Filed under: in my studio | Tags: access database, Chickens, cuddly hens, database headache, hen toys, soft toy hens, Tweed hens. Hens
Now little crafters, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Building an access database needn't be so hard , once I've giving you your instructions it will feel as easy as laying an egg.
Self employed sole workers. Do you ever find yourself wishing, WISHING above all else that a computer savvy genie resided in one of your button jars only to emerge in a puff when the lid comes off. Or that one of your creations might somehow come to life and tell you everything you need to know about running a business. I do…oh boy I do!
I have spent most of the last five evenings trying to figure out how to create a drop down list in an access database. I really thought I had a pretty good head for most software principles but database programming… I just can’t get my head round it. I feel as though my brain cells are turning from white to grey to purple with the sheer exertion. I feel like someone with Bell’s Palsy trying to smile.
By the way…the Lavinias (hens) above were positioned by Tina during an inspired moment in the studio. I’m glad she has an equally infantile sense of humour otherwise work wouldn’t be half as fun.
Filed under: latest news | Tags: hand made crafts, Hand made gift, Made in Scotland, scottish national gallery, soft toys, tweed toys, Tweedie
Clarris and co. sit to attention!
The last few months have been transition months. Like a child learning to walk I have been falling and then picking myself up. Frustrated, compelled to move on but at the same time fearful of entering new territory and leaving familiar zones. I have had to accept some stark truths about my business and how I run it and I am embarking on real, raw changes in order to make it work, and I mean REALLY work.
Firstly: Getting to grips with cash flow. After an enlightening session with Roger I now know how to create formulas in Excel. This has enabled me to draw up sheets detailing every expense, income, accurate costings, time sheets and charts and I am attending to them daily (brownie points overflowing). These charts make the business of assessing whether I can, could or can’t make a purchase so much easier because the answer is staring me in the face in black and white. Example: I realised with horror that my agent’s commission was eating up pretty much all profit on the tweedies. I either do without or reduce the commission. Phone call was made, agent understood and commission was reduced. Result! Now had I not written up the chart I would have been blissfully unaware that I was making Tweedies purely for charity.
Secondly: I need to sell LOTS, and I mean lots of tweedies in order to make a living which means I need to sell, market and design my products… not make! Enter…..Tina. Wey Hey I have acquired a fabulous sewer who has moved on to the island into a house which once was my studio and spends hours making tweedies in an exacting and methodical way, which I like. She also makes a great cup of tea and has reminded me how enjoyable company can be.
Levinias lounging
So all this change and structure seems to be, in a manifesting through thought kind of way, encouraging orders. I have just received an order from the…wait for it (drum roll…….) Scottish National Gallery !
Chuffed to bits
x Sarah
Filed under: About me | Tags: Eva Bakkeslett, Feijoada, Gigibird, Magnus Wolfe Murray, Pipany, Snapdragon Jane
and just perfect timing too since I was wondering what to write about (accounts and telephone calls are not riveting). So, thank you Ness. I’ve to answer the following questions. Here goes:
What are your current obsessions?
Gotland sheep. We need to buy sheep to prevent our croft turning into a raggedy forest and my heart is set on this scrumptious Swedish breed with wool the weight of linen and the lustre of silk. We have found an organic source and now I’m spending every spare moment trawling the web for info.
What are you currently reading?
“Starting with sheep” by Mary Castell and “The structure of Weaving” by Peter Collingwood and there’s a good fifteen half reads next to my bed. Lismore used to be the place I would come to escape the thumping clatter of life so that I could read from cover to cover. Now that I live here,guess what… thump, clatter, bang.
What’s for dinner?
Had it and it was good, though I say it myself! Feijoada (a Brazilian dish which I used to cook when I lived there) and brown rice. This has become a firm family favourite and here’s the recipe.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS (serves ten-fifteen)
1 lb. black beans
1 lb. smoked ham hocks
1 of each: pork foot, ear, tail, tongue (optional) (OK I don’t really do this bit!)
1 lb. Mexican “chorizo,” “pepperoni” or Brazilian “lingi‡a”
1/2 lb. Chunk of lean Canadian bacon or Brazilian “carne seca”
1/2 lb. Smoked pork or beef ribs
3-4 strips of smoked bacon
1/2 lb. lean pork
1/2 lb. lean beef
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
salt to taste
black pepper
hot sauce (optional)
short prayer (in Portuguese or English) that your “feijoada” will be edible.
The traditional “caipirinha” that goes with the feijoada.
PREPARATION
Soak beans overnight in large container. Next morning, cook beans for 4-5 hours at low heat. Place ham hocks, chorizo, ribs and Canadian bacon in deep pan with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Change water and bring to a new boil, repeating the procedure at least three times to tenderize cured meats and remove excess fat. In a large frying pan saut‚ onion and garlic using either vegetable or olive oil (smoked bacon strips optional) for two or three minutes. Toss in cubed pork and beef. Saut‚ an additional two-three minutes.
Mash 5-l0 tablespoons of beans and add to large pot. The resulting paste will thicken sauce. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, three garlic cloves all chopped-up or mashed, along with a tablespoon of white vinegar and a teaspoon of red-hot pepper. Stir, heat over medium fire for two-three minutes, then transfer to contents of frying pan. (You may use two frying pans, if necessary) Let simmer for l0-l5 minutes. Add contents of frying pan(s) to the beans and let boil at medium heat for 1-2 hours.
Serve over rice, with additional red-hot sauce, if desired.
Where do you plan to travel to next?
To Forres, on the east side of Scotland, to pick up our sheep. I also want to make some time to explore the other Hebridean islands but I’m a bit worried that one of them might nudge Lismore from top spot on my heaven on Earth chart.
What’s the best thing you ate or drank lately?
Everything served at this fantastic restaurant in Harrogate where food ordered before 7 was half price . A huge hoard of British Craft Trade Fair exhibitors descended upon its chocolate leather sofas each evening and glutted out on sea bass, braised Tuna, aromatic duck starter and cheese cake. Yum Yum. Don’t you agree snapdragon?
What is your dream career?
The one I’m in…but with money added!
What is your favourite film ever?
Babette’s Feast (directed byGabriel Axel) and an Armenian film called The colour of Pomgrannates (director, Sergei Paradjanov), both slow moving, gentle but visualy unforgettable.
Care to share some wisdom?
Listen…LISTEN!
Where would you rather be right now?
Drinking a beer, under the cherry tree, in the courtyard, within the house to be…on our croft!
What is your desert island disc?
Bach cello suites played by Yo Yo Ma.
If you could be any animal other than human, what would you be?
This is the question I’ve added because I wonder aboout this endlessly. Personaly I think the life of a seagull would be a pretty good one.
The rules are to answer the questions, replacing one and adding another, and then to tag eight other bloggers to do the same.OK , here’s my eight suckers, I mean bloggers. Eva Bakkeslett, Moona Wolfmurray, Snapdragon Jane, Gigibird, Pipany, Monika, Brittany and Lynne
x Sarah
