Back Home Again!

Had a lovely break in Rannoch even though it was wet most of the time! However it was much warmer than I expected which was a bonus! Here are a selection of photos in no particular order. Starting with more fungi for the album!

The next two pictures are from the small chapel in the ruined church of St Bride at Blair Castle. This was a most interesting ruin! The first burial of John Graham was in 1689! And the second one two hundred years later! 

The memorial stone related to the graves above!
This is Blair Castle where we spent a most interesting day.  

 This is a view of Loch Rannoch from our apartment. Schiellian is the pointed mountain in the background. It is one of the Munro's. I have yet to climb it! There was a lot of wind while we were in Scotland and the Loch was as rough as Swanpool on a bad day! 

One day we walked up to the ruined village of Annat. This had been quite a large and thriving village until the clearances in the 1800's! It was quite impressive. We then walked on and round doing a circular route of about 7 or 8 miles. It was blowing a gale and raining and by the time we got back to the apartment I was exhausted...feeble thing that I am! 

This picture of heather is for Sue! She will know why! 

This small castle is in the middle of the Loch and the story goes that a clan chief built it to keep his wife in! 

The burns were in full flood after all the rain. This is the one that runs down the hill side in the village.The day after I took the first picture it poured and there was even more water rushing down.  

And last but not least for today ...I woke up one morning to see these two sheep peering into our bedroom window (large French doors)which was quite a shock. They appeared regularly after that!

Holidays

We are off to Rannoch tomorrow for a week's holiday. I'm really looking forward to a week of chilling out and renewing my energy! There will be plenty of walking and fishing. I may even catch a fish! We went last year and it is a lovely spot. What I'm not looking forward to is the twelve hour journey!

I found a lovely tripod to use with my camera in a charity shop for £5! So I am going to become a dedicated photographer this trip and try and get some good pictures of the local wildlife. Last year I was lucky enough to see an Osprey and a hare. Two creatures that we don't see a lot of in Cornwall. Who knows, this year I may even get to see an eagle!

I'm taking some crazy patchwork to do in the evenings as hand embroidery is so restful. And lots of books! I have a great book on Culloden to read which I think is fairly topical for the area!

The weather is supposed to be hot all over the country which poses a problem of what clothes to take as in the past I have found it exceptionally cold in Scotland at this time of the year! At least we are going by car so I can throw in my whole wardrobe if necessary!

Pictures when I get back!

Sunday afternoon walk

It is becoming a habit going for a walk on a Sunday afternoon! But a good one. However this one didn't include a cream tea or any tea at all! How bad is that!

We walked round Argal Reservoir as this was something neither of us had done and it seemed like a good idea. There is only coarse fishing done on Argal so no fly fishing for trout! It was a lovely afternoon with a bit of wind and some sun. However the weather forecast had predicted lots of rain so that wasn't bad. There is a round walk around the lake which we did and it took about an hour or so with a sit down to admire the view about half way round. I took my camera so was able to take some pictures. 

The reservoir is very low and the old walls could be seen. The mud is dried and cracked but still very squishy! 

Very autumnal with lots of fungi under the trees.

This was the closest I could get to the heron as it kept flying away as I approached it. I do like heron even though they catch the fish but they arn't as much as a problem as the cormarants! They were sitting on exposed tree stumps like the three witches except there were four of them!  

More fungi and lots of berries in the hedgerows. The blackberries are not so good this year not having had enough rain to plump them up! Very pippy! 

A view over the lake as the sun was setting. 














Lots of little streams running into the lake but not enough to fill it up! There is something very relaxing about the sound of running water!














Next Sunday we will be in Scotland on Loch Rannoch!

Rinsey Head

It was a blustery but sunny day today so we went to Rinsey Head on the south coast for a meander along the cliffs. The wind was really strong and it was scary at times on the cliff tops. However the only casualty was the loss of one of my earrings when my waterproof hood was whipped off by the wind. Sad because Graeme gave me them on our wedding day! I shall have the remaining one made into a locket on a chain. Anyway back to Rinsey. This area was mined in the previous centuries and there are mine shafts and engine houses along the cliff tops and in the cliffs themselves.

 

This rocky outcrop reminded me of a meerkat looking out to sea.

This photo above shows the mine openings in the cliffs. They are now all blocked up for safety's sake but when I was a child it was possible to explore some of them. The openings are enormous! 

After all that walking up and down the cliff tops we eventually arrived at Prah or Praa sands. The spelling of the place name changes constantly! So it is either pronounced with a long or short a depending on the spelling you use. And I didn't feel at all guilty at having a cream tea! I still had to walk a couple of miles back to the car so I was allowed! Graeme had pasty and chips!  

Fascinating mushrooms. Really large and with a nob on top of the cap. I think if you click on the picture you will get a larger version and will be able to see the detail. They were on the edge of this mine shaft (below) which was fenced off for safety's sake. There were notices warning of mine shafts and there were several depressions in the gorse and bracken which were probably shafts and to be avoided!  

I am always amazed at the things I see when out walking and to see this large pampas grass swaying in the wind in the middle of bracken and gorse in the middle of nowhere was another amazing sight. 

This is the coastal path with Prah Sands in the background. It was really quite steep and I was glad we hadn't had any rain recently or else it would have been very slippery. 

On the way home we stopped off at Porthleven and had a wander around. It was exciting watching the surfers and wind surfers braving the heavy surf. They were very close to the rocks at times but managed not to come a cropper. The photo below is looking away from the town out to sea beyond the clock tower. The one below that is looking towards the town and harbour. 

                                                                                        

Rain, rain and yet more rain!

It poured with rain in the night and the wind was almost at gale force. I know we need rain as the lake where Graeme and I go fly fishing is so low that it is just not fun! In fact I don't think I've seen it this low for a long time. I don't think it was even as low as this in the drought year of '76. However the heaviness of the downpour has battered my poor begonias and they are all washed out and sad looking! So it doesn't look as if we will be going for a long walk tonight when I get home from work! In fact I am really looking forward to the time when we can light fires and draw the curtains and toast crumpets! Summer wasn't long but when it's gone, it's gone!

Crazy Patchwork. Reprise!

When I first started my website Farne Designs my main focus was on Crazy Patchwork and I produced several packs of fabric, beads, ribbons, etc for sale. Each pack was capable of providing sufficient materials for a large or several small crazy patchwork blocks. I even included a marked background piece for the fabrics to be sewn onto. These were very popular and I did about ten different types of pack such as Fire (mainly reds), Sea and Shore, Elegance (black and white) and Sunset (blues and pinks) to name but a few. For some reason I stopped doing these... I don't remember why now but I am going to start producing them again in the hopes that they will still appeal to Crazy Patchworkers. 

We are starting off with five different packs. There will be Fire, Sunset, Elegance,Sea and Shore and Roses. (See picture above) I love making up these packs as I get to play with fabric (mostly silks), beads, buttons, threads, ribbons, lace and braids.  

The block above is one I did some time ago as one of many for a quilt. This was a 6 1/2 inch block which is handy for carrying around and stitching in odd moments. Such a relaxing past-time!

Trevarno

It was a lovely day so we went to Trevarno Gardens near Helston. I have been before but Graeme hadn't. The gardens, grounds and woodland walks at Trevarno are supposed to date back to the 1200's but the present house is Georgian in style. 

This is my favourite part of the estate. The lake with boat house. A very restful spot watching the dragonflies and the fish, small brownies, in the water. 

The Italian garden is of modern design having been formed only at the end of the last century. In previous centuries this had been a lawned area but it is extremely attractive even if it isn't so old! The roses were lovely and there is an old bit of stone work at the far end which enhance it! 

 Wherever one goes in Cornwall one sees Monbretia! It is so common and yet a colourful and attractive plant. 

And of course we had to have a cream tea. No Sunday afternoon on an outing would be complete without the scones, cream and raspberry jam! It was delicious! 

While we were eating the peacocks which were in a scraggy state of moulting were eyeing our every mouthful. They were so tame! 

We also went and saw the reindeer which come to Trevarno for their summer holidays! It was really too hot for them today and most of them were in the shade in their shed. 

And odd as it may seem I have already designed and made the sampler for our packs of Christmas shapes which includes reindeer! 

In fact a thoroughly enjoyable day! Then home to enjoy the sun in the back garden with an iced drink of elderflower cordial! Delicious! 

Weather!

The weather forecast shows sun all day today but what did I wake up to but rain and now it's raining again! It's not fair! It's Saturday! And a fly I thought I'd swotted has now come to life again and is annoying me considerably by buzzing behind the curtain against the window! I can see it is going to be one of those days!

The radishes Graeme planted a few days ago are up and running and really need thinning out. If the rain could stop for a moment I will go and do it. Fortunately the men who have changed our black guttering and downpipes for white ones have been and gone before the rain stopped play. The front of the house does look smart now! 

I've given all my knitting needles away to a friend so I won't be tempted ever again to do any knitting. This will save me so much money as I would get carried away, buy wool and then abandon the project half way through because I am not a natural born knitter. Not even an aquired knitter. My skills are zilch! Just as well I can sew! 

I have been designing the next sampler quilt for the autumn's classes. I am using EQ6 which I find really good and it has been fun. Now all I have to do is choose some fabrics and make it! Easier said than done! The fabric choice should be easy but when has one had just what one wanted regardless of however many fabrics one has. Certainly not me....not even with all that dyeing. Well I will have fun rummaging and finding things I thought lost or given away. That is the best bit! 

Love the patterns that one finds on old gravestones. A lovely source of quilting patterns! 

So very hot!

The weather is lovely and it is a shame that I have to be at work this afternoon. It is so hot! Last night it was almost unbearably stuffy and I had difficulty getting to sleep! However not to complain as we don't often get days like this.

The class on colour went really well and a good time was had by all. However due to the pressure of time I didn't get a chance to photograph the range of greens I produced in the morning. I will get round to it eventually. Probably when it's cooler! Here are a couple of pictures of the colour wheel dyeing I did earlier.