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Unst Show 2019
Hello everyone, me (Ella) and Sandra headed up to Unst on Saturday for the Unst Show. This is a trip which involves getting two ferries so we were up early and make our way up there to judge the knitwear entries which for the first year also included a colourbox section! You will know if you regularly read our blogs or look at our facebook and Instagram that this year we have been to Voe, Cunningsburgh and Walls to judge the Colourbox. This is a selection of 8 shades of 2ply Jumper Weight which we chose - the entrants then have to use at least 5 of the 8 shades in their creations. There was a great mix of garments and accessories and we were really pleased with the number of entries for the first Colourbox at Unst. We also judged the rest of the knitwear and as expected for Unst (known for its beautiful lace) there were some amazing entries - and quite a few Roadside Beanies! Sadly it was a very wet day and although Sandra and I thought we were suitably attired it became apparent very quickly we were not! Luckily our judging was indoors but it meant we didn't get to see all the animals, I had a quick look around the sheep though so thought you might like to see a few damp but happy enough sheep. We also went to the Unst Heritage Centre which was across from the show field (to try and dry off) to look at the amazing lace on show and we really enjoyed that, it is well worth a visit. It was a good trip and marked the end of our show season, the Yell show is on this weekend and that is the last. Summer certainly feels like it's over now but that means one thing - soon its Shetland Wool Week! Happy Knitting! :)
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Another Batch of Patterns
Hello everyone, we have had a busy couple of weeks here in Shetland. The Wool Season is well underway and often we struggle to see the boys in the Woolstore under the mountain of Oo! We have been busy in the shop too with lots of visitors and groups, we also recently had the end of our Seasons of the Shetland Crofter competition so we are looking forward to showing you the results of that project - the photos which were entered were great! We have added another batch of 4 patterns to our Ravely and Lovecraft's pages, this week we have chosen the Sissal Mitts and Hat, Eva Shawl, Fair Isle Vneck Jumper and the Pam Shawl. The Pam Shawl is another Gladys Amedro pattern, its knit in 2ply lace and alongside the usual Hap motifs, it also features a cable border and twist motif. it was originally in the Shetland Lace book (now out of print) but we have always had it as a paper pattern so now its available as a PDF. As with many of Gladys' patterns, they follow her abbreviation style which may take a moment to get used to but once you do it makes sense, it is an entirely written out pattern and contains no charts. The Fair Isle Vneck Jumper is from our Shetland Heritage collection and is knit from a garment in the Shetland Museum and Archives, you can see that every lozenge is a different pattern - making it the perfect knit to keep you on your toes! knit in the Shetland Heritage yarn, a worsted spun light fingering weight it is a great layer for when it's not too cold (amazingly like Shetland at the moment!!) The Eva Shawl was originally sold as the Shoulder Shawl but for the Wool Week Collection in 2011 we redeveloped it as the Eva Shawl and it was knit in Shetland Supreme 1ply and the pattern had charts added. Its a beautiful and elegant shawl which has been used several times as a wedding veil due to the shape. The final pattern this week is the Sissal Mitts and Hat, these are the perfect project for Fair Isle beginners and enthusiasts alike, the background colours stay the same the whole way through throughout the project. Its knit with Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight as the main colour and 2ply Jumper Weight as the pattern colours - we are often asked if you can knit them together and you can! You can see how they work great together. So you can find these patterns and the others we have made available as PDF's on Ravelry and Lovecrafts, happy knitting!
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More Patterns..
Hello everyone, this week's patterns have been uploaded to Ravelry and Loveknitting (soon to be Lovecrafts) We've chosen a mix of Fair Isle and lace this week - and I know it is a heatwave in many places so it might seem a bit strange to be thinking about Gloves and Hats but we are sitting in a usual Shetland Summer day of 11 degrees..! The Fair Isle Cap was a design we published in 2012 at the launch of our Shetland Heritage yarns, worsted spun to match items in the Shetland Museums collection. This hat is knit fully lined with a plain inside and a traditional Fair Isle outer. Skerry Gloves is a design we recently commissioned from Lesley Smith as we felt we were missing a traditional Shetland Glove pattern, it features a traditional Norwegian Star and is perfect for using up your odds and ends of 2ply Jumper Weight. We decided to also make available one of our all-time best selling patterns - the Gibbie Shawl, named after our former manager Gibbie Johnston and designed by Gladys Amedro. Knit in 1ply cobweb the pattern is written out line by line and not charted and the abbreviations used are those Gladys Amedro coined so although different to modern abbreviations once you get them, you get them! The Shetland Bound stole was designed for our Lace Collection in 2012 by Monqiue Boonstra, knit in our 1ply Shetland Supreme yarn, it is a beautiful and impactful lace project. Perfect for when you want more than a scarf but not a wedding ring shawl! We hope you are enjoying being able to get some of our patterns as downloads and we thank you for the feedback we've had, remember if there are specific patterns you would like to see please leave a comment. Happy Knitting!
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Pattern PDF's
Hello everyone, its the beginning of another busy summer here in Shetland. We have lots of tours during the summer and gearing up for another Wool Season but as always we are working behind the scenes on lots of things - for a while now we have wanted to make available our single patterns as PDF's as well as in kits we sell. To begin with we have chosen to make the patterns available on Loveknitting. (also now available on Ravelry!) We decided to start with a selection of our Fair Isle patterns knit using 2ply Jumper Weight: The Roadside Allover, Antarctica Jumper, Antarctica Set and one of our most popular patterns the Hairst Yoke. These are all great examples of Shetland designs by a Shetland designer - Sandra Manson who you will have met if you've ever been in J&S is the designer of all 4 patterns and I think her expert colour sense can be seen in them all. The Antarctica Set was released in 2012 and you may remember they were released after being made for Dr Alexander Kumar on his research trip to Antarctica, the set includes a Double layer hat, neckwarmer/cowl and mittens. The Antarctica Jumper is knit using the same motifs and colours and is knit from the bottom up with steeks for the armholes and neckline, this is a traditional Shetland technique where extra stitches are cast on and then cut open later so you can continue knitting in the round. The Roadside Allover features the same construction, it was knit for Oliver to wear at Edinburgh Yarn Festival as his Wool Week Patronage was announced in March. it features a softer but equally striking colour scheme. The Hairst Yoke is our version of a traditional Shetland Fair Isle yoke, it is one of the most well-known Shetland styles and we released this pattern in 2013, it has been one of our best sellers ever since. A Fair Isle yoke is a great way to use up your odds and ends and if you use a cone for the main shade it can be a very economical project. So you can find these patterns on our designer page on loveknitting here and on Ravelry. We will be adding more over the next while so let us know of any of our self published patterns you would like to see as an individual PDF. Happy knitting!
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Roadside Allover
Hello everyone! We have been delighted with the feedback on the Roadside Beanie, both here in Shetland and at Edinburgh Yarn Festival over the weekend. If you were there you may have seen Oliver in a very striking Fair Isle Jumper - which is what we are sharing today! When Oliver was thinking about going to EYF he asked Sandra if she would make a jumper for her, so in a couple of weeks (!) she knitted up the Roadside Allover for him to wear when he got to Edinburgh. It was a design she had made before and we all agreed he would really suit the colours. It features a mix of blues with some surprising shades thrown in and a lovely all over OXO pattern. Its knit in the traditional Shetland way - in the round with steeks added in for the armholes and neck. Me and Oliver headed down the new pier in in front of J&S a few weeks ago to get some photos and it fitted in perfectly with the fishing boats So if you would like to knit yourself a Roadside Allover you can find the kits on our website here, we are running out of a few shades which feature in both the Roadside Beanie and Allover but we are expecting a stock delivery in the next week or so so if you see anything sold out dont panic, Happy Knitting!
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Roadside Beanie
Hello everyone, today is the first day of the Edinburgh Yarn Festival marketplace, Derek and Sandra are there (if you are going we can be found at stand K8) but Oliver is also down because he has been announced at this year's Shetland Wool Week Patron! We are very excited of course as Oliver was instrumental in organising the first Shetland Wool Week 10 years ago as J&S founded the event. It has gone from strength to strength every year so for the 10th anniversary, it's great to see such an important figure in the Shetland Wool Industry as the patron. Oliver's design - the Roadside Beanie has been launched today and you can find kits here on the website and the pattern here on the Wool Week website. The design features common motifs for a Shetlander, sheep and fishing boats! To learn more about the Roadside Beanie have a read of the pattern. We are extremely proud of Oliver and look forward to seeing all the Roadside Beanies this year. Happy Knitting!
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Post Shetland Wool Week
Hello everyone! Things are getting back to normal after another great Shetland Wool Week, we were extremely busy which meant we couldn't do our usual blog update so I'm very sorry about that but I would highly recommend looking through the Shetland Wool Week 2018 hashtag on instagram - it gives you a great insight into what everyone was up to! As our bags say - Wool Week never ends for us but we have just put some copies of this years Annual on to the online shop which contains lots of great patterns by visiting but mainly Shetland designers as well as interesting articles including one on the Herring industry which features some great pictures of where we are in the North Road including this one below on the right which shows our 'Tin Kirk' shop in the background. There are lots of great patterns in the Annual and 5 use J&S 2ply Jumper Weight in them - You could make yourself a perfect winter wardrobe using just these 5 patterns! l: Antidote Mittens by Outi Kater m: Kliek Cardigan by Marjolein Reichert r: Foula Snood by Donna Smith l: Skalavag Mittens by Tori Seierstad r: Einar Hat by Ella Gordon We also have some 2017 Annuals so if you missed out last year I would snap it up, they are definitely collectors items and very worth having in your knitting library. Of course the Annuals also contain the official Wool Week pattern for that year - so last years has the Bousta Beanie and this year the Merrie Dancers Toorie. That leads us onto another fun Wool Week themed kit we put up just before Wool Week but didnt get a chance to post about: Patron Packs! We asked all the patrons there have been for Shetland Wool Week so far to choose their favourite 8 shades of 2ply Jumper Weight. We've put them together for you and you can find them on the online shop here. Its a great way to build up your jumper weight stash with colours you maybe wouldnt have chosen! If you came to Shetland Wool Week we would like to thank you for visiting and supporting this event, it is an extremly important week for us and we appreciate all of you that came to see us. If you didnt visit us thank you for being patient with us while we try to get back to normal!
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Waas Show 2018
Hello everyone, so bright and early on Saturday morning me and Sandra headed out to Waas to have a look at the Show and judge the Colourbox competition. This is only the 3rd year we have had the colourbox at the Walls Show so it is a bit smaller but still has beautiful entries: We've had a few questions about the Colourbox Shades so for a reminder the 2018 colours were: 3, 53, 66, 72, 87, 366, fc37 and fc56. Once we had done our bit we enjoyed wandering around looking at the animals and other entries. While we were driving out it was pretty rainy but luckily it was dry and sunny on the Westside (which is quite often the way!) so we had a great time. Like all shows in Shetland the knitwear is to an extremly high standard, there was quite alot of lace but also Fair Isle. The judges had a tough job! There are still a couple of shows still to be but thats the last with the Colourbox for this year, next years colours have been chosen so we are looking forward to 2019 already! Happy Knitting!
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Cunningsburgh Show 2018
Hello everyone, we had a lovely day at the Cunningsburgh Show on Wednesday so I thought I'd share some pictures. Derek and Oliver were down to judge the raw Wool and I came to judge the Colourbox Competition: You will know by now that every year we choose 8 colours of Jumper Weight which is then used by knitters to create Fair Isle garments and accessories - this year there was also a miscellaneous category which included the blanket you can see in second photo. There were lots of entries again and as always it was extremely hard to judge. The garments were also a very high standard and its amazing how different each one can look using the same colours! As I was waiting for Amanda and Janet (seen judging the gloves) to finish their bit so we could decide on the trophy winners I took some pictures of the other knitwear. There is always some lovely stuff entered and the lace in particular was very beautiful. At the Cunningsburgh Show you can enter no matter where in Shetland you live so there is always a wide range of entries. So once we had done our bit I went for a wander around and saw all the other things on show, as has been the case the last couple of years it was a lovely day so it was great to go around and see all the animals and other entries: So tomorrow me (Ella) and Sandra will be heading to Waas for our final Show visit of the season - phewf! there are still a couple more but these (at the moment) are the only ones with the Colourbox Competition. We hope you enjoy seeing the pictures! Happy Knitting!
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