Month: Mar 2023

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On the needles. The Jacob Jumper

Posted on by Jackie B

A while ago I ‘rescued’ some Jacob fleeces, that proved to be quite a challenge even before I began to card it ready for spinning – you can read about that here. I recently decided what to do with it.

I’ve been going to a couple of spinning groups and through one of these I did a day course on English Long Draw spinning. To the uninitiated this creates a fluffier airier yarn. It’s also perfect for fairly short fibres (around 1.5 inches) with some crimp. We practiced handcarding to make rolags before learning the long draw technique. The carding process opens up the locks of fleece and organises the fibres so they lie parallel across the carder, and are then rolled off the teeth into a sausage shape or rolag. We were provided with samples of wool from 4 different sheep breeds to learn with and I finished spinning and plying them at home (pictured top to bottom,Portland, Shetland, Ryland and Zwartbles).

There’s nothing like a big project to hone your skills so once I realised that the Jacob fleece was perfect for long draw I searched for a suitable pattern. I wanted to separate the black and white fibre and spin it separately to make a black and white patterned sweater, but nothing too complex. I found the Lata sweater on Ravelry – the pattern has a very simple 4 row repeat and resembled a houndstooth check …..

…..or even, as a friend reminded me, the Northumbrian tartan!

I got carding to make those rolags and soon was able to start spinning….

…and plying to make a 2ply yarn. It’s quite soft to the touch.

The sweater is nearly complete – I am halfway through knitting the second sleeve. The cuffs, round neck and waist are worked in knit2 purl2 rib in the black yarn, which sets off the pattern perfectly. I’m really pleased with how it’s going.

Not bad for some dirty fleece that was destined for the bonfire!

Have you ever rescued something from being thrown away and made it into something nice and new?

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Knitting With A View: Newton-by-the- Sea in March

Posted on by Jackie B

Spring is in the air! The birds are singing, the daffodils are in bloom and the first of this year’s lambs are bounding about in the fields. It was a perfect day for K and Daughter, and the dogs, Buddy and Wren, to take a coastal walk and for me to indulge in a bit of scenic knitting.

We initially drove to the fishing village of Craster. I dropped them here and decided to get myself a coffee at the Piper’s Pitch – a small food kiosk in the main car park at the entrance to the village, just next to the Tourist Information Office. They were doing a brisk trade in kipper sandwiches (with the local kippers that Craster is famous for). There’s no waste with these. There’s a sign offering free kipper skins for your dog!.

It was such a nice day I decided to sit at one of the tables – I think this is the first al fresco coffee I’ve had this year.

After a quick look to see if there was anything of interest in Tourist Information I drove to Newton-by-the-Sea and parked in the disabled bay overlooking the see. I may have mentioned before on here that to access this you have to remove a heavy chain hung across the road – not very accessible for blue badge holders. Luckily however someone was walking past and kindly moved the chain for me.

The sea was pretty calm and there were lots of walkers about, Many with dogs. A group of children, sensibly clad in wetsuits and lifejackets were having great fun in the water with their makeshift raft. There was also a kayaker and some sea anglers.

Out to sea I could see the brilliant white and black male eider ducks swimming about. A whinchat was perched on a longer stem of marram grass next to the sand and every so often flitted away to catch an insect.

I got on with my current project: a black and white sweater in my handspun Jacob wool.

It wasn’t long until my human and canine companions reappeared further down the beach. They’d had a lovely long walk. We aren’t expecting much activity from the dogs this evening!