Award-winning Scottish publishing and design
Last week, Sam, Tom and I enjoyed spending a few days at Xpo North – a fantastic celebration of Scotland’s creative industries, that’s held every year in the Highlands. All kinds of creative endeavour are showcased at Xpo North — from music and screen, to fashion and craft — and I was honoured to have…
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Hello! Tom here. Kate and I spent all of last week away in Berneray and North Uist, where I’ve been working on a new photographic project (more of which later). Late spring and early summer is a truly beautiful time of year in the Outer Hebrides, and we feel very lucky to be able to…
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Last week I was in a bookshop in Glasgow, perusing the outdoor bookshelves, and became absorbed in a tome about the West Highland Way. “Is this you getting ready, then?” asked a friendly assistant, assuming I was preparing myself for a 96 mile walk. “No,” I replied, “I actually walked the West Highland Way back…
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One thing you can say about knitting: it really makes you think about the many different processes that producing textiles involve. For example, prior to becoming an obsessive knitter, I had never really considered blocking a woollen garment (with water or with steam) . . . . . . nor had I understood what a…
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We were in Ireland last week, to see our new tweed yarn being spun by our friends at Donegal Yarns (much more of which soon!). It’s been a while since we were in Ireland, and it was lovely to revisit a few of our favourite spots, including Malin Head. It has changed a wee bit…
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Tom has been teaching himself to work with a drone camera, in preparation for a really exciting project (which I’ll tell you more about another time), and I’ve been rather enjoying the results of his practice. It is very interesting seeing our familiar landscape from new angles. I’ve found myself thinking a lot about how…
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Hello! It’s a beautiful day here today – fog has been hanging thickly since dawn at low levels, but in places where the sun burns through there is the most incredible golden light. It is also unusually still and crisp. We took Bruce out for one of our favourite walks, and Tom shot some photographs…
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A few of you have enquired, in the past, about Tom’s photographs, and the possibility of having them printed. I’m pleased to say that Tom has now set up an online gallery where you can view and purchase high-quality prints of many of the images he’s taken. In the gallery you’ll find several of the…
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Yesterday Tom and I took a drive down the road to West Kilbride. Known as Craft Town Scotland, the thriving main street hosts the studios of talented local artists, designers and craftspeople, such as my friends and compatriots Lillith (Old Maiden Aunt) and Ange (Weftblown). Jane Hunter’s studio is there too, and this was the…
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Good morning! I’m feeling festive today and have released a new pattern – the 101st that I’ve designed and published. Its name is Hat 101, and appropriately, it is a sort of sampler of many of the things I enjoy about making and designing hats. Hat 101 involves simple, rhythmic two-colour knitting and small, interconnected…
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Lochs — and the opportunities they provide for walking through all seasons of the year — are certainly one of the best things about living here in the west of Scotland. We have recently been exploring more of our local lochs due in part to a on-off obsession of mine with tracing the provenance and…
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The weather really was glorious today. So, leaving Tom liaising with our printer, and muttering about gutters and crop marks, I decided to take the afternoon off. I took a camera and headed out to Loch Lomond with Bruce and walked for a few hours. This was just what was needed to blow away the…
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