Worldwide Spin in Public day 2025

 This year Worldwide Spin in Public day saw me packing my Nano into my backpack and heading down to the harbour. We are still on the East Coast of Scotland and maybe here for another day or so as the wind speeds have picked up and this makes travelling across open countryside a little daunting at times.

Please note, some of these photos are from  my phone as I forgot to put the card back in my camera so returned to the campsite to pick it up and have dinner.

My spinning day on Saturday started at a coffee shop just before 9am, hot coffee and sat on a bench outside out of the wind. I had a good view of the harbour and watched the local sailing club youngsters having a lesson before heading out into open water.

I had a small note on my spinning wheel box explaining what day it is and feel free to ask questions, conversations were had with the early dog walkers , dogs were petted .

My next location was influenced by a poster tied to a railing.

So many lovely ladies took turns to come and sit with me and find out about spinning, stickers were given to youngsters and much tea was drunk. I may even have broken my diet and had a cheese scone !!

After a quick trip back to the van I called on Baa, a yarn shop in Stonehaven that sells predominantly wool yarns from Jamiesons of Shetland and independent wool producers around Scotland,

                                                                the Jamieson wall of colour

                                           Cookson crafts, Loch Lomond Lace, Kinross 4 ply

Local yarns in the basket and Fiberspates beautiful variegated yarns in the background.

Janice, the shop owner made me very welcome, clearing a space for me at the table and providing tea ( we had chatted on line prior to me turning up )

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon in her company, chatting with customers as they shopped.

Bellingham revisited , this time with music

 Last year we dropped in on Bellingham Camping and Caravan Club site on our way home from Scotland, This year we are starting our trip with the same campsite. This is solely due to seeing a flyer for the annual Baafest  which is a music festival, Bellingham all Acoustic Music Festival, running for four nights next to the campsite.

We spent most of our time in the main marquee listening to some fabulous music , from bluegrass through blues to folk.

During the quiet mornings I made my way up into the village for a decent coffee at the Fountain Cafe although he coffee van on site was also good,

On the Friday morning I also called in at the local church coffee morning and spotted this weaving/embroidery. Unfortunately this is the best photo I could get with the lighting.

On the Saturday I headed out to the local museum to see the new temporary exhibition. This time it was VE day 80th anniversary concentrating more on the home life.

                        During these quieter moments I managed to get some spinning done.

Signs of the Festival were dotted around the village and I wasn't the only festival goer escaping the madness.

A larger version  was hug above the main stage. 

I don't have photos of the actual festival, too busy having fun :-)

back to the lace

In early August I received a parcel in the post, gave it a shake then realised what it was.

measuring just 32cm x 23cm x16cm it is one of the smallest lace pillows that I have seen. 

I haven't really had chance to test it out yet but I will let you know when I have.

Meanwhile I have bobbins on two pillows, one with Downton lace on it which unfortunately had to be taken off once I discovered that the threads were week and several snapped without my help. A shame as I do like the pattern and was planning to make a longer strip.

I then sorted out my recent purchases, second hand bobbins and threads from a Lace pop in session.

                and set up a traditional pattern called sheeps head to use on the lace doll.

This is as far as I got with the Downton lace

more purchases, two new ebony bobbins and another antique bone bobbin.

I plan to get back to lace making in October and have a good play with the travel pillow.

Sutton on Sea

 Another part of being busy was taking a short trip to Sutton Sea on the East coast of England. The weather was changeable but when it rained it was always late afternoon when we had already returned from our day out.

on the first day we walked from the campsite to the town, passing the multitude of beach huts, many with interesting names.

                  I wonder what happened to Canute 1, I imagine that it succumbed to the sea.

Some were painted, others were shuttered, old and peeling. There is also a row of new ones showing that the beach hut tradition continues to this day.

We stopped off at an exhibition at the new sea front coffee house, these pictures are full of small details to hunt for and the scale of them was....well see what I mean in this picture, ( Ian making a rare appearance to show the scale )

The next day we caught the bus to Skegness, chance to trawl round the charity shops and see if anything had changed since our last visit (last August ) 

A quick check of my camera reveals no photos so presumably nothing changed !

Apologies for not being here

 Hi, After my last post things got a little hectic , I'm currently chilling out on a campsite in Melrose ( more about that soon ) We have been busy both at home and away in the van.

Last month I took a trip to Newark, hopped on a train ( I love travelling by train, inherited this from my Father who was a big steam enthusiast )

It was a beautiful summers day and I spent my time walking round, doing a little shopping ( cheese ! ) and taking photos of anything that caught my eye,

The old signal box, the castle and the busy market ( I love a good market)

Beautiful black and white buildings ( yes, I know that this has been a theme this year )

I even popped into a Witches Market and admired the tarot cards, the dancing and the glass window of the host building, Newark Palace Theatre built in 1920

There was just enough time for a stroll along the river then back on the train home.