Friday, August 14, 2015

On the Needles

I've got nothing on my needles at the moment but...........Do you ever wonder what kind of sheep grows a particular type of wool for yarn?

  I have seen blue faced leicester yarn on websites and wondered....then at the Limavady Stock show here are those very words...... blue faced leicester! There were also blackfaced and border leicester the top photo are border leicester.  And then there were these yellow and orange sheep.  I never did get a satisfactory answer as to why they were dyed except maybe as an eye catcher for the judges.





These sheep were not dyed for eye appeal  I thought these sheep were the best and notice the fancy head gear.  Polka dot sheep called Jacob sheep.  Polka dot fleece, polka dot yarn, polka dot sweaters and polka dot socks.  Where do I find yarn like that??
sheep grazing in Ireland

Sheep grazing in Scotland can you find them?

Zoomed in on the sheep grazing in Scotland in the rain.


A little tiny yarn and knit shop in Derry, Northern Ireland,  beautiful yarns and hand knit sweaters by the owner all were one of a kind and no patterns available.  There were lots of cute little shops in the square including a quilt shop but that had sadly closed.  My cousin and I made a quick trip to Buncranna to another quilt shop she frequents but it closed just before we got there.  So I didn't see the inside of a quilt shop in Ireland or Scotland. I thought I would see more yarn shops but didn't.  I did go in a couple craft shops but they had mostly synthetic yarn where I found this pattern book.  I wonder if I will every be skilled enough for an Aran sweater.



So I bought a sweater and wore it.  It felt very cozy on those cold rainy days in Scotland and there were a lot of rainy days.


My one yarn purchase in Scotland.  It is 100% wool.  It might be a scarf, it might be gloves, it might be socks.  I might have something on some needles next week in the meantime linking to Judy's OTN. --Ann--

6 comments:

Ramona said...

I love those yellowy-orange sheep! It would be interesting to find out why they are dyed that color. I was in Ireland years ago.... before quilting and knitting began. What fun to go into that little yarn shop. Your sweater is beautiful.

Suzanne said...

Thank you for sharing your yarn adventures!

Raewyn said...

Your holiday posts are very interesting. It's a part of the world I would love to visit one day. Thanks for sharing :-)

Judy S. said...

Great photos! Funny, when we were in Scotland a while ago, we had a hard time finding yarn shops, too.

Dar said...

Thanks for the wonderful pictures of your trip and looking for yarn shops. Those orange sheep were very eye catching, that's for sure. Your sweater looked lovely and warm.

Vic in NH said...

Great trip and I loved the armchair adventures, thank you!