I found my recent trip to Scotland not only exhilerating in terms of the scenery and the hills we climbed, but I also discovered a wonderful shop in Pitlochry. Now I know that when I am supposed to be concentrating on climbing hills that distractions of this nature don't usually occur, but this time I just had to make time for trying on these shoes. I have not seen a more enticing pair for a while... they were in the window too which meant that I had to go back for a second look, you know what I mean..... Once in the shop I tried on all 3 colours, purple, orange and the green above. Well the green won. They are sublimly comfy and I adore the little bows on the top. Of course the shop was delightful....lovely Scottish woollens and very stylish too. I have not been to visit their website yet but you can see the url clearly in the piccie on the bag. A good old fashioned shop and very different from the normal run of the mill high street offerings. I will be back......

Next up we have my feeble contribution to the 'bake' part of the blog this week; sorry I only managed to make some lemon curd. If you want the recipe I can post it but really its so simple just find lemons, sugar, eggs and butter in your store cupboard and off you go. I make mine in a lovely hand made pottery bowl over a saucepan of water. It is always on the breakfast table and also Bella likes it, have you ever heard of a terrier which likes lemon curd? Bella does and she loves scrambled eggs too......I wonder if I should start to include recipes for our canine friends? Perhaps not: you never know where it might lead....




This next piccie shows a couple of the eg ladies at the crewel workshop last Thursday, and I have to say we did enjoy ourselves, we always do like to welcome Phillipa Turnbull. She is very good to us in Keswick and has now visited us 3 times. Maybe we can entice her to become an affiliate member.......

Phillipa also gave us a sneak preview of some of her new projects which should turn into kits in due time. She kindly allowed me to show you a snippet for your enjoyment. I adore the tulip

So if you like this cushion I suggest you contact her for availability on this site. The kits all come with very clear instructions and the correct needles and Appletons wool are included with the screen printed linen which shows the direction of the stitches. A typical example is shown below with some work in progress.

They are so easy for beginners and I came 2nd in a recent competition I entered with a cushion I made from one of these kits and I usually only endorse the kits (Border Miniatures) my husband and I sell. But remember, go for a kit if you want some fun without the hassle; you can't better it for saving your time. Speaking of which I hope to show you my completed kit next time.