Another Edinburgh Tale

Hi Everyone

Here is my second story from Edinburgh Yarn Festival (from my visit on Saturday).

                        

This is my outstanding (read back yesterday for the other purchases) double purchase and possibly the best ? I went for two different colours of fibre which I'm aiming to use in one garment - a cropped cardigan with 3/4 sleeves. I did have a specific pattern in mind but have seen a few more yesterday and am undecided. I'm definitely going for a cardigan and it will have some kind of small scale lacework or cable pattern. I've plenty of time to think about this one, as I spin my fibre ! The fibre will hopefully turn into lots of light weight dk yarn.

It was quite difficult to decide which colour fibre to go for (on the day) - I was thinking of a deep pink (Knit by Numbers 62) - a single colour Merino.

However, when it came down to it, I went for my usual range of blue and green. My next purchase will definitely be the Knit by Numbers 62 !! I've promised myself this will be after my next two spins have been completed.

I love the colours of my fibre - I'm thinking I will partially combine spinning the two fibres as well as plying a portion but also want to keep elements which are seperate. I'm hoping I can give my final knitted garment a random use of the combined spun yarns. I won't be specifically looking for colour symmetry in the finished cardigan. I've high hopes for this project and am keen to getting. This will remind me of my lovely time at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2017.

Thanks for calling in today.

Tales from Edinburgh

Hi Everyone

The only subject I can talk about today is - Edinburgh. More specifically, my visit to Edinburgh Yarn Festival on Saturday. I had a lovely time and will get into the detail over the next few days. I'm not sure if I can make it last all week (will definitely try !) but there's enough material for a few days ! Today, I'm giving a general overview of the visit.

Edinburgh is around a two hour drive from my home in Morpeth, Northumberland. The journey is a very pretty one and when we left on Saturday the weather was lovely - a bright and almost sunny day. As we approached Edinburgh the clouds gathered but it felt warmish in the sun. The hills and rural views throughout the journey are very special - so the journey was a pleasure. I also managed to make good progress on my current knit project which helps pass the time as a passenger - didn't feel like two hours at all !

I had planned a little 'wish list ' for potential purchases as well as booths I wanted to visit - so felt my day was prepared. I had a map of the venue and my check list of places to visit. I could have spent lots of time at every single booth but did make a 'bee line' for my chosen highlights. I eventually purchased five different packages of stash and felt happy but quite restrained ! A few skeins of yarn, some buttons and a couple of bags of fibres found their way into my bag. Each purchase was considered and I didn't buy anything until I'd been around everything once. I also bumped into a couple of people I know as well as some You Tubers that I watch (almost feel like I know them too !) the whole atmosphere was lovely.

I had also joined the Blacker Yarns Podcast 'knit along' which had been organised online prior to the Festival. The Podcast Lounge was a specific room organised for sitting around, knitting, eating and chatting as well as talking all things 'podcast'. The room was buzzing with excitement and full of people. The Blacker Yarns booth was also in the podcast lounge itself.  The knit along project was to knit and then wear an item using Blacker Yarns on the day and get a discount on any purchases. I joined this activity several weeks ago and wore my knitted item ( a scarf )and purchased a couple of skeins of beautiful yarn. You can check out the details of the Podcast Lounge - http://www.edinyarnfest.com/blacker-yarns-podcast-lounge-2017/ if you're interested.

I will go into more detail over the next few days re my purchases and what I plan to do with them but here is a quick look at some of my purchases :

                      

There's another larger purchase which would not fit into my photo - will reveal this one tomorrow !

Generally, I saw some lovely things  and could have bought so much more (funds permitting) but I am very pleased with my stuff. I have specific plans for each item which pleases me too. Often, I come home from a show and have a bag of stuff which is lovely but doesn't have a plan attached and therefore often gets left unused - for years !

For food, we had taken a 'pack lunch' and found a little corner of the main hall to eat it - there were a few others 'picnicking', which was great too !Little chats and a coffee stand next to our spot made lunch a lovely treat too. The atmosphere was great with everyone seeming to be having a good time.

When our visit was over, it was back to the car (parked quite close to the venue) and back into the hills, heading for home. I've been talking and thinking about the day every since - it was such a lovely treat. I'm inspired by many of the things I saw and will look forward to using my purchases over the next few months. I'm already looking forward to next year. Big 'thank you' to my lovely husband for driving and enjoying my day too ! (even though he had/has a severe head cold)

Thanks for calling in today. Back with more detail tomorrow.

On my needles

Hi Everyone

I've a new project on my needles - I started a few days ago and have made significant progress. After the initial section, which is beautifully written and clear to follow, I stumbled and struggled to understand what I needed to do ! It seemed to take me forever to work out the pattern. I'm not brilliant at following patterns - for some reason, I find it difficult to work out the most simple instructions ?

However, I've managed to work out what I'm doing and now, its a most enjoyable knit !

 

The pattern is something I found in the latest version of Wool Tribe 2017 magazine - produced to support the Edinburgh Yarn Festival (which starts today). I'm going tomorrow - too excited about this already !!! 

Back to the pattern, it's a shawl called Belsyde by Renee Callahan. I'm making the shawl in various colours. I'm using dovstone dk in Aire (blue/grey) and Brass Band (mustard) which you can see in my photo. I'm also using a third colour which I will reveal next time - hopefully I will have introduced the new colour by next week. The pattern has a subtle zig zag running throughout the length of the shawl as well as a couple of interesting boarders. The top boarder uses a modern lacework pattern and one side has an angular type scallop pattern, both in contrasting colours - not decided on which colours to use for these elements yet ? My journey to Edinburgh will take a couple of hours so I'm hoping I can make lots of progress 'en route'. I'll share the detail about Edinburgh next week.

I've made a couple of other items in the same Aire dk and love the finished knits. You may remember my poncho and tunic knits - look back for more details and photos. I'm looking forward to wearing my new shawl and am already planning on how I will wear it as well as planning new knits to compliment. I really do need to move on from dovestone Aire !!

Thanks for calling in today. Have a great weekend.

Sample-along Update (2)

Hi Everyone

I've another update for the 'sample-along' - read back  HERE for more on this. I'd spun,plyed and washed the wool a few days ago. Then, I sat down to think about what I could do with for my knitted sample. I started to use a shared pattern idea for the sample from a generous member of The Tiny Fibre Studio 'sample- along' Ravelry group check it out . However, it wasn't working for me ! I find following a pattern chart a bit challenging. Not sure why ? - I seem to repeatably loose my place and make a mistake, then find myself starting again and again etc. !!!  So, I just thought about what I wanted to see from my own sample in terms of reference for future knits. I chose stitches that I use most of the time and made a sample from rows rather than columns. It's working great for me.

                      

I also wanted to finish the edges with a series of crochet stitches. I use crochet stitches to finish edges with many of my knitting projects and wanted to see how my yarn would behave as a crochet section. I not quite finished the crochet edges and will try and develop something I can share, later today. I want to block the sample too - I'm hoping the different stitches will be showcased post blocking.

I'm quite pleased with my sample so far. I'm also amazed at how even the spinning seems to be. I was a bit disappointed with my plying technique and thought the yarn would be rather weak but it seems not to be the case. Perhaps, I usually 'over ply' my yarn ? More work to go but it's very  pleasing to knit something (at last) from my own yarn, even if it's only a sample.

Thanks for calling in today.

Finished Item (almost)

Hi Everyone

I'm almost there - just the buttons to stitch onto my latest knitting project. I've enjoyed knitting the Linnea Tunic, it's a sweater size item but such a simple knit that it seems to 'fly off' the needles. 

Yesterday, I made a range of buttons for the tunic, I still can't quite decide which to go for :

          

I instinctively go for the striped version but am also drawn to the top right buttons which look like pearl buttons. I'm not sure how I will decide ? I spent most of the evening looking at them (placed them next to me and glanced every now and then) - every time  I looked, I changed my mind. Looking at the photo I'm changing my mind again ! The only buttons I've rejected are the white ones, it's difficult to see but they have a square surface pattern which is very pretty but not for this project.

Here's a quick reminder of the tunic pattern :

            

At some point, I need to go for a set of buttons - the actual pattern calls for four buttons but Ive just made a single button hole on each side so only need two. Will let you know what decision I make.

Thanks for calling in today.