Four weeks and counting . . . . yikes!

I can't believe it's only four weeks until Christmas - November has passed in a flash, whooooooosh! I'm trying to be organised a little earlier than usual this year - I'd love to have that time just to make a few mincemeat pies and some cute little handmade gifts to add to the pressies - but will it happen!!

Here's a couple of pics of last week's tweedie creations (a long awaited toiletries wallet) . . . 

I lined it with some waterproof fabric . . . 

It just sort of worked out how I wanted to, which doesn't always happen LOL, but . . .

It's it in the shop here :)

Talking of mincemeat pies, here are some pie tins I inherited earlier this year while sorting out some family belongings . . . 

I remember both of them being used from when I was very little - happy days!

It would be lovely to use them this year - however I did buy a jar of mincemeat last year and it sat in the fridge untouched well into January and beyond (ooops!)  I'll try harder this year :)

How are your plans for Christmas going?  Are you a last minute frantic shopper or a methodical, uber-organised type?  I quite like a little bit of last-minute shopping flutter - but only when I know it's for little fun items - I get the major ones out of the way first!

I got my copy of  Hundreds and Thousands last week - it was  nice to get a little package from Oz!

It's a cute little publication about all things handmade and you can buy your copy here.  Well done ladies - I hope you little magazine goes from strength to strength!  I might be trying that recipe for orange cake -  it looked  yummy!

Well, I'm off now . . . no time to waste!  Things to make and cakes to bake - would  be nice to spend all the time doing that, wouldn't it, hehe - dream on :) :)

Cheerio!

Alison x

Lost a week . . . . have a heart :)

I'm not really sure what's happened this week - plans to do this, that, and the next, just went awry, sound familiar? :) :)   Still doing some glove knitting but I won't bore you continually with that!

I found a pattern for a fair isle heart a little while ago here and decided to give it a go - well, sometimes you just have to give in to temptation, hehe :)  I was a little intrigued to try it because it is not knitted in the round, but on two needles which meant I would have to purl in English and continental style on the reverse - eeks!  I learnt how to knit and purl in continental style to do my fair isle knitting but had never really practiced to do purl stitch - so off I went.  

I would only do fair isle knitting on two needles on a very small project like this as it's far more laborious than knitting in the round.  It worked though - and I got to use these cute floral bamboo needles I got free with a knitting magazine . . . .

. . . once I started, I just couldn't stop . . .

. . . I was completely entranced . . .

. . . but it turned out pretty cute I think!

Such a lovely pattern - I made another one to keep it company . . .

Sweet for Christmas decorations I think :)  Have a nice weekend!

Cheerio an Drasda :)
Alison x

Something tweedie . . . . at last :) :)

At long last, a tweedie creation - I've physically dragged myself away from the knitty glove-making fetish I've been on recently (it was a very difficult wrench, believe me!) - and here we have a little tweedie Xmas decoration . . . 

A humble start, but I think he's quite cute and I've actually added him to my Etsy shop here  - how amazing is that, hehe!  He's all ready and packaged up - waiting to fly off to some far flung (or not!) destination.  I had a lot of fun making him this morning (yes, he's really that fresh off the sewing machine!) - from making a very quick doodle of a robin . . . 

. . . cutting out a card template and making some quick design decisions :)  I love how he's turned out though, I embroidered a little beady eye and machine appliqued the edges (both sides are Harris Tweed).  His little stick legs were an  afterthough - but I couldn't resist LOL :)  

Here he is all packaged up, on recycled card and protected with cellophane . . .

I think I'll  be making him some more friends to hang out with this week - I don't want him to be lonely, poor thing :)  I think  he would make a sweet little Xmas gift though ;-)

OK, I've not managed to wrench myself away from gloves because I LOVE making them - sorry did I shout??  I made a pair of fingerless ones from a pattern in Ann Budd's book - basic glove pattern - this lady is a genius . . .

First she taught me how to knit socks, and then to knit gloves!

Actually I had bumbled along with another pattern first but her basic glove  pattern is nice and simple to follow.  The book behind is one jam-packed with glove patterns by Susette Palmer - I'm  desperate to try some of these.  Here's the fingerless gloves I made using Ann Budd's pattern . . .

I made them for youngest kiddo - but they're too big for him so I think I might post them off to my eldest in Uni - they might be useful for typing up assignments in the cold weather!  I'm now on another pair for Little S - so hopefully they'll fit him OK :)

And, em, yes I do sleep - but going by my 'to do list' I really shouldn't bother!  I'll keep you up to date with my creation of a flock? of tweedie robin redbreasts :)

Cheerio!
Alison x

N.B.  Quick shop update - there are now 3 little robin redbreasts for sale :) :)  Here are the two new 'friends'!

Hand in glove . . . . tra la la!

Well, that was the October holidays . . . two weeks, of - well, to be honest nothing particularly remarkable.  Some beautiful Autumnal weather, a lot of chilling out - actually managed to switch off and read a book for once, which was very nice!  Knitted ONE sock - but more of that later, ooops . . . 

BUT far more exciting . . . I've knitted my first glove . . . . with FINGERS!  Yes, all five of them - well technically speaking 4 fingers and a thumb, but I digress :)   Earlier in the year I purchased some lovely 2 ply Shetland yarn to practice my newly acquired fair isle knitting techniques . . . I just couldn't resist experimenting with a lovely pattern from Ravelry by Robin Melanson (Hardwood Hill Gloves).

And miraculously . . . 

. . . there they all are - 4 fingers and a thumb - I don't know how but, they're there . . . it was touch and go, lots of angst and a lot of 'fixing' holes, but they fit, er 'like a glove' - what a fluke, haha!!

With the pattern in the background . . . 

A little of the detail . . .

Unfortunately, I really don't know how I managed to do the fingers.  I'm now back-pedalling like mad and doing a little online research before I attempt the second glove so I'll vaguely know what I'm trying to do - talk about the cart before the horse, ah well!

Today I'm waiting for more of that lovely dusky pink yarn to arrive in the post (from Shetland, of course!) so I can get on with the second one . . . I'm  feeling a little nervous!  Fools rush in, and all that . . . :) :)   Sometimes you just have to jump in with your size 10 wellies on though, I'm quite glad I did just that - I think my enthusiasm for my project spurned me on!

The lovely colours of the Shetland wool are very reminiscent of our own Harris Tweed yarn - I'm feeling quite at home :)  Talking of which, I should really be 'tweedying' to make some  cash to pay for all that yarn!  Tweedying or knitting, tweedying or knitting, tweedying or . . .

Actually, I'd better go and do the housework - paaaaah!! :-/

Later gaters :)
Alison x

PS Hand in Glove was  sung by the Smiths - can't stop humming it now!  Wonderful Morrissey has just released his Autobiography published as a Penguin Classic, much debate about that - what a 'to do' - I've just ordered my copy, well, I had to . . .  for research purposes you understand :) :)  Perhaps I'll do a little review of it here . . .

Socktoberfest :)

I've  just joined the Socktoberfest group over on Ravelry - I think it's just a month to celebrate sock-knitting, bust your wool/yarn stash, make your Xmas gifts, etc.  No pressure to produce a heap of socks at the end of it as far as I can gather - I hope not anyway!  I did feel a 'sock coming on' with my new knitty design so it seems to be a natural progression to devote October to knitting socks - OK, I was just looking for a good excuse, hehe :)  I'm a little late starting but October hols are coming up,  so . . . .

I've ordered some yarn to knit up my Scottie dog design into some socks - very exctiting!  In the meantime I've tried another design swatch and . . .  way hay, it worked out first time :)  This design has a sea-creatures theme and I've used the image to make some of my seaside 'tweedie' softies in the past.  It was quite nice to go back to an older theme and reuse it in a completely different way :) . . . 

The squiggly things in between the seahorses are starfish, just in case you didn't know, hehe!

Scribbly drawings . . . 

The swatch turned out so well that I've decided to continue with it and make it into a sock - hopefully two!  I'm just  using acrylic DK from my stash of Patons Fab (prob equivalent to Red Heart yarn in the US) so I think they'll be fun 'bed/loafing about' socks.  That's if they work out . . . they might not!

OK, at the end of all that I've set my self a challenge to make two pairs of socks - one, a wearable (ie. boot or shoe type socks) and the other a pair of 'loafing about' socks . . . :)  

Hopefully making some tweedie-stuff too - I'll be adding to my online shops as and when I can (when I'm not knitting socks, that is!). Details as and when this happens!  October is beginning to sound like quite a busy month, hmmmm, well the nights are drawing in . . . .  :)

Later, gaters :)

Alison x

The Winners are . . . . and the experimental piece complete :)

Big drum roll . . . . . . the winners of the Giveaway are:  Gretchen and Gabriella!  Congratulations ladies  - I will be in touch by e-mail, but feel free to send me your name and address details as soon as . . . . :) :)  Thanks to all for taking part - it was fun to do a little giveaway!

As I promised, I'll show you the results of the little experimental colour-work piece from last week's doodle . . . 

I'm quite pleased at how it worked out - considering it came from a VERY quick doodle!  It's basically a tubular knitting swatch (on 4 double pointed needles) but the pattern could be used for anything really . . . I actually think I might be feeling a pair of socks coming on, hehe!  Cute little scottie dogs adorning the top of a pair of woollie socks - what do you think?  I'm still tweaking the design a little ie. shifting the little motifs between the scotties and possibly adding another motif on the bottom but it's got lots of possibilities I think :)   Oooops, a whole new area of creativity - Oh Dear!

Hope you had a relaxing or productive weekend - I think mine was definitely more relaxing than productive, so I'd better get going now - byeeeee :)

Alison x

Giveaway closed, and a little experimental project . . . I'm winging it!

OK - Giveaway time is up :)  Thank you so much for entering it! -  it's been a  fun  way to ease my way back into my blog and to say thanks for still reading, even if my posts  have been a bit sporadic this year :)  I love using my blog to mull over new creative ideas as much as anything else - it's my outlet for creative thought, so thanks for listening to my incessant drivel, hehe!  I will announce two winners (one for each purse) by Monday at the latest : )  Good Luck!

Talking of new creative ideas, here's the current one . . . . . . a little doodle of a Scottish terrier to be magically transformed into the basis of a new knitted colour-work idea . . . 

some  paw prints as an additional design feature  . . . .

. . . my first very basic original design for a  knitted colour work project - bonkers!, yes completely, but when you get a notion to try something you've got to just go with it . . . 

Do you think it will work?  I have no idea either LOL :)  I'm having a go and seeing how it will look - this is fun though!  I just traced my drawing onto the squares of the graph paper . . . no, I don't really know what I'm doing - but that's the fun part!

I'm enjoying stamping my new 'handmade' logo onto craft bags and anything else I come across - if you stand still for too long I might stamp your forehead with 'handmade by Tweed Delights' - watch out, hehe!!

This week I've started on some new tweedie-work and added this matryoshka doll to my Etsy shop . . .

More to come hopefully . . . I'm still adjusting myself to my new (Linux) operating system on my laptop -  talk about a learning curve, I didn't know I had to become a computing genius to run my crafts business!  I'm sure I'll get used to it . . . . . hmmmmmmm :-/

Later, gaters - I'll be back by Monday to announce a winner - I'm off to knit up my little Scottie dog doodle, I hope to have something to show you - byeeee!

Alison xxxx

It's a Giveaway :)

At last - my promised Scandinavian 'knitty' sample pieces Giveaway!  I showed a little sneaky peak of these knits a little while back - I've now got two completed sample pieces which I used to hone my colour knitting skills (using a colour-block design from 150 Scandinavian Knitting Designs by Mary Jane Mucklestone) .  It seemed a shame not to do anything with them - so why not have a little giveaway I thought :)  . . . 

I've added a chunky little zip to the two sample knits to create a very rustic purse - don't look at the hand-sewing too closely now - ooops!  (they're not lined either - VERY rustic!)  I loved doing this pattern though and while doing it I solved a little query I had with keeping the reverse floats neat and tidy, so thankyou for that, hehe!

As you  can  see there's a red and white one . . .

. . . and a black and grey one . . .

Now you must have spotted my new 'handmade by Tweed Delights' stamp - I'm so excited by my new crafty purchase LOL!  I've been wanting one of these for a long time, and finally this week I decide to go for the plunge - I love it :)  It's made by a wood mounted rubber stamp - using a traditional ink pad.  I really like how each imprint is always going to be a little different . . . 

aren't they fun?,  *sigh * - it's the little things in life that bring so much pleasure, hehe!

Anyhow, I'm giving the two little purses up for grabs in a giveaway - just state which one you would like - red or black.  Make sure you leave a contact e-mail address if you don't have a blog so I can contact you if you win.  I'll post anywhere in the world of course!

These were fun to make while I was making preps for eldest son fleeing the roost and I was very glad to have them as a little distraction amongst all the angst and chaos (my own of course!)

I'll leave the Giveaway open until next Thursday (3rd October) 12 noon.  I'll announce the winner within a couple of days of the closing date.

A little celebration giveaway to mark my return to crafting - well, why not?, it's nice to share :) :)  I'll try and pop some other little goodies in too - I must go and have a rummage for that :D

There are no terms or conditions attached to the Giveaway - just leave a comment - perhaps saying what you would use your little purse for (plus your choice of colour) and keep your fingers crossed!  See you next Thursday - in the meantime I must make some 'tweedie' goodies to attach my new labels to - must dash, byeee :)

Alison xx

Half an Empty Nest . . . and some handmade love :)

I'm back - if a little (emotionally) ragged around the edges - after accompanying eldest son to his new student life in Glasgow University. We were met at his Halls of Residence by cheery faced and enthusiastic Student Union reps in bright pink t-shirts, who whisked us and our baggage (guitar included) to his new room.  'Have you come far today?' they enquired politely, as we made our way through a warren of corridors and fire-doors - I managed a cheery 'Oh, yes - we're from the Outer Hebrides - quite an early start, the ferry left at 7 am this morning.'  We'd been travelling all day and were thoroughly shattered - ferry, bus and train with an early morning alarm call at 5 am to get us to the ferry in time.  It was now 4.30 pm  - almost 12 hours to get to our destination.

But, we had made it - hurray!  I stayed overnight at a very cosy (if basic!) B&B round the corner from the Halls and spent the next morning having a wee wander around the lovely studenty (is that a word!) area of the West End of Glasgow.

We had a fab weekend (if a little stressful for me at times!) helping him settle into his new student digs, and spending time with my two sisters and nieces who cheered us through the whole process - taking us out on the town, feeding us, ferrying us about, and even giving their bed up for me (thanks Eubha!).  

When all was said and done, I flew back on my ownsome on Sunday afternoon and must admit to feeling a lump in my throat as we hit the runway in Stornoway - Oh my Goodness, what have I done - I've left my child in Glasgow!  Well, I guess that means he's not a child any more :) :) 

While staying with my Sis on Saturday, she showed me this lovely pillow my niece had made for her a few years back - it just sums up everything I love about handmade - every stitch made with care . . . 

. . . what a treasure to keep :)

Well, I guess that's me back on the crafty wagon after a Summer-long absence - it was worth taking the time out though, through this important phase in our lives.  I had a little 'crafty' retail therapy this morning to cheer me up - nothing like it LOL!  I'll update you on that later - I'm quite excited about my purchase.  Also I will post about my Scandinavian knits which I promised to give away very soon - honest!  Back to 'tweedie' business once more :)

Later Gaters!

Alison xx

Weekend crafty project . . .

Slowly getting back into some regular blogging at last . . . . and even more slowly back to 'tweedie' business!  Onwards and, em . . . . sideways??!* (better than backwards, eh? LOL)

Anyway, at the weekend I continued my little Scandinavian knitting project and yesterday I finished it off - I'm only showing a little peek as I'm thinking of hatching a plan - Muaahahahah!  Here's a little piece of it . . . .

I might make another one to hone my colour-stranding technique - there are longer floats with this kind of knitting so I've been scouring YouTube videos to get to grips with 'tying them in' on the reverse.  I 'developed' my own method from reading books but a You Tube video I found has made me want to try a different way.

I think I'm becoming a knitting/Fair Isle geek, hehe :) :) 

Eldest son installed a new operating system on my laptop at the weekend and I've no idea where all my photos are going/gone half of the time - if my posts seem a little disorientated, that's why!

Another book I got over the summer was this one . . . 

I've made a few 'tweedie' versions of sea creatures myself over the years (jelly fish, seahorses, fishies, etc) -  so I was magnetically drawn to this book - I'm dying to try some of these as a relaxing weekend project.  Crochet seaweed - don't you just love it!

I would hope to start making more 'tweedie' items for sale soon - for adding to Etsy and to re-open for taking orders on my own website.  I haven't gone completely 'knitty' on you - it's just a nice distracting hobby for the time being until I can get the sewing machine out again - I'm sure it will all come together in due course, bear with me :) :)

By the way, the Scandinavian knitting project may well end up in a Giveaway if I get my act together!  Watch this space :D

Alison x

Back to 'tweedie-land' . . . and a bit of knitting too :)

Well, hellllooooo :)  Still here - honest!!  I've been lurking in the shadows of blogland all summer long, hehe :)  We did manage a lovely city break during the hols - perhaps more on that later though!

Back to the business in hand - one of the girls at work was looking for a sleeve for her lovely new mobile phone so I felt it was time to come out of tweedie-hibernation and do the decent thing.  I used  some of my nice new Kaffe Fasset fabric to line it and my current fave tweed - it's a very lovely pink/purple plaid - most delicious!

In the background is my new knitting book (acquired on my recent birthday).  It's called 150 Scandinavian Knitting Designs by Mary Jane Mucklestone.  I think it will be a life-long favourite - a whole heap of lovely Scandinavian  knitting block patterns to use - fantastic stuff!

I've started a little experimental piece just to practice with . . . 

Might just make a little purse or something . . . who knows :)  Aren't the wee figures cute though!  There are lots of great blocks to choose from - I'm really interested in trying out the figurative designs - owls, deer, birds - so many to choose from.  Really inspiring selection - I can't recommend this book enough!

I have been a little (understatement!) absent from my blog this summer hols - with teenage son heading off to Uni and 'Little S' starting secondary school within weeks of each other, I've been finding it a little difficult to settle down to any crafting, 'tweedie' or otherwise.   Hope I will be back  in the loop though, now that things are beginning to settle . . . . just a  little.

Hope you have had (or are having) good summer hols - it's all back to homework and school uniforms here!

Alison xx

Hippy-dippy weekend :)

I'm enjoying just dipping my toe into crafting at the moment.  I'd bookmarked some friendship bracelet books in my Amazon account meaning to buy one (or two!) of my nieces for birthdays or Christmas presents.  However, I'd no idea how to make them myself and didn't want to send the book/kit before testing it out myself.  This is beginning to sound like a very lame excuse to buy a crafting book LOL :)

Anyway, I got a book on Friday from Amazon, which included some embroidery threads, a clipboard thingy, some beads and some lovely patterns for making the bracelets - I was all set!  The book is aimed at children/teenagers with lots of illustrations of kids who look like their attending American Summer Camp, so the terminology is very funny if you're an adult :D

Although it supplied embroidery thread, I have heaps of my own so decided to use that instead (the quality of those included in the book  felt a little cheap).  I also used this website in conjunction with the book, which I found really useful.

Here's my attempts after a couple of days playing around . . . 

From what I know at the moment you only need to learn two knots - a  forward knot and a backward knot - each one has to be repeated twice in order to work.  Quite a sweet little craft though and I imagine it would be a fun thing to do with a youngish or teenage daughter.  HUGELY time consuming to make though so your child would have to have a lot of patience!  Also, although they're deemed quite simple to make - you really have to take time to read the instructions initially to make sense of what you're doing.  For a younger child I think it would be essential to have a vaguely crafty adult around to help.

I learned how to make the skinny one first - candy stripe?  The second one is a chevron design and lovely to make - quite simple once you get the hang of forward /backward knots.  One tip I gleaned from the website is to remember that a forward knot is a little like the shape of a '4' and the backward knot is a little like the letter 'P' visually, if you get my gist.  Always hold the thread you are wrapping around rigid and taut.

The last one I made is the chevron design again but with a border.  The border is made by using a  forward/backward knot so that the thread stays in the same place.   You always have to knot twice - a forward/backward knot is simply knotting first in one direction and then in the opposite direction.

The videos on this website are quite helpful (this is where I picked  up the '4'  and 'P' shape tips!).

Here's the book I used . . . 

One thing is that it's a very cheap craft - all you need is some embroidery threads and something to clip them onto to hold them taut.  I'd use different colours the next time - I used the ones in the book to make it easier to learn and it worked for me.  I can understand the sentiment of making them for your BFF though - they take forever to make, for very special friends only, hehe!

Did you make friendship bracelets in your youth??  

(I don't think it was a Hebridean thing - not enough sunshine maybe LOL )

Alison xx

I was just passing . . . . :D

It seems to have been a month since I've popped by - who knew?  So much going on at the end of the school year and now we're on school holidays,  so everything has slowed right down - me too!

Commercial  crafty work has come to a halt pretty much - trying to juggle everything just becomes too much in the school holidays so I've decided to throw in the towel and just enjoy some creative crafting.  My youngest and I made these yummy white choc chip and raspberry muffins on Saturday - I'd never made muffins before but had bought a cheap muffin tin recently which was waiting to be used!  Here they are . . . 

Sorry, but we ate them all - they were delish :D  I used a recipe from this book which I hugely recommend for kids interested in cooking or baking.  'Little S' got his copy as a present from his very thoughtful Auntie - it's been well used and is really excellent, with great illustrations.  Fantastic for the school holidays :)

I'm just finishing another fair-isle bag - this time for my sister-in-law.  It's  my third version using this pattern - yes, I really do love making them!  Funnily enough I did NOT like the colours for this version,  but she told me she liked purples and pinks, so who was I to argue (and it was a good  excuse to add to my stash of yarn colours, hehe!).  It's gone slower than the last two I've made but I'm now making the chord strap, so I'm on the home stretch thankfully . . . 

Here's a little mosaic of some of the wild flowers in bloom over the last month or so, near my home . . .

Inadvertently, similar colours to the fair isle bag!  Funny that :D

I'll try and pop in over the hols if I've been doing anything vaguely interesting craft-wise - we're all a bit chilled out at the moment, no rush :) :)  Tweedie-work temporarily suspended - ooops!

'Speak' soon
Alison xx

Ta Dah! . . . and other stuff :)

I think it's only been a week since my last blog post, but it seems like a lot longer . . . I must have crammed a lot in there!  Finally finished my fair isle bag and soooooooo pleased with the result - this is a fabulous pattern (by Megan Lacey), I highly recommend  it!  I learned a couple of new techniques which were clearly described  in the  pattern, so it made a seriously satisfying knit.  Here's my 'Ta Dah' bit of the post . . . 

I lined  it with some linen fabric and added a label inside, as there is a front and back (you can spot some 'steps' in the pattern on the reverse) so it's easy to make out the right way to hang it!  I might not get this one myself  as it may end up as a gift (my visiting Sis has been eyeing it up!), but I wouldn't hesitate to make another - such fun to make!

Here it is in the sunshine, yes,  we have had sunshine  - hurray!!!! . . .  (spot the sandals - ooops!)

I spent some time on Saturday sitting outside getting some rays and making the I-chord for the bag - this is basically knitted rope and I'm mightily impressed with this technique.   It forms a really strong but soft chord - I'm a convert :) . . . 

Earlier on in the day we had to go to Stornoway to buy some last minute supplies for youngest's school trip (away for 3 whole days - yikes!).  It was gorgeous and sunny in town - I felt like a tourist - we went to the Wee Fudge shop and bought two slabs of freshly made fudge.  This is making me laugh now because I realise I must have had the colours of my fairilse bag in my head - we bought mint/vanilla and oreo and cream, yum :)  Hmmmm, the colours look familiar don't they - green, brown and cream ???? Talk about taking your work home with you! LOL . . . 

It's the end of school term here and it's all go - Little S was playing the bongo drum  at the local  mod (local Gaelic cultural festival ).  He seemed to embrace the experience and they came second! . . . 

I'm beginning to feel exhausted myself just reading my post - there seems to be so much on the go right now, but it's always the same at this time of year as anyone with school-age children will know.  

Finally, take a seat - pheeeew!  I made these cushion covers  for a neighbour and family friend - they're not something I normally make but I decided to take up the challenge and I'm quite pleased  how they turned out.  Now I just want to take a seat on this bench and . . . . breathe :D  Have a seat - I'll make you a cuppa (and maybe some of that lovely fudge I've been nibbling this week!) . . . 

Yes, I know - I really must paint the bench - it's looking pretty sun-bleached.  Maybe later though, I'm taking it easy today :)

Later gaters :D

Alison xx