a magical spot
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All articles filed in travel
picturing Inveraray
looking at a made place
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a postcard from Argyll
how do we look at a landscape when there might seem to be nothing to see?
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Gitchi-Gami
Virginia Sattler-Reimer takes us to her place
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Marianne North
Hello, it’s Michelle here, with a post about Marianne North (1830–1890), a Victorian traveller and nature artist who left an extraordinary legacy. Painting 684. North painted the sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) from a garden specimen in Java. For almost 140 years North’s paintings have been on permanent display in the gallery she established at the…
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croft, craft, creativity
One of the many things I really like about the communities and cultures of crofting is their distinctive effect on the way people work. What I mean is this: in towns and cities, jobs tend to become more and more specialised, people do what they do within smaller and smaller categories, individual work occurs in…
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Malin Head
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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Blidö weekend
What would your ideal weekend involve? Picking and eating delicious wild strawberries? Discovering a beautiful landscape on foot? And getting to spend some quality time with its inhabitants? (The Roslagsfår sheep are so sweet . . . as are their characterful piggy neighbours!) Visiting an exceptionally well cared-for wee museum and hearing all about island…
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all aboard!
Hello! I’ve just returned from a fantastic week in Sweden. I was primarily there to conduct some research for my new book. This went very well indeed, and I’ll say more about it another time, but, thanks entirely to the warmth and hospitality of my new friend Kristin, the week turned out to contain so…
Read Morehome : : away
Away . . . Home. Hello! We have been away soaking up some vitamin D, and enjoying the patterns and colours of lovely Portugal. There, everything was bright blue and red-brown. The contrast between those shades and the familiar green of home has seemed very striking to me over the past couple of days. There…
Read MoreBrilliant women
Hello! I’m back again after a fantastic (and productive) couple of weeks research. I’ve had an amazing time in Sweden and Shetland, but what has really stood out to me about this past fortnight is the number of brilliant women whose company and conversation I’ve enjoyed. It has been a very long time since I’ve…
Read More. . .to meet a yoke hero
I have been excited about this for weeks – and can’t quite believe that tomorrow I am going to Göteborg to meet with Kerstin Olsson. For those of you who don’t know, Olsson was one of the group of talented and accomplished women who designed for Bohus Stickning, and the Wild Apple (above) is perhaps…
Read MoreA conversation with Hélène Magnusson
(Hélène, Hiking and Knitting between Fire and Ice, against the spectacular backdrop of Eyjafjallajökull.) When I visited Iceland I had the very great pleasure of finally meeting Hélène Magnusson, whose research and designs I have admired for many years. I visited Hélène in her lovely home in Reykjavik, where we drank tea, ate some delicious…
Read Morepreparations
I am not one for cleaning and tidying, but I rather enjoy preparing the campervan for a trip away. Probably the best part of this ritual is re-stocking the van’s small ‘library’ with appropriate maps, guides, and reading material. Here’s an interesting read . . . . . . with wonderful endpapers. Ursula Venables plays…
Read MoreSteeks!
I’ve just returned from a lovely weekend in Dublin, where I was teaching a workshop at one of my very favourite yarny places, This is Knit. The shop has recently moved into new premises in the Powerscourt centre. I always feel welcome at This is Knit. Upstairs, on the mezzanine, there is a great teaching…
Read MoreAn Cliseam
One of the highlights of our Hebridean camping trip was a walk on An Cliseam (Clisham), and the tops that make up the Clisham ridge. This ridge, connecting the highest hills in the outer Hebrides, crowns the wild and beautiful landscape of North Harris. Our route was circular, and you can trace it on the…
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KDD & Co 