Frank is Finished

This knitting journey is complete! From a fabulous European vacation in 2022 that included a stop at the famed Stephen and Penelope Fine Yarn shop, to multiple pattern fails, to lack of motivation and other non-knitting projects, knitting this shawl has taken longer than I expected, but it was a lot of fun!

The shawl is inspired by the bold linear art of Italian-American Frank Stella, especially his early years in the 1950s. 

As usual, the Shady Grove yarn was not stretchy, so the piece does not block out to the full size as advertised. I’m not sad, since it is a monster size in the fully stretched version. I also felt that the eyelet rows were open enough to see the lace detail. 

Details:

Pattern: Frank Shawl by Joji Locatelli

Yarn: 3 skeins of fingering weight LITLG, color ways Dragon Seed, Hearth, and Tangerine and 2 skeins of Shady Grove Alpacas The Eleven lace weight held double 

Needles: Size 5 circulars

Date started: April 7, 2023

Date finished: November 19, 2023

Total weight: 305 grams 

It turns out to be in the perfect colors for fall and I enjoyed wearing it for Thanksgiving. 

Not sure if  “Signals,” by Jeremy Moon (1967) at the Milwaukee Museum of Art is inspired by Stella or just belongs to a general trend of that time, but it has some things in common with the shawl!

Modeling the ‘fit with my Herdwick sheep bag that I got on the same 2022 Europe trip in the Lake District in northern England. Beatrix Potter was famous for saving this variety of sheep and for preserving the tradition of Fell Farming before donating her Lake District properties to the British Land Trust after her death. 

Dark Star is also looking on. The Eleven was his half brother and the lace weight held double is so buttery soft and drapey! Of course it felt like twine while knitting before it was washed. 

Here’s wishing a peaceful beginning to the holiday season! I hope all gift knitting will be completed with time to spare!

 

Here a Sheep, There a Sheep

Here's circling back to my Coast to Coast Walk for a few posts as the year ends! Old Mac Donald was most likely a sheep farmer, from what I could tell. The abundance of sheep on this trip was a constant delight to encounter. On the train, so many sheep on pastures the further north we rode. Sheep in St. Bees on the way to the hotel.

Sheep on the beach and sheep with the best views of the land and sea. The animals seem very engrossed in their non-stop meals, I'm not sure they are noticing. 

I personally noticed that very few sheep had been sheared so far. Our alpacas need to be sheared by early June if you don't want to deal with animal heat stroke, but northern England is indeed much further north than central Indiana and still quite chilly. Shearing usually happens in July up here. It was super windy on top of that plateau and I was glad I had my jacket on to keep from freezing despite the mild day. 

I loved how many sheep breeds we passed. The brown and grey ones below are particularly interesting and adorable. They are Herdwick, and they can survive the fell landscape by only eating forage without other food supplements. The brown animals are lambs or very young sheep while the grey ones are a few years old. They turn from brown-black to grey as they mature. Beatrix Potter had a flock of Herdwicks on her many farms and was instrumental in helping the breed survive.

Sheep enjoyed the landscape around abandoned monasteries...

The barren landscape and lack of trees (partly a side-effect of grazing sheep) makes it necessary to build fences with stones. These stone fences were everywhere, well-maintained, and thick. There were often stone barns and shelters as well. 

Oooops, these aren't sheep; they're alpacas! But since they were the only ones I saw during the entire trip, I decided to give them some room on the blog!

These guys really wanted to get out, or get our attention, or both. Lots of noise from this crew are we passed by!

The other sheep breed that was prolific was Swaledale, where the adult animals have beautiful round horns. The town of Swaledale was also near the walk. Above is a great example of the many stone fences that divide the landscape into pastures. 

Finally, this sheep seems to know that there are no real lions who live in the English mountains or on the moors, so might as well catch a snack on the hotel lawn. The employees were half-heartedly trying to get this sheep to leave, but it was quite happy and persistent. 

I hope you enjoyed looking at a few of the hundreds of sheep that I saw! I decided to spare you the knick knack collections that these animals inspired. There was endless kitsch in every little tourist shop. 

 

Yarn Haul

Vacation yarn souvenirs are some of my favorite items to collect. I had some excellent adventures this summer, but it so happened that I was also able to sneak in an impromptu pilgrimage to a yarn store that I have admired for a few years. Let’s all dreamily stare at the front window of Stephen and Penelope Fine Yarns in Amsterdam!

More importantly, let’s admire the vast and gorgeous yarn selection! I spent several hours on two different days drooling here. Don’t worry, I swallowed the drool!

I eventually chose some skeins from this section of the store. Have I mentioned that I am a fan of orange?

I really like this wooden display holders and think I will try to make a few for the day that I start selling Shady Grove Alpaca yarn at fiber fairs…

Violá! Three coordinating skeins in orange plus a branded project knitting bag to keep them safe. Watch out for those crazy bicycles in Amsterdam!!

Prior to Amsterdam, I had the opportunity to visit England and purchased some Swaledale sheep yarn (white) and some sock yarn dyed in the same neighborhood. More on the sheep of England in an upcoming post.

Final picture of entire yarn collection, including four skeins of sock yarn that I purchased at the request of my parental unit. It’s her favorite, and it came in some lovely colors!

And finally, some fiber whimsy brought to you by local knitting and sewing artists who decorated this bridge in the town of Melk, Austria. More on that trip in a later post as well!

Stay safe and happy knitting! 🧶 

 

And So It Begins

I’m not sure how to tell this story. The Coast to Coast hike is one of the most diverse and mentally engaging hiking experiences so far, and there are many angles to the trip. 

Very close to the hotel is the marker for the beginning. The walk is not nationally recognized, which means there is no one correct path. There is also limited signage as a result. A map is crucial, and I have all the maps digitally available offline on the Gaia app. The satellite shows you exactly where you are and has saved us from making significant mistakes.

Before starting, it is the custom to dip your toe into the Irish Sea and select a small rock to carry to the North Sea. I picked a small white rock with some gray layers.

We have 190 miles to go! Since we’ve had to do a little backtracking already, I’m going wager that we will add a few extra miles to this number.

Ancient cliffs, looking back at the trail and forward on St Bees Head, the first section of the trail.

Many interesting birds live and breed on these cliffs this time of year. Most of the birds in the video are guillemots, but there were also plenty of the endangered herring gulls.

Every lighthouse should come with a set of cows! This is farm country, and livestock is seen everywhere. The next few photos show how many different types of paths the trail uses. Sometimes you walk through a field, on a country lane, through a town next to someone’s amazing gardens, actual hiking trails, logging access roads, a city walking path.

We made it to the top of the first summit, Dent. It was a pleasant climb to get started. We also had a decent view of some other cities, including Sellafield, a nuclear facility. THIS is the scarier article, if you want to go down this rabbit hole.

We met several other Coast to Coast walkers in the last section and enjoyed some good conversation. People are very friendly and there is a sense of community on the trail as our paths cross over time.

This concludes the first day’s views! I thought I would lump several days together, but it seems like this is a good place to stop. Each day ends in civilization, and I can’t tell you how nice it is to have a bed, shower, and yummy dinner waiting for you at end of each long hike!