Welcome to my blog. I live, knit, crochet, spin and craft near the Northumbrian Coast (but not too near – the waves won't be splashing my yarn!).There's a story in every stitch, every grain of sand, every blade of grass. I thought I'd blog about it…
Author: Jackie B
I live in Northumberland, within sight of the sea and spend my time knitting, crocheting, sewing and trying my hand at different crafts. There's usually a story to share about the things I make.
Yesterday we headed up the coast to Newton by the Sea. It was a glorious, if blustery day. K and Buddy set off for a walk along the beach while I stayed in the car with my knitting.
The sunshine had brought people out and the beach was quite busy.
On quieter winter days the shoreline is peppered with wading birds, but not today. There were too many walkers and dogs for that. Several oystercatchers and redshanks had gathered on some rocks just offshore, an altogether safer place.
I also saw a whinchat on the marram grass at the top of the beach. They are quite common on the dunes here and I always love to see them.
When K returned he reported a large raft of ducks, mainly widgeon, at the southern end of the bay. It seems that overwintering wildfowl are beginning to gather prior to the spring migration
Of course I love to knit with a sea view. Today’s knitting on the dashboard is the second of a pair of toe-up socks in my handspun alpaca and wool.
It felt good to be out on such a beautiful day, in between this week’s storms.
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and that love was in the air. I was racking my brains for something different to do this year. It is lovely to give and receive flowers, chocolates etc but it is nice to ring the changes now and again.
This year I bought some goodies and packed up a gourmet picnic. It included smoked salmon parcels, olives, Scotch eggs, posh sausage rolls, some French cheeses, strawberries , chocolate truffles and Prosecco.
We headed for the beach and parked overlooking Coquet Island. We left Buddy the Labrador at home – true to his breed, he is a greedy dog and the food was frankly too good to share! We unpacked the picnic and poured a small glass of fizz, then tucked in. Food with a view. Perfect!
I’ve seen lots of snowdrops when I’ve been out and about this week. To celebrate this sign that Winter is almost over, here’s a reboot of a post that originally appeared last year.
Here in Northumberland the snowdrops are in full bloom. They are a common wildflower here in the woods and verges, though not a native of Britain. Previously believed to have been brought here by the Romans, it is now thought that they were introduced here in the 16th Century, The Common Snowdrop (Galantthus nivalis) is indigenous across Southern and Eastern Europe to the Middle East.
The plants grow from bulbs, which soon multiply to form large clumps, making them a popular plant for gardens or to be naturalised in parkland. They are one of the first flowers of the year to appear, flowering mostly from January to April, though occasionally as early as November.
The flowers are preceded by strap-like leaves and the flowers hang bell-like, singly or in pairs at the ends of the stalk – the plant grows 7-15 cm high.
The flowers have six white petal-like structures known as tepals. The three inner ones are notched and marked with green, surrounding yellow stamens. The three pure white outer tepals are longer.
The plant is not edible – the bulb is toxic. Extracts of the plant have been used in medicine and one chemical component, galanthamine is being used to help in the treatment of Alzheimers Disease.
The plant symbolises hope (for milder weather to come) and purity and is associated with Candlemas, the religious feast of the Purification of the Virgin. Wildflower of the weekThis gives rise to the alternative name, Candlemas Bells. In Victorian times a superstition grew up that it was unlucky to bring snowdrops into the house – earlier accounts said this would cause milk to sour and eggs to turn bad, or even cause death – such unpleasant connotations for such a pretty flower!
It’s always reassuring to see the drifts of nodding white bells at this time of year, both in our garden and growing wild. Spring is on its way.
I have been on a break from the blog . My last post was on 1st November and for a while I seemed to have nothing much to write about, then it was Christmas and as time went on it simply got harder to return to it. Today I got a notification to say that my blog has had 10,000 views. That seems to be quite a milestone and was just the push I needed, so here comes my first blog post of 2022 – thanks to everyone who’s read my blog, especially those who like, follow and comment – I always love to hear what you have to say.
The online Knit and Natter Group continues to meet every Friday on Zoom. This grew out of a group that used to meet in our local doctors surgery, which began to meet on Zoom during the COVID Pandemic. The organisers have now found a venue for in-person meetings to resume. Fortunately it is on a different day so both groups can continue with the choice to attend either or both.
Our Zoomers have continued to knit and crochet a load of fabulous items. Here are just a few they’ve been working on since the start of 2022.
Even though R has moved to the other end of the country, she is still part of the group: that’s the beauty of meeting online. She recently completed a cosy Christmas blanket made-up of knitted squares in different patterns, using a red/white/green/gold palette.
R’s first new project of 2022 was this purple scarf. One end is sewn down to form a loop – to wear it you simply pass the other end through the loop and adjust the fit. R had trimmed the scarf with some striking square buttons
R is now working on a cardigan for herself using a self-patterning yarn in shades of grey and pale blue.
A has been busy with baby blankets.
She stockpiles these as new baby gifts and recently raided her blanket stash for a mutual friend’s baby girl. A’s latest blanket is a big white one, crocheted in a shell design. I wonder which lucky baby will end us with this one!
L received a blanket kit as a Christmas gift from her daughter in the most beautiful sweet pea colours.
She is about to crochet the edges to complete her “sweet pea” blanket.
Y has been knitting socks!
She made a pair for a work colleague, who kindly modelled them for this screenshot!
Her current project is a pair of gorgeous cabled stockings.
Y’s husband is a proud Scot who wears a kilt on every special occasion. At dinner during a holiday, a fellow guest admired his stockings and Y agreed to knit him a pair. They include a rather challenging purl twisted cable – we put our heads together on that one – I love that we pool our knitting/crochet knowledge to help each other out with our projects.
We also have a new member. C likes knitting socks too.
She’s also been making baby hats for newborns.
I’ve been sock knitting too – just finished the first of a pair made with my handspun yarn , pictured at the top of this post.
It’s good to be writing again and describing our work. There’ll be another knit and natter roundup soon….. and other blogposts too.
I’ve been working on this pair of socks on and off for most of the year, but finally finished them!
I bought some pretty yarn last winter: a Christmas limited edition Signature 4 ply from West Yorkshire Spinners in Silent Night. It’s in shades of blue and navy with a hint of silver shimmer and knits up beautifully. The yarn is a blend of 75% wool and 25% nylon making it warm, soft and hardwearing.
Socks are one of those little projects that you can slip in a handbag to do when you are out and about and this has been useful for that, but I had ignored it for several months so I thought I really should finish it. It’s a top-down pattern that a friend gave me.
I wore them for the first time today and they feel lovely and warm.
I’m very fussy about buttons. I always take ages choosing the right ones to add to a garment I’ve made. Sometimes when I’m buying something to wear, the buttons can sway me if I’m undecided. A favourite cardigan of mine – a cheap chain store one that I wear a lot, started to lose its buttons. They were quite innocuous fabric covered ones, but I’d lost a couple and the fabric on the front had come off some of the others.
My attempt to buy some replacements at a haberdashery didn’t go well. There was nothing that grabbed me at all. I could have gone with plain white pearly ones but didn’t;t fancy that. Black might have worked but I couldn’t find any small enough. Finding the right shade of green – a sort of chartreuse – wasn’t helping. I tipped out the contents of my button jar for inspiration and found a card of little mother of pearl buttons, just the right size and enough for the whole cardigan. I’d already decided against white. Then I had a brainwave – I coloured in the buttons with a light green Sharpie.
This gave just enough colour but was translucent enough to show the blue/pink/green iridescence of the mother of pearl. I sewed them on and now have buttons that match the cardigan. I’m not sure how long the colour will last but I can always grab that green Sharpie and touch up the colour. My favourite old cardigan not has a new lease of life!
After my success at dyeing my handspun alpaca fibre, which I subsequently used to knit a sweater, I wondered how it would work out if I dyed the prepared fibre first. A while ago I decided to dye some carded batts.
I used acid dyes which are activated by acid (I use citric acid, which I’d added to the dye solution) and heat. I laid the batts on clingfilm, slightly overlapping, and poured the dye on, forming stripes of each colour, squishing the fibre with gloved fingers to help the dye cover it all and encourage the colours to bleed into one another. More clingfilm was added on top, excluding air and creating a seal at the edges.
This was then rolled up ready for the microwave.
I microwaved the rolls for 5 minutes in 1 minute bursts. Acid dyes bind to the fibres leaving clear liquid behind – that’s a good indicator that they are ready. I unwrapped them, rinsed carefully and hung up to dry.
I spun the fibre in colour sequence and chain plied it to keep that sequence intact to create yarn that shaded from blue and navy into teal and turquoise and shades of green then back again.
I chose the Ox pattern from Knitty Bitty (available free on Ravelry). All rows are the same (which makes it easier: no pattern repeats to count), with a sort of 3×3 rib of knit stitches and increases/decreases. This gives the scarf a lovely texture.
I’m really pleased with the colours and the way they shade into one another.
I made the scarf wider than the actual pattern and about 75 inches long so it can loop around my neck. It goes really well with this teal coloured fleece jacket.
I’ve now worn this combination – it looks great and the scarf is so warm and cozy, perfect for approaching winter! There’s some yarn left. I wonder if there’s enough for a matching hat?
It’s a couple of weeks since Wren, the fox-red Labrador puppy came to live with Daughter. She’s not quite ready to go out for walks yet as she hasn’t had all her vaccinations, but we decided it was time to properly introduce her to Buddy our big black Lab. He’s healthy and we were in Daughter’s garden, where no other dogs have been.
Buddy is pretty good-natured but doesn’t really like the way puppies jump up at his face. With lots of reassurance (and treats) he was really patient with little Wren. She certainly wasn’t intimidated by his size! She is tiny next to him
There was a lot of sniffing and tail wagging…
…but Wren took it all in her stride…
…and Buddy was a very good boy.
Then it was time for a walk. Daughter has been putting Wren in a backpack, worn at the front, to take her out and get her used to seeing traffic , people and other dogs.
Our online Knit and Natter Group members have completed a number of projects over the last month
Y is such a prolific knitter. She completed this commission – an adult sweater in a deep raspberry shade, with a complex cable design
She’s also nearly finished making this man’s sweater – just the neck and the side seams to go….and probably finished by the time I write this.
She’s also been working on a Childs sweater – it’s a project from her Knit In A Box subscription.
If all that wasn’t enough, Y has been spinning too and recently made this beautiful black (Welsh Black Mountain) and white (Dorset) yarn. She spins in the grease and it looked quite yellow when it was first spun but now it’s washed the white has come out really bright. It’s stunning!
R has been making squares for a blanket. These are knitted in different designs, either textured or multicoloured, using a palette of red, green, gold and white
L finished a crocheted blanket for her step granddaughter, in black and grey with a touch of sparkle.
A has been working on a waistcoat for herself in this lovely soft grey yarn.
I finished the scarf I’ve been knitting on Friday. I used my handspun, hand-dyed alpaca yarn. I wore it over the weekend and it’s lovely and warm.
I also started spinning some black Shetland wool.
It’s always fun to see what everyone is working on.
I celebrated my birthday earlier this month and got some lovely gifts and cards, along with the promise of a little trip away with K a couple of weeks later. One of our favourite occasional treats is going to Edinburgh for lovely food and drink, an overnight stay, shopping and visit a gallery, museum or other place of interest, depending on the weather. Since we discovered Tigerlily, a gorgeous boutique hotel, we’ve always stayed there, seeking out the special offers and off-peak rates to make it possible a little more often. During COVID restrictions we haven’t been able to do this, so it was extra special to go back (with a little help from friends and family who helped with dog-sitting)
Edinburgh is compact but hilly and, in places cobbled, but my little Mobie folding disability scooter behaved like a mountain goat, taking all the challenges it met with relish, even the portable access ramp up the rather steep steps of our hotel (a former town house in George Street, part of the Georgian New Town district)
Checking into Tigerlily we discovered that we’d been given an upgrade to stay in Room 1 – Georgian Suite. What a lovely surprise! Decorated in sumptuous fabrics with modern furniture that complimented the original Georgian features and high ceilings, our suite included a four poster bed, two sofas and an enormous bathroom (you could have held a party in the shower alone).
It’s the little details that make something special, like the thick bathrobes, expensive toiletries and good quality coffee/fresh milk available in the room, even the Edinburgh edition of Monopoly!
We enjoyed a beautiful meal that evening in the hotel restaurant. The hotel is famous for its cocktails and our table was close enough to the bar to watch these being prepared (which is almost as much fun as drinking them). One of the Tigerlily mixologists (mixing cocktails is a science….honest!) once told me that the perfect cocktail should contain a good balance between strong and weak (eg spirits and mixers) and between sweet and sour (fruit, juices, syrups and bitters or sharp flavours like lemon or lime). It works! I’ve also been shown how to squeeze and flame the oil from a disc of orange peel to create a hint of burnt orange on the surface of a classic Cosmopolitan. It’s a great party trick! The entire staff team are dynamic, charming and friendly – nothing is ever too much trouble.
Breakfast the following morning , accompanied by lots of juice and coffee, set us up for a full day in Edinburgh. It is one of my favourite cities and not too far away for us to get to by car or train. I love the architecture and the way that every street seems to have amazing views towards a landmark building or statue or even to the Firth of Forth.
One of the big changes we noticed was the new St James Quarter shopping mall – four levels of shops and places to eat and drink under an elegant curved glass roof with an unusual spiral tower. Princes Street, once Edinburghs principle shopping street, now looks past it’s best, with the loss of the famous Jenners department store, Debenhams and several other brands. I hope that future redevelopment will turn Princes Street back into a destination worthy of its prosperous past, but sustainable, and different enough to compliment the modern mall.
I couldn’t resist a visit to the new John Lewis store’s haberdashery in the new centre. The department’s entrance is graced by a pair of massive textile sculptures – stags (known as Monarch and Glen), upholstered in fabrics and trimmings all of which are available to buy in the store. They look stunning.
K is a keen cook and particularly loves Italian food. We decided to visit the famous and long-established Italian delicatessen and grocer, Valvona and Crolla. Floor to ceiling wooden shelves are filled with jars of antipasti, tins of biscotti and packs of pasta in every imaginable shape. The refrigerated counter displays cured meats, cheeses and baked goods. There are even fresh vegetables and herbs, a whole wall of different kinds of olive oil and an extensive wine department. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable too, serving us samples to taste before we decided to buy some delicious pecorino cheese.
After that we walked/scooted to the Botanical Gardens, which took about 20 minutes. We’d been blessed with beautiful weather so it was a pleasure be out looking at the old builldings we passed. The Gardens are lovely – admission is free. Late summer/early autumn is not always the best time for such places as most of the summer flowers have finished and trees have not yet acquired their autumn leaf colour. We did see some seasonal specialities however, including carpets of cyclamen and autumn crocus in shades of pink, mauve and white.
The gardens contain some magnificent glasshouses which normally house important collections of rare tropical plants and trees. These have been carefully moved to temporary homes while the glass houses undergo a massive refurbishment, which includes replacing every single pane of glass. Closed until work is complete in several years time, the project will safeguard the future of these plants for many more years to come.
We always enjoy looking at the alpine collection, which includes a rock face featuring mound forming plants to show just how they would grow on a mountainside at high altitude.
It was certainly a perfect day to be outside.
After a lovely afternoon admiring the gardens in the sunshine we took a taxi to Waverley station, allowing plenty of time for the build up of rush hour traffic. We arrived back in the city centre in time for a drink and found an outdoor pop-up bar close to Waverley station. They were serving the Edinburgh Gin range of flavoured gins and gin liqueurs – I chose raspberry, with tonic, one of my favourites: a perfect end to to our brief time in Edinburgh.
Then it was time to board our train and head for home. I’m so lucky to have had such a lovely and indulgent treat for my birthday.
Stitches by the Sea 