On Friday, I had an hour in Edinburgh between the end of my work meeting and the train back home, so I did the only sensible thing and aimed for the nearest yarn shop :)
This was my first visit to Kathy’s Knits in Broughton Street. I had read a friendly review of the shop on Jean Miles’ blog and the promise of local and UK-sourced woolly goodness was too enticing to miss.
I was not disappointed.
I was the only customer, so I had the undivided attention of Kathy herself.
I went there in the hope that she might stock Yarn Pony. I had bought a single skein of sock wool at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, overwhelmed at the time by the choices and possibilities. Ever since, I have yearned for a cardigan’s-worth of Mica‘s yarn. I had been hoping she might open an online shop, but it hasn’t happened yet. Soon?
So when I spotted three cubby-holes of the mystical unicorn-like wool in Kathy’s shop, the outcome was inevitable.
I spent a long time weighing up my choices. There was not enough of any one colour to make a cardigan, but I was determined not to fall victim to my down-sizing tendencies, which would have sent me home with a lonely single skein to make a shawl or a pair of socks instead. This is the year of making things “for keeps”, so a cardigan’s-worth of Mustang superwash merino it had to be.
Kathy humoured my indecision and helped me try out all the yarns side by side. For a while, it was going to be a beautiful mottled mossy green with, maybe a deep claret contrast to make up the yardage. That was a close thing.
But in the end (and don’t forget I only had twenty minutes to spend in the shop!) I plumped for seaside stripes: sea and sand and sky. 1200 metres of hand-dyed beauty. Summer holiday knitting if ever I saw it!
I have not yet chosen a pattern. But it might be an adapted Vitamin D, or something more fitted by Ann Weaver? We’ll see. For the time being, it is stored out of reach of moths (I hope) while I finish FL’s birthday socks.
I also popped a shawl pattern into my bag: Firiel by Lucy Hague. There was a sample in the shop (using Yarn Pony, of course!) and I was smitten. It is worked sideways, so you can weigh your yarn, knit to the midpoint with half the skein, and then use up the remaining half on the second half of the shawl, with no wastage or fear of running out. Clever!
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| Picture copyright: Lucy Hague |
The photos on the pattern page are lovely but don’t do it justice – it looks even more striking in real life: a solid garter stitch centre with graphic lace stripes in a jagged-edged frame. It’s one of those strong and simple shawls which could work equally well as a man’s accessory.
I plan to try it out with some of the Crown Mountain Farms Sock Hop from my stash – maybe the denim blue colourway? Mmmm!