Tricycling around Crammond. I’m getting quite adept on the trike now, but zipping about is still exciting. Zoom!
Knitting a gigantic swatch. It is now over two feet long and counting. At some point I will settle on something – but in the meantime, I’m finding garter stitch very addictive.
Look! Bruce can fly!
The other stop on our whirlwind North East tour was the Woolshed. I’ve been corresponding with Anne and Barbara for a while now, and it was lovely to finally meet them. Barbara has been designing and working with wool for many years, and I find her very inspirational.
(I-cord rams on the back of Barbara’s Weskit)
Mel fell in love with Barbara’s Lonach design, which is knitted in Albayarn . . .
(cooee! Mel!)
But, being fond of all things fishy, my favourite of Barbara’s patterns has to be her Herring Girl Wrap, which she designed after her involvement with the Moray Firth Gansey Project. The shawl is made modularly: different squares showcase different gansey patterns, and the whole thing is joined with herringbone stitch. It is knitted in Flying Flock DK – a yarn exclusive to the Woolshed, and another of Barbara’s projects.
Why Flying Flock? Well, the Scottish Wildlife Trust manage an innovative flock of sheep who ‘fly’ about Fife, and through conservation grazing, help to maintain the area’s grassland. (The flock, and their shepherdess, Laura, have their own blog here)
Barbara arranged for the Flying Flock’s clip – a mixture of Shetland and Hebridean – to be scoured, processed and spun up at New Lanark.
The end result is a wonderfully sheepy DK which knits up into a lovely fabric, rather softer than one might imagine. A great project, and a great Scottish yarn!
Actually, the Woolshed is stuffed full with great Scottish yarns – Shilasdair, New Lanark, Grampian Alpacas . . . and my favourite Albayarn, of course.
(mmm … tasty Albayarn)
The Woolshed is my favourite kind of yarn store. My only regret is that I don’t live close enough to make it my local!
Thanks for the tour and a great cup of tea, Anne and Barbara!
After admiring the Herring Girl Wrap, our whole trip turned out to have an appropriately fishy theme. We enjoyed some delicious salmon at Gadies (next door to the Woolshed, and which I’d definitely recommend), a tasty fish supper at the Mintlaw chipper . . .and we then felt compelled to seek out the best possible kind of Scottish fare on our way back home to Edinburgh.
SMOKIES! Yum!
Down a pretty country lane . . .
. . . there sits an eighteenth-century mill.
The mill has been in operation for many, many years.
. . . and behind the blue door . . .
They are making YARN!
The particularly bright yellow that was being spun that day seemed to perfectly match the colour of the Milladen fields outside.
This mill, of course is J.C. Rennie &Co, which Mel and I were lucky to visit last week on a trip up to the North-East.
For many years, I have had a thing about Rennie & Co’s Shetland, which is one of my very favourite yarns to work with. There are several distinctive things about it: it is a little finer than many fingering weight Shetlands, has a light soft hand, and is incredibly even and well spun (having witnessed a very efficient blending and spinning process from start to finish I can now see why this is). To me at least, Rennie & Co’s yarns have become instantly recognisable. The company largely work with trade: their hand-knitting yarn is branded by other businesses, and they also spin for many different weavers, machine knitters, designers, and clothing manufacturers. Even if you think that you have never knit with their yarn, I am sure that, in one form or another, most of you will have come across it without knowing it. To give just three examples: you will find it in sweaters sold by a UK clothing brand whose name suggests grilled bread; you will find it in the furnishing fabric lines of a well-known US brand whose name sounds like an academic discipline, as well as in the knitting kits of a popular Danish designer who likes her garter stitch. Over the past five years, as my fondness for knitting and woolly textiles has grown into an obsession, I cannot count the number of occasions that I have wondered “is that Rennies?” This recognisability is partly, as I say, about the yarn’s hand and spinning quality, but is also most definitely about the colours.
Rennie & Co’s palette is beautifully rich and varied. The recipe for each blended colourway can be wonderfully complex.
Mel and I were in raptures, as you can imagine, and, after a fascinating tour of the mill, spent a long time happily squooshing beautifully coloured yarns and fabrics.
The gorgeous colours of Rennie & Co are of particular interest to me at the moment because it was of course, their Albayarn, which is distributed by my friends at the wonderful Woolshed (of whom more in the next post), that I used to knit my Betty Mouat Cowl and Betty Mouat sweater.
So, all being well, I should have some Albayarn kits to show to you at Woolfest!
Thanks so much, Christian and Marian, for a grand day out at the mill!
Just dropping in quickly to say that the new issue of 60 North is out! What? You’ve never heard of 60 North? The name refers, of course, to Shetland’s line of latitude, and is a really well-produced magazine put out by my friends at Promote Shetland. Features in the magazine explore many different aspects of Shetland’s landscape, archeology, wildlife, and culture – including (of particular interest to me) – a piece on Shetland Wool Week, and a great article exploring the fine local tradition of Sunday Tea. Also, you may remember that last Summer I published a feature exploring the history of Shetland Lace with Rowan. I know that those of you who are not in the UK sometimes find it difficult to get hold of the Rowan Magazine, so we have now re-published this piece in 60 North, where everyone can see it. Yes, that’s right: 60 North is available online and it is completely free! Stick the kettle on and and download yourself a copy!
So, here is Bláithín (junior)! This is the kind of cute child’s garment that makes me want to intone “almost too wee” in the manner of Whisky and Brandy Bolland examining Prince’s wardrobe (about a minute into the clip). (Ahem).
Bláithín (junior) comes in sizes from 12 months to 9 years, and has many of the same design elements as the adult cardigan – but obviously on a much smaller scale. For that reason, it would be an ideal project for a beginner to try out some of the techniques I discussed in my steek tutorials, before taking the plunge and steeking an adult-sized sweater.
Just like the adult cardigan, the junior version features i-cord buttonholes . . .
. . .steek sandwich facings . . .
. . . and neat little inset pockets. . .
The yoke features the same floral design as the adult version, but is simpler and shallower.
This sample was expertly test knitted by Eimear Earley, who you may remember as the designer of the shawl pin I mentioned in this post. Thanks, Eimear!
And, like the adult pattern, the junior version was tech-edited by brilliant Jen Arnall Culliford.
So, if you know a small person who would like their very own wee Bláithín, the pattern is now available here or here
I’ll also shortly have print versions of both Bláithín patterns ready for my yarn-store stockists.
I’ve been working on these designs for a couple of months now and am really pleased with them – it is great to get them out of my head and into the world! And, intrusive health-issues notwithstanding, I am enjoying designing tremendously at the moment. I think I can now mention that I am now working on a collection of new designs (yes, an actual book) that should be out by the end of the year. I’ll tell you more about this as time goes on. . .
We’ve spent the weekend in the Highlands, where Tom has been running a race – the Stuc a’Chroin 5000
While he was away up the hill, Bruce and I went for a walk. . .
We were lucky with the weather (later we saw hail and snow!)
Bruce was very suspicious of this wee suspension bridge and teetered over, bandy-legged.
After 13.5 miles, 5000 feet of ascent, 2 hours and 51 minutes, the wanderer returned . . .
The running vest I knitted him 5 years ago (sheesh!) is still holding up to its job remarkably well.
It is a good, warm vest for a chilly mountain top. The yarn I used was Rowan “Calmer”, for those who like to know these things.
We went out for a nice meal to celebrate . . .
. . . and camped in one of our favourite spots.
Tom’s next race is on Jura – in just a few weeks time, we’ll be off to the islands . . .
Hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend too!
Ok, before I begin, allow me a moment: I think that this is probably the best photograph I have seen of myself in ages. I like it because I look comfortable and physically capable — concepts which, a couple of years ago seemed totally unimaginable. Few people seem to talk about just how bloody uncomfortable it is living in a body that has had a stroke. I am happy to say that this discomfort abates somewhat as time goes on . . . Anyway, for a multitude of reasons, I would heartily recommend a trike to anyone with neurological weakness or balance problems. I love it as you can see . . .
Now I have got that shot of me, wildly gurning, out of the way, I can tell you about the cardigan.
It uses the same motifs as the Peerie Flooers designs, and its name is Bláithín, which means, in Irish “little flower.”
It is knit Donegal yarns, “Soft Donegal” – a squooshy, nubbly, and richly saturated tweed.
It is knit in one piece, and then steeked up the centre. Design features include inset pockets, steek sandwich facings, and i-cord buttonholes.
If you look carefully at the centre right of the photograph above, you’ll see a buttonhole. You’ll also note that there is i-cord around the cuffs and pocket tops. Yes, I do like my i-cord . . .
The i-cord edging is added after all the knitting is complete; it is worked all in one piece, all the way around the cardigan. Here is a shot of the edging worked along the “steek sandwich” buttonband. . .
Here is the edging on the inside of the cardigan, so that you can see the sandwich from the reverse, together with a buttonhole . . .
. . .and here is a buttonhole in action.
One of my aims with this design was for it to be as accessible as possible not only to those knitters who were cautious about steeking, but those who were afraid of colourwork. The yoke design is very simple.
It is also easily-customisable for the more adventurous knitter who would prefer to insert their own yoke design. The pattern repeats are short, and the decreases are worked over a number of plain rows.
Bláithín comes in nine sizes, covering a 30 to a 50 inch bust. The cardigan has a gentle A-line shape and is designed to be worn with 1-2 inches of positive ease. It is soft, warm, and very easy to wear.
Ideal for the novice tricyclist!
The Bláithín pattern is now available, and you’ll find it here or here!
I’ve also designed a wee Bláithín, in babies and girl’s sizes. This pattern will be available very shortly.
That’s all for now – I’m off up North today to look at some wool. See you later!
