Exploration, & Radio Silence

'Best of Yarn' Compilation

I can make as many plans and lists as I like, but I certainly didn't think there would come a point where I hadn't managed to blog for almost a year.  A year!  It certainly doesn't feel like so much time has passed, or like I've been idle in the interim.

It would be too much to hope to catch up with all the lovely experiences I've had over the past 8 months, but I shall try to give you an overview:  There has been travel, living in campervans and exciting adrenaline activities.  New places, new scenery, new languages and ways of living.  There have been (and are) new people, both those met fleetingly, and those whom I now work with.  People who have taught me to embrace the joys in life, small treasures and simple pleasures, and also the inherent traits of those who I'd like to hope I would not emulate.  New studies, moving onto the next part of my diploma.  New work, settling into a new environment and way of thinking, new colleagues.  Last but not least, exciting knitting projects.

It is this last thought which finally prompted me to return to blogging.  I was listening to Jo (of Shinybees) on her podcast earlier whilst knitting - though we shall save *what* I was knitting for another post, hmm?

Jo talked about organising your stash when moving house, and shared her idea of 'Active Stash Exploration'.  When moving from Scotland in September, I rummaged through my stash.  I organised it, re-organised it, split it into purposeful piles and mixed it up again.  I carefully laid some yarn in storage bags, other skeins were gifted to friends.  I organised and re-organised the stash again.  The photo above is the final take.  My half-a-suitcase of yarn (plus 4 balls and 6 skeins bought on my travels...).

Active Stash Exploration (according to Jo), is the act of going through what you have, and appreciating it.  I feel I happened upon doing this by accident, but didn't think about it at the time - hearing Jo chat really rang bells with me.  I thoroughly enjoyed sorting my stash, and whilst I felt a small regret about having to leave most of it behind, I certainly brought more than enough...  And it's my favourites, it's the ones I have plans for, and the ones I might *actually* knit over the next 12 months or so!!  It's a 'best of stash' compilation, if ever there was one.

I realise all the labels aren't visible, but the pile includes Dye For Yarn silk, Eden Cottage Titus, Baa Ram Ewe Titus, Unicorn Tails from MadelineTosh (gifted to me by the beautiful Lauren @walkyouhome), Rainbow Heirloom, Skein Queen, La Bien Aimee, some glorious yarn from Iona where I went with my mummy before I left Scotland, some handspun, Triskellion, and lots of 'souvenir' yarn from my driving around NZ.

Currently, I'm seaming together something special for a wonderful collaboration with Clare (@knitsharelove).  This wee project is extremely exciting and I can't wait to share it with you!!  For the time being, I'll share this little sneak preview with you :D

 

 This magnificent shade was created by Helen (@thewoolkitchen), and as far as I understand, she has quite an exciting shop update coming tomorrow with lots of one-of-a-kind skeins!!  Due to moving countries I'm not currently able to indulge, but will definitely be sending someone with a shopping list to her stand at Edinburgh Yarn Festival!

What are you currently knitting?  Have you taken a new approach to your stashing recently?

Tea-riffic Night Out

I can only apologise for title-punning, but I'm really rather excited about an upcoming event which I wanted to share with you!!

Pictures (c) Clare Devine

Last year, Clare Devine launched a 'Tea Collection' containing several yummy hats.  This autumn she plans to complete the collection with some new hats, which are created in beautiful yarn (as always) hand-dyed by Jess of Ginger Twist Studio in Edinburgh.  

The pair are hosting a Tea Party at Pekoe Tea in Edinburgh.  It'll apparently involve tea, tea cocktails(?!) and nibbles.  The owner of Pekoe tea will be telling everyone about the tea, where it comes from, interesting things etc.  Yarn wise, there'll be lots of hat samples, yarns and patterns to play with!

There are two options to attend, the 'with yarn and patterns & baggie' version, and the tea only version.  I'm tempted to tell you not to be mad and that the second isn't a real option, but in the spirit of equal chances and all that, the two tickets are as follows:

Without Yarn:

 “Tea Tasting Experience” (or a Tea Cocktail of your choice) and plenty of chance to chat to Jon about the magical world of tea.

With Yarn:

• Your choice of pattern from The Tea Collection (or another of Clares patterns if you have it already)
• A fabulous skein of yarn from Ginger’s Hand Dyed to knit your very own “Tea Hat” - you can read more about the skeins and colours available over on Clares blog.
• A Neighbourhood Sheep Society tote bag

The Tea is between 7 and 9pm on the 17th of October, and tickets are available via the Ginger Twist website.   If you'd like more details about the event you can find a lovely blog post by Clare. 

I'll need to make sure I clear the needles before the middle of October...  

Is anyone else going??

Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl & New Socks

Oh I've had such a wonderful, wooly week to remember during this stressful week!  Recently I attended the second annual Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl in Edinburgh.  This ran over Saturday & Sunday, with a party on Sunday evening which I, unfortunately, couldn't attend.

Three yarn stores in Edinburgh take part: Ginger Twist Studio, Kathys Knits & Be Inspired Fibres.  The aim of the game is to trail around the different shops, collecting stamps on your crawl card (& yarn, & needles, & notions) as you go.  It's very friendly, each of the shops stock quite different yarns so it really is a worthwhile wander, and it's a good excuse for a day out!

 

 

I arrived bright and early before the crawl for exciting yarny chat, then proceeded to buy the first skein of yarn I managed to lay my hands upon in Ginger Twist Studio!  It really couldn't be resisted, because it was a one-off yarn crawl colourway on a very smooshy sock base.

The yarn is hand dyed by Jess, proprietress of Ginger Twist Studio. It's a wonderful purple, and due to the nature of hand dyed, I picked out a more uniformly dyed skein from the pile (I'm such a fan of those semi-solids).  The base is Swell Ewe Sock, which is 80% superwash merino, 20% nylon.

Also hidden away in a corner of Jess shop was the lovely Clare Devine, who was launching her new Sock Anatomy book.  It's filled with simple yet effective socks which use a variety of construction methods, explaining the rationale behind each method, when to use it and why.  Each sock also comes sized from baby to giant so will fit everyone!  Maybe you could even knit a you and tiny size for matching sets...

This wonderful combination of ladies couldn't be passed up, and I quickly cast on some Tarsi socks from the book with my new yarn.  My poor friend Cia ended up playing at skein-winder-extraordinaire on the train home because I simply couldn't wait to cast on :D

I've been wearing these socks ever since they were finished, and am loving them.  I knit the XS size and did worry part-way through that they'd be too small but they've turned out wonderfully.  They've been keeping me very comfortable during what has otherwise been a very stressful couple of weeks.  My grandmum had been quite sick for a couple of weeks and passed away last Wednesday, so this week has mainly been attending her funeral, which was remarkably lovely, and sitting the two day exam you've probably noticed me moaning about lots.  

It feels like a strange thing to say, that a funeral for a loved one was lovely, but there really is no other way to describe it.  If there's a way to be sent off, that was it.  I couldn't have asked for more, for her or for my family, and that makes everything feel a little easier.  The strange thing about funerals is that, whilst saying goodbye to someone you won't see again, you also end up seeing lots of people you wouldn't see otherwise.  It's an odd sort of symmetry.

The evilmassivestupid exam is now over too - it was 8 hours on Wednesday & 4 hours on Thursday.  I won't find out the result for four weeks, but it's a massive weight off my shoulders.

However, I appear to have broken myself slightly!  It's very lovely and sunny outside, and my mum has offered to pick me up for a barbecue in her garden before my night-shift tonight, so I think I'll take her up on that :)  

There are quite a few work emails to reply to which have piled up over the past few days, and some wonderful knitting ones which have waited slightly longer, but I'm afraid they'll have to wait another day or so.  

Sometimes, perhaps, it's braver to accept that you're only mortal than to plough on regardless. 

 

As an aside, it looks like this little guy is going to flower soon :D