A Look Back at October
October has been a month of making, gathering and soaking up the last of the golden light. As we reach the end of what has felt like a very full October, I thought I’d take a moment to look back over the month.
What a glorious autumn display we’ve been treated to this year! I’ve been out and about in the fields watching the landscape change and gathering berries and nuts. With this being a mast year, the trees and hedgerows are absolutely laden. There are still plenty of pickings to be had if you get the chance to do some gathering of your own.
My freezer is now filled with sloes, haws and rosehips – and I even found enough hazelnuts to share with the family at Christmas. I’ve also been collecting natural dye materials and can’t wait to show you the results of my dyeing experiments soon.
Earlier in the month, I took a trip across the border into Wiltshire and spent a few hours at Stourhead, one of my favourite National Trust spots, arriving at just the right moment to catch the trees in full autumn colour.
A friendly robin posed on a holly bush as if to remind me how close we’re getting to Christmas! I’ve been inspired to finish off my own little Corinne Lapierre Robin from last year – I never said which Christmas it was for!
On the Needles
Back in the studio, I’ve been busy knitting away.
My latest project is a new design in the Hey Mama Wolf Beara yarn. Here’s the finished hat (I think it needs a pom pom!) and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. The fabric is dense and warm but still drapey, perfect for a relaxed slouchy fit.
I’m now working on matching mitts and a cowl to complete the set. It’s a simple, relaxing knit that makes the most of Beara’s beautiful complementary shades – ideal for a restful project or for taking along to a stitching meet-up.
If you missed my earlier post with pattern ideas for Beara, you can find it here. Those patterns also work beautifully with Cambrian DK and Hey Mama Wolf Skadi, both of which sit in that sweet spot between DK and aran weight for patterns with a gauge around 20 stitches over 10cm.
In the Round
I ran my In the Round Cowl workshop last week – a gentle introduction to using circular needles – and took the opportunity to knit a sample in the Red/Green colourway. I had Christmas in mind when I chose the shades, but they turned out to be very autumnal too, reminding me of the Bramley apples on my tree at home. It still needs the ends weaving in and blocking, but hopefully you can see how nicely this has turned out. I'd forgotten just how lovely Hamelton Tweed 2 is to work with and this is such a quick project - perfect for gift knitting! Please excuse the trays of foraged goodies - I'm running out of space where I work at home!
We've a couple more workshops lined up this year and I've started listing courses for 2026. You can take a look here.
A Little Halloween Treat
Janet, who many of you will know from our crochet classes or Saturday shop days, has been busy this month making these adorable Halloween stitch marker sets. They’ve been so popular, but we still have a few left. If you’d like to bring a touch of spooky season magic to your knitting or crochet, order by tomorrow morning (Tuesday 28th) for Halloween delivery. 🎃
Which brings us neatly to the end of the month. I can't wait to see what November has in store!