It’s hard to believe but just over a week ago, I sent off my Ph.D. dissertation! It felt so odd and exhilarating to press the send button and be faced with ten glorious days of limbo before I fly to the US for a conference and then my formal Ph.D. defense, which will be the official conclusion of my seven years (!) in graduate school.
As a little surprise, Mr. N took me away for a few days last week to the South Lakes where we could enjoy a bit of a break and the last days of summer in the Northwest. We fit a lot into three days, but one of my favorite bits was hiking up the Old Man of Coniston, which is a large fell on the west side of Coniston Water. It dominates the landscape, and we had beautiful views from the spot we were married, which is on the east side of Coniston Water. We’ve both wanted to go up it ever since.
Last week I had the chance to go along with Kate from Northern Yarn to Dodgson Wood, a beautiful farm in Cumbria where John and Maria raise rare breed cattle and sheep, practice conservation grazing, run off grid accommodation, and produce gorgeous soaps (from the milk of their Jersey cow) and, of course, wool! Beautiful, single farm, breed specific yarns — what could be better?
A Teeswater ewe
The farm, which John’s family has been farming on for six (!!) generations, is nestled in Cumbria at the bottom of the Lower Lakes. We’d actually put our trip off for a week because of the “Beast from the East” and the forecast for last Tuesday looked like it might be a bit gray — so we were pleasantly surprised with sun and blue skies (but you can see the snow-capped fells in the distance!) When you pull up to the farm, you’re greeted with the happy sound of clucking chickens and ducks, as well as some geese who keep a careful guard of the farm and a watchful eye on the road for new comers!
Guard geese!
Maria and John keep a variety of sheep, including Cheviots, several of which are rare breed , like fiesty horned Castlemilk Moorits (they have a fascinating history that you can read about here) and the long wooled Teewasters:
This little one isn’t a pedigree Castlemilk Moorit because of the unusual markings on its face, but I love how still and regal it looks — almost like it new I was taking a picture!
A Teeswater looks on behind!
When we arrived last week, lambing and calving season was already in full swing (another reason it was extra nice of John and Maria to spend time showing us the farm!) Ewes pregnant with a single lamb, and ewes who have already given birth to just one were out in the fields. Kate and I got to go out to the field with Maria while she gave the flock some extra food and checked for any new arrivals!
Maria feeds the flock — they know where their bread is buttered!
No new lambs in the field (Maria actually told us that the ewes almost seem to prefer lambing on rainy, wet days, rather than when the sun’s out) but we did get to see two little lambs frolicking in the field and playing a game that involved lots of headbutting!
Look at that little lamb go!Lambies playing!
Maria and John also have a small but growing flock of Teeswater sheep, a rare breed long wool sheep. In fact, their flock is growing as we speak — when we were there, we got to have a peek at two sets of Teeswater twin lambs that had been born that week! Twins and their moms, as well as ewes expecting twins, had been moved into the ewe “maternity ward” where Maria and John can keep an extra eye on them, making sure they get on all right and that the mothers are taking care of both lambs (sometimes, the ewes prefer one lamb over the other and some intervention is needed to make sure both lambs get enough food!) I love the distinctive, long curly locks of the Teeswater — and the little lambs’ new coats of tight curls were so sweet!
Maria even let us give the lambs a little cuddle …. and oh my goodness, holding a days-old lamb certainly does the heart good!
Kate and a little Teeswater!So happy!
Look at that face!
Spending a few hours up at the farm, I was so struck by the beauty of the place (it really is breathtaking) but also what an awful lot of work it takes! John and Maria wear so many hats. It’s very clear how much they care about all their livestock, and what a lot of work they are — Maria had been up every two hours the night before we came checking on the pregnant cows and ewes; they’d both been up in the middle of the night because a Belted Galloway cow had given birth to her calf up against the railing of her pen — the force of her labor had pushed the little calf through the pen’s rails and separated the two, so they’d had to get the calf back in it’s mother’s pen (mother and calf were both doing very well when we arrived). They get their gorgeous wool spun into yarn, sell meat and some of the livestock, run off grid accommodation, and Maria’s also making the most glorious Jersey milk soaps … she sent us home with some, and I’ve been loving the one I’ve been using on my hands!
It was so inspiring to see two people so passionate about what they do, pursuing so many creative ventures on their farm. My only regret is that I didn’t take more pictures of the farmhouse, cows, chickens — I was so interested in hearing more about the farm (and, let’s be honest, cooing over the lambs) that I wasn’t as handy with my camera as I would have liked! But then again, there’s only so much you can capture in a photo. The overwhelming vitality of the farm — the lambs and ewes happily bleating to each other; the sound of pregnant ewes snuffling up their food; the chickens that boldly darted anywhere and everywhere in the farmyard, scampering through the legs of cows; and all the hard work happening on the farm — I suspect that even had I taken 1,000 pictures, some things just can’t be captured.
A gorgeous Castlemilk Moorit sheepskin that came home with me!
I came home happy and now have a freezer full of meat that I know I can feel good about eating, a sheepskin that is so soft I move it from room to room to sit with, and a renewed desire to cast on with some of the beautiful Shear Delight yarn that comes from the farm. I’ve had my eye on Dodgson Wood yarn since my very first visit to Northern Yarn and getting to know John and Maria a bit and seeing their happy sheep has made me want to knit with their beautiful yarn all the more. I’m thinking an Incunabula out of one of their DK blends or maybe trying out a two-color version of Kate Davies’ gorgeous new Myrtle in their Teeswater lace. And I’ve also been contemplating a pair of Otrera Mitts in their Cheviot first shear DK. So many knits, so little time!
Dodgson Wood have an online shop where you can shop for all their different farm produce, from meats, to their Soap Dairy soaps, and their Shear Delight yarn and sheep-related products! And if you’re in Lancaster, you can see the yarn and soap in person at Northern Yarn!
Such a big thanks to Kate from Northern Yarn for inviting me along and for John and Maria for being so generous with their time, especially given the busy-ness of spring on the farm! I love this picture of the two of them with one of their new lambs — I think it really captures the love they have for what they do!
Alright, I better go get packing for EYF! If all goes according to plan, I’m going try to pop in here with little daily photo updates if you’d like to follow along!
Hi friends and happy …. day whatever today is. Just kidding, I know it’s Wednesday, Thursday. We arrived back to our little stone house Tuesday late afternoon, and boy, have I had a major case of the jet lags. I’ve done enough long-ish haul travel that I’ve developed some pretty strict rules from for myself (all stemming from one disastrous trip to Copenhagen many years ago, in which I managed to pretty much sleep through the vacation because of poorly managed jet lag). Overnight flight? Sleep as much as you can. Arrive. Stay up as long as humanly possible. Never go to bed before 7 pm local time. Never take naps.
Phew, I didn’t mean to go quiet for quite so long! We spent a three-day weekend in St. Louis for one of my best friend’s wedding, and I was co-maid of honor, and it was quite busy! But loads and loads of fun.
So first of all, a massive thanks for all your thoughts and advice on my Fade color conundrum. It gave me lots of food for thought — y’all thought of things that wouldn’t have even occurred to me — and I’ve tried out lots of different things as a result (there’s been swatches, decisions made, decisions unmade and frogged … ) I think I’ve sorted it out now, and I’m excited to show you when I get a bit further!
In the meantime, I thought I’d do a very quick recap of where we’ve gotten since we last spoke … we covered quite a bit of ground.
Before we left Kansas City on Thursday morning, we did a very quick bit of sightseeing. We had a really lovely, if too brief, visit to the WWI Memorial. It’s really stunning (plus offers great views of the city). I only wish we’d had time to explore the museum, as the exhibits looked excellent.
As it was, we had a nice walk around and peek in the gift shop. Check out this upcoming knit night they had planned, inspired by women’s sock knitting in WWI — what a cool idea:
We then pressed onto St. Louis, where we had a full three days of wedding fun. We got back on the road Sunday after a farewell brunch for the couple — and made a quick stop by the St. Louis arch:
And not far out of St. Louis, just over the Illinois border, we made another flying stop to the Cahokia Mounds — the largest Native American pre-Columbian site north of Mexico. They were quite impressive:
We were in the largest number of states so far on Sunday–Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky–but it was also the worst weather (at least til that point), so not very conducive to photo taking!
After a late arrival in Lexington, Kentucky and a very rainy night, we were back on the road this morning. We stopped at the Capitol Market in Charleston, WV for a quick lunch – fish and chips that blended southern and British, perfect for Mr. N and me (note especially the half sweet tea and hush puppies):
A break in the weather allowed us to enjoy a quiet overlook a bit later:
And after more driving and more raining … we’ve made it to my parents in Virginia! Woohoo! We’ll have a few days here … which of course means lots of knitting with my mom and sis 😀
Hello from Kansas City! Today was beautiful, in a differnt way … lots of lovely rolling fields and some amazing windmills (if less places along I70 to stop and appreciate them).
I’m just about ready for color 4 of my Fade … and I had a bit of a color crisis. I became convinced that the plan I had already charted was no good. I may have bought not one, but two skeins of yarn at two separate shops in eastern Kansas to swap into the shawl (thanks for the suggestions, Allison) and I am not sure that either will make the cut in the end. But never mind, always nice to see local yarn shops! If I can get my act together in the morning before we leave, I might pop in and show you the options and get your advice!
Tomorrow is a short drive to St. Louis where we’ll stay all weekend – one of my best friends is getting married! I am so excited for a fun weekend — and as much fun as we’ve been having, it’ll be nice to have a short break from the road. Especially for Mr. N who has been doing all the driving to maximize my knitting time. He’s very invested in my Cross Country Fade at this point!
So another wonderful day … though the distinct lack of a visa in my life is starting to cause some real anxiety. We’re meant to be flying in a week … so keeping my fingers AND toes crossed that I get some good news tomorrow.
Another day of beauty. First, we visited Colorado Monument Park, another site of just breathtaking beauty:
Sadly, we didn’t catch sight of any of the big horn sheep that roam the area, but progress on my Find Your Fade continued:
The drive to Denver was picturesque in a different way … I loved seeing all the pines. More serarches for Big Horn turned up nothing, but we still had a great time (and the knitting continued, always)
When we finally made it to Denver, much later than we anticipated, a differnt kind of beauty awaited me:
What a glorious shop — I won’t try to do it justice now in my sleepy state, but I’ve got lots of wool-tastic photos to show you soon. Let’s just say I left the shop a very happy lady:
With a bag maybe fuller than it should be with wool – but when you see the inside of this place you won’t blame me…
But more on all that soon. Time to get some sleep…tomorrow, the plains of Kansas await!
fiber and sustenance 