Photo of the Week: ‘Original shepherdess’ spins a yarn
© Dawn Baker This is a picture of Pauline Baker in the 1980s.
Her daughter, Dawn, submitted the photo to our new Farming Memories gallery, which we’ve set up to help celebrate our upcoming 90th anniversary.
Dawn says: “We had commercial Suffolk sheep but she also had a small flock of Friesian milk sheep (Pinky, Perky and Parsley, to name a few).
“She milked the sheep and also processed their wool.
“I would return home from school to great vats of wool soaking in a vinegar solution to clean the dirt and lanolin, before dying the wool in an array of colours.
“Mum would then card and spin the wool on her spinning wheels [pictured] before turning the yarn into hand-knitted and machine-knitted jumpers for my dad.
“She was passionate about farming and artisan crafts. She was one of the original shepherdesses!”
Share your farming memories in photos
It is Farmers Weekly’s 90th birthday in June 2024, and we want you to help us celebrate by sending us your photos and memories.
Share your photos from the past – from any year since 1934 to the present – that hold a special memory for you or your family.
Tell us about the photo and what it means to you – you can write up to about 200 words
We will pick some of the photos and stories to publish in our commemorative 21 June edition.