Scotland - Day Three

 

Living in the Cotswolds and having Hay on Wye not too far to drive is a treat as it's known as the book town.

So it was a treat to visit Wigtown the Scottish equivalent.

 

We explored lots of ecletic shops.  I absolutely loved the fire place that had been unearthed in this gift shop, which had been hidden away behind a wall.  It took many many hours of hard work, but was so worth it I think.

 

Another shop had taken and kept all the little keepsakes that they found within books that had been handed in.  So much history and stories to tell!  I was excited when I discovered a postcard from 2015 I had used as a bookmark recently in a book and could not believe it had been ten years since I had written it!

 

Obviously my other favourite type of shop next to a bookshop is a yarn shop.  Spinning a Yarn has one of the best yarn sales people I know along with such great stories and of course a mix of both commercial and hand dyed yarns, books and knitting "must haves".  If your ever in Wigtown and love yarn I highly recommend popping in.

I was very happy with my purchase and the yarn was named after Alyson who had popped in to the shop for a catch up.

 

 

So not only did I purchase the perfect yarn for crochet project I am working on, but my friend spotted two more books in a series I collect.  I do enjoy a "who done it" novel and the fact that the stories are set in my home area of the Cotswolds makes them even more fun to read. 

 

It is always lovely to sit and just have some crafting along with a nice cuppa aswell. 

 

 

When ever possible I do love to get to see the sea, so a trip to Isle of Whithorn was just perfect.

An absolute perfect day, covering all bases of books, yarn, tea and the sea!

Stitch Fest by the Sea

 

So last Saturday I had such a fun day as I took a train down to Weston Super Mare which I have not visited in many years.

The organiser's of Stitchfest started back in 2016 at Totnes is now in it's 9th year.  They have gone from strength to strength and for the first time, organised a much needed event in the area in a great venue and called it Stitch Fest by the Sea.  I could not have been happier, as I say only a short train ride for me and I got to visit my old college town to a wander around after the show.

There were a total of 42 exhibitors there, some of whom I had seen at other shows I have been to over the year's but also new exhibitors I had not had the pleasure to meet before.

The first of those was Second City Yarns . I was busy just admiring the rainbow colours on her stand.

When I heard her explaining to a potential customer about this wall of yarn I was fascinated.  

Jo started her business after attending a dye workshop by RiverKnits back in 2022 after 20 years working as a quality control employee full time.

Her first ever colourway that she created was  Kimichi inspired by the Kimichi Music School in Birmingham.

She shared the colourway with friends and received very positive feedback so she continued to use inspiration from her home town of Birmingham as some fascinating inspiration.

 

 Creating a colour palette for the four seasons inspired by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.org.uk

 

Another colourway is inspired by an area in Birmingham which is predominately known as the Gay Village where there are many gay bars and clubs.

The final area of her stands was an equally great and unusual inspiration for yarn dyeing.  

But it was the Number 11 Bus that travels around different areas of Birmingham.  With the names of the yarns being called after different stops on the route and the colours transitioning from light to dark as the day goes from morning to evening.

  

 

 

 

I then moved around to Fabazaar's stand.  The company's ethos is to work with companies predominantly in Nepal, India and Thailand, supporting local craftsmen and women.

Their online shop has a huge selection of items from clothing to giftware.

When speaking to Bronwen she explained how she works with the craftspeople in their respective countries and placing orders and suggesting ideas for designs that they may not have been used to making.

One of the products that was available to buy was both nettle fibre in its wound state, to scarves, and the boloro that she was wearing which just looked exquisite.  She also recommended I watch a video called The Nettle Dress.  

The fibre used on Bronwen's stand is from Nettle fibres from the mountains in Nepal, which are made from the Himalayan Giant Nettle, which is also known as Allo.  

Incredibly, the plant grows at altitudes above 1500 metres.  It can take up to 4 days to reach the area where the plant is found. The fibre is often spun on the way to market, some 3 to 4 days' walk to market.  The plant is among the longest in the world!

The fibre has been extracted and used by Gurung, Magar, Rai and Sherpa people to make socks, bags, jackets and fishing nets.  It can take up to one week to make a sack on a backstrap loom 

Recently, the Sankhuwasabha people from Nepal have started to create textiles which include knitwear, combining the nettle with local wool and silk to diversify their opportunities to sell.

 

 

The next vendor I met was Zuzana, such a happy soul.  Her business is called Travawool.  

All the products are dyed using unwanted clothes to make project bags, which are embroidered with plant decoration, the thread having been dyed with natural dyes.  The yarn sold is also dyed again with natural dyes from plants either collected from her allotment or on local walks.

I purchased these mini laceweight skeins which are a blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere, so I shall have to create something very special with them.

 

 

The last stand I went to was Faye Perriam-Reed.  This was Faye's second in-person exhibition and it is so great to see knitwear designers' work displayed with the pattern and the knitted product in person.

Faye has incredible knowledge having worked in the industry since 2013, working with many prestigious designs alongside her role with The Knitter Magazine.  Her own design aesthetic is elegant knitwear working with lace, twisted cables and textures.  

 

Back in 2014 Faye Tech edited my Tarporley scarf and Ellora scarf both commissioned by Jeni owner of Fyberspates so it was lovely to finally meet her in person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSPB Arne

 

For various reasons I suffer at times badly with anxiety, which is massively heightened in environments

with a lot of people.

Yet stood at the welcome desk of RSPB Arne where Juliet created me welcoming me to the site, 

she had an incredible ability to put me at ease.

She asked about my trusty crochet bag that I made and be so interested to learn about the blogs I write. 

I found myself happily chatting away and sharing the information on the mindful TikTok I create of me 

crafting in as many places as I can and sharing my passion for the outdoors.

 

So thank you Juliet for making the trip a much more relaxed and great day out with all the tips you gave me

of  area's to go. Although I did not even manage half of where I wanted to go, so shall have to have a revisit.

 

Part of my reason for wanting to visit was due to watching BBC Springwatch 2024 Everything you need to know for many years.

 

They chose RSPB Arne as a base for a year and it just looked incredible. 

 

 

I do love to have a variety of pictures not just all colour as sometimes seeing things in black and white I find just highlights the details more.

 

I loved the moss growing on this tree stump.  To me it just looked like a minature forest somewhere in Canada!

 

Foxglove's are such elequant flowers I think. 

One of the routes Juliet suggested was going to the Shoreline.  

I am so glad I did as what a place.Round Island Cottages I love the names of the three cottages.  Pier, Curlew or Sandpiper Cottage.

 
Brownsea island National Trust ferry to the island is from Poole harbour booking information, at time of me writing this Adults £14.50 and child £6.

 

This is where I sat and ate my packed lunch I had made.  It would have been lovely to just sit for a couple of hours and soak up the location.

However I had an hour's drive back to campsite and the site shut at 4.  So I  made my way round past the dragonfly pond.  

Oh my goodness aren't dragonflies just the most incredible insects to watch.

 

 Then it was on through the Big Wood which was welcome shade.

All around the site I used the Merlin bird identifying app.  

Such a brilliant free app, I can not rate it highly enough to just listen to the birds and watch it identify them. 

 

I of course had to stop off again at Hive beach, but this time turned right to just sit and enjoy the beach.

 

It was eye opening to see the recent erosion that had happened to the cliff face and more worrying that not 50 yards from the cliff face two people where just lying sun bathing and if the cliff face eroded, they may have been in real danger. 

 

I wanted to try and give a sense of scale so show how high the cliff is.   

 

Although the beach is almost all shingle, there are a few bigger rocks and I just loved this one that looked like a heart. 

 

One of the things I love about the sea apart from the rythmical sound is just watching as the waves crash in.  If you look closely at the gap before the wave breaks you can see the calmness of the water beneath.  

 

I also love to look on Google maps to get a bearing of what the area is in the distance and save the image to compare to what I am looking at.

So before heading back, just a few more rounds on the sock!