In Praise of the Swaledale. . .

Here's my next finished British Breeds swatch.  It's knitted in Swaledale wool from Swaledale Woollens.

I have a lot of love and good memories tied up with this breed, as part of the Coast to Coast walk involved going through the lovely Swaledale Valley where you can visit the village of Muker where this wool was bought.

The landscape is patterned with these lovely fields surrounded by Yorkshire drystone walls and of course you see the Swaledale sheep everywhere.

I chose "Sheepfold" in Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns for my swatch as it reminded me of these fields.

The yarn is really great to knit with; it's wonderfully crisp and creates a soft but strong fabric (I wore it against my skin for a day and practically forgot it was there).  The stitch definition is also terrific as you can see, and it would make a fabulous cabled jumper.  I ordered enough to make one,  and just need to find the perfect pattern now.  I also love the silvery-grey colour.