Trip to the islands

This morning we got the ferry to mull and are on the bus to get the ferry to visit staffa and iona. A stag ran across the road just now in front of the bus. It is so beautiful here.

Oban folly

Holiday in the west

First proper hol for ages. Today we are in Oban the weather is great but a little windy. Spotted the wool shop within a few mins of arriving but trying to be good so just looked and didnt buy.

:-(

No time to blog at the moment, too much uni work and everything else...still knitting but not a lot... will be back on track soon

Fibre Fest/Get Knitted

On Sunday we drove down to Devon to Fibre Fest in Uffculme. The Fibre Fest was part of a country fair to raise money for Cold Harbour Mill. There were loads of stalls, with lots of yummy yarn and fibres.

FibreSpaytes yummy fibre and yarn.

KG and I got a drop spindle and some fleece to play with. Will post purchase pics when I get home.

Then we visited the Mill itself and went on the tour.


The tour explained the process of turning fleece into lovely yarn. This is carded fleece ready for spinning.


This machine is spinning wool, and plying two reels together. Once it has been plyed, this machine is used to create the skeins. The disk on the right of the picture is used to indicate how much has been wound on.
Finally we saw the weaving process. Here they are making Somerset Tartan.. which I have to admit I have some issues with!!

After that we had to visit the gift shop of course... I was a bit suprised when she rung up the till and it was over £4000.... The lady had managed to charge me for 2082 postcards instead of 1, thankfully it was just a mistake!! haha

Then yesterday we went to Get Knitted... wow what a selection. We have good knitting shops in Edinburgh, but this is in another league. Got a few items, but was fairly restrained. Now I need to go pack my case and work out how I am going to shut it....

Royal Visit

Day 2 of the long weekend and I went to Buckingham Palace! 3hrs from Bristol each way was quite a trek, KG couldn't take Grandma (her Birthday present) so I stepped in.

First we visited the Royal Mews, where the Queen's horses have nothing but the best.
Then we visited the Palace (Summer opening of the State rooms).

Since Grandma had her mobility scooter, we got to go in at the front gates! Bit strange to turn around and see all those faces looking through the fence though


Couldn't take any photos inside, but wow I was really impressed. We saw the special exhibition of the Queens wedding dress which is showing this year, completely stunning. Also displayed were gifts she received for the wedding... jewellery so beautiful it is hard to believe it is actually not fake!

On the way out, visitors go out through the back of the Palace and through the garden.

Where they sell the poshest, tastiest ice cream ever!

I had a really great day and it was a fantastic tourist experience. At all times the staff were polite and genuinely helpful. Toilet facilities and disabled access were excellent. Considering the volume of people they were dealing with I was very impressed, would recommend it.

Note to self - this is not a good angle to photo my hand