tractors and terrace

Vintage tractor rally today met for lunch - pie and peas, in the stackyard. There were 24 tractors all in various stages of renovation and some needing a bit of assistance to get under way again. Great to see them chugging along the narrow Wolds lanes. Some had come from York (about 20 miles away) but most were local from the little villages nestling in the Wolds. This rally is an annual event about this time every year and is in memory of a local vintage tractor enthusiast whose name escapes me - apologies! The tractors parked outside our barn so we had a brilliant viewpoint hanging over the barn door just behind this yellow Ford tractor. There was a lot of revving up (not unlike the Grand Prix on t.v!) and a lasting smell of diesel in the air as they all departed in convoy.
I was out very early this morning as the sun was up. I love going out into the garden with a cuppa and my knitting listening to everyone else waking up. There are a lot of swifts on the telephone wires over the inside garden. Hamish has discovered their droppings and just loves to roll in it - he has been showered and blowdried this morning because he was so pongy and here is a pic of the handsome beast looking very white and about to roll again! Anyway back to knitting - here are some little socks and some bigger ones that I have knitted over the past few days - sorry the pics are a bit fuzzy. You can see these socks and others in my little shop on folksy.com - it's called the tin shed.
The terracey bit of the inside garden is looking very pretty as both my father in law and I have been potting. The plan is to plough up a bit of the front garden and get some veg going but we have very little topsoil, the chalk is just under the surface - raised beds may be the answer. I am also going to put in some fruit trees in my hen area. Five fruit trees = an orchard. I have heard somewhere that there is a government initiative to encourage orchard planting as 90% of orchards in England have been ripped out for one reason or another. We have an elderly bramley apple tree in the front garden that looks very in need of tlc - will get John Seymour out to see what he says. I think I will put in some apple and plum trees - the problem will be getting a hole big enough in the chalk - that will be where Mick and the tractor get roped in!
Keep finger and toes crossed for me as I am bidding for an ark on e bay for the hens - the palais de poulet was left on Harris - a new home for hens is needed! Kenny (the remover from Grosebay) said he had never seen so much stuff so I didn't like to ask him to bring the henhouse and then he moved my mother in law..........

Being crafty and dotty

Here I am again blogging away! Lizzie has arrived home from Uni for a couple of nights bringing with her the 3m length of fabric she has been working on for sometime - she has designed the print, applied the print and is now embellishing which is where I come in - tomorrow is attaching day - lots and lots of little dots. Once it has been submitted I will put a pic on here of her work. She is in the final weeks of her degree and as yet no job!
I have had the needles clacking away making socks - here are some just finished made in Regia sock wool - it is lovely to knit with but makes you very lazy cos all you have to do is go round and round on the four needles. This pair and others are for sale on folksy.com along with other items - my little shop is called the tin shed and is full of crafty bits and pieces which are added to regularly. I have also made some cute little socks for a 3 month old in debbie bliss cashmerino, they are lovely - really soft and some birds in harris tweed. The teeny beanie is in rowan organic eco cotton - didn't like it very squeaky on the needles - I use lovely tasmanian oak needles. The hat is knitted from the top down so you start with the i-cord and then increase downwards on 4 needles giving a nice wheel effect on the crown of the hat.
The weather here on the Wold has been very foggy, very damp and dreek. The tractor has been in to cut the grass in the front garden - that is the job for Sunday raking it all up - hopefully it will be a bit drier by then. The Farmers Market is on this Saturday and I have been thinking about taking a stall there. Another lady has a stall doing crafty bits and pieces. The market is increasing in popularity and seems to attract quite a lot of visitors.
We have a bit of land at the side of the house and I am thinking (again) of hens. Didn't quite get round to hens on Harris - the hen house was built and ready, the hens just didn't arrive but I think we will get the bit of ground here hen proofed and go for it. I was thinking some Buff Orpingtons, some Aruacanas and some speckedly ones - maybe Scots greys. There is a breeder close by so will go along and see what he has at point of lay at take it from there. The hen house is still on Harris - Tony will have to get the hammer, nails and wood out and get going! Maybe the pheasants and partridges that live in the hedge will move in too!

Long time since...

I last wrote and I see my one of my island pals - Sheila from Scalpay Linen is even writing from Japan!
Anyway we have settled into the new abode high up on the Wolds in Yorkshire. It's cold here. No wind as in the Hebrides just the cold and earlier in the year the snow. We are a bit behind the Hebs with regard to flowers - the daffs are only just out here, the snowdrops were beautiful and the bluebells are on their way now.
Down to the knitting I have been busy making lots of socks with the Regia sock wool - I love the new Kaffe Fassett designs and they don't seem to repeat throughout the sock, I look at the pattern and it almost repeats but then it doesn't anyway have knitted some really great socks so will get the pics on tomorrow. Have joined a knitting/textile group that meets over the Wold. All sorts of things going on - cold felting, proddy, knitting and crochet. There isn't the crafting ethos here that there was on Harris - I found being with Joan and Sheila (Calana Crafts and Scalpay Linen) so inspiring and wanted to get on and do all sorts of stuff. Haven't found that here yet - people tend to be a bit safe and do things from patterns rather than the freefall stuff we were doing on Harris and I am sure Joan and Sheila are still doing. I am getting on and working through my stash although I have so much scottish tweed aran weight I don't know what I am going to do with it - maybe destash!
The craft fairs are starting here - again not the sort of handcrafted stuff that was evident on the island. The cost is much higher - some places are £45 for a table and that is a lot of sales before you start to make a profit! Have been doing some lower cost items at £1 or £1.50 just to make the table fee without devaluing what I am doing too much. The agricultural shows are apparently good for crafts and I am planning on table sharing with a fellow crafter. I have made bags and some accessories in Harris Tweed but I don't think they 'get it' here. I will have to work at it a bit more, here there are mainly walkers so the socks do go well and hopefully once people become more familiar with the tweed they will love it too!
Here are some pics of the new home, the snowdrops, the snow we had in March and the dog!

New home for Lamsey

Well the big day has arrived - Lamsey is moving to her new home at the Outend on Scalpay. We sat waiting outside for Sheila and John Finlay to arrive, Lamsey was a bit confused as all the things were happening that would normally mean food - the tinshed door was open, Tony and Leda were mooching around the yard, talking to Hamish and Lamsey but no food. Sheila and JF arrived in the big blue truck with Bramble the collie and Heather the terrier. Before Lamsey could be moved the earring had to go in - a lovely lilac one, all done very painlessly in the expert hands of JF and then into the back of the carpeted truck and off to the new home and food! Hamish, Bramble and Heather all dashing round the house yapping and being generally doggy. Joan arrived from up the drive to see the leaving! It was Joan who had been involved in the rescue of the very young Lamsey. Sheila brought some eggs from her flock - you can see pics of them on her blog and some lovely yarn that she had spun from the rovings that were hooked out of the skip by me a week or so ago. Sheila is going to call it carloway yarn, the textures are great here is a pic of the yarn in various stages of processing, it is soft and nubbly, not sure what to do with it but I think a hat and maybe a neckwarmer with the very soft yarn that Sheila has spun with silk - it is beautiful - thank you!
Keep an eye on Sheila's blog for more Lamsey news and Happy New Year

belated christmas, home,beaches and lamsey

The others, Joan and Sheila, live on the Minch side of the island whereas I live on the blowy side! Sheltered at the head of a sea loch that opens onto the North Atlantic, we are sheltered by Taransay but I just think it funnels the wind through making it even more wild! Anyway here are some pics - of the house with the mountains, one of the beach at the end of the road - Huisinis with white shell sand and turquoise water, the island in the distance is Taransay.
Christmas was over very quickly because of the move! The packing continues - my friend Michele came round today to help and we did quite a few cartons but I do need the bubble wrap - hopefully it will arrive tomorrow!
Lamsey is moving to Sheila and John Finlay's tomorrow, they are coming to collect her in the morning. She has been 'mehing' at the window today and generally objecting to the weather and perhaps not having too much company because I am busy with the packing! Here are some pics of her at a day old! John Finlay is looking forward to having her and has planned a cheviot/blackface x with black hebridean. Sheila is licking her lips at the thought of the fleeces that will come from this pairing!
Knitting is on hold at present, have got some colourful socks on the pins as well as a hat from some plant dyed wool that Joan gave me for Christmas. It is lovely to knit with and the colour is great - will get some pics for you!

Lizzie's home!

Lizzie - student daughter is home (she is on the left in the pic with friends Emma and Nikki) She very nearly missed the checkin time at east midlands airport and I had visions of her spending her christmas in edinburgh airport. Anyway she arrived at Stornoway airport at 6.50 - last off the plane as she had brought me a huge bouquet that she had put together at a lovely flower shop - flowerworks in leicester, the flowers have to go at the back of the plane hence the delay getting off. Lots going on whilst she is at home but right now she is snoozing!

Hamish in his new coat

Here he is wearing the coat, thinking he'd prefer to be outside and don't expect me to say thanks!