Category: Light

Skies

Summer this year has been just a small bit better than last year’s. I’ve discovered about myself that although I feel the chill very easily (one of the main reasons why I knit), I don’t need to be in hot weather to feel ok. Which is lucky, since where we live is not hot at all.

The upshot of it not being (too) cold and grey this year is that as a family, we’ve actually done loads so far in the great outdoors. It was kick-started when I went to Harlyn Bay in Cornwall with some knitting pals. Apologies for the messed-about-with photos, I had great fun with Snapseed…

On the last day of the trip, I went for a long ramble with one of my friends. It was one of those days which sort of makes a holiday. The sun shone on us, the rain rained behind us, we chattered the whole way (fantasising about some of the houses…), and ended up sunburnt in the pub, where the rain finally caught up with us. The path around the coast is so easy, it didn’t feel like walking at all. The beaches are all amazing, and though you feel sad to leave one behind, you know there’s another just around a corner or over a headland. All things considered, it was that walk which got me back to my happy self.

I made up my mind that getting out into the countryside is pretty much vital for my wellbeing. Winter was so long. It was good to banish it. So back in Edinburgh with my family, at the first opportunity, we took the bus out to Gullane. It’s a small village, possibly not the most interesting of places, but it has a branch of Falko Konditormeister – a totally fabulous German style bakery – and they do lunch. Great. In theory they do lunch. We did get lunch, and we did get it there, but my god we had to work for it. We counted six members of staff in that tiny shop/restaurant. Let’s just say service is not proactive and leave it at that. Eye contact is not their thing. The sausage, bread, cake, however, was worth it. I do recommend it for quality, but it’s not your usual type of place where people help you and find out what you want and bring it to you in return for money.

We found the beach and sauntered down (in quite a strong wind) and then walked all along…past fossilly rocks and groups of people having (windy) parties, then in glorious sunshine all the way to Aberlady Bay. The route got a bit crazy there as they are keeping people away from nesting birds, but the result was that we ambled along what seemed like an ancient path in the early evening sun. The highlight was a deer, browsing by a thicket as though we didn’t exist.

The following weekend, we went out the same way to Yellowcraigs, near North Berwick. Our friends’ son was having a birthday party. The sun shone, the wind blew, the food was lovely, there was wine and good company and the children played and dug and ran in and out of the sea with buckets: pretty much idyllic. I didn’t take my camera that day, but I did take it…

…Camping! (I haven’t been camping since A and I went on a trip to the West Coast when I was 22. We carried everything. Only, split between two rucksacks, we found that he can carry quite a bit and I get blisters on the soles of my feet if I have to carry the same amount…And the midges and clegs (horseflies) are no joke. Also, call me a lightweight, but I like a loo.)

But this time was different. For one thing, we borrowed a big tent from our friends, plus some über-comfy sleeping mats. And we didn’t have to carry three days’ worth of food and clothes. And the campsite (Pillars of Hercules: I almost don’t want to recommend it in case everyone flocks there) has fab loos, showers, a great shop and a veggie café. It’s not the same as wild camping, but I’m grateful for that, and it was refreshingly cleg-free.

This converted me to camping. Yes it was a bit uncomfortable but ok once I’d stretched in the morning. Yes it rained but only a bit. Yes there were midges but Smidge repellent is very good. I somehow found myself with a smile on my face practically the whole time. I loved being in my tent (mine is the little one, I had it all to myself). I didn’t even mind the smell of woodsmoke or the very bad hair day on Sunday.

I’m so looking forward to the rest of the summer – I feel like I have to store up all this sunshine and outdoorsiness somehow for when the days shorten and the temperature drops and it gets to next May and we’re still surprised that the leaves haven’t opened much. So here’s to a long happy summer 😉 with more camping, most likely.

(More wool in the next post…)

bluebluegrey

Like many of us, I have a lot of yarn…I’m not sorry about that and I don’t feel guilty, I love it. All those possibilities!

blue, blue and grey

blue, blue and grey

These are some of my absolute favourites. There’s something about this colour family that makes me very happy. I even painted my sitting room blue-grey, a bit of a risk in a city in the north, where half of the year’s light can also be described as blue-grey, or just grey. The answer is lots of lamps on all day in winter.

At the bottom, three skeins of heavy lace weight dyed by Natalie, a.k.a. The Yarn Yard. Somehow, when I see her blues and greys, they are just right. There’s a colour called ‘Waverley’ which I covet a little, described as the shade of dark blue-grey you find on old book covers. But this is a really light silvery pale blue and I have enough for a whole garment there. As bad as I am at knitting row after row of stocking stitch, I’m holding out for a go on a knitting machine…

Above that in the middle, Isager Tvinni Tweed. I bought this at Loop in Islington last week. I don’t know what it is about Loop, I just totally love it. You look around and every surface, on every level, is covered with something interesting. Much of their stock isn’t particularly easily found anywhere else in Britain: BrooklynTweed yarns, Quince&Co, DyeForYarn, Juno…That list could go on for a while. It isn’t that you can’t get the yarns elsewhere, it’s more that you’re in a shop which hasn’t got ‘the usual’ and which has displayed everything beautifully. A rack of shawl samples, a shabby sofa with an exquisite crochet throw. Not a skein of Manos in sight. (Nobody could pretend that you go to Loop for a bargain and a nice chat, though. Oof.) This yarn might be made into a Buttonwillow shawl. It’s a design by Romi, which I’ve made before as a gift. I can honestly say it is one of the nicest things I’ve ever knitted and I was sorry to see it go.

The commercial ball on the left is Regia sock wool. I have a bit of a thing for stripey socks, so it’s earmarked for knitting with some purple yarn I have stashed away. The colour combination’s a bit Boden 2005 but I don’t care.

Above the Tvinni Tweed is some merino/silk by DyeForYarn. Lichen on a Tombstone. I salute their yarn-naming skills. It doesn’t look anything like lichen on a tombstone, it’s an exquisite, delicate mix of duck-egg blues – but then, the other yarn I have of theirs doesn’t look like a Sloth Pushing Up The Daisies, either.

The dark yarn to the right is another Yarn Yard shade, found in a bargain bin at a show. It’s cotton and tencel, not often found, feels delightful, and I’m saving it for a perfect summer shawl.

Directly above is a YarnPony skein, which Mica doesn’t like (because it’s lace weight) but which I love (because it’s duck-egg blue/green). I’m not great at knitting lace patterns in lace weight, but wait! You can do this thing called navajo-plying: make a slip knot, then start making a crochet chain with your fingers. Elongate the loop and you’ll see you have three strands side by side. Imagine you’re knitting a three-ply yarn. When you get to the end of the ‘loop’, just pull the third strand through as far as you can and carry on knitting. You usually get something slightly heavier than a standard 4-ply, but from a 1200m skein you’ve got the equivalent of a very lofty 400m standard skein of sock yarn. You need never stare balefully at that exquisite skein of tiny yarn again. If you’ve got enough, swatch and go up a few needle sizes. 5mm for open lacework works well.

Perched on the very top is a wee ball of Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend. I have a small bag full of these leftovers, enough for an Oak Knot Hat (Loop, again, beautifully styled, again). They came from Ysolda’s prototype Lauriel cardigan, to me via Rebecca after a clear-out. When I worked in a yarn shop, we used to sell a fair bit of this yarn, and why not? It’s not very evenly spun but it’s soft and the spongy texture feels good as you knit it up. It’s going to be perfect. Thanks to the yarn recyclers 🙂

And the shawl they are all sitting on? I knitted this last winter, aiming for a huge version of a pattern normally knitted in 4-ply. It’s Cobble, by Kitman Figueroa, and I made it in some Drops Nepal. My flat is usually freezing in winter, or I’m colder than average and spend too long sitting…some combination of the two. It didn’t turn out as large as I’d hoped, but it was really good to knit: bottom up and not repetitive at all. Casting off those last two or three stitches felt good. And it’s verrrry cosy. If I could change one thing, I’d make the whole pattern a lot wider, but that’s just me.

And there ends my tour around this portion of my stash.

DyeForYarn Silk/Merino; Isager Tvinni Tweed; YarnPony lace; YarnYard BFL/Silk; YarnYard cotton/tencel

DyeForYarn Silk/Merino; Isager Tvinni Tweed; YarnPony lace; YarnYard BFL/Silk; YarnYard cotton/tencel

Knitting it all up is one of my aims for this year. Best get started immediately.