What I made, by Sharon

I made Leon's hat to be using the Highland Rogue stitch pattern and the numbers from the Bracken beanie , since the beanie, made slouchy for me, fit him like he normally likes his hats. But we have had some issues with his hats. when in New Zealand his hat wasn't long enough to cover his ears, and in Scotland he actually bought a liner to keep the win out. so, I thought he should have a deep double brim this time. When I finished the hat, I quite liked the way the decreases look, but I was worried they were a bit too ruffled for a beanie. Would look good on a slouch hat though. I had Leon try it on and he was quite happy. Then we went to the park for photos, and I styled it hipster style, and I love it on Leon worn like this. I think it looks fine as a beanie, but as a hipster slouch hat, it's just perfect. Leon actually likes it this way too. I suggested putting a big, plump pom-pom on it, but he drew the line at that!

After I finished Leon's winter set 2018 mitts, based on Kate Davies' Highland Ro gue pattern, I decided to block one of them and not the other. Why? Because I wanted to see what difference, if any, a soak would make. The yarn is " oiled" for weaving. I know many (sensible) people would have knit a swatch before embarking on this project at all, but I figured these mitts were the swatch. I quite liked it before washing. I was a little worried they would grow, because they are none too tight . instead, after a wash the fibres bloomed: Blocked on the left, unblocked on the right It got tighter, fluffier and actively changed colours. Look at it now. Just a little bit cleaner, a little bit nice, a little bit better. Now I'm off the block the matching hat , and looking forward to seeing how that comes out.

I  knit Leon mitts and hat and a scarf every winter and usually I try to get it done by the end of March. This year it was all a bit delayed, because I bought the yarn at Edinburgh Yarn Festival and didn't cast on until we got home - mid April. "Luckily" because the weather is so screwed up it's definitely not winter knitwear weather right now - but the cold could hit any time! So, what am I knitting him? As discussed, I'm using Kate Davies "Highland Rogue" pattern as the stitch pattern for the set. The yarn is Arlandish , from the Isle of Mull.  At EYF I sought this out - I used to work at Duart Castle , on the Isle of Mull, so I have a lot of affection for the area. I wasn't expecting the person working the stall to be the actual weaver - or for her to be a New Zealander! We had a long chat about  Mull, being expatriates, weather and family, and then I bought this stunning cone of yarn: It's so sheepy and delicious. It doesn't wind...

As part of Kate Davies latest collection, she released a pattern called Highland Rogue . I immediately knew I was going to use it for Leon's winter set. I've actually made Kate Davies inspired winter sets for the last two years.   It seemed fitting, since this pattern is about Rob Roy, and Leon's nickname is Roy (Leon - Leroy - Roy. His friends are weird). Walking the West Highland Way, we walked through Rob Roy territory, seeing his (probable) cave. We also did some trail running on the Rob Roy Way. Rob Roy country I had already thought of making Leon a pair of socks in this stitch pattern, although in my head this was going to happen after I made his winter set. While we were heading for Inverness I realised I was going to run out of yarn before I was reunited with my EYF purchases. we visited a yarn shop in Inverness, and while it was not a bad shop, it had NO Leon coloured sock yarn. I was feeling quite desperate by the time we visited the small, multicraft shop...

When I got to Edinburgh, one of the first things that happened was an impromptu gift exchange. Kate made us all  project bags and brought Kiwi chocolate: and Kat gave us Northern Yarns Yealand Manor  (all the wool come from one flock of sheep!) and the Bracken Beanie pattern to match. During the trip I got obsessed with knitting this, and I cast it on as soon as I got home. Maybe it was me trying to extend my holiday - we saw a lot of bracken when we were hiking, or maybe it's because I don't have any cabled hats, or maybe I just wanted to. I don't think Skip realised he was meant to be taking pictures of the has, not my face It was a glorious knit. the yarn is stunning and sheepy and beautiful, the pattern well written and fun.  I love a ribbing that merges off into the body of the pattern. As I finished it I knew it needed a pom-pom. A big one. Sonia  was kind enough to bring  her clover pom-pom maker to Monday night knitting, and Katie "directe...

I'm not going to list everything I bought at EYF, beacuse that would be boring, but I am going to tell some stories - and then do a stash count, because I am apparently obsessed with statistics. I bought yarn for some big projects, all of which, I'm pleased to say were on my shopping list. I knew I wanted yarn for a Boxy pullover. Something speckled, but not loud. On the afternoon of the first day I mentioned this to Kate, who pulled me into the marketplace, looked around pointed to the Wool Kitchen ( who I had been following on Instagram for a while) and said - "There it is" and indeed, there it was, the perfect yarn : I also knew I wanted to buy yarn for Kate Davies'   Strathendrick jumper . Same shape, but colourwork. The show was crowded, and choosing colours is hard and I had basically given up by the afternoon. And then this lady walked past: Copyright @knitahedron I bailed her up, complimented her and then asked what yarn she used. "Its...

While I was away I planned to knit Andrea Mowry's What The Fade shawl. And I did. Short story! The full story: On the way to Islay This was a great travel project. I did cast on and learn to brioche on a car trip, which left me feeling a bit ill, but after that it was all smooth sailing. It was simple enough to knit in all circumstances, and the ever changing colours kept the interest up. I had the fun of buying the last two colours at Edinburgh Yarn Fest, and got a couple of speckled yarns from Mothy and the Squid!   They were the first things I bought at the festival, and they were exactatly what I was looking for: This shawl was originally a mystery knit a long and I cannot imagine doing it that way. The final rows are endless, which was fine for me - I did the 500+ stitch iCord cast off on a two hour bus trip. The shawl took me exactly four weeks, and on holidays I knit a lot! Did you know that you can open the bottom of your sleeping bag and wear it lik...

I really did plan to blog while I was away, but then I remembered how much I hate typing on my phone, so, here's the wrap up our month in Scotland, which divided itself neatly into 4 weeks: Week 1: Edinburgh Yarn Festival  I recommend reading Kate's wrap up , because she sums it up perfectly. Also, I failed to get a photo of the three of us in our stasis jumpers, so I've used hers: It was amazing, sharing an Air B and B with other knitters, getting to spend time with Kate, and getting to meet Grace and Kat in person. The festival itself was so much fun. I did most of my shopping on the Thursday, which was the quietest day. On the Friday I had an advanced Kitchener class with Woolly Wormhead, and a talk by the always inspiring Kate Davies , and Saturday I did a class about knitting and place with Karie Westermann , which changed the way I look at knitting design. One of the real highlight was walking around, or sitting in the marquee, seeing everyone...