltart was found in a small square, I especially like the little girl enjoying her sugary treat.

Walking up towards the town we notices that empty shops were displaying parts of the panels that make up the Tapestry.

I suspect that if we had taken the town trail, we may have found more to explore but we were heading to the home of the tapestry, a little unsure of what was on display. We were not disappointed but that's for another post.