Kathy and Bill's Trip To Ireland

Those who are members of Northern California Angora Guild know how great our newsletter is; Kathy is our wonderful editor since 1986. It has been 24 years, she edits our newsletter four times a year, always on time, always excellent.

Kathy would go to NCAG shows to help out in the earlier years though she has never shown any rabbits, she is more into the fiber aspect of Angora. She has not gone to shows in recent years so some of our members have not met her in person. Today she is treating us with her report and the pictures of her recent trip to Ireland with hubby Bill.

Bill and I walked the Dingle Way in Ireland, which is littered with archaeological finds. The day before departure, I knit this hat from yarn I'd spun beforehand. It's brown American bison, tan camel down, and white angora. I didn't use a pattern, just knit it to fit Bill's head. He says it's warm, soft, lightweight, and comfortable.

Me in all my feminine glory. The Blasket Islands lie just offshore out of sight. They have an interesting history. The lone human occupant is the weaver Sue Redican. That's a little volcanic crag in the background. (The hat is Vortex designed by Lee Meredith on knitty.com; I've knit several as it's such fun.)




Bee hive huts are thought to date to the Bronze Age. Some think they were housing, others theorize the bulk were constructed to shelter folks on religious pilgrimages. The stones are not cemented together.

Lambing season was winding down, so this guy was fenced off from his cohorts. Yup, Scottish Blackface; extra points for those of you who called it.

We also went to the Burren. Picture acres of bowling alleys. The lanes are limestone, ancient sea floors. The gutters are filled with alpine plants,their ancestors brought over in the ice age, blooming alongside Mediterranean plants, a botanic wonder as neither should grow here. Scatterin wedge tombs, dolmens, and other prehistoric marvels.