In 2014 we went on a trip into Galloway which is just around the corner, as it were, into southern Scotland. You drive north east to Carlisle, on to Gretna Green and you are across the border. Whereas on our side of the Solway Firth red sandstone forms the characteristic building material - indeed our own terraced cottage is built of it - it is a different matter on the Scottish side.
We drove down to Kirkcudbright and on from there to Whithorn, a very early Christian settlement. At Whithorn there is a ru
ined abbey with a museum. In the museum is a truly breath-taking collection of early carved crosses. These have round heads with incised circles and the shafts are decorated with interlaced Celtic knotwork.
This is all the more remarkable because the nature of the local stone is very resistant to carving of any sort. The name of that local stone: Greywacke - great name for a rock, no? Essentially it is a type of grey sandstone, a sedimentary rock of the Lower Paleozoic, but it has embedded in it all kinds of fragments, of subtly different colours.
One of the colours in Kate Davies' new line of yarn, Birkin, put me in mind of the stone colours in Greywacke, especially when it has a little acid yellow lichen in its weathering.
This is the thinking behind my second hat design. I also wanted to see how well the tweedy yarn behaved when cabled - would it have enough definition?
I began by making some simple cable crossings on my sample piece. But I wanted to echo the incised circles of the Whithorn crosses without going into full-on Celtic knotwork. So I brought the two cables together, in the simplest way possible. I pondered on adding bobbles to the centres and decided against.
Obviously the definition of the patterning is not as crisp as it would be in a smoother yarn, but I am still pleased with the result. Soaking the cabled strip before blocking made the mohair content bloom, which again adds a kind of misty softness.
I had thought to go for a tweedy texture for the crown of the hat and tried reverse stocking stitch at first, but I prefer the contrast of the smooth surface with the patterning of the cabled strip.
This is a light hat but I could see it becoming a favourite. It's less of a statement hat than a Fair Isle can be, but it is making a statement nevertheless.
We drove down to Kirkcudbright and on from there to Whithorn, a very early Christian settlement. At Whithorn there is a ru
ined abbey with a museum. In the museum is a truly breath-taking collection of early carved crosses. These have round heads with incised circles and the shafts are decorated with interlaced Celtic knotwork. 
This is all the more remarkable because the nature of the local stone is very resistant to carving of any sort. The name of that local stone: Greywacke - great name for a rock, no? Essentially it is a type of grey sandstone, a sedimentary rock of the Lower Paleozoic, but it has embedded in it all kinds of fragments, of subtly different colours. One of the colours in Kate Davies' new line of yarn, Birkin, put me in mind of the stone colours in Greywacke, especially when it has a little acid yellow lichen in its weathering.
This is the thinking behind my second hat design. I also wanted to see how well the tweedy yarn behaved when cabled - would it have enough definition?
I began by making some simple cable crossings on my sample piece. But I wanted to echo the incised circles of the Whithorn crosses without going into full-on Celtic knotwork. So I brought the two cables together, in the simplest way possible. I pondered on adding bobbles to the centres and decided against.
Obviously the definition of the patterning is not as crisp as it would be in a smoother yarn, but I am still pleased with the result. Soaking the cabled strip before blocking made the mohair content bloom, which again adds a kind of misty softness.
I had thought to go for a tweedy texture for the crown of the hat and tried reverse stocking stitch at first, but I prefer the contrast of the smooth surface with the patterning of the cabled strip.
This is a light hat but I could see it becoming a favourite. It's less of a statement hat than a Fair Isle can be, but it is making a statement nevertheless.
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3 comments:
I enjoy hearing how you find inspiration. And, the hat looks comfy. Clever cable detail.
I think the pattern of the hat could have come directly from one of the crosses. Great idea and well executed.
Nice hat! I love when knitted items are inspired by a place, event, nature or just some story from one's life. I Have been toying with knitting a hat with a cable band like this as well.
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