No Pressure, Karie, No Pressure.

Another photo shoot beckons. I am a perfectionist and I haven't been happy with the photos we've managed to get so far. The first shoot was basically us trying out a couple of locations. Obviously the first location we tried turned out to be my favourite - isn't it always so? - but we had only shot a couple of photos. I wanted more. So, yesterday we headed out for another shoot. I was tired and I think it showed in the images.

I used to joke about modelling being a real job, but now I know it's actually hard work. Usually our shoots lasts between fifteen to forty-five minutes: you have to account for the light, get a variety of shots, get pattern details, and find that magic connection between yourself and the camera. So, going into a shoot with a tired body and a tired brain wasn't the best thing.

But this is your first real glimpse of Mahy, isn't it?

I absolutely love this shawl and I think this is one of the reasons why I've been so hard on the photos. I want to capture just how special this feels to me. I want the photos to convey just how amazing it felt to knit the shawl and how fantastic it feels to wear it.

No pressure, Karie.

Southwards Bound - pt 2

So. London to Cambridge and back to London. I had considered adding Brighton to the itinerary, but I am very glad I decided against it. The weather was hot and clammy - and it sucked all the energy right of me. Instead of doing the thousand things on my list, I opted to visit The National Gallery which I hadn't visited for nearly twenty years. I knew it would be cool, relatively free of crowds and very restorative to my sanity.  But first a gratuitous photo of The Thing which is currently blocking.

A grey woolly blob pre-blocking transformation. I like the early evening light.

The National Gallery in London had played a big part in my days of living in London two decades ago. I spent much of my free time wandering through the galleries and several paintings had become old friends by the time I left. It was a great joy to see these paintings again - a certain Titian, Fra Filippo Lippi's The Annuciation (it had not lost any of its power and mystery) and Paul Cezanne's Les Grandes Baigneuses (Cezanne's painting took on extra meaning for me this time as I'm now so familiar with J.D. Fergusson's Les Eus). But I kept coming back to a simple portrait by Albrecht Dürer.

Detail from The Painter's Father by Dürer. This portrait is over 500 years old and it is still so achingly alive.

But my favourite discovery at NG was the mosaic floor in the Main Vestibule. I spent a lot of time looking at it (much to the bemusement of other visitors).

Detail from The Awakening of the Muses (1928-1933) by Boris Anrep. That man bears an uncanny resemblance to TS Eliot.

After the National Gallery, I headed next door to the National Portrait Gallery. I tend to visit NPG whenever I am in London - it is the perfect size for an impromptu visit and yet I see something new every time. This time I was struck by a painting of Aleister Crowley - the yellow colour vibrated and clashed beautifully against the red robe. I'll need to see it again.

And then I headed out to Hackney to teach at the very delightful Wild & Woolly yarn shop. I always say that yarn shops reflect their owners - Wild & Woolly is owned by Anna who I liked on sight. We sat down with a pot of tea and proceeded to have a fantastic in-depth talk about knitting as lifestyle, knitting as art form, and knitting as pleasure. And the shop reflects Anna's warm personality, sense of humour and eye for detail.

I was teaching a class on my Byatt shawl - and it was a blast. we talked colour choices, techniques and how to knit lace at the pub. The students were all lively and funny. A very brief hello from Larissa and I wish I could have stayed longer - always a good sign - but I had to dash into the dark of night as I was staying with my good friend Ben who lives quite a trek from Hackney.

And so I spent my very last hours of my time in London talking gender identity, privilege and Men Who Knit with Ben. We've known each other for years and I don't see him often enough. I don't see many friends often enough, actually, as they are all spread out across the world (that's a complaint for another day).

Exotic travel: Birmingham

Somewhere north of Preston.

Almost sure I travelled across that viaduct on my journey to Settle just two weeks ago.

Oh Scotland. Home.

I have been travelling a lot the past month or so. As a confirmed introvert (and homebody) I can feel I need some time to recover from adventuring. I do try to soak up as many impressions and ideas as I can while I am travelling - but then I need time to sort through them all. The good news is I have finished quite a few things and I'll be able to share a new design with you very shortly. Yes, it's the grey blob shown above and no, it is no longer a blob but a Very Beautiful Thing.

A big thank you to everybody I met on my travels south - the people who came to my classes; Anna and Sarah who both jumped at the chance to host my workshops; Joanne and Ben who let me stay at their places; and all the lovely strangers who talked to me because I was knitting. I salute you.

A Yorkshire Retreat

I don't think many hen nights turn into a knitting retreat, but it's the logical solution when every participant is a knitter. One of my best friends is getting married later this year and we all met up in Yorkshire for a weekend of knitting and relaxation. I had been to Yorkshire before for work, but I had never had a chance to spend time in a stunning landscape filled with textile heritage.

We took the train from Carlisle to Settle - to our great surprise (and delight) the train journey turned out to be spectacular. It runs past the Pennines and through the Yorkshire Dales.

Every station was a Victorian delight with ornate architecture and beautiful details. I can only recommend taking the train journey - it is absolutely stunning and I feel fortunate to have experienced it.

And there are sheep everywhere. I was particularly interested in seeing the varieties of sheep in the fields we passed. The Swaledale sheep is the official 'face' of the Yorkshire dales and I spotted a few on my train journey. I am not Deb Robson, so I could not identify all the little dots scampering around the fells but it was still great seeing so many varieties.

We had rented a house a few miles outside Settle. It was pretty much my dream house: Georgian proportions, a country kitchen (though I found cooking on an AGA fairly intimidating), a small conservatory with built-in book shelves and open fires in each of the living rooms. Did I mention the views?

This was the view from my bedroom (where I sat in the window seat as I took this picture). It looked like merino sheep in the cow-parsley/buttercup field. They fled as soon as I tried getting closer for a better view. Roses in the front garden and a beautiful back garden with views across the dale.

It was a bit too cold for me to sit outside and knit, but I was tempted! Once inside, the house offered many temptations..

.. but I stuck to my knitting mostly. I currently have three projects on the go - one that requires a lot of maths, one that requires a lot of concentration and, er, one that's 1 ply lace. I mainly worked on the latter as it seemed more straightforward given the high level of hilarity.

I did not move from my comfy chair most of the weekend, though I discovered just how bad I am at playing pool. The adjacent house had a ruby spaniel that loved cuddles, so time was spent doing that too. And copious amounts of tea, tea and tea. Cake was had from the interestingly-named local pub/bakery.

It was a lovely weekend. We took the train back to Carlisle yesterday.

And then a rail-replacement bus back to Glasgow (when I fell asleep - all that fresh country air!). I'm having the day off today as I'm oddly exhausted after my relaxing weekend away. While it was fun waltzing around a 19th country house for a few days, it's rather lovely to be home in my humble abode again. I'm down to London next week - when I pass Carlisle on my way down, I'll think fondly of this trip.

Yarn Shop Day, Knitting Retreats & Thank Yous

I'm supposed to be enjoying a long bank holiday weekend, so this blog post will be short and sweet. All photos by Mr D. who has lately begun taking more abstract photos and I'm enjoying looking at the world through his eyes.

First, thank you to everybody who made the trek to the Fluph yarn shop in Dundee this past Saturday for Yarn Shop Day. I lost track of quite how many people dropped by but I loved saying hello to all (including the dogs that people so thoughtfully brought along). I also loved seeing all the knitwear on display - from a stunning Aidez cardigan to the most exquisite cobweb Shetland "wedding ring" shawl.

(Fluph-owner and all-round lovely person Leona also managed to squeeze an unorthodox interview out of me. It includes a question on Eurovision!)

Later this month I am heading to Yorkshire for another knitting retreat (I'm combining it with seeing far-flung friends). However, I've had yet another jury citation - this is the third since November - so my retreat plans may be cut short. I love spending time in Yorkshire, I very rarely get to see these friends and the retreat location includes a short stroll to a delightful yarn shop, so fingers crossed everything works out. I know many of you wonder about knitting retreats - while you obviously have the option of arranging one for yourself, there are a few lovely 'open' retreats. Helen Lockhart of Ripples Crafts has been running a regular knitting retreat on Tanera Mor, an beautiful island off the Scottish North-West coast, and I know she is planning more retreats in the Scottish Highlands. You could also opt to spend time in the beautiful Welsh countryside together with Brenda Dayne (of Cast On podcast fame) and Felicity Ford at the Gwlana retreat. I am sure there are other retreats scattered around the British isles - do share your info in the comments section if you know of any!

Finally, thank you for all your kind words about the passing of my art teacher. It was a hard post to write.

Adventures on Arran

To my great delight and surprise, my partner whisked me away on a trip to the Isle of Arran this weekend. The Isle of Arran is about two hours away from Glasgow by train and ferry, but I had never been.

I twigged I had arrived among kindred spirits when we noticed small sheep statues along the coast.

The easiest way to get around Arran is by bus - we asked to get dropped off at Sannox about 8 miles north of the ferry terminal. Sannox stems from the Viking place name "Sand Vik" (Sandy Bay) - always a pleasure to see places my Viking ancestors have been!

We headed towards Glen Sannox - the walkers' guide labelled this "an easy ramble with stunning scenery". The first part of the path was easy (and we stopped to eat brambles - Arran clearly has a micro-climate quite unlike the mainland).

The path into Glen Sannox became less friendly (and more boggy) after we crossed the stream. We walked towards Coire na Ciche (The Devil's Punchbowl) with the slopes of Goatfell on our left and the peaks of Cir Mhor and Caisteal Abhail in front of us. I was worried about how my injured left knee would hold up (especially as the path was not as gentle as we had imagined) - but although I was in pain, I did not have to resort to the heavy-duty pain killers and my knee only caused me to stumble occasionally.

We couldn't resist a selfie (though I look odd!). I wore my trusty Snorri jumper and i have a bit of a story to tell about the hat I'm wearing - but that's for another day.

No filter! When the sun came out, the colours were breathtaking. The clouds rolling over Cir Mhor (the peak in perpetual cloud) kept getting darker, though, and the already brisky wind got stronger. It was a beautiful, rich landscape. Wildlife was all around us too - we saw so many red deer that we got jaded (though I am sure they were not "wild" animals, just "managed"), various birds, the ever-present sheep and I even caught the eye of a little adder. But it was clear that we needed to head back before the clouds caught up with us.

It was just after midday, but it felt later. We retraced our steps, had the last of our packed lunch and then caught the bus (the bus - there are no other busses on Arran) making an almost full-circle of the island before going home.

What a lovely, special day. I don't get to go on adventure with my partner as much as I'd like but our trip to Arran was just perfect: stunning scenery, the best company in the world, apples in the backpack and I even cast on something very special whilst there. Magic.

A Month Ago: Unwind Brighton

Can you believe it's been a month since Unwind Brighton - that magical yarn event which felt more like a rock festival than anything else? No, me neither. So, in honour of Throwback Thursday, I thought I'd dig through my photos and conjure forth some memories.

Shawls at the p/hop stand.

My friend Karen's amazing, amazing bunny dress.

The Eden Cottage stall (before the marketplace opened; afterwards it was pandemonium)

Polo & Co from France

We heart John Arbon's Knit by Numbers DK

And the stunning Triskelion Yarn from Wales

And a pair of knitting geeks comparing mustard/brown shoes

Yeah, I loved Brighton and all the fabulous people I met there.