Shetland (the original home of fair isle knitting) has just been named by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 places in Europe to visit. With school holidays just around the corner, find out why travelling to the UK's most northerly isles is a great place to holiday with children as I run through my top 10 things to do.....
When I started The Croft House 6 years ago, I had a very clear vision of the ethics behind the business. All these factors are based on the principals we now know as sustainable, slow or ethical fashion.
I'm sure most of us have come across the Danish concept of Hygge although we may not know it's meaning. Hygge definition is "a feeling or moment which one describes as cosy, content, charming or special.
With school holidays now underway on both sides of the border, mums everywhere may well be wondering about things to do in the holidays. Here are a few "woolly" holiday activites for kids......
I recently took a short trip on an aeroplane and took my sketch pad with me. At this time of year when I’m busy designing the new range for Autumn and Winter it’s permanently by my side. Even for an hour, it was a rare treat to have completely uninterrupted time to work on new ideas for fair isle patterns. And unexpectedly I also appeared to provide entertainment for those around me who watched with interest as single motifs were combined into rows and then bigger patterns. I’m now looking forward to a long-haul trip I have planned as I may find that time out of my office is very productive indeed!
Last week saw devastating floods across Aberdeenshire. Luckily, although we are next to the River Ugie, we are high above the flood plain with no chance of flooding. On Friday we woke up to a lake of water in front of us (where normally there is none). Due to the amount of rainfall local roads were cut off due to standing water and elsewhere in the region many homes were flooded. Our thoughts go out to everyone who has been affected by flooding across the UK over the last few weeks.
On a positive note, I’d like to thank all the staff at Royal Mail Peterhead who continued to do an amazing job. Despite all the road closures they continued to both deliver and collect meaning to our surprise there was no disruption to our normal dispatch routine.
Of course the unique Scottish water is one of the ingredients which combine to make our Scottish garments truly special as they are finished, ready for sale. I’ve used a picture of one of the gorgeous sunsets we are regularly treated to in this part of the world as the elements can be harsh but also beautiful.
