It’s so hard not to write about the weather…no matter how hard I try it really must be in the genes.I keep trying to hear the Shipping forecast and I know E.Annie Proulx has beaten me to it on this subject. It must be because the Pocas live somewhere where the wind slowly strenghthens to Cyclonic so regularly. Waiting for sunshine is just too depressing so I think psychologically we are now embracing our awful weather. My dad wrote that if you intend to spend your life on these islands,you must learn to like the rain.
I wrote that paragraph a few weeks ago and we have had fab weather ever since. But just incase we get carried away it started to sleet again.
It has been a few weeks since I started writing this blog and now the footie season has started and it has been soooo cold the Poca clan was frozen to the core.
With all the football to watch it’s hard to get some sewing done but we have been trying !
Because time has been so precious I have found myself making lots of little hearts as i need to sew everyday and I can’t manage a bag or cushion a day so a heart will have to do . We had a a nice commission from one of our favourite customers recently,a cushion that will withstand mucky fingers
Personalised cushions are Tinsels favourite so she has to get in the pictures
Carloway are back in form so we are very happy in the Poca House tonight,the Champions League on too ,how’s a girl supposed to get any sewing done?.
Back through the gate and the crooks were waiting…again.
Now Pocas don’t do dogsitting for anyone ,but if the house doubles as a “spaceship and the dog is too sweet the Poca Clan just can’t resist.Nothing to do with this…
All refreshed and inspired we have been busy sewing since we came back and we are making some new designs,more sleek and modern.
This is our look for 2012 ,we think its suitably understated but suggests we might like to party if asked.
We were determined to see some sun in Garenin this week and it came out ,honest it did. The whole Poca Clan ran outside to soak up some Vitamin D. It almost made us smile but unfortunately it started to rain and blow a gale (a breeze to the BBC forecaster I realise only Central Scotland experience proper winds) almost as soon as we took our pictures. This kind of bag is why we will never be rich at Poca as it takes so long to do it and, if you were to try and cost the labour, a Mullberry or Gucci bag would probably cost less. On that note an apology to our patient customers who are awaiting orders. We did manage to concentrate on some very nice tweedy cushion covers as requested. But we could not resist making a little extra. The Poca family have a bit of alove affair with Japan and intend to head there as soon as we can but in the meantime we are delighted with some Japanese tape that we got given. We think our attempt at sewing sunshine was pretty good and we made lots of pretty bright hearts to brighten up the scooter as it is getting downhearted due to how hard it is to scoot in gales and sleet.When we aren’t dreaming about Japan we reminisce about Sydney and pretend we are still there working in the Blues Point Cafe by reading Spoonful www.spoonfulzine.com
We love the Emmerson quote in this addition and are trying to make it one of our New Year revolutions as the littlest Poca calls hers.
We looked inside for inspiration and we looked outside and then we realised the Pocas needed a break from the wind and the rain. We did n’t head for the Seychelles(although that would have been nice) instead we went to that well known sun spot Elgin. A Christmas day when you could put your nose outside ,the novelty unfortunately the big surprise electric scooter defeated the Pocas on Christmas morning and we had to swing on the trees to the park instead.
After a couple of spins on the scooter we were full of inspiration and started making cheerful bags and colourful hearts. We will show you more of our cheerful sewing tomorrow. Poca is going to make an effort to make bright and cheery designs for the New Year in the hope that it brings out some sun and cheer in amongst the gales and sleet !
We traded in the go-kart in for something a little faster. It’s been a difficult few months with so much partying and fast -living we can’t keep up with the crafting .Despite our lofty promises of homemade gifts filled with love our crochet afghan throw has some way to go…The littlest Poca is wondering why we can’t part in the Legion every saturday…I think a little bit of fancy dress at the end of each week would n’t be a bad thing !This was the way a lot of us have been feeling this week and we’re staying in sewing this weekend so we can party next week in the Big STY with the Poca party animals as The Learning Shop celebrates 10 years of learning .
The Pocas head back to Uig to support The Linda Norgrove Foundation. Some of the Pocas run everywhere and one of the Pocas barely moves, we won’t name and shame instead we will show you how some of the Poca extended family coped with the Run /Walk .
We started of very promising – looking at our watches the same as everyone else so that we could know we were really fast.The extended poca family step out in style doing their best impersonation of Tony Christie’s Amarillo!! Now we don’t want you to think “Going on a Bear Hunt” is the only book we have read but it so seems to fit with the Poca lives because we were once again “swishy swashy,swishy swashy” not able to go over it or under it instead we had to swim through it ,as it got wetter and wetter..Fortunately there was a really big clock at the end so we could clearly see how slow we had been ,although we knew Poca Aunty was kindly coming in last to make sure no one else had to worry about it – thank you Sarah.
The Poca models were complaining about conditions again but they are easily bought with chocolate biscuits and the Wii.
Firstly they were not happy about the weather and then they declared boys don’t carry handbags but after some discussion the littlest Poca’s friend declared that Irish men carry man-bags…well who were we to argue.
We are so grateful to a good Poca friend,a knitter fortunately and not a sewer, who gave us a huge bag of tweed and these amazing old labels which we made into handles for our new design which really have to be called the “Dylan”.
Just incase the Poca public are struggling with SAD some pictures that were just a couple of weeks ago in Lewis.See we do get sun maybe not a summer but definitely some sun. We just have to hang on tight to the memories for the next few months.
It’s always a sad day when you have to part with your favourite football boots ….I’m sure. But when things are living in them it is definitely time to move on. It’s a difficult time in the Poca house at the end of the football season, big and small Pocas wandering around not knowing what to do with themselves. Thank goodness for the rugby and our close relations with Ireland so the Pocas can get firmly behind the Irish for the next few weeks.
Whenever we try to sew the Poca cats immediately appear – I think they must have missed their vocation in one of their 9 lives and they should have been cat -walk models. When we managed to tear ourselves away from the rugby we didn’t feed the Little Pocas – instead we made this bag for a very good Poca customer.She wanted a bag for her mum’s birthday with cream and herringbone tweed flowers and we think it turned out rather nice. No matter how nice the bag Tipsy is not impressed and always thinks you should be photographing her.No sewing this week the Poca Family and Poca extended family are in training and keeping their hundreds of fingers and toes crossed for sun next weekend as we head for a wee walk with the “Uigeachs” – if you want to join us have a look at www.lindanorgrovefoundation.org.
When it starts raining in Lewis at this time of year it helps to start planning what Festivals your going to go to next year.We have struggled in the Poca House as we got too old and some of us too young for T in the P to pick a suitable Festival to meet all the Poca needs.We have done a lot of research from the comfort of the Poca couch this year and we were thinking maybe Glastonbury,before we look like aged hippies(Maybe thats too late?).Then one night recently we discovered the Reading Festival and it looks like the one!
First surprise was Johnny Eats World(Ha Ha sorry Jimmy!),How did I miss them?,some of Poca’s friends have been banging on about them for years but we weren’t paying attention.We are now and we love them.
“One heart singing an incomplete song until it meets another heart that whispers to it ”
I was quite believing Jarvis had written that himself but he credited Plato with it, isn’t that beautiful.Some of Pocas littler friends tell us their hearts shout at them occasionally (when they fall in love),I love the idea that our hearts can whisper to each other.
Jarvis also explained what’s wrong with some of us and that is that we left a little bit of our brain in a field somewhere in the 90′s…..so thats what happened!.
Sewing …what sewing? .A new job has definitely had an effect on our output but look at what we managed this week.To say we are chuffed is putting it mildly..our first dress.It is made with first class Bethesda polyester which is probably older than me…just.We are still loving our silk and tweed but I think a silk dress is our next project.The littlest poca reckons we can make anything now.That doesn’t mean everyone who is waiting for us to start making coats and suits can place their orders, it’s going to take time.
It’s a good job that the Poca model had an exotic holiday in Blackpool or else she might have complained about the wet working conditions in Carloway.
Pocas friends are all turning 40 this year and thank goodness they all like Harris tweeed.You will be able to tell our closest friends because they will be in tweed from head to toe.We designed a one off bag ,we like to call our “Tolsta Chaolais” range.I think thats a great name for a bag never mind your Prada or Mullberry ,Tolsta Chaolais is where it’s at.Everyone will want one and we will have a waiting list.We mixed blue herringbone with flowery silk to make this scarf to match the bag.Football is a difficult subject in the Poca House at the moment so to distract ourselves we have been making lots of silk and tweed scarves and little pocas for them.We are keeping our fingers crossed whenever we’re not sewing for some good results this week .
Poca Snog is a small business based in Carloway on the west coast of Lewis which makes and sells Harris Tweed bags, cushions and other products. Poca Snog items can be ordered through this website.
It’s so hard not to write about the weather…no matter how hard I try it really must be in the genes.I keep trying to hear the Shipping forecast and I know E.Annie Proulx has beaten me to it on this subject. It must be because the Pocas live somewhere where the wind slowly strenghthens to Cyclonic so regularly. Waiting for sunshine is just too depressing so I think psychologically we are now embracing our awful weather. My dad wrote that if you intend to spend your life on these islands,you must learn to like the rain.
It’s always a sad day when you have to part with your favourite football boots ….I’m sure. But when things are living in them it is definitely time to move on.
