Polkagris Kerchief

The Polkagris Kerchief is a lovely, quick and simple knit by the designer Kate Davies. 

I used a set of two mini skeins of sport weight, spun from Shetland sheep fleece. One a natural white and the other naturally dyed over marl grey in shade "Ocean".

Now, this was no ordinary Shetland yarn, it was a blend of wool from Shetland sheep originating from 4 farms near my croft in Scotland. When I dispersed my flock of Shetland sheep a couple of years ago the ewes went to live at one of those 4 farms. So, when I discovered that Julie from Black Isle Yarns had acquired fleeces from sheep which used to belong to me, I was keen to buy some yarn and see how it had turned out. 

Here's an image from 2012 with some of my Shetland ewes.

These are the mini skeins from Black Isle Yarns, 40g each. I love the green shade dyed over the grey giving the marl look. The are both very soft and have a rustic look. 

I used a 4mm small circular needle for this knit project. The garter stitch mini shawl is cast on at the centre back. Then increases are made to create an elongated triangle. 

To make the shawl slightly larger I knit some extra rows in grey and mustard in Buachaille yarn. 

I'm really pleased how this project turned out especially as I had in mind to gift it to a friend for her birthday.

Of course, I just had to take a picture of this kerchief with the view, over looking the fields where my sheep used to graze. 

Knitting Kits at Lucy Locket Land

Recently I teamed up with the lovely Lucy, from Locket Land and I'm delighted to announce two new knitting kits have been produced from my knitting patterns. These were launched last week at Yarndale in Skipton, North Yorkshire.

First is the Counting Sheep kit, this includes yarn made with fleece from my shetland sheep. Several natural colours are in the kits and there's enough to make a mini flock of at least five sheep. 

The image below shows some of the skeins in preparation ranging in colour from white, fawn, grey, brown and black.

The sheep kit includes the printed pattern, shetland wool yarn and natural wool filling in a neat presentation box. These are available online from Lucy's website and from her bricks and mortar shop (more about her shop later). 

Counting Sheep Knitting Kits

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

Next, it's the Mini Red Roof Croft House pattern which has been so popular. 

For the Wee Croft House Knitting kits Lucy hand dyed shetland wool in pretty primary colours for the doors and roofs. There's enough yarn to make all three of these cute little houses.

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

The house kits include the printed pattern, the yarn and natural wool filling in cardboard presentation boxes. As with the sheep the house kits are available from Lucy's website and her shop.

Wee Croft House Knitting Kits

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

The knitting kit production line...

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

Now, a little bit about Lucy's bricks and mortar shop. It is an exciting creative hub located near Sunderland in the north east of England. The shop stocks stunning yarns, unique work by local artisans, there are craft workshops (not just knitting) as well as knitting groups. 

Here's a little look around... 

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

Image courtesy Lucy Locket Land

Hope you enjoyed that quick visit.  Check out the opening times and keep up to date with news via Lucy's Instagram and website.

What makes British sheep breeds special

Book titles and authors: The Fleece and Fibre Source Book Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius
Beautiful Sheep Kathryn Dun
British Sheep & Wool The British Wool Marketing Board

Britain has a rich heritage when it comes to sheep husbandry and fibre crafts. It’s wonderful to see so much renewed interest in the traditional breeds. 

With so many breeds however, it can be hard to know which fibre is right for a given project: some are hard wearing but rough against the skin, while others are among the softest in the world, but can’t take much wear. 

I’ve rounded up a beginner’s guide to some of my favourites, to help you get your bearings and shed a bit of light on what makes British breeds so special. 

If you read to the end, there’s a giveaway too if you'd like to win a box of knitting goodies!

Some of you may already know that I kept a small flock of Shetland sheep, so it’s no surprise that this breed is at the top of my list. 

Shetland

Description: A small hardy hill breed with fine bone structure. Rams usually have rounded horns.

Uses: A Shetland’s fleece can be used to produce fine yarns suitable for lacework, most famous for it's use in beautiful fair isle sweaters. The fineness and the wide range of natural shades has led to Shetland being the wool of choice for sweaters through to traditional tweed.

Characteristics: With an average fibre diameter in the range of 20-30 microns, Shetland wool can be exceedingly fine for a British breed. Known for the wide range of colours. Staple length for coloured fleece is between 6 to 12 cm.

Wensleydale

Description: A distinctive sheep, the Wensleydale has blue legs, ears and face, with a long, curly lustrous fleece. It is a large, bold sheep, but it is one of the UK’s rarest breeds.  

Uses: The wool from this particular breed is often blended with finer, but shorter stapled wools for a stronger yarn. Ideal for hand-spinning and hand-felting, it is used in a number of crafts, including rug making, knitting and crochet.

Characteristics: Wensleydale wool is arguably the finest, most lustrous long wool in the world. This is because the breed has an unusual feature in their DNA known as “central checking”, which prevents kemp, or coarse fibres, from being produced. This means that purebred sheep will produce completely kemp-free fleece. The staple length is between 15 -30 cm.

Masham

Description: Mashams are a cross breed originating in North Yorkshire. The progeny of a Teeswater ram and a Dalebred or a Swaledale ewe.

Uses: Masham wool is good for those who want to get started spinning their own yarn due to its good staple length. Despite this, Masham isn’t the softest wool around, so you’ll usually find it used in a blend with softer fibres, or used in carpets.  

Characteristics: The Masham is a hardy sheep, with a lustrous  soft fleece and a staple length of between 12 and 25 cm.

Herdwick

Description: Perhaps the hardiest British breed, the Herdwick can survive on high ground, like the Lake District fells. Born with a black fleece, they go grey as they get older, but they usually have a white head and legs. 

Uses: Herdwick wool is best suited for woven outerwear, hard-wearing carpets, and for filling furniture and mattresses. It does have a reputation for being harsh against the skin, but it’s great for accessories.

Characteristics: Their kemp fibres increase with age, making the wool brittle and coarse, so it’s never been too popular with knitters and dyers. Staple length is between 10 and 20 cm.

Lincoln Longwool

Description: A rare native sheep, the Lincoln Longwool is the largest British breed. It was bred, way back in the 1700s as a wool sheep, but it later became a dual-purpose breed. It is a docile sheep with a white face, dark ears and a broad forelock of wool that falls in it's face. 

Uses:  It has a strong and durable fibre, making it suitable for use in rugs, bags, cushions and outerwear.

Characteristics: Popular with hand spinners, especially the wool from Lincoln lambs. It is naturally a marbled grey, so is great for creating naturally variegated yarns and fabrics. It has a staple length between 15 -30 cm.

Romney

Description: Named after the Romney Marsh area in south east England. The Romney is a large sheep with a calm disposition.

Uses: Fleeces vary in fineness from next to the skin softness to courser more suited to upholstery purposes and floor coverings. This demi-lustrous fibre is a very popular and versatile fibre and works well for knitting, spinning, and weaving.  

Characteristics: Romney fleeces are generally of a uniform and consistent quality from top to tail. The staple length is between 10 and 20.5 cm.

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If you’re a wool lover, the kind people over at herdy®sleep are giving away a bundle of knitting goodies! As keen supporters of traditional British crafts and breeds, they use a full herdwick fleece in each of their handmade luxury mattresses. 

This giveaway includes the following:

Herdy Pattern Booklet which includes the following 5 patterns: 
rucksack 
cushion cover
hot water bottle cover 
childs jumper
a beanie hat

x4 balls of Herdy chunky 100% British wool

x1 pair of bamboo knitting needles

x1 Herdy tape measure

To have a chance to win this lovely knitting kit simply click on the link below. A winner will be drawn at random and announced here.

The giveaway is open to UK entries only 
(sorry to all overseas readers) 
and runs from 

6th - 30th November 2017.

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The Giveaway has ended.

Guest blog post for Let's Knit Magazine

I was recently invited by Let's Knit Magazine to write a guest post for their blog. I was inspired to write about my experience of keeping sheep here in the Highlands and about ideas for my knitting patterns. You can read the article here.

Shetland Sheep Exhibit at Torridon

I was offered the opportunity to put together an exhibit about our Shetland sheep and knitting yarn for the  'Local Life' exhibition space in the nearby gallery. It's on show from April 2014 at the Loch Torridon Centre Gallery. Here are a few shots and extracts from the display which features the Shetland breed of sheep, it's variety of colours and qualities. Also featured in the display is the lacy knitting pattern for  'Birch Trees Scarf' (which is available to download free) knitted in our natural white yarn.

'Our small flock of pedigree Shetland sheep were purchased in spring 2012.    We decided to send some fleeces for spinning following the summer shearing. Our first batch of yarn proved successful and we made plans to produce more the following year.

After a productive lambing time in 2013 our flock had grown in numbers and variety of shades. The Shetland breed provides a range of natural colours and markings. Currently our sheep display five colours (black, white, moorit, easit and sheala) out of the eleven recognised solid shades along with some multi coloured sheep called 'katmogets', having a lighter body and dark belly and legs with badger face makings. The names original from the Shetland dialect.

The fleece is soft, lightweight, warm and should never feel scratchy to the skin. The world famous Fair Isle knitting is based on this fibre.  Delicate lace weight yarn used for the equally famous Shetland lace shawls is spun from the finest Shetland fleeces.
 

We use Griffiths Mill in Derbyshire for our fleece spinning. This is a small family business specialising in the processing of fibre from as little as a single fleece. They can guarantee that we will have our own fleeces returned to us. We grade and clean the fleeces, then post them to the mill. They take care of the scouring, carding, wool spinning process and post the skeins of yarn back to us. For 2014 we have four colours available at the gallery in double knitting weight yarn.'