Stunning Scotland and an Easter Sale

It has recently dawned on us that having lived so far north of the UK for a few years now, we had still not ventured into our neighbouring country, Scotland, and decided it was about time we did! As my husband can never just go to one place, he set about planning us a mini tour starting in Stirling, then up to Glencoe and the Highlands and then finally a few days in Edinburgh.

I have to say, even though we expected the landscape to be as beautiful as you see in the films, seeing it in real life really does take your breath away!

We even drove up to the bottom point of Loch Ness to see if we could spot the shy creature, alas, Nessy was keeping well and truly hidden that day :) The loch was stunning though.

Justin found the wonderful Lochleven Seafood Cafe down a wiggly road alongside the nearby loch where we had some amazing local seafood, I wasn't too sure about the razor clams to be honest but the langoustines were gorgeous!

We then headed back down to Edinburgh where we dumped the car (I highly recommend the city's Park & Ride scheme, the buses are frequent, and you don't have to worry about parking in a busy city) We stayed at the Brooks Hotel, a very nice and comfy boutique hotel where we had an afternoon tea and bottle of fizz included in the deal - not a bad start eh!?

We like to amble on our city breaks, and Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, you don't realise you're walking up and down so many hills! We made our way to Dovecot Studios to see the much anticipated Orla Kiely exhibition...

I have always loved Orla's strong and colourful graphic design, and with all those curved shapes as inspiration, I can't wait to start designing some more Hoop Art and cushion EPP projects! And just look at that stitching on the red bag, totally love it!! Dovecot Studios is also home to the Tapestry Studio where you can see artists in residence working on their extraordinary pieces of art. There is also a very interesting exhibit on the rescue and refurbishment of these former swimming baths.

Our visit to Edinburgh couldn't be complete without a visit to My Bear Paw to see the very lovely Jo Avery. The shop is normally closed on a Tuesday but luckily Jo was teaching an evening class so we managed to have a quick cuppa and chat before her ladies arrived. My Bear Paw is such a cute shop and you must go if you're in town, Jo's also going to stock some more of my kits, which is great news!

Talking of kits, back at Sewmotion HQ, I'm holding my annual Easter Sale with up to 20% off in the online shop. This is a great opportunity to grab that kit you may have had your eye on for a while, or maybe try a new technique with one of my cushion or hoop kits, or maybe you just need to stock up on your EPP essentials. No code needed - you can visit the shop here.

Wishing you all a peaceful and creative week, linking up with Let's Bee Social, Midweek Makers and Needle & Thread Thursday.