For episode 5, Clarabel and Dearbhla travelled down to the Sheep’s Head Peninsula in Co. Cork for the Sheep’s Head Yarn Festival, which took place on the weekend of 16th and 17th of May.

Our road-trip had no Thelma & Louise-style incidents and we didn’t even accidentally end up on the road to Barack Obama’s ancestral home in Monegal.

Roadtrip Thelma & Louise style!

We arrived on Friday afternoon to a peninsula shrouded in mist and only managed to find some yarn-bombing.

Yarn-bombing in the mist

By Saturday morning the mist had lifted and revealed the stunning landscape.

Stunning views in sunshine!

The Sheep’s Head Yarn Festival kicked off with meet-and-greet at The Old Creamery in Kilcrohane.

Up early at The Old Creamery ready for the meet-and-greet

They met the festival’s main organiser, Niamh Cooper, and chatted with her about the background to the Sheep’s Head Yarn Festival and life on the Sheep’s Head peninsula.

Having a blasta-blast with organiser, Niamh

In particular, Niamh mentions:

• The Wild Atlantic Way
• Ceramics and potter for sale from Dun Oir Crafts

The main focus of the Sheep’s Head Yarn Festival was the workshops in various locations peppered around the peninsula.

The range of workshops advertised

Dearbhla and Clarabel also chatted with two of the workshop teachers:

• Marilyn Wallis-Eade about scrumble crochet and her alapaca and
• Jemima of Spinning Sheep about spinning in Ireland and Irish Sheep Breeds with spinning-worthy fleeces

Marilyn Wallis-Eade

Jemima of Spinning Sheep

They also learned that, as a spin-off from the festival, a new body has been formed called Sheep’s Head Yarns. Based at The Black Gate throughout July and August, Sheep’s Head Yarns will:

• run workshops,
• give pattern advice and
• sell needles, notions and yarn

If you’re in the area on Wednesday, 1st July, they’re launching this new endeavour with a PicKnit event at The Black Gate.

To wrap-up the episode Dearbhla met with her knit-night buddy, Treasa, and chatted about some of the features on the Sheep’s Head peninsula dating from World War II:

• Eire markings and
• Coastal Watch service
  

  Eire marking on Sheep’s Head peninsula

Also mentioned were:

• Campile Bombing
• The Donegal air corridor
• How the weather forecast from Blacksod lighthouse in Co. Mayo saved the D-Day invasion

Our taste of Ireland for this episode was:

• Barry’s Tea and
• Cookie Shots from Foods of Athenry