On the Road

I have been travelling quite a bit for work lately. Fortunately, travelling frequently means uninterrupted knitting time - and so I have been able to get a few things well under way recently.

This particular project is part of my oft-mentioned Doggerland collection. The design uses Faroese Snældan 1ply yarn - and I am happy to announce that the yarn will soon be available to purchase in the UK thanks to The Island Wool Company. My Doggerland collection even has a tentative release date too: look out for more announcements and a slew of blog posts towards the end of February. It has been a long time coming, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, I have been knitting my way up and down the country. London was on the itinerary earlier this month. I managed to combine seeing trends in summer knitwear with a trip to Loop London (very cute place - I escaped with buttons) and hanging out with good buddies. Still, London is no longer as magical as it seemed when I first visited aged 13. Then again, few things are as magical as they seem when you are young.

And yesterday I was assigned the role of Official Photographer when a real textiles legend came to Edinburgh.

Again. Travelling. Again. Knitting on my way there. Not a bad way to spend one's life.

First I had brunch with a handful of Edinburgh knitters (thank you for the company). I also visited a new Edinburgh yarn shop run by the very lovely Kathy who is the sole UK stockist  of lace yarn from St. Kilda (ooh).

I really enjoyed meeting Kaffe Fassett. As you might imagine he had interesting things to say about colour, drawing upon tradition, and how to engage with textiles. I mentioned my mild obsession with knitters' hands and he responded by talking about he thinks about his own hands when he works and what handmade means compared to machine-made. I was also taken with the thoughtful way he spoke about conformity and the 20th century rejection of folkloric traditional art.

Mostly I felt I was bathing in a sea of colour (which was impressive seeing it was a dark and dreary November night). Then I travelled home whilst knitting. Yet again.

My Lovely Woollie Horse(s)

"Did you see the 'knit your own sheep' thing outside?" - "I am not sure I want to know.." Dave and I are creatures of habit and we have frequented the same little antiques shop for years. We have come to know the guys running the place quite well: they ask me how to thread a vintage sewing machine, we bring them tea, and the banter is always exquisite. Occasionally I go home with vintage buttons. However, the guys are also very good at pulling practical jokes and I thought the 'knit your own sheep' remark was one of them.

Then I saw what they had put aside for me.

"Are they knitting looms?" one of them asked. No, not knitting looms. "I saw them in the house - this 1930s place up north - and I thought of you," the other one said. "They're yours if you want them."

And so this afternoon I became the proud (if bewildered) owner of two pre-WW2 woollie horses.

They both bear brass plaques marking them out as Tulloch of Shetland woollie horses. The only thing I have been able to discern is that the V&A have a Tulloch of Shetland woollie horse in their collection (identical judging by the description? I am basing my dating upon them, incidentally). Anybody able to shed more light on this company?

So, what is a woollie horse? It is more commonly known as a jumper stretcher or a jumper board. You use them to quickly dry wool jumpers and stop the jumper stretching out of shape whilst drying. They are still being manufactured - Jamieson & Smith sell them - and are said to still being used extensively in Shetland.

Seeing as I would not use two woolie horses, I have given the second one to Ms Old Maiden Aunt. It will feel right at home in her shop window.

That awkward moment..

.. when the media decides to call you an expert .

(thank you Alison for the commemorative photo)

10,328

I was going to write a long post about being strapped into a rollercoaster of woah and longing for days of meh. I had it all worked out in my head, but once I had written it down, my brilliant metaphors seemed significantly less brilliant and more .. belaboured. And as we all know that belaboured prose is one of the cardinal sins, I will quietly forget that blog post I composed in my head this morning over breakfast. Life is rushing past me at the moment and I find it difficult to catch my breath. I remember that feeling from my university days when I found a rich seam of information to mine and just lost myself in the library. It is so tempting to just step into that slipstream of excitement, fascination and intense, hard work - but these days I have some very good reasons as to why I cannot quite allow myself this. Back at university I would end up with ulcers - these days my body has other acute reactions that I should very much like to avoid (not that I am very good at avoiding them - as I am typing this, I have a very distinct headache brewing). It is just difficult to remember to say no to exciting opportunities - especially when I am having so much fun.

A fellow freelance knitting person recommended Asana to me the other day and it has already given me so much. It is a time and task management tool that is geared towards small teams, but works really well for this one-woman venture too. I have slotted in all my to-do tasks and I can already see where things are potentially clashing and how I can push one task into another time slot.So useful: I might even end up with some spare time on hands at some point!

I have already begun plotting what I would like to do with potential spare time: I'd like to whip up a few sewing projects, I'd like to finish my Acer cardigan in time for winter, I'd like to see some friends, and I'd like to read some proper books. My partner gave me a Kindle for our anniversary and while I have been using it a lot for nefarious knitting purposes, I have also devoured a lot of bad regency romances (which in itself is a sure sign of me being stressed).

(What? You think me plotting activities for my spare time is a sign of impending doom? I think you might be right. Ahem.)

Forthcoming:

+ if you have signed up to the Karie Bookish Knits/Old Maiden Aunt yarn club, the yarn parcels are under way and the first pattern will land in your inbox this Friday around noon UK time. This means I can finally blog about a Finished Object - that very thought thrills me no end!

+ I will be part of the "Reviving Woollen Traditions" Public Study Day at Glasgow's The Lighthouse Design Centre on October 18. This Public Study Day forms part of a Glasgow University research project and although the day is open to the public, I believe the organisers still would like you to sign up. It looks ace and I am looking forward to meeting a lot of online friends who are also participating.

Finally: 10,328? Ah. The number of stitches I knitted on Sunday. In laceweight. Doing lace. My wrists and shoulders are still aching.

Sanity: Restored

Oh how I wish I were still sitting here..

We unplugged ourselves from the world  - no computers and no smart-phones - and went up north for a mini-holiday. Dave grew up on Scotland's North East coast and I always love visiting his childhood landscape. The light is different up north - it is thinner and bluer - and to me it feels very Scandinavian. It was a joy to sit on the beach and watch the North Sea roll towards us again and again and again.

And although the light was thin and blue, it was also strong. The UK had another bad bout of weather this week, but somehow the North Sea Coast emerged relatively unscathed .. apart from sea foam. We basked in unexpected sunshine, skipped stones and tried to identify sea birds.

We had no trouble identifying these geese flying south for the winter. The birds were everywhere in the sky and flew in the most marvellous formations.

And there were muddy fields too. We went in search of prehistoric sites near the coast and found two stone circles just 300 metres apart. It was an interesting walk towards the two sites as tractors had been working the muddy fields and we had to navigate our way around the worst tractor tracks whilst trying to avoid stepping in cow pats. One of us was successful (hint: it wasn't me). The two sites - Auchquhorthies and Old Bourtreebush - were my first UK stone circles and I'd be interested in following the Causey Mounth track. I'll need to invest in proper wellies first. And maybe learn how to pronounce "Auchquhorthies"..

 It was sad having to leave our little beach haven with its stone circles, fishing huts and picturesque cottages. It was also sad saying adieu to family and new-found friends (such as Hattie the Horse with her on-trend haircut). Alas, the modern world awaits us and I have patterns to finish, samples to knit, and workshops to teach.

But it was good to get away for a few days. I feel a lot more sane than I did just a week ago.

Excursion

Tell you a secret: I slept in today. We are having overseas visitors at the moment. I love showing off Glasgow to friends and family - we live in such a beautiful area and there are many places to see and explore. However, I am still working full-time on top of playing tourist guide, so I am feeling both scattered a tired.

Sleeping in today was much needed. Instead of my usual Wednesday routine, I have just done a few loads of laundry, done some work in front of the computer and the rest of today will be spent working up swatches. Today is a slow day and all the better for it.

One of our visitors is a keen knitter who had long wanted to see a working woollen mill. So, on Sunday we took them to New Lanark which is a nearby UNESCO Heritage Site: a restored cotton mill and a social history gem. With yarn.

New Lanark was bathed in sunshine - which was a first for me - and they also hosted a Victorian Fair. The Fair played host to all the usual suspects: a school band with a mean fiddler, an ice cream vendor, a Punch & Judy booth, a stall selling homebaked goods, a young girl playing an Irish Harp, face-painting and so forth. Dave indulged in some falconry and I may have bought some yarn..

We saw a few interesting vehicles - such as this steam automobile/locomotive (I am not quite sure how to categorise this thing!)..

.. and the first Penny-farthing I have ever seen in the wild. Strangely enough, I saw my second-ever Penny-farthing the very next day rushing up the hill two streets down from my home. Go figure.

We did a bit of hiking too - along the Falls of Clyde. For some reason we've never made it as far as the Corra Linn (linn is Scots for waterfalls) although it is just a 20 minute walk from the New Lanark village. There was a bit of climbing involved, though, and my calves were killing me the next day. Corra Linnwas not in full flow - but it is still an impressive sight. The water falls some 90 feet and the waterfall is surrounded by steep cliffs and beautiful woodlands. Next time I'll wear better footwear and we'll bring a packed lunch.

Yarn, eh? I was going to be a good girl but I found a 4000 yrds cone of fingering weight yarn in a gorgeous olive green (cue shocked gasps from the gallery) for just £10. How could I resist?

Maybe if I had known that I'd be subjected to very rare Hunters of Brora yarn at my knitting group just a few days later.. but that is a story for another day..