I’ve had a major break from my blog and have been itching to get it updated for a while now! There has been a lot happening in the last few months, I tend to be better at updating Instagram but sometimes a blog post is the best way to record things in more detail. First up is my trip to Edinburgh, which is almost two months ago now, but I took some photos I wanted to share so here they are!
I started my trip to Edinburgh with the Knit Night I arranged on the Thursday evening at the Film House Cafe. It was lovely to meet lots of fellow knitters including Tania Ho, Yarn People, Steph (@stephhuffannie1) and many others. It was a very international group! I also met Anja (@knittingsharky) who was kind enough to come especially to bring me some beautiful vintage metal buttons she was given by a friend.
The next morning I met up with Jane Lindsey of Snapdragon for a delicious breakfast and interesting chat about our work and the Instagram community. I have made a conscious effort to be more social offline and meet people I have met on Instagram, and it has been so worthwhile to connect with people like Jane who share many common interests and have inspirational stories. I also picked up some lunch at a beautiful little cafe a few doors away from where we had breakfast.
With Jane Lindsey of Snapdragon
Nomad Cafe on Clifton Terrace
Following this I visited the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. I arrived at about 12 and had to queue for an hour, which was a bit off putting! The queue moved very slowly but eventually we were in and I had a good few hours to wander around. I met my friend Anette Wall of @pinkhazelbags who gave me the most incredible gift of Japanese fabric, some of her beautiful pin badges and two bars of Tony’s Chocolonely which I am completely addicted to now! I joined the table that was set aside as a safe space for BIPOC knitters, and loved meeting people there, especially Ocean @ocean_bythesea, Heidi @booksandcables and Sophia @sophiatron. That evening I joined Helen @hdayananda who is also a local friend to me in London. She invited me to have dinner with her and her friends which was fun!
The next morning I met up with an old friend of mine and Salsabil of Salsabil El Awaisi Interiors who is just as nice as she seems online! It was great chatting about interiors, Edinburgh and Instagram over breakfast.
I then went back to EYF for some serious yarn shopping. I did exceed my budget by a bit but tried to avoid the hand dyed merino singles which is my usual weakness and bought a sweater quantity of Snefnug, a cosy thick blown yarn. All my yarn and other spoils are shown below.
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I splashed out for my extended trip at Edinburgh and stayed for one night at the Kimpton Charlotte Square. I really loved staying in this beautifully designed hotel and the service was excellent. I asked for an upgrade from the single room I had booked and they helpfully provided one for free (always worth asking nicely!), and visited the spa before dinner. I ate at the Baba Restaurant which is part of the hotel and really enjoyed the food there.
The next day I planned to visit colourful Victoria Street to pick up some gifts for the children and visit the Harry Potter shop. The breakfast was served a bit late because I had to wait for a table, then it became really blustery and wet when I set off (my umbrella was inside out for most of the journey!). I ended up running late and despite catching an Uber I arrived too late and was not able to enter the Diversity panel discussion I had stayed in Edinburgh for. Fortunately I got to spend some time chatting to Ysolda and Kate who cheered me up after my disappointment! The talk is now available to watch on the Edinburgh Yarn Festival website, I’d recommend watching it if you are interested in learning more.
I was requested to buy wands and managed to find them at The Boy Who Lived a few doors down. Next time I’d like to join the Harry Potter walking tour too! There was so much more of Edinburgh to explore.
Excellent selection of books at Ysolda’s huge stall.
After this it was back on the train with some more knitting on the way home and time to browse the selection of magazines and patterns I had added to my stash. It was a wonderful break after a very busy year for us with 11 plus exams and lots of changes at work. I am especially glad I went having recently heard that EYF will be on hiatus next year, it will give me time to work through my new yarn!
lovely photos and writing! I spent a year at Scottish College of Textiles (now renamed) in Galashiels many years ago and spent many weekend in Edinburgh, my favorite city!