Soooo many things to see, I have to go back. Preferably when it’s a little warmer and there’s a chance of the sun putting in an appearance, but return I will. It would have been sacrilege not to snap a photo of this daisy I spied carved into the end of a bench.
Edinburgh was everything I’d imagined and more 💞
No trip to the Scottish city would be complete without a visit to the castle of course, dominating the skyline as it sits perched above the other buildings. My word, you definitely know how high it is too when you get up there, because it’s blooming freezing.
The castle itself is fantastic and much bigger than I thought, think fort rather than castle. Cobbled paths lead you to the different buildings which contain room after room of memorabilia from Scotland’s history. My favourites were the National War Museum and the Regimental Museums, I’ve recently developed a bit of an interest in military history and am hoping to visit The Imperial War Museum in London again this year 🙂
The Scottish National War Memorial is a truly moving place, which commemorates the dead of the First and Second World Wars and of military campaigns since 1945. Around the main room you will discover books with lists of the fallen soldiers from each Scottish regiment. The number of books provides a poignant reminder of all that lost there lives in defence of their country.
In truth we didn’t leave ourselves enough time to truly experience the sheer volume of things to see at the castle and will have to go again when we’re next in Edinburgh 😉
We rode the obligatory tour bus, but only managed to take one of the three tours and after dragging my poor husband to several yarn shops and haberdashery departments there was barely any time left for a wander through the cobbled streets, stopping for coffee and cake. I really can’t sing the praises of the public transport system in Edinburgh enough. An all day pass for the buses and trams costs only £3.50 and you can travel the length and breadth of the city
Edinburgh is a bit of a haven for yarn shops, having already visited the yarn festival I thought it only fair on hubby not to take us too far out of our way.
I’m a bit of a department store haberdashery junkie, I just can’t help myself and have to look at everything. Jenners House of Fraser is smack in the centre of Edinburgh and their haberdashery department in the basement, was jam packed with a rainbow of colours from Rowan and Patons. Having popped in briefly on Saturday afternoon before they closed I was able to resit the urge to purchase something in order to save my pennies for the festival. if Rowan is your yarn of choice though I’d recommend a visit to either Jenners on Princes Street or the John Lewis which you’ll find in the St James Centre. John Lewis also had some of the fantastic but seriously pricey Wool and the Gang yarn and kits too.
Kathy’s Knits on Broughton Street offers some beautiful yarns, patterns and notions, concentrating on British yarns sourced from around the country including Blacker Yarns, New Lanark, JCRennie, Jamieson & Smith and Eden Cottage. I didn’t stop long enough to purchase as it was drizziling a little outside and I didn’t want to risk having a grumpy, sodden husband. Next time when the sun is shining I’ll be sure to stay longer 😎
Ginger Twist Studio is an indie, vintage inspired yarn shop on London Road crammed full of yummy yarn, most of which is hand dyed. I’d met Jess at the yarn festival, but as I follow her on Instagram I wanted to pay a special visit to the shop. We popped in briefly on Monday when Jess was busy unpacking after the show. You wouldn’t want to turn up with a massive group of knitters as Ginger Twist is a little on the compact side, however this little haven is a hand dyed yarn lovers dream destination.
Never one to resist hand dyed I opted for a hank of luminous lime sock yarn and the necessary shopper.
Up near where we were staying in Haymarket was David Drummond’s a traditional sewing machine and knitting shop with a vast selection of all things knitting, sewing and haberdashery. Rather happily I discovered some Wendy Alfresco Aran on special, which I purchased to crochet up a quick granny shawl on the way home. Four balls in a great charcoal shade for less than £10 – bargain!
In amongst all the travelling, walking, eating and touring I managed to get my knit and crochet on too. The bottom project is a granny shawl in Rico Galaxy Chunky yarn that I took with me to keep my hands occupied whilst on the plane (it’s a gift for a dear friend). I also managed to finish one sock and start it’s twin, but didn’t want to risk having my Knitpro Karbonz taken off me on the plane, hence the Alfresco purchase. You can kind of make out the lovely shade of grey in the photo and to jazz it up a little, I’m adding some rows in yarn from my stash.
I’ll be sure to post up some pics of the finished garment, but I could end up boring you as I’ve developed a bit of a hankering for granny shawls at the moment.
First there was the blue one I made for myself here and then you might recall the photo from a previous post with all the ends needing to be sewn in? Well I finally found the time to do so and to give it a quick block too.
I love it and it’s really warm having been made in the now discontinued King Cole Chunky Merino. Hopefully, you can never have too many shawls?
The photographs make it look rather bright, when I like to think it’s a little more subdued ✨ only a little mind.
Happy Knitting!
Confessions of a Fibre Strumpet 