The train journey between Newcastle and Edinburgh is one of my favourites. The coastline is absolutely beautiful and spotting Lindisfarne Castle is always a thrill! Described on the National Trust website as “a castle (that’s not a castle), on an island (that’s not an island),” Lindisfarne is only accessible when the tide is low enough to uncover a three-mile-long causeway though, if the day is clear enough, it’s always visible from the train.

The Woolly Good Gathering fully delivered on what I was hoping for from this type of festival. I heard through the grapevine that they not only sold out of tickets for the talks, but entirely sold out of day tickets too. Hopefully a pretty solid foundation for a Woolly Good Gathering 2025!

PS. Did you spot the little sneak peek of my newest knit garment? I’ll be posting a video about the making of that sweater next week 😊


Chapters:

00:00 – Intro
00:24 – Train journey
01:45 – Arrival in Edinburgh
01:56 – A tartan garbage truck!
02:19 – Summerhall
02:26 – Talk by Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell
02:42 – Exploring the marketplace
03:00 – Talk by Sylvia Watts-Cherry
03:23 – A break in the café
04:25 – A bit of exploring
05:05 – Day 1 recap
06:11 – Reflecting on the festival
08:55 – Some thoughts about shopping
11:39 – Acquisitions (with stories intermixed)
19:03 – Thank you for watching!


Talks mentioned:

Creating a New Interpretation of Traditional Techniques in Handknitting: from Cabled Fair Isle to Knitweave, Intarsia and Gansey by Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell

Finding My Identity Through the Art of Knitting by Sylvia Watts-Cherry


Vendors mentioned:

Wooliecottage, https://wooliecottage.com/

Beyond Measure, https://shopbeyondmeasure.co.uk/

Black Isle Yarns, https://blackisleyarns.co.uk/



Music by audionautix.com