Woolly news: November 2014

Lots of woolly / knitting things seem to have happened since my last Woolly News mainly as a result of my holiday.

As you will know I recently returned from the Isle of Lewis and before leaving gave careful consideration to my holiday knitting projects.   One of my projects was nearly scuppered when two hours into our journey we discovered that my birthday presents had been left at home.  I was obviously upset but then released that I had asked for some new 4.5mm circular needles.  The size I needed for my Vaila shawl......... Luckily I found a charity shop after getting off the ferry and purchased some plastic straight needles.  Problem solved!

I started and finished two of my holiday knitting projects and I am still working on Mr D's socks.  I didn't get around to starting my gloves.  

The first project started (on my birthday) was my Dufton hat in Eden Cottage Whitfell Chunky.  I finished this the following day and then wore it pretty much everyday during the holiday.  The pattern was easy to follow with extra tips if you wanted to make the hat longer, which I did.  The Whitfell Chunky knitted up really well and despite it being amazingly soft has stood up to some pretty harsh treatment / weather.  It still looks and feels great.  I highly recommend both the yarn and the pattern!

On the journey up to Lewis and throughout the holiday I kept working on Mr D's socks.  Whenever I picked up my other projects I think he got a bit jealous!  I reached just after the heel on the first foot while away.  Thanks goes to Mr D for helping me with the maths for the heel.  While the pattern gave some advice on making different sizes it gave no information on the heel section!  Luckily Mr D worked it out and it seems to have worked ok.


My final holiday project was my Vaila shawl designed by Clare Devine.  This was cast on with a glass of whisky to hand while it rained cats and dogs outside.  Again this was a great holiday pattern - easy so I could gaze at the view but with a bit of lace to keep the mind focused. The pattern was written in a very friendly style with lots of additional information (including to to use charts) and space to write out your rows and weights.  I was a bit gutted I was not able to wear it while on holiday but it needed a good block.  Fizz very kindly modelled it once home and blocked. I would love to knit this again perhaps in an aran weight.  

Now holiday purchases...... there were quite a few!  I bought a lot of wool from the two Harris Tweed and Knitwear shops (The purple skein top right is an example).  Their wool is all DK and sold in weight rather then per ball.  It is a very woolly wool and not to everyones taste.  I am not even sure I could wear it directly against my skin.  I have cast on Bru by Amanda Collins (as part of her Glasgow Kal) (Ed its finished and blocking, I will update you next month) with one of the skeins.  So it will be interesting to see if it softens up with washing / blocking.


I also made a few special purchases including some hand spun (the grey with pink, blue and green flecks) and hand dyed (the rest in the photo)!     

Post holiday blues

We arrived home last Sunday having spent an amazing two weeks on the Isle of Lewis.  I always feel a bit down at the end of a holiday so to cheer me up I thought I would just share a few of my holiday thoughts and photos.

Landscape - Its got to be said it's a pretty harsh landscape.  There are lots of rocks and areas were only the toughest heathers and ferns can grow.  Mr D commented that there were practically no trees but I found it stunning to look at.  The colours were mostly a deep golden colour which reminded me of my graduation cowl.  The beaches were something else...... the sands were powder white and the seas, even in the rain and gloom, were a vivid blue.  

Entertainment - There was nothing around us apart from a few croft houses and a few people living in the old RAF buildings.  The nearest pub was a hour and a half away but it didn't bother us!  I had my knitting and Mr D had lots of books.  The Longhouse where we stayed also had a really good selection of history books about Lewis and a small selection of DVD's including Whisky Galore.  We watched it one evening and I loved it so much I insisted we watch it again the following week!

Weather and Wildlife - we expected the worst but in fact the weather apart from a few days was alright.  Let's just say I only had to wear my unflattering waterproof trousers a few times when the rain was lashing down!  I did have to fight with the wheelie bins in some strong winds one afternoon which was fun.  I had visions of being carried off into the distance.  While not strictly wildlife I loved the local cattle and the could not care less attitude of the sheep which graze in common grazing areas.

Islanders - It might have been a coincidence but the majority of people I chatted to were English!  From the owners of the local croft (who also owned our Longhouse), to the postman we spoke with, to the gentleman I chatted to in a Harris Tweed shop!  

Sites - During our two weeks not only did we have lots of Fizz walks on the beaches but we visited many of the sights on the Island.  Unfortunately Lewis closes down in the winter for tourists so not everything was open (including tea
rooms).  Some of my favourites are the Callanish Standing Stones where we walked to the three different sites despite the boggy conditions and had some very yummy soup in the visitor centre afterwards.  The Blackhouse Museum was very interesting.  You are able to go inside a Blackhouse which had a peat fire lit in the centre.  I wasn't entirely happy inside as there were massive cobwebs (obviously) but I stuck it out.  From there you can then go into a Whitehouse which the islanders were forced into.  I also went into three very different churches, (one a ruin) but all had some really detailed tomb carvings.

The Year in Books: November

Once again I am joining in with Circle of Pine Trees and The Year In Books. My October read was one of The Man Booker Prize Shortlisted books - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler.

The Good

I knew nothing of the storyline before I began the book so was entirely surprised when the twist came about a quarter of the way through!  Without giving the story away the book is about family relations and how an event can effect different members of the family in different ways.  It's told from the viewpoint of Rosemary, one of the daughters in the family, and explores how she understands her family life.  There are some very thought provoking chapters along the way!

The not so good 
I was not a massive fan of the final part of the story.  It seemed a bit too straightforward.  However, it did tie everything together so perhaps I'm being too picky!  The other thing which might bother some people, but I didn't mind, is that the story jumps backwards and forwards in time a lot which, if you think in a chronological way, might make it hard to keep track. 

I would recommend We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - its a book based elements of fact and I thought it was an interesting read. I would be interested in your thoughts if you have read the book.  Did you know about the twist before you started reading it?

Next Up - November reads 
I had just about finished the book when the winner of The Man Booker Prize was announced.  So Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep South is my current read.

Also coming with me on holiday this month will be another shortlisted book Neel Mukherjee's The Lives of Others.  For a bit of variety I will also be taking two books I have recently purchased - Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry and Laura Cumming's A face to the World On Self-Portraits.  It is unlikely I will read everything while I am away what with all the knitting projects I plan to take!  I will let you know how I get on next month!

Holiday greetings

Hello from the Isle of Lewis

I thought I would share some photos with you of our holiday so far. 

Our holiday home - I wish it was mine!

First holiday knitting project finished. Dufton hat by Victoria at Eden Cottage Yarns.

Fizz exploring the Callanish stones

A broch

Grayson Perry's The Vanity of Small Differences

I've been meaning to visit Grayson Perry's The Vanity of Small Differences ever since it opened at Temple Newsam, near Leeds back in August.  I have never seen any of his works in the flesh so I was more than happy to get the opportunity to pop to Leeds last week and see this exhibition.  

While I was inside the house Mr D and Fizz explored the house's extensive grounds. Fizz chased squirrels and swam in the lake for extra fun!  The entrance fee of £4.50 allows you into the house and exhibition  (free for Art Fund members).  I took the opportunity to look around the house before making my way to the second floor where the exhibition was held. The house has some interesting elements (and super friendly and helpful staff) but I would not have gone had it not been for the exhibition.  My lasting impression of the house is of it being quite dark (the tapestries themselves were well lit) so seeing the first (of six) of the exhibition tapestries in all its bright multi colour glory made a vivid impact.  

The six tapestries follow the life of Tim Rakewell and his rise through the social classes. Each one explores an element of his life from birth to death. They are jam packed with visual and cultural references of modern life so there is lots to look at!  The exhibition wasn't very busy so I was able to sit in front of each one, take in the work and try and work out the story before reading the notes in the informative free leaflet.  The tapestries did not dominate the space they were hung in which made sitting and looking at them a really enjoyable experience.

Unlike a lot of Modern Art, Perry's series of tapestries for The Vanity of Small Differences was really easy to engage with and understand.  There was a lot of text sewn into the tapestries which explained the story of each one.  Some of this text was obvious but there was also hidden words which took some seeing!  

I would highly recommend seeing this if you are interested in art of any genre.  I got a lot out seeing the tapestries and would happily go back again.  There is so much visual information that you would spot different things each time.  Mr D and I can also recommend the cafe in the Stable Courtyard, a short walk from the house itself.  We had lunch there (Mr D a burger and I the stew) both made  using the estates own rare breed meat.  Very nice indeed! The Vanity of Small Differences is at Temple Newsam until the 7th December 2014. 

Have you been anywhere recently? Let me know........ 

Holiday knitting

Its taken a while but I have finally decided on my knitting projects to take with me to the Isle of Lewis.  A few considerations had to be kept in mind including space in the car and the difficulty of the pattern.  Space wise, despite having an average sized family car, traveling with a large dog is a bit like travelling with children.  They need space (Fizz has the boot to herself) not to mention the paraphernalia that accompanies them.  Food, treats, toys, beds, dog towels and not forgetting lots of dog bags all have to go on the back seats of the car along with our suitcase, holiday baking, wellies / boots and food for the journey. This meant that my holiday knitting projects need to be as compact as possible   I also want to take a variety of projects so garment knitting was out.


I didn't want anything too difficult. It is a holiday after all and I didn't want to be sitting there on an evening getting stressed by a particularly taxing project!  And so my following choices were made.  

Mr D has been interested in a pair of socks ever since I finished my first pair in March.  He choose the wool himself and as he only wants plain socks they are an ideal project to take.  The pattern includes and explains the maths to make different sizes so I had the joy of measuring his feet to work out how many stitches I needed to cast on.  Not something I am overly happy about and still recovering from the experience!  These were cast on this week as I want them to be my car knitting project (when I'm not driving I quickly add!).


I have chosen three other projects (there may be an additional one sneaked in at the last minute) based on the designers being super fab people and the patterns being straightforward but interesting!  The first is Victoria at Eden Cottage Yarns Dufton hat 
pattern.  I will be using Victoria's new 

Whitfell Chunky baby alpaca, which I wrote about last month.  The hat has a nice diamond cable pattern which all nicely meet at the crown of the hat.  Hopefully there will be some photos of me modelling my finished hat next month!  With the left over wool I am going to make Victoria's Langrigg fingerless mitts. This will be first attempt at thumb holes as my previous mitts have been straightforward tubes. 


Last but no means least is is Clare Devine's Vaila shawl.  Clare herself has knitted this shawl in the same Brigantia yarn as my Lush cardigan.  It just so happens that I have one skein left so it was obviously meant to be.  There are a couple of things I love about this pattern.  First, it can be knitted in any weight of wool and Claire has provided notes in the pattern regarding this.  Secondly it is perfect holiday knitting.  Due to its construction you have nice easy garter stitch with a little bit on concentration at the start or end of a row!  

So these are my holiday knitting projects.  I can't wait to be sitting in our holiday cottage looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. A glass of something by my chair and Fizz snoring away in front of the fire!

  

Woolly news: October 2014

Since Septembers Woolly News I am very happy to report that I have finished my lacy scarf  which I had entered as part of the WIP Crack Away KAL.  Originally I had planned to keep working on the scarf until I had used all the wool. I realised half way through that if I continued to the end the scarf would be long enough to wrap around not only me but Fizz and Mr D as well.  I cast off with 33g of wool left and the scarf nicely wraps around my neck several times.  With the remaining wooI I might see if I can make some wrist warmers or something similar.  

I was on a roll after finishing a WIP so I next planned to work on the cabled cushion cover.  This was cast on in August having purchased the kit at Woolfest.  Progress had stalled once I hit the cabled section as my stitch count was all over the place.  How annoying is that?  I'm certain user error was to blame but, in my defence, I was also finding the pattern hard to follow and was getting zero enjoyment out of it as a result.  I did love the New Lanark wool the kit came with but that's all.  After a moan on the WIP Crack Away thread on Ravelry I decided to frog the whole thing.  Not a decision I took lightly I hasten to add!

My Ammolite and OU Alumni badge

Now a confession.  I have also not been faithful to the WIP Crack Away KAL and casted on a couple of projects (sorry Louise and Nic).  I had a good excuse for one as it was to wear after my graduation.  This was the Tin Can Knits Ammolite Cowl.  The wool was purchased at Woolfest from The Little Grey Sheep who I  mentioned in my Yarndale post.  It was bought specifically to make the cowl for my graduation but I left it until the week before to cast on!  It was plain sailing though and I love the end result. The Gotland Aran in the OMG! colourway was brilliant to knit with.  A perfect combination to wear after a great day.  

The second project I have no excuse for.  Its the dreaded Beekeeper's Quilt which I will probably finish when I am eighty!  I am not doing hexi puffs but flats as I can't see how the puffs would be practical.  Also absolutely no wool will be bought for this project as I using my 4ply / sock wool leftovers.  The hexi's are easy knitting which requires no thought.  I won't bore you with my progress every month, when I get to a hundred hexi flats I will let you know!  So far I have made seventeen so there is a long way to go.

More blanket news. I am still working the odd round on my crochet blanket.  It's my Social Knitwork project of choice as I can hook and talk at the same time!  Last week I cast on the Vivid blanket also by Tin Can Knits.  This is for a new family member due at the end of January.  I am using West Yorkshire Spinners Aire Valley DK, the colour choice was ably assisted by Mr D.  So far I have finished two squares and I like how the wool is knitting up and how well it blocks.  The squares are a bit fiddly to start with but I found them easier magic looping them rather than using double pointed needles.  There is a real danger I will not want to hand this blanket over once its finished! 


Well I think that me done.  What have you all been working on this month?