The beach
Yesterday I went to the beach, the trip got of to very exciting start. I was running late, as ever, so I took the bus to the train station. I was sitting upstairs, knitting my sock (yes I appear to have become a sock knitter again + a crocheter, everything’s topsy turvy) and daydreaming when I realised that I was looking down at something very familiar. A few weeks ago I thought I saw someone wearing Urchin on the street, but she was on the other side of the road and I was in a cafe so I didn’t want to chase after her only to discover that it wasn’t actually urchin at all.
This, however, was definitely Gretel. I crossed my fingers (figuratively, knitting with crossed fingers is tricky) and waited while she got on the bus. As soon as I saw her and her mother come up the stairs and sit down in front of me I was digging in my bag for the camera and debating whether to Kinnear the hat or to actually talk to them. Luckily excitement won over shyness and I actually asked to take this photo, they turned out to be lovely people who knew who I was (useful for making me seem less crazy!), and who have knit several of my patterns between them. And they seemed to understand perfectly why I was excited about wanting to take a photo of the first time I’ve ever seen one of my patterns in the wild. And when I got home I got a really sweet rav message from bitsy4 saying that they enjoyed meeting me too.
Admittedly I thought wearing a wooly hat yesterday was slightly crazy, but there’s a certain element of fantasy in the way that Scots don the summer clothing as soon as the sun comes out, more or less regardless of temperature. Once we’d walked along the beach for quite a while in search of the perfect spot combining dunes at the right angle to shelter us from the wind, soft sand and not too many rocks and seaweed it was really warm.
I clambered about on rocks, and claimed that it counted as work since I got some decent photos of the red bolero, which you’ll see when I’ve had time to go through them and feel like rambling about the pattern. I love the airy patterns on these rocks.
These three seemed to like sitting in the warm sand and they didn’t complain too much about being shaken vigorously before we left.
Anyone local can probably tell where we were from the rocks in the background but we were at North Berwick, a little sea side town along the coast from Edinburgh and about a 40 minute train journey. Yesterday though the beach held all of the appeal, we didn’t even make it into the actual town.
There’s something rather draining about doing nothing all afternoon so when I got home I did absolutely none of the computer work I was supposed to do and spent the evening vegetating on the sofa and beginning a new lace design. I suppose I better spend today doing the less fun work, because the knitting and picture taking aren’t much use until I do something with them! First though I’m going to wash the sand out of my ears.
Posted: May 20th, 2008 under knitting.
Comments: 20
Comments
Comment from Tumblina
Time: May 20, 2008, 12:45 pm
Thank goodness it’s not just me! Spend an hour at the beach, and I’m exhausted the rest of the day!!
That said, we have yet to make a trip to the beach this month - I guess Nova Scotians (”New Scotland”) aren’t as hardy as the originals ;).
Comment from Terri
Time: May 20, 2008, 2:40 pm
You are absolutely right about being drained by doing nothing. I am sitting on the beach this morning (gulf of Mexico) but fortunately I brought plenty to do. I am finishing up a sweater with hopes of wearing it to dinner in a couple of days. I was up knitting early to finish the neck.
Your beach looks so inviting. Hope it was a fine trip for you. Any trip we make to the beach is fine but we need time to recoop when we get home. We were hoping for much warmer temperature but the days are up to the 80’s and the nights in the 60’s.
Comment from ballee
Time: May 20, 2008, 3:37 pm
wow, that must be a big compliment! Your knitdesign for real in your own surrounding!!! Congrats with that one, and with the beautifull beachpic’s.
groeten uit Rotterdam
Comment from Gudrun
Time: May 20, 2008, 3:38 pm
I remember going to Gullane beach a lot from Edinburgh….glad Scotland is getting some lovely sunshine!! How exciting and satisfying that must have been to see your own pattern out there!
Comment from gleek
Time: May 20, 2008, 3:52 pm
aw, it’s sweet seeing all of your animals together on the beach :)
Comment from Shani
Time: May 20, 2008, 3:56 pm
It’s too bad I’ll only be in Edinburgh for one day this summer, or I would make it my business to get out there. How lovely!
I’m in love with the red of that cardigan!
Comment from Preita
Time: May 20, 2008, 4:33 pm
That’s really exciting to see your pattern in the wild! The red bolero looks great, you have such a wonderful eye for design, I really must knit down my cue so I can start some of your patterns! :D
Comment from Marnie
Time: May 20, 2008, 4:49 pm
Wow! That’s fantastic. I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone else in one of my knits. I think I’d plotz. Your photoshoot is delightful. Your pictures always make me want to plan a trip to my ancestors’ home country (well, some of my ancestors, I’m quite the mutt.)
Comment from traci
Time: May 20, 2008, 7:00 pm
i can just imagine how excited you must have been to see a wild Gretel bobbing about town! i would have been eager to get a photo too!
what a lovely day at the beach. i have a friend whose from Paisley and she loves the coast too. most of the pics she sends are from the beach. i can almost smell the fresh air and feel the cool breeze!
Comment from Jesse
Time: May 20, 2008, 7:47 pm
Congratulations on sighting a pattern come to life!
Comment from Lien
Time: May 20, 2008, 11:22 pm
I get excited seeing people knitting the same thing as me (and it’s not even my pattern). I can understand the excitement!
I might just have to make a trip to the beach myself - despite the fact that we’re heading into winter!
Comment from Sasha
Time: May 20, 2008, 11:57 pm
Sounds like a blissful day :)
Comment from yoel
Time: May 21, 2008, 1:29 am
How exciting to see your own pattern, wild, free, and finished! That’s so awesome that they knew who you were!
Comment from marissa
Time: May 21, 2008, 1:45 am
Congratulations!I’m sure there are many, many more Gretel’s out there, just waiting to be discovered!
…I know of one in Maine!!
Comment from Emily
Time: May 21, 2008, 7:40 am
Personally I am happy to have been the first person spotted with “Gretel,” though amazed it hasn’t happened sooner. I have knit two exactly the same Gretels and my friend and I have pretty much been wearing them permanently around Edinburgh all winter. In fact sometimes we can be seen wearing them at the same time. Double whammy.
I’m only sorry that my very greasy hair was sticking out at the bottom that day. (Greasy hair being the reason for the hat ;)
I would have thought seeing my degree fashion show was the highlight of my mother’s trip to Scotland, but no. It was meeting Ysolda on the bus!
Comment from Debbie
Time: May 21, 2008, 2:14 pm
Oooh, thanks for the shots of the beach and the country of my ancestors! I hope to visit one day. I love the cardigan! Love the three best friends! I can’t believe you set them on the sand! Didn’t they get sand in their bums??
Comment from Jennifer
Time: May 21, 2008, 8:55 pm
How wonderfully cool spotting one of your designs!
Comment from magnusmog
Time: May 25, 2008, 5:39 pm
How nice to see North Berwick - I grew up across the water in Burntisland and I used to sit on my beach looking over the Forth and dreaming about all of the exciting things that were happening in Edinburgh :)
Comment from marti
Time: May 27, 2008, 2:51 pm
what is even funnier about that story, is the girl who was wearing the hat used to babysit my children! and her mom is my boss who was on holiday to scotland. what an amazingly small world we live in! my boss brought me back yarn to make rose red. which will be even more sweet to make now that i have heard this story.
Comment from Sharon
Time: May 30, 2008, 10:24 am
Oh goodness me. You’ve given me the brainwave to go to a different beach every weekend this summer. I wonder if it can be done?!
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