Tuesday, 22 April 2014

Isle of Iona

So, the second day of our Scottish holidays on the Isle of Mull and we ventured out of our very comfortable little cottage by the sea......


...........down the path.......onto a jetty and onto the Iona ferry.


Iona is actually only 1.2 miles from Fionnphort (where we are staying), but then my swimming's not that good, especially when I'm carrying our picnic.


The sun was shining and the sea was crystal clear, with pale soft sands to rival the poshest of beach resorts in the Caribbean.

Iona is a significant place within the Christian faith, as it was the site of an important monastery founded in 563AD by Columba.....it was a place of pilgrimage and reputedly where the famous Book of Kells was produced by monks on Iona.  Whether or not you go for any of that doesn't much matter, the place is stunningly beautiful, unspoilt, peaceful.........



St. Martin's Cross, dating back to the 8th century



After wandering around the grounds of the abbey and seeing the ancient cobbled road which led to a cemetery where Scottish kings are believed to be buried.....we picked our way up a good-sized hill called Dun I.  It was windy at the top, but we nestled in among some rocks (like some sensible sheep) and at our picnic lunch.



At the bottom, we saw this fluffy-coo with a few of his friends....



We walked around the island for a couple of hours more and soaked in the tranquillity of Iona......yes, tranquillity even with three noisy boys.




And lastly.....a long forgotten favourite band Iona.....probably (without remembering it until visiting Iona), the biggest influence in the instruments I play now.....funny how a visit to a new place can re-inspire something which I had somehow forgotten about........close your eyes, and let the music wash over you......

Sunday, 20 April 2014

Year of projects - Happy Easter

Happy Easter one and all!

I'm not sure what its like elsewhere, but here it is glorious!

This week's YOP post is brought to you from sunny Scotland, we arrived in beautiful Fionnphort last night.  It's the first time we've been to Scotland, and we are not disappointed.

First up, I finished my Miss Winkle....in fact  finished it on the journey here, I've only recently discovered I can knit while being driven, which for me (terrible traveller) is a miracle.  We got stuck in a long queue at roadworks for best part of an hour, so out came the knitting.  I have yet to block it, but hopefully it will be done while we are here.



I've started a small baby blanket for a friend who has just had a baby boy....Yay!  Hopefully this will be mainly done by the end of the week.


After a lovely relaxed Easter Sunday roast (and a good bit of chocolate egg), we stretched our legs a bit, and took in our surroundings.



Littlest boy not being a bit put off by our feeling sorry for the rabbit after he had bitten his ears off!


To catch up with fellow YOP-ers check out the ravelry page here.

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Miss Winkle - SpringKAL

Soooo....a little progress, but not maybe as much as I would have liked......what happened to all my knitting and crocheting and blogging time that I used to have.....if anyone can solve the mystery please do.....


I'm not sure how I will finish this, one of the balls of 2ply is running short, so I'm in a quandary, but as the rest of the shawl has been a bit experimental, I'll tackle it, when it happens!

To see other fellow KAL-ers, pop on over to see Sarah from Crafts from the Cwtch who is hosting this lovely SpringKAL.