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On 2nd December 2016, at the Wool Tribe Christmas party organised by Edinburgh Yarn Festival , I launched my Heritage Orchard design. It was inspired by my friend, Fu's orchard of heritage and modern varieties of British apple, plum and pear trees that she planted over the winter of 2011/12 in East Lothian just outside Edinburgh. Fu, known as @bearford on social media, is one of my closest and best friends. We've weaved our way through life since meeting as students in 1983. She was studying art and me earth science. How strange that she should now be an organic...

The Scott Monument in Edinburgh was constructed in 1844 as a tribute to Sir Walter Scott, the famed poet, writer, historian and lawyer. Reaching more than sixty-one metres above Princes Street, this distinctive landmark sits between the Balmoral Hotel, Jenners department store and the Royal Scottish Academy. When visiting the recently opened V&A Museum in Dundee, I came across a model of the Monument in the Scottish Design Gallery. I instantly knew that such an iconic piece of Edinburgh architecture needed its own design using an iconic Edinburgh yarn, namely Ginger Twist Studio's Sheepish Sock yarn in Hocus Pocus. The...

Last week, my friend Fu and I returned from an amazing holiday to Iceland. We had a fantastic fortnight despite the cold and rather wet weather. The first week involved an Hélène Magnússon hiking and knitting tour of the Tröllaskagi mountains, north of Akureyri. Under Hélène's knowledgeable guidance, we walked along beautiful trails, admired numerous Icelandic plants and knitted our way to a pair of lace weight mittens!            After a stopover in Reykjavík, we headed for the Volcano Trails in the Þórsmörk valley. The scenery was stunning: dark volcanic river beds; basaltic slopes; and ancient...

"Warmed by the sun, blown by the wind..." are the opening words of an unfinished poem by F.C.B. Cadell, one of the four Scottish Colourists known for their bright, distinctive works. These early 20th Century Scottish artists which included S.J. Peploe, J.D. Ferguson & G.L. Hunter, though never an actual group at that time, individually visited and trained in France to continue learning their craft. Cadell returned to Scotland in 1908. I have always admired Edinburgh-born Cadell's work, visiting the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Artwhenever possible. So, when I came across the Iona Craft Shopwools at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival...

Over the winter of 2011/12, my friend Fu of Bearford Yarns and East Coast Organicsplanted an organic orchard on her farm in East Lothian consisting of both heritage and modern varieties of apples, pears and plums. The heritage trees were included so that she could help preserve a number of lesser known British fruit varieties. When I visited the orchard in the summer of 2014 to admire her hard work planting over 1000 trees, I was amazed at the number of species I had never heard about! Supermarkets sell a very limited range of British fruit. Recently when I was...