Tiny Boxes and Dragons Den

Just before I go off on my 'festival' weekend, a quick note to say that the company I source my boxes for my kits from - The Tiny Box Company - will be on Dragons Den on Monday Sept 1st, 9pm BBC2 - good luck to them!

Frankie Says....

...relax for three days without child/ husband/ knitting. Well I may sneak a bit of wool and some needles to Retrofest this weekend.

Can't wait - we are all very excited about going, I have bought my dry shampoo as there wont be any shower facilities! How will we cope?


Finished off lots of tea cosies today, all lined and ready for next months Wee Green Market. Also tried to take a picture of my scarf - don't think I'll need it this weekend as the forecast looks sunny, albeit slightly muddy.


I prepared some samples for mini-bag knitting kits. I'll try and get some ready for the WGM.


Farewell, here's hoping all the mud will take years off us!

My Baboo in print

The new addition of Parklife arrived on my door mat this morning. Its a small publication detailing whats on, local services etc in the Loch Lomond area. Its a great wee mag, full colour and a bit of a local Bible, it also has a wide readership too.

So I decided to advertise in this quarters edition. I was very excited to see my little advert in print - makes me feel all grown up!

Hopefully it will increase traffic to my web site and more importantly generate some sales for my new business.

Let me know what you think!

Mushrooms, Eggs and Tea

Sounds like a bit of a fry up doesn't it? All that's missing are the tattie scones.

These magnificent specimens were growing in our back garden, measuring about 6" high with the top of the largest being about 7" in diameter.


They would have made a perfect umbrella for one of my Baby Baboo Bunnies, just the right size for all the rain.

I started to finish off some tea/ egg cosies and bags today, plenty of little Christmassy items too, getting me in the mood for cold nights in front of the fire.


I 'tabled' a new scarf design this morning at the MMM (Mums Monday Meeting), I knitted it for myself last night and it got a thumbs up all round so I may consider making some to sell. As they saying goes, watch this space.....

If it wisnae fir yir wellies....

It's been a busy week making tea cosies/ egg cosies and handbags. Everything is felted so look out for lots of new pics soon - especially my new sheep tea cosy. Next week will be dedicated to finishing off everything I have made over the past few weeks. I'll put some stock away for the Country Living Fair, the rest I will be selling at the Wee Green Market in Killearn next month.

I'm also thinking of including a 'preview' section on my web site for my Christmas stock, I might leave this till nearer October though.

The benefit of working at home came into its own yesterday when I was struck with a dreaded migraine. Instead of feeling like my eyeballs were going to fall out as I screwed them up in pain trying to do some drawings on AutoCAD (in my previous life as an architect) I was able to pop up to bed for a mid afternoon siesta whilst my boy was at nursery, and it did the trick.

I'm also getting ready to go to RetroFest with my sis and friend Julie, this time next week. We are camping from Friday to Sunday at the 2nd 80's music festival being held at Strathclyde Country Park, featuring stars such as The Bangles, Boy George, Paul Young, not forgetting BoneyM! Our biggest dilemma is whether to take stuffed olives or not. How life has changed, 10 years ago we would have just been packing booze (and a few pair of clean pants!)

Anyway if its a nice day tomorrow we will take our bikes up to Loch Katrine for a few hours.

I'm off to find my wellies, perfect festival dancing footwear!

What will the neighbours say....

My 1/4 ton of yarn was delivered this week. Not knowing what a 1/4 ton would look like, I was expecting a huge delivery fork lifted into my driveway whilst the neighbours twitched their curtains in curiosity at the unusual activity at No. 12. A new sofa perhaps, or dining room table?

I was slightly disappointed to see the sprightly driver comfortably lift two average sized boxes from his van and place them in my garage without the need for mechanical assistance. The wool is on cones, wound tightly and bursting with possibilities.

I have said on a previous post that I feel more relaxed now than ever since I started to work for myself, only now I find myself lying awake at night thinking of new designs and patterns and with all that wool at my fingertips it feels like Christmas Morning every day. (maybe a slight exaggeration)

I met with the IT chaps at Business Gateway in Stirling yesterday to have a constructive look at my web site. Lots of good advice and tips. Blogs are a great way to get noticed and I was delighted when a neighbour (who wishes to remain nameless - she knows who she is) mentioned this evening that one of her friends had found my blog - she never said if she found it interesting though which has given me a bit of blogpanic - what if I'm as dull as dishwater?

Anyway insecurities aside, the IT boys mentioned a good way to get traffic to your web site is to have plenty of links to other sites - but importantly for them to link back to your site. So I will update today with a link to a talented young film director who lives a stones throw from my house - www.bbeggtv.co.uk - not much to do with knitting but maybe he could use some of my designs as props when he is directing multi-million dollar blockbusters. I can just see Angelina Jolie-Pitt with one of my bags....

So as the song goes - everybody needs good neighbours...

The Lost Weekend

Our weekend has been spent just outside Aberdeen visiting friends. Two late nights in a row and I can barely keep my eyes open to type!

We had a great time (in the rain) with their new pup, feeding George the horse, going for a spin on their quad bike, and a few slightly damp walks around Haddo House and the country side.


Prior to that we stopped off in Dunkeld to return my niece to her rightful owner and to also give my sister the cardigan I had promised to make her. It's turned out really well and she is delighted with it. The shape is quite basic but because it has such large front panels you can wear it in several ways. I particularly like how the neck sits when pinned up with one of my flowers from a neck tie (in matching colours of course), and being pure Scottish wool in Aran weight its sure to see her through the cold winter and summer months.

I managed to get a bit of sewing done in the car on the drive up to Aberdeen - however my good intentions of finishing work off whilst relaxing with my friends was quickly laid to rest after a couple of glasses of wine.

All in all a very nice end to a very good week.

Don't stop me now...

...I'm having such a good time - etc.

I've really got into my stride this week and have managed to churn out a substantial amount of work. So much so I have almost run out of wool. I have just ordered over 1/4 ton so that should keep me going for a while!

I'm really trying to plan ahead for Christmas now. I only have a couple of sales to attend over the next few months as I want to dedicate my time to making stock for October onwards - undoubtedly my busiest time. I've roughly worked out quantities of stock for the Country Living Fair - and its frightened me into action!

I'll also be transforming My Baboo web site and on-line shop over the next month with the help of the IT chaps at The Business Gateway in Stirling. They offer a wealth of advice for new businesses like mine.

Working at home is still proving to be an excellent choice for me, I'm not missing the daily commute (or the cake shop) to Dunblane one bit. My hubby and son have also been very good in letting me get on with my work - perhaps they are getting fed up seeing me all the time already.

The rest of the week is being spent with my niece and a trip up to Aberdeen to see my friends - a nice long journey to get lots of sewing done (husband is driving), although he hasn't quite come to terms yet with the wool 'fluff' messing up his car.

Love me, love my knitting!

Country Living Christmas Fair

Oh no - I've had my application for the Country Living Christmas Fair at the SECC in Glasgow accepted - muchos knitting required (I've already made 20 Christmas Trees!) 20th- 23rd November 2008.

See you there!

And The Answer Is....

....1482 stitches to knit a Baboo Bear! Congratulation to Julie who guessed the closest at 1350 stitches. A Baboo Bear will be winging its way to you - let me know what colour you would like. Thanks to everyone who entered, I really appreciate your comments and kind words. Lynne x