Looking Forward to the Edinburgh Yarn Festival - pt 1

Outside is dreary: slushy snow, temperatures hovering around zero, the sky is dull, and we have precious little natural light. I am wearing enough layers to make me feel like the Michelin Man. Of course thoughts turn towards The Good Things Ahead. While I love February (it is my birthday month - more on that later!), I am really, really looking forward to March and the Edinburgh Yarn Festival.

Last time EYF happened, it was really quite special. The warm reception from the knitting community took everybody by surprise: the venue was packed, the vendors were shell-shocked, the on-site cafe couldn't cope, and the teachers (of which I was one) were taken aback by the interest. The organisers took time off to reassess and then came up with EYF 2015 which is bigger in every way imaginable. The venue has changed to the Corn Exchange, the vendors list has more than doubled, the teaching line-up is astounding (and I am there too), there is the innovative  Podcast Lounge  and there are other things happening which I cannot tell you about just yet. So, basically, it is bigger and bolder than before.

But the yarny events calendar is so full, I hear you cry.

Here's what makes EYF different: it is rooted in a very specific community and despite all the changes/growth, it keeps that community spirit. Central Scotland is a hotspot if you like your 21st century knitting. So many innovative designers and dyers live here - people who inspire and energise the online community every single day. I am big believer in creative clusters and we definitely have one right here. At the same time we are also fortunate to live with a strong Scottish textile heritage and knitting tradition(s). The first EYF fed off the marvellous synergy and I know this has continued with the 2015 event. It is more than just a place where we can buy gorgeous yarn - it is going to be inspiring, empowering, thought-provoking and damn fun.

Quite apart from my own plans, I am really looking forward to catching up with exciting vendors. I met The Border Mill at the last EYF and they have such a great story to tell. I cannot wait to see how they've expanded and what products they are bringing to the festival. Midwinter Yarns is a company close to my heart. Estelle is a fellow Scandinavian whose focus is to bring fabulous Scandinavian yarns to Britain. The Gotland DK is especially beautiful. A long-time favourite of mine, Eden Cottage Yarns will be bringing their new Bletchley-inspired collection with them. I hope to catch up with its designer Joanne Scrace during the festival. Weftblown is an innovative weaving company from the Scottish West Coast whose work is rooted in weather systems and landscapes. I have seen a tiny bit of Ange's work and am looking forward to learning more. And, as always, I am looking forward to catching up with dear friends (many of which are vendors, so I'll be waving in passing).

And now for the big question: what shall I knit? You may be interested to know that I have some design plans up my sleeve. That's for the next post..

See you there?

That Was The October That Was

Lately I have had my head buried in spreadsheets, charts, style sheets and gauge swatches. All work and no play makes for a dull Karie. Sure, there were some bright spots (like my surprise trip to Arran) but I've mainly focused on ticking off items on my to-do list.

I celebrated Socktober by getting stuck into sock design for the first time. I have always had a mild phobia of feet (don't ask) but several people challenged me to conquer my phobia. I am glad I did because I really enjoyed playing around with a new canvas and checking out new techniques. I'm joining forces with Ms Old Maiden Aunt for her 2015 club - three exclusive colourways and three sock patterns by yours truly. I am truly excited to hear what people think of my sock patterns as it's a new area for me. I am not ruling out designing more socks, incidentally, as my friend Paula gave me a pair of luxurious hand-knitted socks as a belated birthday present and I love them to bits.

Just don't make me look at other people's toes, aghr.

Another highlight was teaching workshops. I really love teaching - that moment a tricky technique is mastered by someone or I can see someone getting it .. well, you cannot beat that feeling. One of my workshops took place at Dundee's Fluph yarn shop. We had six native languages between us and experience ranging from "designing my own jumpers" to "I learned to knit three months ago and have never worked in the round". Just such a great time and I love the six finished mini jumpers. All speak of the knitters' personalities and how much they were up for a challenge. The red jumper on the left? The lady had never attempted colourwork before and was excited to put small borders on her jumper. Ace stuff.

New designs? Yes. I finished nine new designs this months - including the three sock patterns that pushed me out of my comfort zone. I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone doing that many designs in a month, but I found being busy silenced that annoying voice going "it's not good enough, Karie". I have struggled with perfectionism and impossibly high standards before - and it was interesting to see how being busy felt liberating.

I was excited to meet and chat with Susan McComb, the Knitter-In-Residence at Glasgow University for Wool Week. The residency was an extension of the ongoing Knitting in the Round project and since I have been part of the project in a number of ways, I was looking forward to seeing Susan's work. She had translated architectural details found around campus into knitting patterns, had taught knitting workshops throughout the university and spoken with Material Culture students about textiles. Susan spoke with passion about keeping your eyes open and knit what you see in every day life (this reminded me of Felicity Ford's recent work). We had a great conversation about inner/outer landscapes and the relationship between landscapes and textiles. Incidentally, if you can make it, the Knitting in the Round project has a workshop on Sanquhar knitting in Sanquhar tomorrow, November 1.

And I finished the Doggerland collection, my word. Part of me thought I would never get to the finishing line as the aforementioned perfectionism reared its ugly head again and again. But I did finish and I cannot quite believe that something that was inside my head for so long is now out in the world. The finished collection is almost 50 pages long (only because I used a relatively small sized font, ha ha) and has 8 patterns with essays and hand-drawn schematics.

I love collaborations and working closely with others on a design brief - but I take great pleasure to looking at Doggerland knowing it would not exist if it weren't for my stubbornness and my odd ideas.

It has also been quite overwhelming listening to people's responses - and i mean that in a positive way! I have been corresponding with few knitters (and non-knitters) over the past year or so, and I have heard so many incredible stories about how Doggerland has affected them or made them think. I'll be sharing some of those stories in a separate post, but it is truly one of the joys of my life that my work can affect people. It feels quite humbling.

So. November. What will November bring? Some time to breathe?

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.

One City, Three Yarn Shops: Achievement Unlocked!

Yesterday saw the inaugural Indie Burgh Yarn Crawl in Edinburgh. Hundreds of knitters* visited three of Edinburgh's finest yarn shops - Kathy's Knits, Be Inspired Fibres and Ginger Twist Studio - before meeting up for an after-party at Safari Lounge. Several Glasgow friends saw it as a great opportunity to try out new-to-them yarn shops; I needed to meet up with Susan Crawford (who was doing a meet & greet in Ginger Twist Studio); and there was a special birthday celebration too.

* literally, hundreds.

Away we went.

And it was good.

We started out at Kathy's Knits where I was delighted to meet Lucy Hague, designer of exquisite cables. The book selection was great as per usual, and I nearly succumbed to Blacker Yarns' St Kilda lace yet again. Instead we went across the road to have lunch - oh, those smoked salmon bagels- before heading out to Be Inspired Fibres.

The yarn crawl was starting to get busy now: the queue for the till was nearly 15 minutes long and I scrambled to find dye lots for knitters (with Mei's permission). Friends fell in love with Mei's selection of yarn and came away with quite significant hauls. I was particularly pleased to see the massive love of Nordic yarns and books. A special shout-out to Leona from Fluph (Dundee's newest LYS) who had left her shop in the capable hands and paws of Mr & Doggy Fluph to go yarn crawling. That is what I call knitterly dedication!

After a much needed breath of fresh air, the end was in sight and we made our way to Ginger Twist Studio.  At which point this happened:

GTS is like the Kylie Minogue of yarn shops: small, but perfectly formed. Because of its petite nature, we had to wait our turn to go inside. Thankfully Thinking Chocolate was next door and I spent a happy fifteen minutes talking flavour concepts and chocolate-making with TC's Nadia. You should try her amazing haggis-inspired truffles: chocolate truffles flavoured with black pepper, mace, nutmeg and salt.

Back to GTS and then it looked like this:

It felt like being back at the scrum of the Edinburgh yarn festival. Eventually I made it through the crowd, gave Susan some much needed (artisan) chocolate, and I ended up with a lot of Susan's new yarn, Fenella. It's a 3-ply mix of Exmoor Blueface and Bluefaced Leicester - and it is lovely.

The after-party at the Safari Lounge looked amazing - there is no party like a knitter's party - but unfortunately most of us had to leave before the party really kicked off. I did get a chance to admire yarn crawl hauls and talk a tiny bit of Swedish with a woman who had come over from Stockholm for yarn crawl reasons (amazing). I was also getting really tired after all the sunshine, all the yarn, and all the people.

Then, thankfully, it was time to kick back with a bit of Pimm's, a very cute dog and a chillin' BBQ with copious yarn talk (no photos because all logical thoughts fly out my head when I'm tickling a dog's tummy).

It was nearly midnight before I finally arrived home. The sky was still light. I was tired but happy. What a lovely way to spend Midsummer.

(pssst. yes, work was involved but you will find out more this autumn and early next year)

(psssssst. thank you to Elaine for getting me use her twitter pun as my blog post title)

Save the Date: Knit Works

Keep an eye on  the National Museum of Scotland, The Danish Cultural Institute and the Edinburgh Fashion Festival websites for more information. Yes, I am involved and, yes, it has an incredible line-up, and, no, I am not allowed to tell you more right now.