Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

Here’s to 2019

Monday, December 31st, 2018

Ha! So much for me posting more. To be honest though it has been a much busier year. I lost count of the mount of wee bear custom orders in different tartans I received in the run up to Christmas. Wonder what 2019 will bring?

Below are the North Bond Street and Regent Street windows in London with Knockie Bears as part of the display.

Wishing everyone a very good new year

 

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A Trio of Bears

Saturday, March 21st, 2015

IMG_0028IMG_0027 (2)

 

 

Last year friends of ours were going out to the U.S.A. to see their son married. They were also meeting extended members of daughter-in-laws family. Knowing there were 3 wee girls to meet they asked if I could make 3 bears the same but in different tartans. As you can see in the first picture they were a little unsure what sort of creatures they were. They soon worked out that they were Scottish bears though.

Had forgotten to add these pictures (parental approval gained) till I was asked to make another bear for the soon to arrive first child of the best friend of last years groom. It’s always lovely to see pictures of the bears new homes.

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Wow. How did I lose a whole year?

Sunday, February 15th, 2015

Well, it’s simple I suppose. 9 hour round trips to take parents for hospital treatments and basically checking up on them meant lot’s of things here were being shelved. We laughingly thought that once they were no longer with us that we would easily catch up on all the things we had half done or let lapse. Hah! we had underestimated how long it would take to dismantle what had been a very much lived in family home.

outside family home

outside family home

My mother-in-law was a talented craft lady with many skills. Father-in-law was a collector of many items. Add to that that they belonged to an era where everything had a second and third use and you can imagine how much was in a two story family house with fully floored and furbished attic. Some 18 months later, with the help of the next generation we eventually discovered all there was to discover. The social history found in that house was amazing. It also provided us with more tasks and more agonies. What to do with it all. Who would want it? Our house was full enough with our own gathered posessions but theirs held so many memories.  So we now find ourselves more and more in our own home. Emptying boxes, finding places for the cross stitch and decoupage framed works to hang. Catching up on all the jobs left undone for so long. Discovering I now have time to sit and go to all the wonderful places I used to go online. Time to finally get around to updating this site. I have made a new post, so that’s a start. Hopefully I will get some more things added in the coming weeks and see if I can make some more changes.

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Walkabout Crafts Link

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

I used to have a link here to Scottish Crafts website which featured only products made in Scotland.

Over time Emma, who runs the site, expanded into Ireland, Wales and England with their own sites e.g Welsh Crafts.

To provide a more seamless site to the customer she brought us all under the same banner of Walkabout Crafts and has now included crafts from Spain and Iran. From the home page you can shop by gift type, country or shop member. There are all sorts of free things, information and interactive stuff. Basically the same as Scottish Crafts but more.

Whether you are a crafter, a shopper or just curious, pop over and have a browse around. Make a tea or coffee and take the world tour.

Walkabout Crafts

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Gollie Scot

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

GollieI was asked not so long ago to remove a Gollie, such as the one pictured here, from a site.

There was no malicious intent. It was simply that the world had gone totally politically correct.

It would seem to depend on which way the wind is blowing as to what we are allowed to call things, yet it is perfectly ok for people to call me things I don’t like eg “jock”.

I am not trying to be political, simply trying to be realistic. We all get called things we don’t like, sometimes it is down to where we have been brought up. Here in the north east of Scotland a Loon is a boy or male person. Where I grew up in the east of Scotland it was someone with a mental health history. Get me , I am being p.c. about that description!

Anyway, common sense sort of prevails in that I can now call my Gollie a Gollie Doll. I think I shall stick with plain Gollie and hope that I don’t run into trouble.

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