Far From The Maddening Crowd

It was the Fortingall Summer Fair on Sunday in one of the prettiest village halls I've seen (that's the architect in me). I managed to shift a few items. It was a day of bunnies, sheep, neck ties and hearts - lots of little things. I sold my first knitting kit too - yipee!

I also met someone that had seen pictures of my work on the photo web site Flikr - a great place for inspiration - and a bit of advertising too.


We spent the weekend with the In-Laws in Pitlochry, with the hubby's cousin and his wife from London. We wandered round the gardens of Blair Atholl Castle where there were lots of interesting sculptures and follies.


If you ever visit be sure to seek out the walled garden - its far from the maddening crowd of tourists that swarm around the main castle.

This week has been pretty quiet on the making front as my husband is working day shift. So I've been spending time with my boy. We went to see Wall-e at the cinema in Glasgow today. It was a fantastic film and the computer animation was amazing.

We trained it from Milngavie - it saves a fortune in parking charges and cuts down my carbon footprint a little - if only the station was more convenient for rural life - but that's a debate for another day.

Talking of green issues, its the fourth Wee Green Market in Killearn this Saturday 2nd August, 10am-1pm. Hope to see you there!

PS only a couple of days left to enter my Bear competition!

All good things...

....must come to an end.

(remember to enter my competition below to win a new Baboo Bear)

So its nearly the end of my first week of working at home. I haven't felt this relaxed in ages and I've managed to get lots made.

Lots of bunnies (these are but a few)....

...new bags...

...some tea cosies (not quite finished yet) and of course my bears in the post below.

What a satisfying week.


I also saved my old tape recorder from the garage so I can listen to all my 'vintage' music while I'm knitting - the Guns n' Roses sticker is over 20 years old - I was a young rocker, honest.

I will be selling at Fortingall Summer Fair on Sunday 27th July, 11am-4pm. There will be lots for the family to do and the village hall is one of the prettiest I have been in. The drive to Fortingall will take you through some of Scotlands best scenery too.

The All New Baboo Bear

I made a decision a few months ago - to give up being an architect and try my hand at running my own business doing what I love - creating and designing. So today was my long awaited first day of working for myself at home and it was bliss - a whole day of guilt free knitting! OK that doesn't sound too glamorous so I have decided my new job title should be Textile Designer - I work with textiles (wool) and design everything I make - so the title seems to fit.

It was a joy to have my wee boy popping in to my 'studio' to give me the occasional cuddle, and my husband did well with the tea making. I don't know how long that will last though!

For those that know me well, this has been a long time coming - I cant remember a time when I wasn't making something - so hopefully my new career will turn out to be my dream job. To celebrate I am giving away one of my new Baboo Bears. I've been working on these wee chaps for a couple of weeks now and I'm delighted with the result. They stand about 18 cm's high and are made from pure Scottish wool which I felt to make them nice and soft. The picture don't do them justice!

To win simply answer the following:- How many stitches do I knit to make a Baboo Bear? Answers by 12 noon on Friday 1st August please. Either leave a comment on my blog or e-mail me at info@my-baboo.co.uk. The person with the closest number will receive a Baboo Bear in the colour of their choice - Good Luck!

I've also been busy designing and making my new clutch bags - hope you like them!

I never thought I'd hear myself say this - but I can't wait to go to work tomorrow!

There's no place like home

Just thought you'd like to see the view of the Campsies from our back garden - note the patriotic flag in the sky!

Here comes the sun...

We managed to have a barbeque today - yipee! The sun shone long enough for us to expose our legs and put on our shades. There's nothing more relaxing than sitting with friends with a glass of wine (or Mojito cocktail or three) , with the kids entertaining each other and the sausages sizzling. It also gave me the opportunity to get a bit of feedback from The Girls on a couple of new designs I have been working on - all good so watch this space.

Above is a pic of a Baboo bunny, sheep and egg cosy that I posted to my friend Fi yesterday. We haven't seen each other for years and have recently been reunited through a friend getting married. Fi and I went to uni together over 15 years ago. Sitting in our architecture studio at the Edinburgh College of Art, 5 am watching the sun rise over the castle as we frantically tried to finish off models or drawings - did we ever think I would end up knitting sheep? If I was honest with myself at the time then probably the answer would have been 'yes'.

I also posted an order to my new stockist in Edinburgh - the Laurel Gallery on St Stephens Street in Stockbridge. Eleanor has recently opened the gallery having traded in Scottish Art on the Internet for a number of years. I met her at a small fair I attended which wasn't particularly great for any of the exhibitors due to the lack of customers, but it just goes to show you never know who will be looking at your work and what it may lead to. So good luck to Eleanor with her new venture.

I am now drastically low on stock, which is a great opportunity for me to try out some new designs - and make a few more sheep!

Haven't I seen your face before.......?

Today I joined Facebook to see pictures of an old friends wedding - I ended up accidentally inviting everyone on my contact list to be my 'friend' - oops! Funnily enough the bank hasn't responded yet.

I need to upload a picture of myself so I'm not a faceless name, and to satisfy the curiosity of others as to what I look like now. I've seen some blasts from the past that I probably wouldn't recognise if they passed on the street - but its good to see them happy and well.

Above are some faceless bunnies that I'm making for Homer in Aberfeldy. I'm also working on some new tea cosies for them.

Don't worry - the bunnies will get their faces, and I hope someone will love them enough to also give them names.

Panic Over...

I'm I the only one who has a panic attack if you cant find your favourite sewing needle??? one lost, another found :0)

Check Out These Beauties.....

Just dug these up from the garden - over 5lbs of tatties from one plant, and it grew from a tiny potato I must have left in the ground last year - I'm easily pleased!

On a knitting note - the Wee Green Market in Killearn was great yesterday - I'm always amazed at the lovely comments I get about my work. I'm looking forward to the next one at the beginning of August.

I met Suzanne Field who makes fantastic designs from Harris Tweed - have a look at her blog - www.fieldy.typepad.com


Having spent a while reading her blog, it made me realise that I hardly ever post picture of my work in progress - so here are 20 baby Baboo bunny feet I knitted during the market yesterday.

I've also tried out a wee design for a new creature so watch this space.

I'm currently updating My Baboo web site so if you have a chance please have a look and give me some feedback I really appreciate it (even if to point out spelling mistakes!). Some pages still link to my old web site until I transfer pictures and text.

Better go and get the dinner on!
Lx

A Sunny Friday Night

Got home from work tonight and the sun was shining, the boys are visiting granny and grandpa so I thought I'd enjoy the peace and quiet to take some pics of the garden.






The tatties are doing well!










Some wild strawberries - tiny but taste amazing - like bubble gum!







A small harvest from the garden - mmmmm











This tree smells like candy floss in the autumn









Rain drops on leaves







The prehistoric garden - these leaves are about 1m wide!





Off to the Wee Green Market tomorrow - hope to see you there!

All Things Green

I was camping with my sister and our kids in Rothiemurchus this weekend. It was fab, the campsite is set in woodland so we had plenty of privacy and the kids spent their time on their bikes or making 'potions' with pine cones and mud.

My sister and I listened to Clannad and tried to remember as many lines as possible from 'Robin of Sherwood' - one of our favourite programs when we were younger!

Camping is a great way to relax and to take time out to remind ourselves what is important in life - just being happy.

Of course I managed some knitting - my sister has commissioned me to make her a cardigan in lieu of my share of the petrol money for the camping trip - the colour of wool she wants is a shade of green called 'Woodland Haze' - most befitting of our weekend in the forest.

I knitted up a sample for myself last week - its one of those things you make when an idea pops into your head, cross your fingers and hope it turns out OK - it must be for my sis to ask for one.

This weekend is the Wee Green Market in Killearn, Victoria Halls , 10am- 3pm, please come in if you are passing. So its a mad rush tomorrow before I go back to work, to try and get some bunnies finished - only the ears to make!
Lx