Weaving with Jacob

 

 Back in March I blogged about some Mill Spun Jacob wool I purchased -you can read about this and see the flock of sheep where this lovely yarn comes from, in the March archive titled "Wool and Willow".
 Over the Summer months  I have been looking forward to working with it and have been pondering the best way to show it off. Now is the time to get my loom and needles busy and get weaving and knitting with this stash!
I plan to make a selection of items; accessories and homeware.

The following photos show the making of a single weave light weight scarf which is available to buy from my Folksy shop (just click on the Folksy badge or link opposite for more details and photos).

 Using a cone of Grey Jacob wool I warp up the Loom.

 The yarn is loaded on the back roller, the paper runs between the warp threads to separate the layers and keep the tension.

 After the warp is threaded through the reed, it is tied to the warp stick and tensioned.

The weft is loaded onto a shuttle and passed back and forth across the warp, raising and lowering the reed with every row.
I gently beat the weft in place and the woven fabric is created. I wind this onto the front roller as it grows.

Hand weaving is always so absorbing, I love to pay attention to the structure of the cloth, working with single threads and just using one colourway has been a refreshing experience as quite often I will add at least 5 to 7 different yarns and colours to produce my handwoven work. This scarf feels calm and the natural grey tones soothe. I do enjoy working with pure wool.

Sailing -Two Rivers

 

 We keep our little Sunstar18 sailing yacht on a swing mooring on the river Medina, Isle of Wight. This blog has lots of photos of our trips afloat; sailing, rowing, fishing, knitting and dreaming. It's a great place to be.
On Saturday we decided to explore another river across the Solent; the river Beaulieu, Hampshire. The conditions was set fair, light N Easterly wind, Neap tides and warm and sunny, so we cast off and set sail!
 Well, actually we had to motor out of the Medina as there was no wind and it is always very busy at the mouth of the river with ferries,other craft and racing yachts, but once clear of the navigation buoys we did raise the sails as there was enough breeze to make 2-3knots of speed. Even though the tide was pretty slack, it was still very lumpy out in the Solent and we didn't make much headway.  We had a couple of hours sailing before the wind got very light and we turned the motor back on and entered the Beaulieu river. Here all was calm, you can just see the sand and shingle bank separating the river from the Solent. 

 A photo of the lighthouse at the entrance, I love lighthouses, they are so special giving a sailor their bearings, comfort and light in all weathers.

 

 The cottages on the riverbank. We motored up the Beaulieu for a while but didn't have time to go all the way to Buckler's Hard as we needed to return to our Island river on the incoming tide. Here's a link if you want to find out more
http://www.beaulieuriver.co.uk/

Our way home pass the Beaulieu river light and Lepe Spit South Cardinal.

The wind remained northerly back in the Medina so we were able to sail back up the river under jib only right onto our swing mooring, where Peewit our Tender gently bobbed waiting to take us to shore. It's great to go exploring and always lovely to come home.