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    Stravaiging

    Stravaiging graphic

    A visit to Farfield Mill

    A few days before Christmas I was able to visit Farfield Mill to see their current textile exhibitions before they closed for the festive season.

    What we did on our holidays

    Christmas 2024 was spent in Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales (in northern England). We booked a week in a wee first floor apartment with woodburning stove on the southern edge of the green in the village of Reeth. We have visited before, together and separately, but never stayed a night.

    Chocolate Orange Bread

    Because we all need a little escape, and hiding in a chocolate infused bubble works briefly.

    Falling leaves, slowing down

    We are all just creatures, all of this planet, and only nominally in control of our bodies at any time. And if we are also all stardust, why do we expect so much of ourselves and of others? Isn’t it a feat that we can tie our own shoelaces, let alone use mobile phones and TV remotes? Why do we push onwards, feel guilty about extra coffee breaks or not ticking adequate numbers of things off lists? Where are we trying to get to?

    The Border Tart’s Retreat in March 2025

    This post is solely about the retreat I am planning for March next year. It is now open to all and there is a copy of the application form below to download and complete, if you would like to participate. It sets out the cost per attendee and the payment schedule. 

    How you live your days...

    ...is how you live your life.

    Mellowing?

    I've been musing on my age. Not in a mournful way but choosing to embrace some of the changes the passing years bring.

    Tart Retreat in 2024

    This post is solely about the retreat I am planning for May next year. It is only open to newsletter subscribers so if you are a blog subscriber only then pop over to the website home page and sign up for newsletters to be eligible.

    Blooming?

    Summer takes me by surprise. Every day recently I have woken to the suggestion of, or actual, sunshine. It seems such a long time since the northern UK had this long a spell of warm weather. The many light hours are enriching and full of promise with early mornings and late evenings the loveliest.

    Back to Lewis

    The week before last was spent in the Outer Hebrides. We drove up to Ullapool, building in dog walking stops and a late picnic lunch at the edge of a forest. The crossing takes two and half hours across the stretch of water known as the Minch. It can be challenging around each equinox with high seas running but we travelled in reasonable comfort, thankfully.

    Cake is always a good idea

    Yesterday I had a wee cooking session and one of the outcomes was Mozart Cake.

    Messy, unfocused, curiously stressful.

    WARNING - Stream of consciousness ahead.

    Two Northumberland Beauties

    In October I wrote about being in Yorkshire. In that same North of England trip I also caught up with two rather talented women who run businesses closer to home.

    Surfacing

    Books. My little world would be much smaller without them and I know I am far from alone in that feeling.

    Glimpses of the Past

    Last week I had the good fortune to be in Halifax.

    Courgette Cake Season

    I like cake. Specifically I like interesting cakes/loaves with lots of flavour. (No Victoria sponges here, thank you, and buttercream about once a year)

    Blissful Blues

    I'm encouraging you to share the calm and beauty of natural indigo today, with a collection ranging from traditional boro to contemporary weave and block print.

    Close to home

    You may know I have a soft spot for the church on the corner that I pass so frequently when out with Bruce. More specifically a fondness for the churchyard itself.

    Exploring Berwick

    Ok, I am biased. I don't live far from this most northerly English town (although in another country) and have always had a soft spot for it. As with so many places, its once thriving main street (Marygate) is a sad shadow of its former self but there are many gems to be found.

    Time and Tide and Tapestry

    In April we travelled to Orkney for a week of wild weather and wide horizons. Catching up with old friends was fun, and for me seeing what I recognised after three decades away was always going to be interesting.

    bordertart

    I’m looking forward to welcoming participants arriving for our gentle stitching retreat in a spacious rural farmhouse. The shop is coming with me!
    🐌
Today’s life lesson:
Stop rushing
Slow down, breathe deeply, use all your senses, seek out the small, the quiet, the overlooked, revel in the simple things, be grateful for small mercies.
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.
Good plan, but I need to keep practising…
    🌈
I’ve dyed these vintage wool blanket pieces and they await your tender ministrations in the form of hand stitching or felting.
It is the softest warmest fabric to stitch into and your needle will love it.🧵🪡
    🌹
Found this wee gem in my photos, from an early Wednesday Windowsill.
    📚
The more I read the less I wanted to put it down. Loved the characters and all their quirks.

#justfinishedreading 
#maggieofarrellbooks 
#needmoretimetoreadeverything
    ❄️
Before the sun shone and chased the frost away this morning…
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.
#wednesdaywindowsill
#littlelovelies
#handwovencloth by @shuttlethrower 
#handthrownjugs by #coldinghampottery 
#smallmomentsofcalm
    🧵❤️ 
Turns out I had to make red ones too!
For boro-stitchers I have made packs of red or blue scraps, large and small, to feel your habit…
Thirty five pieces in a pack and UK post free…
😘
    🤗Most things I’ve done this weekend have not gone as planned. But the veritable ocean of dal which has burbled away in the slow cooker this afternoon is a WIN!

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