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A Ray and a Rainbow

Posted on by Jackie B

It was blowing a gale again when we were at Boulmer this afternoon.

K had already been checking out the beaches this morning. He was choosing his mark for The Amble Open – an annual fishing competition which is held tomorrow. He found this Cuckoo Ray washed up at Sugar Sands. Buddy was fascinated.

We haven’t seen this species before – the books say it prefers deeper, warmer waters. As the fish was still alive, K returned it to the water. Buddy’s intermittent retrieving instinct did kick in at this point, which it always seems to do at the wrong time, but K was able to distract him long enough for the ray to swim away.

At Boulmer the sea was not as rough as it could have been, but the spray was blowing off the wave crests on the shore and on the rocks out in the bay. Boulmer is sheltered by reefs and out to sea beyond them there were a lot of white topped waves.

With relatively few walkers about there were a lot of wading birds on the beach, pushed in by an incoming high spring tide, including turnstone, redshank, curlew, oystercatcher and lots of these little knots (at least I think that’s what they are – I may need to update this post!). They run rapidly up and down the shore avoiding the incoming waves. I’m always reminded of clockwork toys when I see them.

As the winter sun got lower it lit up the wave crests and every so often I could see rainbow colours in the spray. Then I looked up and there was a proper rainbow

It looked even more dramatic against the dark clouds to the west.

Of course, with all this to photograph, I didn’t get to do any knitting there, so I’ve made myself a mug of hot chocolate and will sit here and get on with trying to finish the cobweb grey scarf.

This is my new favourite mug. It sums me up perfectly. Do you have a favourite one ?

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Knit and Natter Friday #7

Posted on by Jackie B

This afternoon I was at the first Knit and Natter Group of 2020 at Alnwick Medical Group. As you can see, there was a magnificent haul of charity knits from group members who still found time to knit on top everything else they were doing over the Festive Season. Between us we handed in hats and angel tops for premature babies, “fish and chip” baby tops, and a twiddle mitt.

The room we use is now complete following refurbishment. This has included new table and chairs and a large interactive TV. We will be able to use this to share project photos and technique videos.

One of the lovely staff who support our knit and natter sessions was with us for the last time today as she is leaving to take up a post elsewhere. She has looked after us and kept us entertained over many Fridays. During this time she improved her own knitting , beginning with a scarf for her dog! She was the one who made us the amazing gingerbread house for our Christmas meeting. We will miss her very much but wish her every success in her new job.

Are you joining any new groups or activities in 2020?

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Scone-Free Thursday: Food for Thought

Posted on by Jackie B

Usually I post Scone of the Week on Thursdays but today was scone-free. I was meeting a friend and her daughter for drinks at Nelsons in the Park at Swarland and had this yummy hot chocolate. They have a hot chocolate menu with several flavours – I opted for the chocolate orange. it tasted as good as it looks.

We had a good old catch up – my friend’s daughters are visiting from Australia. One of the girls was ill in bed, saving her strength for the trip home which begins tomorrow. I can’t imagine anything worse than a long haul flight when you are feeling under par, so I hope she has a safe journey. It was good to see her sister though.

It was really interesting to get the insider’s view of the devastating fires in Australia. We have all seen horrific TV footage and can only imagine what it must be like for those directly affected, when lives, homes and livelihoods are lost. I sincerely hope that appropriate and timely help is given . There are lots of opportunities to donate to the relevant aid charities.

We are also hearing news of the wild animal casualties. Of course the cutest creatures will always get the most coverage. Koalas are badly affected – slow and sleepy, not best equipped to escape the flames. There will undoubtably be huge reptile and invertebrate losses too but they don’t get the coverage, although their places in ecosystem are just as important as any iconic mammal.

One of my friend’s daughters works in conservation and her sister pointed out a few things that I hadn’t considered. For example very many of the rescued koalas and other animals will have to be humanely destroyed as their injuries are too severe. Also, as so much habitat has been lost, there is nowhere to return the rescued animals to. The only option would therefore be to keep them in captivity until the environment has recovered enough to support them. This will take many years.

Knowing that I’m a knitter, a couple of friends have sent me info about groups here in the UK that are using their craft skills to make nests and pouches as bedding for the rescued animals. There are lots of different designs of suitable items in various sizes and shapes depending on the species they are intended for. It seems to be pretty well organised too, with various collection “hubs” to co-ordinate the effort. I’m still trying to get the full information on materials to use – some documents say the rescue organisations require pure wool items only and pure cotton fabric for sewn liners. I thought I’d make something and that this might be a good way of using up scraps , including donated yarn, but it’s not always obvious which is 100% wool when there is no ball band. I’m actually quite curious why some sources say “wool only”. It’s not always the easiest yarn to wash and dry. It was explained that the bobbles on boucle-type yarns could be nibbled on so this was not to be used and also that there should be no loose threads to entangle in tiny claws etc. and this makes perfect sense.

Hearing from others I know in Australia and even New Zealand, I hear that even far away from the fire zone the clouds of smoke and haze are clearly visible. The environmental and health effects of this disaster will be far-reaching and long term.

We just have to hope for all concerned that things improve soon and that lessons are learnt that can prevent this happening again.

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Escape to the Beach

Posted on by Jackie B

It was blowing a gale last night – I was at a friend’s house for Book Club and as the wind got up we could hear what sounded like neighbours’ bins blowing over. On the way home some our Club members had to move a fallen branch off the road and even the short walk between car and house was difficult.

I was therefore keen to get to the beach this afternoon to see if the waves had been whipped up by the storm. I’d been busy doing jobs at home and I needed a break so decided to head off down to Alnmouth before it started to get dark (Of course I took the knitting)

Although it was still windy, it was blowing offshore so the waves weren’t big, though there was spray coming off the breakers.

It was bright and clear and the dog walkers were still out in force

I drove round to the estuary where we moor our little boat in the summer. It’s a mud mooring: the rope is attached to a special kind of anchor which is screwed deep into the mud. We don’t use the boat in the winter as weather conditions aren’t as good and with more storms, debris like fallen trees from upstream can float down and damage moored craft. There are still a lot of boats at the moorings though.

Thought the estuary itself is sheltered, navigating out to sea can be difficult if the waves are big at the river mouth. Today was not bad though.

The shoreline to the south was quiet enough for gulls and oystercatchers to congregate.

Do you have a favourite place to go when you feel the need to get out of the house for some fresh air?

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Looking Out To Sea With The Couple….For Whales!

Posted on by Jackie B

Today we were in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. The town is home to the Couple: a pair of sculptures, one on the shore and a larger 12.5m version out in the bay on the breakwater.

We were there to join members of the North East Cetacean Project for an afternoon of sea watching. Cetaceans are whales, dolphins and porpoises. We were at Church Point, by the 13th Century St Bartholomews Church. This promontory makes a great vantage point.

I noticed this bollard on the way from the car park.

The conditions were not great for sea watching , with quite a swell breaking on the rocks.

K took Buddy for a walk along the beach (the labrador was getting far too interested in everyone’s lunches) and found this shell (yes, that’s my knitting needle gauge). He found others but this was the least damaged.

I can usually identify these, but I’m really not sure what species this is. Its certainly not like any of the shells I usually see around here. Interestingly, the beach at Newbiggin is artificial. After years of erosion the sands had all but gone but in 2007 the beach was reconstructed with sand brought from Skegness. Maybe it’s from there!

I did enjoy meeting the other watchers. Some are members of other marine conservation organisations too – I’d never heard of Sea Shepherd until recently but was really interested to find out about their work internationally and locally. Round here, for example, local volunteers do a lot of seashore litter picks. I’ve also seen Sea Shepherd volunteers at Boulmer (they have very distinctive logos on their jackets) collecting broken lobster pots and washed up fishing gear.

We all know how important it is to reduce plastic pollution in our seas – the issue was brought to global recognition by David Attenborough in the Blue Planet series. For me, this issue was brought alive looking at microscopic plankton samples in an aquarium a few years ago. The samples were full of microfibres – nylon and other materials. That’s why I’m trying to repurpose old yarn with charity knits and buy natural fibre (biodegradable) yarn wherever possible.

The wind strengthened and the sea got rougher so it was time to go. We left shortly before two bottle-nosed dolphins put in an appearance, so the more tenacious watchers were rewarded for their vigilance. There have been no further reported sightings of the off-course sperm whales I wrote about recently. They may well have died way out at sea: at least that way they be feeding the scavengers and return to the food chain, away from human interference.

To end on a happier note, it was lovely to spend the afternoon meeting new people with a shared interest.

Sea Watchers at Church Point, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea

I’d love to know if any of my fellow knitters are developing their own environmental policies. If you are please share them.

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A Coastal Castle (and a Finished Project)

Posted on by Jackie B
Dunstanburgh Castle

Today we headed up the coast to Craster and beyond, towards Dunstanburgh Castle. Northumberland has many castles, but this is one, which dates from the 14th Century, is one of the most atmospheric, situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the sea, between the villages of Craster and Embleton.

It’s about 1.5 miles from the nearest car park to the castle and I haven’t been since I was a child. (I took these photos at Embleton Steads) It is in an amazing location – the cliffs on the north side of the promontory are home to nesting seabirds, including fulmar and kittiwake. There were cliff nesting house martins too at one time but I’m not sure if they are still there.

I also completed the Twiddle Mitt last night. These are given to Alzheimers patients to distract them from picking at dressings and canulae when in hospital. Also, repeatedly twiddling the buttons and other adornments and stroking the different textures of yarn can have a calming effect.

My Twiddle Mitt

A friend who has arthritic hands and can no longer knit donated a huge bag of wool, needles etc to the knit and natter group. This included some yarns that were perfect for this – mohair, boucle, some glittery ones. I used this pattern and added some beads, including some little jingle bells, buttons and threaded a ribbon through. I also added some to the inside. The knit version is easy – a stocking stitch rectangle sewn into a tube, doubled up and sewn together at the ends. It’s great for using up those odd little bits of yarn and the more you mix the yarns the more interesting it is. You can add texture by varying the knitting stitch too – blackberry stitch or moss stitch would work, or some cable. I think I might try the crochet version next time.

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Boulmer, Boats and Birds: Working Towards the New Year Resolutions.

Posted on by Jackie B

A different beach and a different project today. I’m making great progress with the New Year Resolutions too. We went to Boulmer (pronounced Boomer) and while K took the dog for a walk I knitted some stitches by the sea (definitely working on Resolution #6). This UFO is a project that’s been hanging about for a while: a cobwebby scarf in fine mohair yarn on 10mm needles made in garter stitch. This was sitting in the bottom of my knitting bag where it’s been on standby to be worked on in knit and natter groups if the other project I have taken with me requires too much concentration to allow simultaneous nattering and knitting. Must crack on and finish this one (Resolution #4)

  1. Make a Santa hat. There are always a number of times I need one over the festive season (eg choir/ukelele performances) and I always think how much nicer a hand- knitted one would be than the tacky felt one I’ve been using. By the time I think about this it’s always too late. To avoid this happening again I have already started this, so that’s the first new project for 2020 underway. If I enjoy doing it I might even make a Bah Humbug version for K, my own personal Grinch.
  2. Make a Christmas jumper. For exactly the same reasons as 1.
  3. Keep on stash-busting. I want to finish the Stashbusting Blues Cape/Poncho and look at what else I can use up. I recently came across the SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) acronym so I need to reduce what I have ….and that’s all craft materials, not just yarn.
  4. Finish as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) as I can (which is linked to 3. in a way.
  5. Tidy up the craft room. When I retired, one of the first things I did was decorate the conservatory (which had become a bit of a dumping ground) and turn it into a workshop/studio /craft room and a place to store all my yarn and craft kit that was previously scattered around the house. I do have the share this space with son’s drum kit, but as I acquire more stuff, it silts up. This needs a good sort out which will in turn help with 3. and 4.
  6. Get out more – with my knitting. Sitting in a car with a nice view while K walks the dog, will actually increase my knitting output. At home there is always something else that needs doing before I sit down with the needles and yarn.
  7. Improve my photography. I was not impressed with the blurry knitting on this post. Needs work.
  8. Learn brioche. I keep seeing beautiful examples of this. It could even be my new skill for 2020

Boulmer was looking glorious in the sunshine and the beach was busy with families, and dog walkers. In an effort to improve my photography, I got the decent camera out to take these (Resolution #7)

Looking south from Boulmer
Boulmer is a safe haven for fishing boats, protected by rocky skerries, with a narrow entrance into the bay.
Looking north
Boulmer Village

The blue and white boat in this picture is a coble, the traditional fishing boat of the area. The sand here is fine, verging on mud and supports a lot of invertebrates and in turn wading birds. There were lots of oystercatchers, turnstones and curlews among others, feeding at the waters edge, flying up every time someone (or some dog) went past. The birdwatchers seem to congregate at Boulmer as I keep coming across reports of rare birds from here. This evening K found an online report of a black redstart seen today within 100m of where I was. I’ve never seen one of those before and I missed it!

Last night I completed the Santa Hat (Resolution #1)

This was very quick and easy to make – the pattern, Santas Hat by Angela Modzelewski is here. I didn’t have circular needles in the right size so I did it straight and sewed up the join. For the furry bit I used James C Brett Chinchilla which is incredibly soft and knits up on 10mm needles. The main red part is in James C Brett Chunky with Merino, which felt great to work with and knitted up very quickly on 6mm needles. If I do it again I won’t use the same yarn for the pompom which moults worse than my dog! I’d use a more conventional yarn (though the Chinchilla was perfect for the band, Now I have to put it away until Christmas 2020!

How are you getting on with your New Year Resolutions?

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Scone of the Week #5

Posted on by Jackie B

First day after the bank holiday and everyone still seems to be off work or school. In Alnwick, in search of a scone, everywhere we looked was either packed with queues forming for tables (Barter Books) or closed (most of the rest). It really was a shame as there were lots of tourists about. Baileys, at the junction of Market Street and Bondgate Within, was open with vacant tables so that’s where we went for this week’s scone.

There are steps at the entrance and to get to the counter, so this is not the most accessible cafe. Inside, the decor is rather tired and I’m not a fan of the plastic tablecloths. The staff are very pleasant though and the place is dog-friendly: a very cute shih tzu was under the next table and there were water bowls dotted around.

After ordering at the counter, our scones and drinks arrived quite quickly. The scones were ok, though not very cheesy, with an almost sweet taste. They were served just warm, with a couple of plastic/foil covered butter pats (Lurpak) – nice butter, shame about the packaging. It was at room temperature and spread easily.

While my mum had a pot of tea, I had hot chocolate, which looked quite spectacular. I declined the optional marshmallows. My drink was served in a very tall mug with a long spoon, with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of chocolate powder. The cream kept its shape without melting away for quite a while.

Though not the best scone of the week we’ve tasted, it was fine. I applaud Baileys for opening on 2nd January, when many establishments didn’t bother and there were lots of potential customers about.

Have you been out to any cafes or restaurants over the holidays?

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Taking to the Hills with New Year Resolutions

Posted on by Jackie B

Happy New Year Everyone. I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2020, with a special shout out to all of you who have followed my blog and liked and commented on posts.

Every year I like to learn a new skill. In previous years I took on beat-boxing(!), playing the ukulele and online publishing. It got to November and I realised I didn’t have a new skill for 2019. That’s why I started the blog. I had thought about it, but this was the decider. I began blogging on 14th November and I’m loving it. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy writing and I’m really enjoying making contact with people on here, especially fellow knitters and crafters. Today I reached the 200 likes milestone.

Today we weren’t by the sea. We headed for the hills for the big dog walk. I took my knitting as you can just about see (more of that later). It gave me a chance to make a note of my New Year Resolutions.

  1. Make a Santa hat. There are always a number of times I need one over the festive season (eg choir/ukelele performances) and I always think how much nicer a hand- knitted one would be than the tacky felt one I’ve been using. By the time I think about this it’s always too late. To avoid this happening again I have already started this, so that’s the first new project for 2020 underway. If I enjoy doing it I might even make a Bah Humbug version for K, my own personal Grinch.
  2. Make a Christmas jumper. For exactly the same reasons as 1.
  3. Keep on stash-busting. I want to finish the Stashbusting Blues Cape/Poncho and look at what else I can use up. I recently came across the SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) acronym so I need to reduce what I have ….and that’s all craft materials, not just yarn.
  4. Finish as many UFOs (Unfinished Objects) as I can (which is linked to 3. in a way.
  5. Tidy up the craft room. When I retired, one of the first things I did was decorate the conservatory (which had become a bit of a dumping ground) and turn it into a workshop/studio /craft room and a place to store all my yarn and craft kit that was previously scattered around the house. I do have the share this space with son’s drum kit, but as I acquire more stuff, it silts up. This needs a good sort out which will in turn help with 3. and 4.
  6. Get out more – with my knitting. Sitting in a car with a nice view while K walks the dog, will actually increase my knitting output. At home there is always something else that needs doing before I sit down with the needles and yarn.
  7. Improve my photography. I was not impressed with the blurry knitting on this post. Needs work.
  8. Learn brioche. I keep seeing beautiful examples of this. It could even be my new skill for 2020

I daren’t list any more, but there’s nothing to do with dieting, giving up anything or taking more exercise (though I probably should). This should be interesting to review in a year’s time.

Have you set yourself any knitting/crafty-related New Year resolutions

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Searching at Sunrise

Posted on by Jackie B

I’m not exactly a morning person, but there were rather special circumstances yesterday morning which led me to see the sun come up. Of course being late December it wasn’t that early.

I was there for a rather sad reason. We always keep an eye out for cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) when we are at the beach or in our boat. We always report any sightings to add to the body of knowledge about their distribution. Over the last few days there had been a number of sightings of a pod of four sperm whales, quite close inshore. This was not good news. The sperm whale is a deep water species, feeding on squid, which again is only found in deep water. These were not where they should be. Our coastal waters are far too shallow and they would not be able to feed. They would be starving, probably dehydrated and sick. Local experts predicted that the whales would probably strand on the overnight tide and asked for volunteers to help locate them.

When whales strand, it is very very unlikely that they will be refloated and swim away. It seems that they come ashore to die. It was important to find them before the general public. After another stranding further south recently, someone turned up with tools to hack out a tooth as a souvenir. I feel they should be able to die with some dignity with bystanders kept at a distance. It is vital that as much data can be collected from the carcasses as possible to help us find out why whale strandings occur.

So that’s why we needed to be checking the beach at first light. I went to Alnmouth, but thankfully there was no sign of the whales. The sunrise was glorious though.

Volunteers searched the coastline and maintained a vigil all day, but the whales had disappeared without trace. It’s a longshot, but we all hope they’ve managed to get far enough north and east to be able to feed and survive.

Today was beautiful: sunny, calm and clear. so we headed for Sugar Sands for the dog walk. The beach is accessed via a gated farm track and there is an honesty box by the farm gate to pay your 50p car park fee (proceeds go to the local church). This allows you to park overlooking the bay.

Thankfully no sperm whales (I’ll post updates if hear anything more) but lots of birds, including cormorants, eider ducks and gulls on the water and a large flock of curlew and oystercatcher in the next field. I was checking out the eider ducks with the binoculars and saw a harbour porpoise. It surfaced three times, quite a long way into the bay before I lost track of it. Wonderful!

I did remember to bring my knitting, but didn’t do much – it’s a twiddle mitt, almost ready to cast off and embellish with buttons and beads. I’m wearing one of my Christmas presents: fingerless gloves from Turtle Doves. They are made from recycled cashmere sweaters: lovely and warm and perfect for alfresco knitting on a cold day.

Have you spotted any interesting wildlife near where you live?