Hamza Yassin and my knitwear

So to say I am a huge fan of Hamza Yassin is a massive understatement.

I had the privilege to meet Hamza earlier this year at the Hay Book Festival when he was doing a signing for his book Be a Birder.

I asked if would mind signing my pattern as I had been knitting the beginning of my new cowl I called Helta Skelta and he wrote

"To Sara, I hope I get one of these Hamza Yassin "

So then began the knitting journey of making the cowl.  

For those who know me in terms of knitting and follow my Instagram will know I take my knitting literally everywhere and the more outdoor knitting I do the better. 

So here are all the places that I knitted this cowl.

I started off on a holiday in my van to Whitby at the beginning of May this year (2024).

So many times I have seen incredible pictures of Whitby with the Abbey and surrounding area, but for me it was shrouded in very low cloud.

The next place to do some knitting was on the footpath of the Cleveland way in theory overlooking Port Mulgrave.

I had heard amazing things about my next day trip which was to RSPB Bempton Cliffs.  Here I am so grateful as the mist had lifted and I was greeted with the most incredible views of birds so close by.

This was just one of the shots I took of the birds.

Then I decided to travel to a beautiful seaside town called Saltburn by the sea.

I found a bench and sat for an hour part of the time accompanied by a lovely lady well in to her eighties, retelling me stories about her childhood and what her children who where older than me were up too, along with watching two surfers.  

All the time quite happily just knitting away.

I absolutely loved the beach huts that were along the sea front.

On my drive home I stopped off at a National Trust called Hardwick it had beautiful grounds and a great view from high up.

I was still enjoying a lovely break and decided to have venture closer to home and visited a new to me garden called Sezincote Gardens near Moreton in Marsh, right in the heart of the Cotswolds.

Then on the drive home I stopped off at Snowshill Manor again another lovely place to enjoy beautiful views and learn about fascinating history of the property.

I was camping very near Hay on Wye for the book festival and for the return journey I found a beautiful garden Brobury House to stop off and have a refreshing cuppa and wonder around the grounds.

I also stopped at The Weir Garden a place I have been to a few times that has the most spectacular views over the Herefordshire countryside.

We now move in to the beginning of June and I head off to go and visit my best friend who lives in a beautiful part of Devon.  She is an avid and very knowledgeable birder and we visited RSPB Topsham.

We also have a lovely sit for a while and watch people go by whilst having a lovely knit and knatter.

Now in mid June I am back on home turf and take the knitting up to my local hill for what turned out to be a rather windy knitting time but spectacular views over to Wales and Malvern Hills.

One of the places I visit on a quite frequent basis is WWT Slimbridge and always take my knitting and just sit and enjoy the wildlife

Now at the beginning of July I have arranged to meet up with another dear friend who also owns a camper van and we have a lovely mini break away.  

We found a lovely spot right by a riverbank

On the return journey from the night away I stopped off at the town of Bewdley a really lovely town and found a nice little place for a few more rows.

I was driving home through Pershore and had never stopped by the river it was a really was so tranquil and I must make sure I go back.

By now the time is mid July and the Hydrangeas in the front garden are just looking stunning just perfect to complement the cowl.

I took the project that was now nearing completion to Stroud and sat and watched the brass band play in the park which was so lovely.

The final part of the knitting which involved lovely textured detailing was done at a local cafe I visit with friends in Cheltenham.

Then here was the finished cowl in all its glory.

I was very lucky thanks to a good friend to have tickets to then see Hamza again as he was coming to Cheltenham Literature Festival in October and I just knew I would gift him the cowl.

Even though the queue to see him was big he still took time to chat and I remembered him of the last time we met with the photographs.  The only thing I asked when gifting the cowl was that he wore it and he promised he would and that he would wear it when he was doing filming.

To say I was so blown away and proud when watching BBC Countryfile does not come close!!

Between a friend and me we captured him wearing it throughout 

the whole show.

For anyone who spends hours and hours knitting it takes someone special to gift something to, but my gut feeling they Hamza would truly appreciate the gift was right.

Thank you Hamza.