haul

There was not much time for knitting while on hols up north – but I did manage to get a serious yarn fix…On a very rainy day we found Shilasdair yarns on Skye’s Waternish peninsula. (The name is gaelic for flag iris, one of the many plants used by the company in their range of natural dyes). There was a dyeing workshop and lovely store with a breathtaking range of handspun and hand dyed yarns in the most gorgeous colours. It took some considerable effort to resist rolling around in the extremely deluxe (and correspondingly pricey) baby camel and cashmere blends. The shop also sold the owner’s garment designs as kits and, stocked some locally knitted finished sweaters and cardigans. (I had earlier met one of these knitters in Plockton, who spoke very highly of the company). The best of the designs showcased the range of colours that could be achieved through the dyeing process – there were some wonderful sweaters in several muted hues of green and rose.

I bought some very reasonably priced and excellent quality 2 ply goathland, in two lovely shades:

I spent several hours in the car drawing up a mental picture of the seamless yoked sweater, EZ style, that I would make with it. When we got home, I began:

The deep indigo shade will feature in dense stripes on the yoke. And what a pleasing and speedy knit it is.

I’d really recommend Shilasdair. It is clearly a company with a definite and admirable ethos. This ethos is evident in the beautiful colours and excellent quality of the yarns and garments it sells.