This episode is a bit of meander through my recent Highland honeymoon (cos, yep! I got married!) I also talk about my holiday WIPs and draw the winners for the #bookofhapsalong prizes!
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| Shownotes
| K2tog
TheLovelyFella and I got married and happily kept it a secret from everyone *evil cackle*. To us a wedding is about the start of the next chapter of our lives together and not about a massive party, so it was very laidback and just how we wanted it. I put a few photos on instagram, but I won’t be sharing many more. (though thanks to those of you who asked for them and I hope you understand why!) I do want to talk more about my wedding attire and a meaningful knit – but I will do that in a future blog post!
Thanks so much to you guys who sent well wishes and congrats via social media and email. We were very touched indeed.
| Highland trip (5.10 min – 38.30 min)
I talk about our journey around the highlands. I mention the campsites at Fortrose Bay, John o Groats, Sango Sands and Ullapool, as well as the wigwams in Stirling. I also talk about the things we saw on the journey, such as the Falls of Shin, Whaligoe Steps, John o Groats, Farr Beach, Sango Bay, Oldshoremore bay, Loch Assynt etc.
We also met with the lovely Louise Hunt in Thurso, which was lovely. I was also very keen to visit the Black Isle Brewery, home to my favourite beers and there I discovered a very lovely beer and wool relationship. The brewery have their own Hebridean sheep and make jumpers from their wool, which they sell in their brewery shop (in the Black Isle, not online)
| Holiday Knitting
On the journey I took my Nuthap and my 3rd crofthoose hat and I also took a new project in…Cornish Tin II! Blacker Yarns are going to be releasing this in September to celebrate their birthday. The yarn is a different fibre content from last year’s (so its not the same) and all of the fibre is from the British Isles. Sonja, from Blacker, was kind enough to send me some to sample and I will tell you more next time!
| Hap winners
Galfromkazoo was drawn as the winner of the British wool (grown, spun or dyed) category. She wins a beautiful project bag by The Knitting Goddess for her Happenstance in Jamieson Spindrift!
(c) Galfromkazoo on Ravelry
The random.org list randomizer also drew AnnaKika as the winner of the local yarn project which she hand-dyed Finnul with natural dyes. She wins a skein of yarn and a project bag. You can check out the prize they have won by clicking this link
(c) annakika on Rav
| Sur-purr-ise Purrize
Ericka Eckles, aka Lisa Jayne donated a special hand-made needle case to this KAL and I decided that I would award this to a cat on hap image. I looked at the images on Ravelry and on social media, but it was the lovely Mabel, belonging to LisaMagreet who wins this surpurrise purrize!
(c) lisamagreet on IG
Congrats also to BlitheSpirit, aka Maylinn, who won the double dip prize for taking part in both my KAL and the lovely Jen Arnall-Culliford’s KAL. She won for her Theme and Variation hap! Thanks to all prize donators and thank you all so much for your hap enthusiasm!
| Next time
I will be back on 9th September and September is going to be busy! There is the Scottish Small Holder’s Festival, Shetland Wool Week and lots of yarny news, including a collaboration between Blacker Yarns and The Knitting Goddess!
| Information
Music: Carefree by Kevin McLeod and Singin’ in The Rain (demo) by David Mumford – Both are on FreeMusicArchive and are both shared under Creative Commons Attribution license. Images are copyright to owners as stated, otherwise belong to me.
Ohhh you made me think of younger days. In 1984 I spent the entire summer with West Yorkshire friends and during August we went camping in Scotland – and stayed at the campsite in John o’Groats! I love Scotland (my grandfather was from Montrose) and I just know, even without seeing pictures, what a splendid honeymoon you had there. Congratulations to you and the Mister on your marriage.
Congratulations Louise! May you have a long and happy life together.
It was lovely to hear about your honeymoon and I’m looking forward to hearing about your wedding knitwear. I’ve been to John O’Groats for the Caithness Craft Retreat and if you have the chance to go, I would heartily recommend it.
Congratulations, and looking forward to hearing about your wedding attire next time. I am getting married later this year, and I have knit a shawl/capelet in WYS Illustrious for the occasion. My fiance and I were in a yarn shop shortly after Illustrious was launched and he gravitated to this particular yarn and colour like a magnet! He doesn’t knit, but I got a ball and he decided it was his ‘pet yarn’ – he loved picking it up and squishing and smelling it and admiring the plying (yes, really!). So, I eventually decided I would make a wedding item from it, and it is now sitting ready. It blocked so fantastically and is so incredibly drapey.
I was knitting this morning while listening to your holiday adventures and it made me think longingly about my own holiday along the Assynt coast. It’s just such a beautiful part of the world and I have made a list of some of the places you’ve been that I would like to go on another trip. I’m glad you mentioned Suilven – it really does stand out in the landscape and it was a highlight of our trip to climb it although I equally enjoyed just walking along the coast and seeing how the colours of the sea changed with the light and weather. You have enabled me again – funny how when the podcast ended, I just happened to click on Ripplescrafts and some of her yarn ended up being ordered. I just wanted to revel in all the beautiful colours of that coastline again. So glad you had good weather and a lovely honeymoon.
And thanks again for the KAL prize – my yarn arrived this morning and I’m swooning over the shade. Just gorgeous. And thanks for the lovely note as well.
Honestly, it is a landscape I have revisited in my mind so many times since we came back.
Oh! and you are so welcome!
How exciting! what a lovely post, thank you!
Thank you for sharing part of your wedding and honeymoon with us this year – it’s been lovely to see.
And just buzzed over to fill in the hap questionnaire.
Lovely episode, as ever. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Freyalyn! LX
Hi
I have been listening to your podcast for a while and (although quite a new knitter) it has really encouraged me to look for British yarns when I’m out and about. I loved listening to you talk about your recent honeymoon trip (congratulations :-)) and it has only served to fuel my desire to visit the Highlands. But I probably won’t get there until the teens can be left alone as it’s ‘not their thing’. Unless there are any retreats maybe…another thing on my wishlist! Thank you – great podcast xxxx
Congratulations!
I’m just catching up with podcasts, hence the lateness of this comment, but wanted to say “congratulations!” to you both. Loved this episode. We visited Whaligoe Steps 3 years ago in high winds – very exciting! ???? and that little tabby cat accompanied us all the way down, then back up again. We found out her name is Star. She must be an incredibly fit little cat, if she walks with everyone!