Scotland Photos

Finally got the b&w film shot in Scotland developed and printed! This post is going to be really image-heavy, but it's worth it. Scanning in photographs is kind of a pain though... or maybe I'm just not up to par in this regard? I can't get it to show quite as beautifully scanned as it is in person.

And now... THE SHEEP!

There were many many more sheep, but these are some of my favourites, from when we went to climb up a hill. We had a bit of a struggle, but the sheep seemed totally comfortable.

Secret Santa/Secret Child

A change of heart

This was my present for my secret child! It took a grand total of 3 days and a bit to finish, so it's definitely a great present-knitting choice. No photos of my secret child wearing it, unfortunately, but she loved her present, so all's well!

The pattern is Change of Heart by Justyna Lorkowska (free Knitty pattern!), and I used completely different needles and yarn, since my secret child asked for a knitted chunky circle scarf (among other things). It's a lovely pattern: the lace is easy to memorize, the cable is very simple and complements the lace very well, and the i-cord edging on the one side of the garter stitch band is a nice detail that makes the entire thing come together neatly. The moment I finished, I wanted one for myself! A change of heart indeed!

White Linen Dress

It's winter right now.

I know I don't post my sewing stuff up here very often - at all - but I'm pretty happy with this one, and it's the first thing I've sewn in a while. In addition to that, it's the first time I've used the sewing machine to do all of it! All of the edges have been french-bound, so no more frayed edges (some of my previous garments have frayed edges that have started to fall apart a bit, so I am learning from the past). And of course, there are pockets. And it's kind of a wonder that I can pull it on and off due to the lack of closures - it was a real concern.

The fabric is a linen/rayon blend and the pattern was drafted by yours truly. The original plan was to do 2 layers and make it reversible, but when I tried that on the muslin, it felt a little too thick and stiff. That might have had to do with the fact that the fabric I used for the muslin was completely different from the real thing though. Now that the real thing has been sewn up, I kind of wish I had a white slip or another layer under it, since it is a bit sheer. A long knit tank top has been cut out of a jersey fabric in my stash, but I haven't gotten around to actually sewing it yet, since the bias binding straps are a pain to make (can't iron it down, so there's a million pins holding one in place at the moment).

The fit is lovely (as it should be, since it was drafted to my measurements), and I am thinking of this style of dress in various colours. Maybe make it into a circle skirt instead? Or add in that second layer, as was originally planned, next time? It has started to stretch a little because I put it onto a hanger for a couple of days (the armholes were much more fitted at first). Hopefully it'll shrink back in the washing machine?

FO & WIP

Finally did that neckline after... how many months?

This shirt/sweater has been in the works since the summer, but to be honest, it's been about 99% done for the past couple of weeks (if not months) waiting for me to undo one gauge swatch so I'd have enough yarn to knit the neckline. It really took a whole lot longer than it should have, and the process of knitting the neckline wasn't half as bad as I had anticipated. I did run out of yarn, as expected, so I had to frog one of my swatches, but apart from that, it went swimmingly. And now I have one more top to wear for this winter! Why didn't I do this sooner?

I love the way it turned out! The neckline does need to be worn to be stretched out and not roll down (it's stockinette), but I think some blocking will fix that up. Not that I'm going to block it until after its first wash. And even then... the hanger will do nicely.

A touch a (mad) tosh

When I got all the measurements down and started on the math for this, I noticed something pretty interesting: 17" seems to be my magic number. My sleeves are 17" long from the underarm. The length of the body is 17". The width of the body is 17" (34" all around). 17" everywhere seems to be the perfect number for me!* Which makes my life a whole lot easier in terms of remembering it!

There is another finished project, but it's for my secret Santa recipient, so that will be posted after everyone has exchanged presents. It's actually already on my ravelry, but they don't know. Shhhhh...

Arabella in the works

And here is a WIP of my Arabella! I started this around the time this semester started, so I haven't touched it for a while, but hopefully I'll be able to get a few more inches done before I have to go back!

*Excepting sleeve circumference & neck circumference, of course. Actually, I totally winged the neck, so I don't know how large it is... maybe 17"? And of course, those are bracelet sleeves, so if I want anything more hold-sleeves-in-hands sweater-length sleeves, then I'd have to add a couple more inches to that.

SSKAL14 Summary

Foam sweater. Survived 2 weeks in Scotland.

Now that sskal14 is over, I might as well post what I've actually accomplished aside from my Wickerwork inspired pullover. I haven't just been acquiring a bunch more yarn - I've actually been using a bit of it, too! Not quite at the same rate as that of acquisition, but better than nothing. Pictured above is my foam sweater, which I finished the day before we set off for Scotland. So of course I brought it with me (in favour of the bulkier Wickerwork). It has lasted surprisingly well, considering it's knit from singles and I used one needle size larger than I should have. It gave me a nice gauge and I liked the feel of it, but going down to 2.5mm needles might have made it slightly more hard-wearing. Nonetheless, it's holding up and so incredibly comfortable! I might have to make myself another sometime in the foreseeable future. Those contiguous saddle shoulders are also quite nice, if I do say so myself. I think the slight puckering at the shoulder/chest area is probably due to the funnel neck, so I might make a crew neck next time.

Grace in Juniper Moon Farm's Findley

 And now here's another one that I started during the sskal14. Another improvised pattern - I should probably have ripped back and made the shoulders a little wider, but they're okay as is, too. Something to keep in mind for next time (though I've been through this before and I never seem to remember for next time). Terrified I might run out of yarn though! I haven't weighed it or anything, but it seems like I might either have just enough or might run out maybe 3/4 of the way down the next sleeve! We'll see what happens. The yarn is Juniper Moon Farm's Findley, which is a pleasure to work with! It's very silky smooth and amazingly soft both in the ball and when knitted up. I didn't have any troubles with it after blocking the swatches, and I tried to rub it between my hands a bit to see if anything would fuzz up: nothing did. I'm hoping that the full shirt will stay in that perfect condition too after lots of wear!

Sherwood hasn't budged an inch. Nope.

"Whatever happened to Sherwood (above) and that Sheep Sweater you've been working on for practically forever now?", you might ask. Well. About that. To tell the truth, they have moved not an inch! In fact, whereas before the sskal I had one sleeve for the sheep sweater halfway completed, I finally decided that because the ease was so different for the sleeve and the body, I would frog the sleeve and just make the sweater into a vest instead. So technically there is actually less of the sheep sweater now than there was before, but I'm more done than I was before, percentage-wise. Hurrah! As for Sherwood... I've got nothing. No excuses, nothing. I just didn't pick it up over that entire time. At all.

Still mostly in the same shape now as it was then.

I did have a great time looking at everyone's work, though I didn't really keep up with the conversations at all (which might have been the whole point of the KAL, but eh). Congratulations to the winners of the giveaway, and I look forward to next year, considering how much I did get done over this!

Growing

Brown Sheep Company Nature Spun Fingering

 My stash, that is.

I am going to defend myself, though. I made a Craftsy purchase a couple of weeks ago mainly in order to get a large quantity of white/natural yarn for a project/exhibition idea. And they had that fall sale going on, so it worked out perfectly. 30 balls of Brown Sheep Company Nature Spun fingering weight yarn in the natural colourway (not pictured with its companions above) went into my cart for the project, followed by a couple of the other colours they offered for that same yarn since it was such a good deal and the shipping didn't go up when I kept adding stuff. But then I kept looking. And wound up with these in my cart as well:

Cascade 220 Worsted

Cascade Heritage

Shipping stayed the same, so I might as well, right? I've never worked with Cascade 220, but I get the feeling it's probably a good all-around yarn, and Zenith caught my eye the moment it came out, so there's one match down (which helps me whittle down my queue, too). Then the Heritage went into the cart for a future Arabella (already purchased, swatching now).

Louet Flax (Bleached, Fine, Water Retted)

I've also placed an order for linen yarn via Etsy, but that has yet to arrive. They're for a related planned show though, or at least a body of work if not an entire show. So while waiting for that to come to my doorstep, I went to Romni's to get some flax fiber (also for that body of work).

Elsebeth Lavold LinSilk

And since I was there, as I would probably need more linen and linen-blend yarns later on for that body of work anyway, I grabbed all the cream colour Elsebeth Lavold LinSilk I saw in the basement on sale (6 skeins total, picture below). Already have an idea for what to make with it, too, if I can figure out what needles I need to get the fabric I want. I'm really confused about the weight of this yarn. It's listed as a worsted, and the suggested needle sizes are 4-4.5mm, but it was waaaaaaay too loose and hole-y when I tried to knit with 4mm needles. So I went down to 3.5mm and got an okay looking swatch. But then it kind of became looser after I washed and blocked it (which took a lot longer than I expected, since I'm used to wool stuff drying really quickly). So I went back and knit another swatch with 3.25mm needles. It's drying now, and it looks a little bit better, but I usually use 3.25mm needles for fingering weight yarn, and this is supposed to be a worsted! Is it because of the difference in fiber content than I usually work with (i.e. wool and wool blends)? Or is it really just not a worsted weight at all? It's my first time working with linen (and linen blend), so I really don't know what to expect.

Istex Einband

 Now these ones here are from Iceland, a little while back. I didn't go, but these were brought back for me as souvenirs (upon my request). A lot cheaper than I expected when I placed my order! I could probably use one more disc of the Plotulopi in jasper red, but we'll see what happens.

More Istex Einband

Istex Plotulopi

Scotland

I splurged.

Just returned yesterday from a family trip to Scotland! We had an amazing time and actually relaxed a lot more than we usually do on trips since there weren't too many things we absolutely had to go see while we were there (as opposed to say... Paris, where there's some historical monument or statue every other step), and my feet are forever grateful we skipped the walking tours suggested by the guidebooks. Last time we did those walking tours I actually gained leg muscle. My calves looked more fit than they had in probably my entire life. Honest.

Eden Cottage Yarns BFL Sock in Autumn & Night Sky

I took a lot of pictures while we were there, but none of them were digital as I had decided to lug around 2 film SLR cameras with me already, so the only pictures I can show right now are of my acquisitions from Scotland. Of which there are quite a number, so there is no shortage of photos in this post, at least! I'll sort through the film once it's all been developed - the colour ones at least, the black and whites and redscale will take a bit longer - and see what, if any, to show after. But we did finish off a lot of film while we were there! In fact, we were afraid we might have to purchase more while we were there. Fortunately we didn't run out, and we returned home with a canister in each of our cameras to finish off here before developing and printing.

Leather wallet from Iona

 We stayed a couple of days or so in 4 places before coming home. First was Glasgow, where we took the city sightseeing double-decker buses to see the sights and get around in general.We didn't do much in terms of shopping here (in fact, I did zero shopping here and only got the PEOPLE MAKE GLASGOW pin above), but I loved the general atmosphere of the place! The people there, and everywhere else in Scotland, were so friendly that I was a bit surprised at first. Not saying that people here aren't friendly, but it was noticeably different. It may have to do with population density.

From there we went to Oban via the rail. If there was a place I would've liked to stay a little bit longer in, it would be here. All the food we tried here (and just about all throughout our trip, actually) was delicious, from seafood (fresh!) to pastries (and the accompanying coffee). I only wish we made it in time for the waffles from the Chocolate Company (we were about 15 minutes too late for them). We went on a cruise from Oban to a couple of the islands nearby as well: Mull, where we saw sheep and cows wandering around while we were on the bus tour, to Staffa, which was as beautiful as it was terrifying when trying to take pictures at the edge of the cliffs, then finally to Iona, from whence I got my new wallet (above), before heading back to Oban.

Souvenirs from a leather store in Kyle of Lochalsh

On our way to Inverness we took a little detour to Kyle of Lochalsh for a couple of hours. We heard the scenery from the train would be stunning, and it definitely was! I have a tendency to fall asleep on moving vehicles though, so I only got the beginning and a couple of glimpses during my waking moments. I also got these adorable piggy banks for my friends from Kyle of Lochalsh (I'm keeping the owl for myself). There was some yarn I was very tempted to get from the store next to the leather store, but I had yarn stores marked out in Edinburgh and wanted to be sure I didn't overspend and add too much to my stash. I'm afraid I may already have a SABLE.

They're piggy banks! So adorable!

Next was Inverness, home to Nessie of Loch Ness. To be perfectly honest, I would rather have spent another day in Oban and taken out a full day in Inverness. We got there around midday, checked into the hotel, walked the River Ness to the island in the middle and back, ate at a pub (delicious! And cheap!), and retired for the day. Then the next day we went for a cruise on the Loch Ness. I must be honest and say it was rather boring. The scenery was lovely for the first couple of minutes and the sheep caught my attention, but the castle at the end of the cruise was a huge let down - we didn't go into the castle, but it was so tiny and nondescript we had to ask each other if that was what we came all the way there for! - and I napped a bit on our way back. Needless to say, no Nessie appeared.

Harley of Scotland sweater!

We took the first train we could to Edinburgh the next morning and toured the Old Town. Since it was a Sunday, it was pretty busy, with lots of stalls along the sidewalk. I wandered into Canongate Jerseys & Crafts Ltd and saw this beautiful Harley of Scotland sweater in petrel blue in my size! Well it has a tiny bit more positive ease than I usually wear, but I'd probably wear long sleeves under it anyway, so it all works out. The sterling silver ring (above, with wallet) was purchased from one of the numerous stalls selling Celtic jewellery, and it's nice and thin so I don't even feel it when I wear it about. Then, of course, my last purchase had to be something knitting-related (I suppose the sweater is knitting-related too though), so I visited Kathy's Knits after discovering that K1 no longer has (or maybe never had? I'm not sure anymore) a brick and mortar store, and perusing McAree Brothers with nothing to show for it. I was looking for something made in the UK and preferably something I had never seen before and that was not, to my knowledge, being offered in my LYSs. So I walked out with 5 skeins of Eden Cottage Yarns, 4 Autumn and 1 Night Sky. Not sure what I'll be knitting with it, but I'm pretty sure I have enough to do something big, so I'm not too worried.

Overall, had a really nice time, and would love to go back, especially to Oban (I would really like to try those waffles). I would probably also visit some other places while I'm at it instead of just staying in Scotland next time though, unless I had something in particular to attend or keep me busy. You can tell how pleased I am with this trip:

One more shot.

Last one. Really.