Day out to St. Andrew's

Kathleen, Multidirectional Scarf, and Di Gilpin's shop, St. Andrew's


These past few days we have had some of that crisp, cold, clear weather with blue skies which lets you wrap up warm and get out and about, so J and I decided to head off for a run in the car.

Although this morning wasn't quite as nice we decided to make a go of it anyway and ended up in St. Andrew's. It was a lovely scenic drive up through the towns and villages of the Kingdom of Fife.

I quickly did my homework this morning when I heard where we were going and checked the internet for yarn shops, and came up with
Di Gilpin who has a shop in Burghers Close, 141 South Street, St. Andrews. After circling the town for a good while we found a parking space just beside the remains of "Blackfriars Abbey" and lo and behold, Di Gilpin's shop was just seconds away. Although the shop is up a close, it is easy to find as luscious yarns are hanging up on butcher's hooks at the entrance to the lane. Enjoyed my visit to the shop, which has a bazaar feel to it - what look like bargain baskets are just in fact the main stock. And of course, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. No prices on any of the branded stock, which includes Rowan, RYC, Debbie Bliss, Louisa Harding, Noro, Lana Grossa and Colinette, to name the ones which jump to mind.
The only prices were on the handspun yarn and the knitted garments which Di Gilpin had designed. They were a little out of my league with a 120g skein of handspun cashmere blend at £56. Yes, my typing is not letting me down here. There was also a lovely cardigan with autumnal motifs like acorns and russet leaves which I really liked which was £351.50.

We had a good browse and chose some yarn for a Multidirectional Scarf for J, which will be quite similar to mine, although we went for Noro Silk Garden, which doesn't have the sparkly bits my Noro Aurora scarf has. Chenille yarn has always appealed to him so we bought some Rowan Chunky Chenille for yet another Multi-directional, in for a penny, in for a pound. Incidently, my Noro Aurora has barely been in my home for one month and now it is a finished object. My stashing days are over! No, I don't believe it either.

We did have a lovely day, although the nights are fair drawin in, as your granny would say, and we didn't have too long before the sun started setting and it became bitterly cold. We had just enough time and light to see all we wanted to see and take a few pictures into the bargain. Enjoy!