never too late

I stole the title for this post from the pioneering educator John Holt, who took up the cello in later life and wrote an inspirational book about it. I haven’t done anything as difficult as learning a new musical instrument, but I am so pleased to have learnt a new knitting skill – colourwork.

This is the popular Selbu Modern beret and it was really good for a beginner. If I am honest, I should admit that I have tried colourwork in the past, but never bothered to learn how to do it properly, with the result that the yarns became hopelessly tangled and I had to stop every ten minutes to sort them out.

This time I was determined to do it right and I used the instructions generously shared on the Philosopher’s Wool website. I learnt to knit holding a strand of yarn in each hand and the result was a lovely warm, closely woven fabric with absolutely no  tangling.

The yarn is proper Shetland wool from Jamieson and Smith and I really enjoyed using it and thinking of the sheep it came from grazing on that beautiful, remote island. There are some very cute pictures on J and S’s Facebook page.

I feel sure this will open up a whole new world of knitting for me. Unfortunately I look dreadful in any hat with the remotest hint of slouch, but Susanna was happy to step in for a modelling session in return for being able to keep the tam!