Oldest Scot dies 108; the knitting community is the lesser for it

Here is an interesting "slice of life" story about Elizabeth Cockburn who passed away on Sunday, aged 108.

I enjoyed reading about her life on the croft, and the quote from her grandson,

"She carried on her hobbies and was still knitting away three weeks ago. I couldn't say what the quality of the knitting was like, but she kept it up to the end."

Quite cool having a grand-son who is 53!

Link to the BBC story Oldest Scot dies at 108

God Bless you, Elizabeth. x K

Edit: Since I published this five minutes ago they have changed the story! She is now "one of the oldest people in Scotland" rather than "the oldest".
Guess there must be other 108 year old Scots setting the BEEB right then! x K

Recycling Week

Recently Cartside tagged me to take part in Recyling Week.

I use real bags for shopping, I already recycle paper, cardboard, plastic, cans and glass and I have two compost bins so my contribution to Recycling Week is to take all the usable bits off greetings cards I have received.

Toppers, greetings, edging, wording, embellishments, they're all being recycled from hoarded cards and you can expect to see little bits and bobs of them on your hand-made birthday cards in the coming months.

This may seem like a "drop in the ocean" response to such a big issue but as I say we already recycle everything we can locally and anyway, I'd rather light a candle than complain about the darkness.

The big environmental issue we have to address in our home is REDUCE re-use recycle and this is the major challenge for us in the long-term.

Aspirations

I hereby declare that this summer my life is going to be about handicrafts, bouquets and posies, Cath Kidson table cloths and rosy cake stands and water jugs used as vases.

This is escapism at its finest but surely there's no harm in having little pockets of beauty in life? xxxxxxx K

Haven't knat a stitch!

I have to admit that I haven't knitted a stitch all week!
Have been doing some card crafting and some Facebooking though.
Off to Hobbycrafts now because my "card stock" is all a bit pastel at the mo.
Fancy some rainbow brights, and yes, some black.
Hope you're having a good week. x K

Knitting Freak!

I've been organising my photos and uploading a few to Facebook today and I've come across this photo of me walking into the "Secret Garden" at Threave Gardens a few times.

Every time I see it I think that the big blue patch of sky with the trees pointing towards vanishing point looks like a big blue triangular shawl sitting on a hedge!!!

I have a picture of my Shetland Triangle from three years ago affixed to show you what I mean. I am such a knitting freak, it's unreal. x K

Latest offering!

This is a birthday card for J's uncle Peter.
I used some bits from the Father's Day edition of Card Making and added "Birthday Wishes" and "Just for You" from another kit I had in the stash.

Oh, you didn't know I had a card-making stash?
Oh yes, and a quilting stash, and a dress-making stash and THE BIG ONE!

More card-making fun

Fun for me, not much fun for the recipient.

Unfortunately my mother-in-law fell and broke her hip about a fortnight ago while watering her plants.
She's out of hospital now and making a good recovery but I decided to make her a wee card so she knows we're thinking of her as she gradually gets back on her feet again.

Again the materials were from Making Cards.

All the best for a speedy recovery Pam aka
Bionic Woman! x K

WWKIP Day

Worldwide Knit in Public weekend is upon us again, and although I couldn't join my Glasgow friends at their knitters' picnic in Kelvingrove Park, I was able to join in from a distance at Designs Castle Douglas.

I did a few rows on the edging of Girasole. Not the most portable of items but my commuting "knitting" at the moment is actually a crochet project (Merry-Go-Round blanket by Mary Jane Protus) so Girasole it had to be.

And I had yummy Salade Nicoise (cedilla on the c) although it's meant to be black olives, not green, you Philistines!
x K

Card-making fun

Last night I spent a pleasant half-hour making a Father's Day card for J's dad.
It's nothing compared to the work of card-making expert
Patti who crafts the ingredients herself...
I got the bits and pieces from an issue of Making Cards but I still enjoyed it and think it looks quite effective.

Happy Father's Day when it comes, Miles. x K

Summer daze

Summer daze

What a beautiful day-out we had at Threave Gardens last Saturday. Scorching weather and beautiful scenes.
I was even in swimming in the Solway Firth! Was lovely and was very tempted to go in again the next day but the hot weather had brought out tons of jellyfish; spawn and fully fledged.
Have been busily knitting and crocheting this week- results soon to follow. x K