WOYWW 284

To join in the world’s most famous nosey fest, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog, where you will find details and instructions.

This week I’ve been alternately busy and poorly (as usual!) and we’ve had friends over for tea on a couple of days, so I was busy preparing that, and then suffering payback on the following day in each case. We’ve got more friends for tea on Thursday. Now we’re really settled after my hubby’s retirement, we are starting to invite old friends over so they can see where we are. I’m making scones and doing a cream tea on Thursday. I think afternoon tea is a dying art which should be revived, and I love getting my doilies and nice china out, and doing a bit of baking, although I don’t do as much as I used to!

Here is my desk for this week.

I am working on new sections in the recycled mini-album now – one on cars, and the other on professional life. I printed out a few bits and pieces on the computer and am fussy-cutting these out for pasting onto the album pages.

I have also finished the Scottish pages. I have soooo enjoyed doing these as Scotland is part of my heritage, and the pages brought back many happy memories. This is the title page for the section. I have printed out an image of the Fraser Clan tartan and also a map showing where the family came from, and created borders suggestive of tartan, and thistles.

The Scottish ancestors page. Swirls and leaves printed with Versamark and Perfect Pearls. You can also see the second tag in the album – its puller has a thistle on it.

Scottish holidays page, embellished with more tartan, and some Zentangles.

I have done a blog post about these pages. Finally, the “Road to the Isles” page. I shall be uploading a post about this in due course.

If you look carefully you can see some colour on the background. I swept across the page with some distress stains and then painted on some Perfect Pearls in a pattern suggestive of tartan. It’s very dark, but the Perfect Pearls are beautifully shimmery, which of course doesn’t show up too well on the photo.

“The Road to the Isles” has long been a favourite Scottish song in my family. We had a great family friend who had a fine baritone voice, and his wife used to accompany him on the piano. This was one song that we always requested. While doing this page, I discovered a wonderful Youtube video of the great Kenneth McKellar singing it – it is full of “Scotch snaps” and the characteristic pentatonic scale so favoured in Scottish music.

I’ve had the sewing machine going this week too, altering some bedding for my new bed. I still have to get the book out to remind me how to thread it… but I can do straight stitching and zig-zag now – considering how much more this machine will do, that’s pretty pathetic really, but I’ll gradually get the hang of it in time.

My knitting is almost finished now, and I’ll upload some photos soon. It’s been two years in the making, but we did move house in the middle so I’ve probably got an excuse! I’m just completing the second sleeve and have yet to pick up the neck and sew the side seams, and then it will be done, in time for the winter.

Happy WOYWW everybody, and have a good creative week.