Yarn Dyeing Workshop

So, when I went to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival I spotted a rather large and overflowing stall called Yarn Pony

Although I didn't buy any yarn from this stall (sorry Mica) I was intrigued to learn that Mica runs Yarn Dyeing workshops, right here in Edinburgh. As soon as I got home I booked myself a place and went along last Saturday.

I had a really great day, here is the Yarn Pony Studio all ready for the workshop

We started by making our own dyeing recipes using small skeins of yarn, this was such fun, although I did struggle remembering which colours to combine to make another colour. When we finished our recipes we then had to pick the colour we wanted to use on a full size skein, this took a wee bit of cogitation, decisions, decisions!!

Here is my finished skein, I'm so pleased with it. It is a little greener in real life, the photo doesn't show that really.

There are no photos of the actual dyeing, because believe me I am the sort of gal who could easily drop my iPhone into a bubbling cauldron of dye!

The workshop was such good fun and it's set my brain whirring with all sorts of ideas.

Stash Building

Gosh I have really been building my stash lately, thanks in part to the delicious temptations found at The Woolly Brew, plus other bits and bobs, wanna see?

So, I bought a Crazy Zauberball to knit a shawl

 Some Rico Creative Poems, just because..... I mean look at these colours, incidentally these 3 balls are the same colour yarn, although the middle one looks like an interloper.

I also have some yummy Rowan Felted Tweed, this is to be used for a really easy poncho type garment, which is basically a large rectangle, folded and stitched in strategic places.

 As you can see, my IKEA shelf unit is filling up fast, but it's lovely to look at.

I've recently finished my first knitting project in, gosh I don't know, about 10 years! It's a shawlette, I'll share it with you soon.

The Woolly Brew

You know when you have in your mind what a perfect yarn shop should be? Mine is lots of choice, lots of up to date patterns and books, plenty of accesories, a table to sit and browse at, and of course lots and lots of colour!
 
Well, I was in for a treat on Saturday when I visited The Woolly Brew in Pittenweem, in the East Neuk of Fife.
 
I first found out about this lovely shop when I visited the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and since we often spend time in Fife with our caravan I resolved to go to the shop as soon as I could
 
Check out this palace of yarny gorgeousness!!

It also has tea and cake and a big table, I spent a good hour or so here browsing and the best thing is, they have a knitting night on Weds, which I hope to go along to.
 
I must confess my "I hate knitting because I am scared of it" attitude is on the wane. I've been on Ravelry and Pinterest looking for simple cardigan and sweater patterns, I may well be taking to plunge soon and actually making something not for the home or for wearing round my neck.
 
Any suggestions for easy to knit stuff folks?

Cowl Obsession

I LOVE making cowls, they are pretty easy to do, and if you put your mind to it you can complete one in a day or two, instant gratification. I have made about 6 so far, 2 I have had to part with as they are presents. Here are the 4 I have remaining

Actually the pink one is a bit of a cheat as I haven't finished it yet but I did finish the turquoise one made from 2 balls of Rowan Cocoon a couple of weeks ago.

On Thursday I dropped into Hobby Craft in Edinburgh, now I don't often visit this shop, when I was a paper crafter I used to find that their goodies were very overpriced, so I didn't expect to find anything in their yarn department to tempt me. How wrong I was. They have a 3 for 2 offer on all yarn at the moment, but they also have 50% off a selection of yarn including (gasp!) Rowan yarns.

I bagged myself 3 balls of Rowan Big wool what a bargain and such a cheerful pink colour! I mean who knew this would still be cowl making weather huh?

Look at the size of the hook, 10mm! Yesterday we drove to Glasgow and then on to Crieff and so I had plenty of time in the car for crochet time, I worked my way through 2 balls and I hope to finish this today.


This is NOT my pattern, there are various examples of this pattern on the web, I think I first got the idea from the Martha Cowl pattern, but that is no longer available so I am relying on memory. I think the best pattern I have found recently is  by Stephanie Lau who is a Canadian amigurumi designer, she has some great tips for crochet cowls. My cowls use half treble stitch (UK terms) whereas she uses treble stitch. 

The basic idea is to start with a long chain, then make a half double crochet in the 3rd chain from the hook, miss a chain, chain 1, then half double crochet into the next chain, chain 1, miss a chain, half double crochet in the next chain and so on till you reach the end. Join the ends, then chain 3 to begin and half treble into the chain one space, chain 1, half treble into the chain 1 space and so one until you get to the beginning again. Slip stitch into the chain space created by the chain 3. Chain 3, then half double crochet into the next Ch1 space, Ch1, and so on until the cowl is as wide as you want it to be

Stephanie recommends joining the cowl after the first row, believe me joining a chain without twisting it can be a bit tricky and you generally only find out you have twisted it after battling through the hideous first row and that can fill the swear box!

Talking of the first row in crochet, ugh can't that just be the pits? For this first row, I tend to crochet into the back of the chain, the "bobbly bit" you can see it below, I have marked it with a smaller crochet hook. You may have notice that I am a "lefty" from this picture, yup I am a left handed crocheter!

I used to get a bit stressed out about how many chains to start with, it generally depends on whether you want a single cowl or you want to twist it in half and double it up. If you join the ends together at the end of the first row, rather than just as the chain, you have a much better idea of the finished length.

I'm still working on my feather and fan cashmere scarf knitting project, slowly, slowly since I need to concentrate, I may need to join a convent for total peace and quiet - ha ha!!

76 Stitches......

I suppose it's a bit odd starting a blog with a post about knitting when my craft of choice is crochet, but I have been seduced by the most gorgeous yarn from Be Inspired Fibres. When I was at the Yarn Festival on Saturday I just kept returning to this one stall. 

Mei Cheung, the owner had knitted the softest, most gorgeous cashmere scarf using the Feather and Fan pattern on Ravelry, you can download it for free, search for Kelly Faller, or you can find it on the front page of her blog.  I just kept looking at it and feeling it, then I walked away and returned. Finally I took the plunge, and bought the most gorgeous skein of turquoise cashmere fingering.

Back home I downloaded the pattern and got cracking. I did have to wind the wool into a ball first, I don't have a ball winder (next investment perhaps?) so I did it by hand, sweating a bit in case I got it all cobbled up. Anyway it all worked out and I have actual knitting on the go.

It's a really easy pattern even for me, just 4 rows to repeat and only one has a pattern, 76 stitches of loveliness, heres a pic of my progress so far

It's a really dreary, wet day here and despite my daylight lamp the colour looks a bit more blue than it is in reality. I really have to concentrate when I knit, basically because if I get into a pickle and drop stitches I can't figure out how to recover and have to start over again - eek!!

I wanted to find a container to keep my ball of wool in so it would keep it's shape and I wouldn't be in any danger of it unravelling. So I found a solution, it's a plant pot from Ikea called Skurar.

I was going to use it for a candle but it has lovely lacy holes in it which are not jaggy and so perfect to thread the yarn through, plus it looks purty yessirree!

I do also have a couple of crochet projects on the go at the moment, so I will post about those soon.