So Many Knitters; So little Time!

After leaving Glasgow, we made our short way by train to the little town of Musselburgh, a quiet retreat outside of the busy Edinburgh. It is named for all the mussels that are found on the beaches there. Cathy didn’t like Edinburgh very much -- “Too many people!” she said. She did visit Kathy’s Knits in the city which only stocks products from the United Kingdom.

Durrow Shawl

Catherine, the storekeeper, added a few rows to me while Cathy perused the merchandise. She found an intriguing pattern that she just had to have. It is called Durrow and is the creation of a local designer, Lucy Hague. Just look at that cable work! I have no idea when Cathy thinks she is going to make it; she cannot even keep up with updating my blog!

On the Fourth of July, we traveled the short way from Musselburgh to Haddington for the day to meet some knitters, spinners, and weavers at the Haddington Poldrate Mill Art Center. Marie met us at the train station and took us to the mill where we met Denise, Catherine, and Vicky.

Marie and Denise (behind) and Vicky and Catherine (front) gave us a warm welcome.

Look at their fantastic workspace for teaching the fiber arts!

We knitted and chatted for a couple hours on a very rainy day. It was quite cozy inside the mill.

Marie knitted this cool Fair Isle pattern from memory with yarn from North Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands. It was the same yarn she used to test knit a sock pattern in Debbie Zawinski’s book, In theFootsteps of Sheep. A few weeks later, we would find ourselves on that remote island of North Ronaldsay!

Denise’s hands flew through the stitches of her rows of a stitch called gradual drop stitch which she recently learned from her spinning tutor.

 

It was a fun day in Haddington, I sure hope we get to go back to visit those ladies again someday!

Here is what the mill looked like on the outside. It used to be a corn mill.

Here is an update on my growth and all the contributors. (At least Cathy thinks she got them all correct!)