Category Archives: beasties

Good Walk

February 12, 2012 By in beasties, Bruce, Edinburgh, Scotland Tags: , , , , , , 69 Comments

Hiya! Remember me? My name is Bruce. Today I am telling you about a Good Walk. This Walk begins at the place called Blackford Hill.

This place has lots of grass. If you are lucky, the humans will stop to admire the thing that they call View . . .

. . . while you find a fine bristly stick, and prance with it.

Then the Walk gets even better, because it goes to the place called Hermitage. This place has mud and water and many, many sticks.

As usual, Kate was going far too slowly and stopping far too much to click-click with the camera.

She was also spouting the familiar human nonsense about how the light was changing, the birds were singing, and the gorse was coming into bloom &c.

Personally, I am not a fan of this gorse-stuff, as it is too bristly even for me to rummage in. Give me a stick any day.

Today I located many, many good sticks because of what is called “recent storms”. Here is an excellent example, but I was not allowed to tackle it.

Now, sometimes on a walk, I find a Nice Big Stick, and bring it home, where the humans feed it to the fire-beast. If only Kate had remembered that wheely-thing that she takes to the shops, I’m sure I could have helped to fill it up with these . .

Such a shame. But then later, by the water, we found the most exciting sticks of all. They call this thing ” Woodland Marimba”, but this means nothing to me. All I know is that when Tom hit these sticks, they sang a tune.

Singing sticks?

Singing sticks!

Shall I sing too?

Make them sing!

The more I sing, the more they sing!

They must be mine!

Kate seemed to find my singing very amusing for some reason.

But, predictably, I was not allowed to bring these mysterious and magical singing sticks home with me. Such is life.

See you soon! Love Bruce x

Sunday

January 15, 2012 By in Bruce, Edinburgh, knitting, photography Tags: , , , 25 Comments

It is a beautiful day today – bright, crisp, golden – the sort of Winter’s day I love.

While we were out for a walk, I took the opportunity to get some quick shots of my Muckle Mitts, which I realised I hadn’t shown you . . .

It is a very satisfying pattern – so quick! So nifty! Thankyou, Mary Jane. I enjoyed making them so much that I knit up a little cowl thingy to match.

It was lovely to work with the yarn, which I’d had in my stash for ages – Toft alpaca DK – a gift from Ysolda in, I think, 2009. Cheers, Ys!

The yarn is spun in a pleasingly nubbly and rustic way – it almost feels handspun – and the natural shades are very pleasing – so soft and muted. My Muckle mitts are ravelled here

The light was so nice today – good for taking photos. I’ve had my eye on the changes in the undergrowth during my daily walks, and it has been pleasing me in recent weeks. I have a bit of a thing for the humble rosebay willowherb – I love the shapes that it assumes in all seasons. At this time of year, last years stems and seeds are mere dried-out husks – but I find them incredibly beautiful.

Crazy, scribbled wisps . . .

. . . like a kid’s sparkler-writing on bonfire night . . .

. . . or fireworks themselves, thin forms, exploding with light.

It is so nice to feel the sun returning – - we made the most of the day after returning home, and have just now finished building our new log store – and loaded it up with gleanings from Edinburgh’s recent storms (many fallen trees about!)

Bruce has being doing his bit, of course, helping to fetch the kindling. . .

Hope you are enjoying your Sunday too!

Bruce says . . .

December 24, 2011 By in Bruce Tags: 37 Comments

This looks like fun . . .

But actually, it’s not much fun at all.

What’s that jingle-jangle?

And what’s with the uproarious laughter from those passers-by?

Death to jingle-jangle!

Success!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

LOVE FROM BRUCE x

B o r e a l

December 11, 2011 By in beasties, Bruce, design, fairisle, inspiration, Kate Davies, knitting, Scotland Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 73 Comments

We had a lovely day out in the Highlands today. Bruce loves a good walk up there – though, as you can see, he is not a fan of sitting still and posing for a photo.

Would you like to see what I’ve got on underneath that jacket?

Boreal — my new design!

Two years ago, just before Christmas, we were out walking on the same West Highland hillside. I spent several happy hours tramping through the snow, photographing trees and undergrowth, and marveling at their transformation in the frozen landscape. You can see those photographs in this post. I was particularly transfixed by the effects of snow on the branches of fallen trees . . .

. . . and I decided then that I’d like to knit something inspired by those West-Highland conifers and their snow-covered branches. Two years later, this is the result.

Boreal is knit in Artesano Aran, a well-spun, hard-wearing 50/50 wool-alpaca blend. It is one of my favourite aran-weight yarns, and is superb for Winter colourwork, as it makes a lovely dense, warm fabric. I knit this dress from it a couple of years ago, which is still going strong, and still looks great. There’s a good range of Wintery colours, so it was an ideal choice for this sweater.

Boreal is knit from the bottom-up, and uses a modified seamless yoke construction.

The sizing covers a 32″ to a 50″ bust. I’m wearing my sweater with a couple of woolly layers underneath, and about 2.5″ positive ease. It is really warm, exceptionally cosy, and quite possibly ludicrously seasonal.

It makes me feel jolly, anyway.

I’ve spent over a month working away on this sweater and its pattern, and I confess to being very pleased with the finished result in both knitted and written form. The pattern has been tech edited by the brilliant Jen-Arnall Culliford, and test knitted by the equally brilliant Melanie Ireland. I hope to show you some photos of Mel’s rather different Boreal sweater very soon! Anyway, if you’d like to make your own, the pattern is now available here or here.

It was so nice to be out in the hills today – I do love a good Winter walk. We had a grand one, and our day concluded with some suitable refreshment from what has to be one of the best places to buy beer in Scotland.

Slainte!

yellowcraigs

November 5, 2011 By in beasties, Bruce, landscape, Scotland, walking, wildflowers Tags: , , , , 49 Comments

Hiya, remember me? My name is Bruce and I am 18 months old. Today I am telling you about what I think may be the best place in the world. The place called Yellowcraigs.

This weekend the Tom-human is away visiting the other human that they call The Mule, although he does not walk on four legs. After Tom-human and Kate-human, my next favourite humans are called Mel and Gordon. It is they that know of this place Yellowcraigs.

It is curious what humans find interesting about a place. Kate, for example, just kept staring at these twisty sticks.

But these sticks are of the growing kind, and hence no fun at all.

Gordon knows many things. He knows about how Yellowcraigs was once a rainforest, covered in lava-spewing volcanos! He knows about this island, whose name is Fidra.

He also knows much about the growing things.

This spiky thing is “Sea Buckthorn”

And this blue-ish purple-ish thing is “Viper’s Bugloss”


But the best thing about Gordon is that he likes BALL.

Gordon, please throw BALL.



While we were engaged in the pressing business of BALL, Mel and Kate marvelled at this swimming human.

There was much talk of “brr” and “chilly” and “a stronger woman than I” but I did not see what was so remarkable about it. For I will swim in the water whatever the weather! Who braved that frozen bog-pool at Eshaness last January? Bruce, that’s who. And can that swimming human find an important pebble in a pile of seaweed?

Or leap and seek out elusive BALL through the long grass?

I think not.

breezy

September 25, 2011 By in beasties, Bruce, Edinburgh, Shetland, walking Tags: , , 17 Comments

A breezy day. Everything has that blown-out, blown-back look to it.




In the undergrowth, broom-pods rattle like crazy maracas.
And what’s that rustling beneath the willowherb and gorse?

:: I am already making the second mitten to form an actual pair. Hold still my beating heart – there will be a pattern.
:: My peppers are ripening nicely. Hurrah!
:: Have you seen this? I shall be there for the whole thing. Weaving! Sheep! Wool sorting and grading! How I excited am I?

September

September 14, 2011 By in beasties, Bruce, Edinburgh, Jesus, photography, recovery, stroke, walking Tags: , , , , , , 48 Comments

It is is a lovely time of year.

of fruits . . .

. . . seedheads . . .



. . . and turning leaves.


Jesus seems even more than ordinarily contemplative. . .

. . . and Bruce enjoys sampling the Autumnal undergrowth. . .

For academics as well as students, this is back-to-school season – the moment when one puts away one’s research (one has never done quite enough), begins to prepare new lectures (groan), and faces the busy realities of a new semester. For me, this also meant hideously long days, commuting in the dark, and rarely ever getting outside to enjoy what I like most about this time of year. But this September is different: I shall continue my research and writing (huzzah) and I shall walk with my dog in the woods every day (an even louder huzzah). I no longer have the job or the commute. . . but I do have the boxes.

Forty-nine large boxes to be exact. They contain my books, which have just been sent up from my office in Newcastle. They are currently blocking the stairwell of our building because there is no room for them in our flat (which is full to bursting with my books already). Could anybody recommend a good bookseller who might be interested in purchasing a large collection of eighteenth-century literature, history, and criticism? I am completely serious. American revolutionary history and women’s writing a speciality. Anyway, I’m going to be offline for a few days while I sort through the contents of the boxes of doom. . .

Sunday at Mel’s

September 4, 2011 By in beasties, Kate Davies, knitting, Shetland, writing Tags: , , , , , , , 31 Comments

It has been a quiet few days round here. Perhaps inevitably, my burst of hat-related energy was followed by an evil bout of post-stroke fatigue that has been all the more galling because I had been so looking forward to this week. Felix is in Edinburgh, and we had some fun things planned, none of which I have been able to do because I’ve been so damn tired. But happily today I did manage to haul myself out of the house and round to Mel’s for an afternoon of convivial knitting. The magnificent beast at the top of this post is Mel’s cat Moose — perhaps the superlative feline knitting companion. Please to note, in the photograph above, the insistent — yet respectful — way he has claimed Mel’s knitting as his own.

Unlike my own animals, who seem to enjoy disrupting yarn-related activity, Moose is a very calming and relaxing presence. Here, for example, he takes a wee snooze on my knee while the knitterly business of the room goes on around him.

And here he reveals himself as a cat of taste, displaying his approval of a couple of tasty balls of Rowan fine tweed, and Mel’s recently completed Betty Mouat sweaters – yes, that’s plural – of which more later.

Felix is sporting marvelous socks (spoils of a recent trip to Estonia), and knitting up a Deco in John Arbon’s new yarn, inspired by the pastel Art Deco buildings she saw in Miami.

Mel is knitting the Latvian Garden Blanket in some very pleasing shades of Jamieson and Smith.

and I am working on a pair of fingerless gloves to match last week’s hat.

After a tedious few days, it was lovely to spend the afternoon in the company of two of my very favourite people.

. . .and one of my favourite cats.

In other news:

:: I don’t know if the Rowan members out there have already seen the digital edition of Magazine no. 50? There’s all sorts of interesting additional behind-the-scenes content, including photoshoots and video interviews with Rowan’s designers . . . and, if you turn to pages 40-41, you can click through to see another wee video accompanying my feature on Shetland lace. This footage comes from the epic day when Mel, Emma and I drove the length of Shetland, took 8 boats, and braved the queasy horrors of some very choppy water between the mainland and Whalsay, to go and visit Ina Irvine and Hazel Laurenson. Ina and Hazel are two of the talented women involved in the Shetland Fine Lace Project , and, despite my shaky camera, you can get a taste of their marvelous knitting, which is on sale in the Shetland Museum Shop.

:: If you are out and about in Dublin next week, I’ll be at This is Knit’s annual yarn-tasting and am also looking forward to meeting the wonderful knitters who made my blanket. I think the yarn tasting may well be sold out now, but if you’ve booked, I’ll see you there!

As you might imagine, I’m hoping for a bit of an energy boost to carry me across the sea to Ireland. More on my return!

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