A week in September

• Monday

The light outside is amazing. Yellow stretching up from behind a dark blue greasy cloud. Like a game of peekaboo. That’s part of the glory of rain. The effect in the skies. The light. (You might expect a photo here of said skies but it was too beautiful to photograph so you will have to use your imagination instead.)

Olly and I went on a wee jaunt to see Sarah Peterson at the TUCC Shop. We are big fans of her redesigned furniture, as is obvious all around the Steading. The Bullbox needs some more seating so we were looking for a smaller coffee table or two and perhaps a small sofa. We found the perfect table, ordered a two seater and collected my pimped sewing box. The TUCC shop has saved over 5 tonnes of furniture from the dump! And added a whole lot more beauty into the world.

• Tuesday

Three ladies sitting on sheep skins chatting, that was our ‘marketing’ all done in one take for our Welcomong Winter Day Retreat in November. We spent the rest of the allotted time drinking coffee, comparing notes on physios and chuckling about life in general. If this is what marketing looks like, I love it. (See below for how to book!)

• Wednesday

The whole month has been fibre heavy. From attending our first ever wool/yarn show to knitting my first ever jumper )no I’m not done yet) to designing a scarf to be knitted up in Ullapool. Oh and of course we have a wetfelting workshop coming up AND planning a felting retreat next year. The journey we have gone on with the sheep’s fleeces has been a lot more crinkly than we had originally planned!

Fibre of course, isn’t confined to animals, willow is a favourite too. After making water feature surrounds, compost bins and sweet pea stands over the year I’m looking forward to creating another basket with Anna Liebmann when she comes here to teach a two day workshop in November. I think a log basket might be next? I’m also hoping she’s will give me some tips on the best ways to harvest and keep the willow that we are growing. It’s easy to give it to the sheep but there is more than enough to craft with it too.

• Thursday

Will or won’t I sell my chutneys and jams has been an annual deliberation since we moved to Burmieston. I’ve never done it. Last year I didn’t even make any, answering that question quite definitively. Yet, this year with help from our latest wonderful woofers and Karen we have pots of plum, elderberry and cardamom loose set jam, apple, pear and beetroot chutney and plum, apple and pear chutney. Once I get the labels organised I hope the jars will end up in the wee black hut at the end of the drive, rather than collecting dust and cobwebs at the back of the cupboard next to my 2018 jars of rhubarb pickle. When I have help, I realise how much I LOVE making these pots of deliciousness. It is a lot of work though so many hands really do make light work.

• Friday

Every year, Olly and I have a heated conversation over when he can mow the thistles and nettles. This year, we have been marvelling together at the butterflies and flocks of goldfinches flying from them as we wander past. But, the sheep love them too which has unfortunately caused contagious infections in their mouths. Farming ‘with’ nature certainly has its complications. The lambs are all wearing blue smiles from the antibacterial spray while we ponder next year’s thistle management.

P.S I’m feeling quite smug as we finally have a payment option on our website for saving your spaces on our courses and booking the whole accomodation. Go me! (And Marius our tech guy at Smart Media). So you can now easily book on to our Welcoming winter day retreat, two day basket making retreat and wet felting your own rug workshop using our new booking link!

• What I’ve been reading: I’ve restarted my yoga teacher training so it should be a lot of The Spiritual Teachings of Yoga and Learn to Meditate but it’s been more listening to the Covenant of Water by Abraham Vergese while knitting. Kerala, here I come!

• What I’ve been making: well read above under Thursday, and then there is the half knitted jumper

• What I’ve been watching: I am DISTRAUGHT that there aren’t 100 episodes of the House of Guinness. My dad is disgusted by the lack of facts so please watch it as entertainment - certainly not as a documentary. My other favourite has been King and Conqueror - more facts but still mainly entertainment. Edward the Confessor did not strangle his mother to death, merely banished her to France.

PPS: health wise it’s a journey. I’ve had some really great days and some less so, I am so much better than I was a few months ago and now just need to come to the understanding that relapses are part of the whole, rather than a failure by me. I also need to keep coming back to my hands and the comfort of craft. It really is healing for my body, mind and soul. As wel as the yoga of course! I have also managed to get back in the cold water after a bit of a hiatus. I will try over the winter too but always while listening to my body rather than just my ego!

Lots of bugs (bog hugs) to you all

Xxx

K