OK my knitting friends, let me tell you this once and once only: there is no wool to buy on Skye in March!
There are no cafes, no restaurants and no castles*.
There are sheep. There is rain. It is beautiful and romantic… but if you want tourism, you are too early. Go away and come back in April, after Easter. And don’t leave it too late, as it all closes down again in September.
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| Loud enough for you? |
Dunvegan? Closed. Shilasdair? Closed. Teos Handspun? Closed.
This is a lesson I ought to have learned on previous “spring breaks”, but when my dear FL asked me to book a holiday asap, while the going is relatively good, and asked for it to be on Skye, I didn’t argue. I love the West Coast.
The above, violently lemon skein of handspun goodness, is all I could find to spend my money on in an “art and craft” shop. (Don’t worry, I have a plan for it… and it doesn’t involve Easter chicks, tempting though it may seem.) There was Rico Creative Galaxy, Sirdar Click, and some pastel acrylic baby stuff, but a sock or sweater’s worth of actual baa-ing wool? Forget it. I asked the shop owner and she was sorry, but she was definitely the only wool-seller in town.
Luckily I brought my own supplies…
Today I tried to learn to knit two socks on one circular needle, top down.
With thanks to an amazing fast broadband connection (which I don’t have at home), I watched several online video tutorials and after two hours of study and swearing, I managed to achieve the lower, correct version of the cast on.
But as you can see, there is an ominous loop of loose yarn between the two sides of each sock. The upper photo, which shows my first disastrous attempt, demonstrates the root of my problem. That Addi Lace circular is too short and has a mind of its own. It pulls apart the two sides, however hard I try to resist. Sproiiiiing!
I consulted the good women of the Yarn Yard group on Ravelry, where Natalie is learning 2AAT toe-up, and the verdict was clear: wrong needles, Roo! Sigh. I’ll try again another day. Probably using a supersoft drapey Knitpro cable, like the one for my Kex Blanket.
But my Betula sock is going really well – I love it!
And the Kex Blanket is getting exciting, as more colours make their appearance – yay!
*Footnote:
OK, I exaggerated. The castles are still there, you just can’t get through the locked gates to look at them.
And The Caledonian Cafe is open for business as usual, just try not to time your arrival to coincide with the school lunch-hour or you will be queuing for your chips alongside the local yoofs… ask me how I know?!
It’s just like home from home!