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Shwook Hats
The plans for Shetland Wool Week are well underway, the programme is available to view online here and the printed copies will be available on Monday, which you can request from the Wool Week website here. Another fun first we have this year is a specially designed pattern for the event, Hazel Tindall who is this years patron has designed a lovely hat just for the occasion. The Shwook hat pattern is available for free from the Wool Week website here and we have put together kits for the different J&S colourways in the pattern. This is a great opportunity for anyone coming to Wool Week to make the hat but also for those who cant make it to be with us in spirit and to have your own bit of Shetland Wool Week! We cant wait to see some finished hats!
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Knitsonik Blog Tour: Q&A with Felicity Ford
Our friend Felicity Ford has been on a mission to raise funds for her brilliant book: The Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook, which you can read more about here. If you have been following her journey you will know she had already reached the initial £9,000 needed and above (at the last check, she had reached over £11,000). Since her first visit to Shetland Felicity has had a great relationship with us at Jamieson & Smith and we are proud to be on her blog tour for this book which will using our wool. I thought since Felicity will be doing a lot of knitting with our yarns I would ask her some questions about what she likes about Jamieson & Smith. Congratulations Felicity, we cant wait to see the finished book! 1. How did you come to find out about J&S and our yarns? I'd read about your yarn on different knitting blogs, but it was when we started WOVEMBER that I really understood how brilliant Jamieson & Smith is. WOVEMBER is a campaign website run by myself, Kate Davies and Tom van Deijnen (aka Tom of Holland), established in 2011. The key points of our mission are that we love real wool, and admire the amazing skills involved in taking fleece from sheep and turning it into finished textiles. We think the term "wool" is special, and should be reserved for articles of clothing which contain a high percentage of fibres derived from actual sheep. During the month of November, we write about and research the work involved in growing, shearing, sorting, scouring, spinning, knitting, and weaving with WOOL! We share our findings to raise awareness of what makes this fibre special, and to discourage companies who are not producing woollen goods from misleadingly describing their polyester and acrylic goods as being "wool" or "woolly". We are interested in celebrating connections between the landscapes where wool grows and finished articles of clothing; in traceable and sustainable textile production methods; and in promoting the traditional skills associated with woollen textile manufacture. In our first year of the campaign, Kate told me there was no better person to interview for WOVEMBER than Oliver Henry, Managing Director of Jamieson & Smith, and wool grader and sorter for over 45 years, and she was right. Kate's interview with Oliver blew my mind, and opened my eyes to everything that makes Jamieson & Smith special: Sorting is both challenging and rewarding. Sometimes a coloured fleece will take the breath from you when you least expect it to, like when you come across a rare marking or a beautiful crimp. But the best bit of my job is seeing the fruits of our efforts come back into the wool store transformed into everything from yarn to scarves to carpets to beds... I think that telling the story of our wool – and the heritage and culture, people and communities behind it – is one of the most important bits of my job. It’s important for the future of the industry in Shetland, and for a new generation of budding crofters and farmers, to tell people why Shetland wool is so special (and has been for centuries) and what an honour it is to be involved with one of the finest natural fibres in the world. - Oliver Henry, WOVEMBER 2011 As well as agreeing completely with Oliver's sentiments, in the photos sent with the interview, I was thrilled to see that you keep raw fleece and finished hand-knits in different parts of one building. To me, that speaks of a fantastically direct relationship between land and wool. Many farmers I've interviewed in other parts of the UK say that they have no idea what becomes of their wool after it is sheared and sent off. But crofters in Shetland can leave their fleeces in the wool room, and then go right into Jamieson & Smith to see the sturdy carpeting and exquisite hand-knitted shawls and tams that are ultimately produced from the wool they have grown. To me - and I imagine to many of the other knitters who visit during Shetland Wool Week - this is inspiring because it speaks of a direct relationship between Shetland's woollen textiles, crofting traditions, and distinctive, working landscape. This is special because it's been sadly lost in so many other places. I have been obsessed for years with the history of the wool industry along the Southeast coast which I remember from my childhood holidays. When I was researching a piece for Twist Collective about finding traces of shepherding in the landscape, I discovered there had once been a wool staplers of great renown in Chichester. It was called "The Woolstaplers" and was run by Ebenezer Prior & Sons. Old photos in local libraries showed men at work there, forearms deep in great skeps filled with fleece. However these days, The Woolstaplers is remembered only in the name of the tarmac carpark which now covers the land where it once stood. I was very sad when I turned the corner on my map of Chichester to find no other remainder of this once great woolly epicentre of the South, but consoled to later learn that the great art of sorting and grading fleeces is being kept alive by The Shetland Woolbrokers. 2. What is it you like best about the wool? The KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook has been in the pipeline for a long time. I've been fascinated with Huntley & Palmers (the biscuit factory that thrived in Reading through 1800s - 1900s) and the brickwork of this town for a few year. In 2011 Kate hunted down an amazing vintage Huntley & Palmers biscuit barrel on eBay for me, and sent me a package of Jamieson & Smith in appropriate shades, so I could start trying out my idea to knit the bricks and biscuit tins of Reading. At first your yarn seemed so special that I was afraid to knit with it in case I made a horrible mess of your lovely wool... ...but I have since discovered that my worries were completely unfounded, for your yarn is both forgiving and strong, and the shades are so nice that you can always get something great out of them with a little patience, trial and error. Oliver talks of two distinctive breeds once running together in Shetland - one rough and sturdy, with a "skadder" (mane) on its back and neck, and one "kindly-woolled" breed. When I interviewed him for my soundmap of Shetland wool sounds he talked about these two breeds running together on the fence-less Shetland landscape, and eventually cross-breeding to produce what we now think of as Shetland sheep. I may be fanciful or romantic, but I feel that I can perceive both the rough sheep and the soft one in your wool, and this is what I love best about it. The very slight roughness in the 2-ply gives it enough grip that I have become fearless to the point of irresponsibility about my steeking. I can cut willy-nilly with no thought of negative consequences, for I know that the yarn will hold! You have to really pester your 2-ply jumper weight to make it unravel sideways, and unless you have plans to really harass it, a knotted steek is perfectly secure. For me, there's character and sass in that grippy quality; it gives me faith that my knitting won't pill and that there will be structure and integrity to the fabric I produce with my needles. I like to imagine the rough, wild Shetland sheep with its skadder is running around somewhere in my knitting, and that brings to mind my memories of the cliffs, the brisk North sea, and the peat hills that I have so enjoyed exploring in my short time in Shetland. As for the kindly components of your wool, they are what give my blocked knitting its lovely fuzzy halo, light hand, and infinite wearability. The airy fibres, woollen-spun and soft, block down into a light, even surface. I love that I can knit baby things or scarves or other items which require softness with your wool, but that - because of the tiny bit of rough they contain - that these soft and lovely things still have character and personality. I also love that the wool is directly traceable to the Shetland landscape, and that I understand the journey it has made from sheep to shelf. 3. What are some of your tips for Fair Isle knitting and blocking your samples? My top tip is to use Jamieson & Smith yarn! I'm serious about that. I've tried knitting stranded colourwork with a variety of yarns, and I have not enjoyed the results as much as with your wool. I think when you are getting the hang of stranded colourwork, it's no bad thing to have a yarn that doesn't slip around all over the place, and your 2-ply jumper weight holds nicely on my needles. I've also found that it can handle a fairly aggressive blocking process, and that this can correct a multitude of tension crimes, especially if you tend towards knitting rather loosely, which I do. My next tip is to enjoy the process. Hazel Tindall says a nice thing about how there is a rhythm to Fair Isle knitting, and I agree with her. I don't know what other knitters do, but I tend to glance at my chart and then go around the row chanting silently in my head something like "one red, white, white, white, two red, one white..." after a while that just turns into numbers... and after another while, it just turns into a kind of pattern, which patters along in the background of my thoughts, like a very pleasing musical phrase. So I would say that - when knitting stranded colourwork - find the rhythm, and the rest is easy. I also would advocate the two-handed approach, simply because I personally find that extremely easy myself. Knitting two-handed, I know that the colour I'm holding in my left hand and picking up with my right always dominates. This allows me to decide which bits of the pattern I want to foreground, and which parts to leave in the background. I know other knitters who prefer to get a more even fabric, without a dominant colour, or who like to hold both yarns in the right hand or both in the left... in the end it's about finding a way that works for you. For blocking, I simply soak my knitting in hot water with a tiny bit of soak solution in it, and wait until the water's cold. Then I gently squeeze the knitting with both hands to get all the water out of it, and then I generally slap it against the edge of a table a couple of time, to get all the steeked ends lying flat. I have big foam boards which I then pin the swatch to. I pop this up on a radiator where the knitting dries, and then in the evenings, I knot up the ends and trim them to neaten them. I find this creates very pleasing swatches which can be examined and referred to for future knitting projects. They look lovely finished like this, and if you compare them to sketches or drawings, the materials involved are nowhere near as expensive as paint or charcoal, and you learn loads for the time you've spent trying things out. 4. What are your top 10 colours? I love 125, because it really is so reminiscent of the brickwork around here which I love so much, and 54 for the same reason. There is a type of brick in Reading called "Silver Facing" which I am reminded of when I look at 54. I have a fondness for the vivid and synthetic feeling of 79 - it's very lurid and reminds me of Dorothy finding green things in the Nome King's underground domain in "Return to Oz" - it is precisely the colour of The Emerald City as the 1950s movies depicted it. But who can argue with the far softer shade of FC24, and its resemblance of distant fields on the skyline? 49 is such a lurid mauve, and so dominant and fresh in anything it touches that I have developed an epic respect for it. 1280 is the perfect colour for describing the blueish greenish violet on the bloom of soft fruits... I have recently been really enjoying the tempered yellow of 121; it's a heathery blend of soft gold, mixed with salt and pepper shades, which make it play really nicely with grey. 131 reminds me of the Crayola crayon I had as a child, called "periwinkle". I was obsessed with that shade, and it is a very warm, soft blue, like the dot in the centre of forget-me-nots, or the dark shades striping the centre of the bluebell. It is beautiful. Many of the shades are lovely because of how they activate the things around them, and the soft, translucent creaminess of 202 contrasted with the hard, uncompromising white of 1 is an interaction I enjoy greatly. I worked in a florist for a couple of years when I was 18, and I always loved making up all-white bouquets best of all, because I realised through making them how complicated and multi-shaded white is. It had always just been the colour of paper - the colour waiting to be drawn or painted on - but now I think of it as a very active force of colour in its own right, and I love playing with this in my stranded colourwork. 5. What have been your favourite experiences of Shetland? When I came in August to make recordings about Shetland wool and its history in the isles, my favourite experiences wer going to The Voe Show, and staying in the Nesbister Böd at Whiteness. The Voe Show celebrates the local talent and produce from the land itself. There were so many lovely things to see, from homemade cakes to preserves and jams, to flowers grown in people's gardens, to the lovely Shetland sheep, and finally, to the heart-stoppingly-beautiful knitwear. There was an inspiring frisson of competition in the air and it was superb to see the proud rosettes perching like butterflies on the best knitting, and also the amazing children's knitting, with encouraging WELL DONE badges pinned on it. The Colourbox challenge that you set each year at Jamieson & Smith really intrigued me - where 8 colours are chosen, and knitters pick shades from within the selection to produce a piece of colourwork! I photographed a few of the entries last year, because I was fascinated to see how different knitters had used the same shades to produce diverse results. It's not expensive to have the Nesbister böd at Whiteness to yourself, and I really wanted to listen to the sound inside a traditional Fisherman's böd without any distractions, so I paid the extra. It is a short walk from where you leave your car, and right out on the edge of a peninsula. There is no electricity inside, and the only running water is a tap on the outside of the building. A bag of peats inside is used in the stove inside, and as soon as you open the creaky wooden door, you can feel the thickness of the stone walls, and the sense of age and time and quiet. I heated up a flask of hot water and sat outside on the rocks holding it until the sun went down. I heard otters splashing, and sheep baa-ing their goodnights to one another on the beach. The water lapped at the building very gently, and the fire purred in the stove. I have hydrophones - microphones which you can put into the water - and I had one in the voe. It was so quiet that I could hear the little pincers of a crab as he scuttled about on the rocks at the bottom. That was the quietest place I was ever in, and in the morning when I got up, all the sheep were resting along the beach, right outside my door, and there were jellyfish dotted through the water like little purple jewels. It was magic. During Shetland Wool Week, I had lots more favourite experiences! I really enjoyed the time I spent with you and Sandra in the shop after Tom's darning classes, laughing and playing with the wool! Staying with Tom in Nortower Lodges was beautiful, for it is a lovely spot, and the people who own it are lovely, and made us feel really welcome. I liked arriving home to lots of baas from their sheep one evening! Tom is a superbly calm and supportive comrade; he was very kind about my relentless accordion practice while writing and rehearsing the "Shetland Wool Week Song". I also loved sitting in the Wool Week Hub in the Shetland Museum, talking to Museum staff about their own lives in knitting. So many women working in the museum are amazing knitters, and it was a very great pleasure to sit with them in the boathouse, looking through textiles from their own lives, and learning about the history of Shetland knitting from personal perspectives, as well as through examining the fantastic permanent displays. I especially loved the story of a pram blanket that was later turned into a scarf, and an old Tam, handed down through the generations in one Shetlander's family. To me it seems special that everyone in the Museum wears sweaters designed by Wilma Malcolmson of Shetland Designer; that you can see the older Shetland textiles in the Museum cases together with these contemporary examples of a thriving Shetland wool industry. That kind of visible continuity in the wool industry is wonderful. As part of this continuity, you can see how historic textiles are influencing the production of new yarns - for instance your Heritage yarn. I love this photo of Tom, trying on one of the Fair Isle kit "keps" available in the Museum shop, using the Heritage yarns you have developed. I think it is a Fisherman's kep, to be worn out on a Sixareen boat; behind Tom, you can just make out a model of a Sixareen, and an example of an original kep... where else in the world could you see the past and present lives of wool so simultaneously? I also love thinking about the future of Shetland wool and so it was great to see the rams at the Flock Book, and to watch the auction. It was beautiful to see so many fine examples of Shetland sheep in one place, certain in the knowledge that these animals and their genes will play a role in the future of Shetland wool. A huge congratulations to Felicity for reaching her target, her passion comes through in her writing and we think the book will become a classic!
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Sandra and the SWRI!
On a beautiful Easter Monday night Me (Ella) and Sandra headed down to the South End of Shetland to meet with the local SWRI group who had invited Sandra down to talk and show some of her beautiful knitting. We arrived at the hall, and while the ladies had their monthly meeting we judged as visiting speakers some of their arts and crafts. Once we had done that we layed out as much of Sandras knitting as we could fit in her car (shes prolific!) Unfortunately I didnt get any pictures of her giving her talk as I was helping her hold up things to show the ladies but afterwards Sandra invited everybody to come up and have a look and chat about knitting We were very pleased to see a Chunky Fair Isle Yoke Cardigan which Sandra designed a few years ago, on this lady on the right. We love her colour choices, Haar as the main shade with Kryn Mylk and Fuschia as the contrast shades, it reminds us of Rasberry Ripple Ice Cream! And of course there was some beautiful knitwear to be seen on the ladies, including some lovely yokes and all over cardigans. she spoke about all her designs for Jamieson & Smith, such as the Antarctica Set, , Tobys Coat and lots more but she also had some of her own family's knitting including the shawl which was knit for her as a baby! We had a lovely time chatting with everybody and would like to thank the SWRI for inviting us down to see them. Well done to Sandra for a great talk, it was so great to see so much of her knitting in one place!
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Contemporary Textiles Student Visit
A few weeks ago Oliver and Ella went over to the Shetland College UHI to meet with the Contemporary Textiles students and present prizes for a design competition we set the students earlier this year. As part of the course the students are often set live briefs and competitions and we took the chance for the students to use and design with the unique Heritage wool, since we now have the yarn available on cone and in ball it was a perfect opportunity to see what the students would come up with. The students were asked to create short garments which incorporated aspects of Shetland knitwear in a contemporary way. Dorothy Fraser was inspired by the Old Shell pattern, a traditional lace motif. She reversed the knitting as a design detail and also explored the use of very large needles and traditional stitches which created a very open lacey top. Elaine Nicolson also used traditional stitches and techniques to create a modern hooded cape. Using a mix of knitting and crochet Joyce Leask was inspired by vintage garments and she also embellished her garment with fleece, an interesting technique. Kirsty Nicolsons garment used the traditional technique of Fair Isle, taking a new approach to the Fair Isle yoke, by using a subtle striping effect on the body. The bright Yoke utilises the new shades which we released early last year. Kirsty knitted her prototype on a domestic knitting machine with the possibility of the design being transferred on to the industrial Shimi Seiki machines of which the Colleges Textile Facilitation Unit has three. Kirsty Nicolsons garment was chosen as the overall winner of the competition and Oliver presented her with a gift token for Jamieson & Smith photo courtesy of Dave Donaldson Oliver said 'Jamieson & Smith have always supported the textile course and College since its conception so we think its a great way for younger and mature students from Shetland and further afield to enhance their skills. We look forward to more design projects with the students in the future in collaboration with Jamieson & Smith, Curtis Wool Direct and the Real Shetland Company' photo courtesy of Dave Donaldson Thank you to the College for inviting us to see them and we look forward to more projects with them in the future!
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Recent Ravelry Projects
One of our favourite aspects of what we do at J&S is seeing all the different things you make with our yarns, we have a very active group on Ravelry with over 3000 members! You can easily look at the all the projects people have entered into Ravelry using the wide range of Jamieson & Smith yarns. I thought i'd show you some of my favourite recent finished objects. handepandes Fair Isle wristwarmers a lovely use of colours (Jumper Weight shade 122 and FC43!) and peerie patterns Hanna has made a beautiful pair of very cosy looking wristwarmers. Daucus' Tigs in blanket using local designer Outi Katers Jacks Jacket pattern, this lovely dog looks so great in his new jacket! Maud-Baileys Anar Yoke Jumper, this classic Jumper looks so vintage and I love that Kate was inspired by one of the Whalsay bairns jumpers. mitumames Follow Your Arrow Shawl, Ysolda recently released a mystery shawl KAL and Shetland Heritage was one of the yarns suggested. I love how the Indigo shade looks in a shawl and it shows how good the Heritage is for Lace as well as Fair Isle! As well as Ravelry, we also have a facebook page and twitter and we love to see the things you have made so please share them with us! Happy Knitting, x
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Lerwick Up Helly Aa 2014
Up Helly Aa day dawned wet and windy, I could hear the Jarls Squad cheering from my bed so I got up and headed to the Street.. One of the main parts of the day is The Bill on the Street, it was surrounded by tourists having a look. A Up Helly Aa flag flying on the Lodberrie. Me and my Sister and her bairns battled our way back to the street to see the Jarl squad at the Market Cross, I even caught a glimpse of Oliver among the beards! It was a very damp morning but my head was especially cosy with my Up Helly Aa hat Sandra made for me, it depicts the torchlight procession which takes place at night Due to the strong winds the Galley was moved to the Hillhead, I was able to get some nice photos once it had calmed down and the Jarl Squad had headed into the Town Hall In the afternoon I headed to the Shetland Museum and Archives to see the Jarl Squad in a drier environment! This gave me a chance to see the suit a bit more up close and see some of the details Stuart mentioned in his post on Tuesday After a bit of a rest I wander down to watch the Junior Procession, which takes place at 5.30pm Although the rain had stopped the wind had picked up and by the time for the senior procession at 7.30 it was very windy! But everything went to plan and the warmth from the torches made the wind not seem so bad! Oh and of course my hat was still keeping me warm! After the procession its time to get ready for the night of revellry, all the squads (and there are 50 or so!!) go around all the halls and do an act and a bit of dancing. I was at the Gilbertson Park Games Hall and it was great night, the Jarl Squad was last at the Gibbie so it was 8.30am before I went home.. luckily just a short walk across the Park! I cant believe its over for another year! there are still lots of Fire Festivals that go on in different parks of the Islands until March so there's plenty of fun still to be had! If you would like to see any more photos from the day, have a look here and here. xx
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Viking visits J&S!
Up Helly Aa arrived at J&S today in the form of a viking named Oliver, who most of you will be familiar with. We are currently in the middle of the worst weather in over 20 years but in true Shetland spirit no one has let that put a dampner on the day. So after a hectic day of touring the town and performing all the Jarl Squad duties Oliver popped in for a quick visit to show off the Jarl Squad suit, which was stunning! Every part of the suit was beautifully designed to the last detail: the intricate metal inlay on the shields; the ornate helmet an axe; cow-skin cloak complete with dragon brooch; heavy scale armour; and most exciting of all, for us, the kirtle and pouch woven using J&S yarn. The kirtle was made from our Coll Black Shetland Heritage yarn. It was knitted in a way to make it look woven, giving a beautiful, smooth fabric that ties in perfectly with the Jarl Squad's Viking-themed suit. Since this is a day we have all been looking forward to for years, especially Oliver, we thought we would need to get a group photo of him in full costume with the J&S staff (minus Ella who was out getting plenty of photos for a blog post later in the week). All of us here at J&S hope Jarl Ivor Cluness and his squad, the 900+ guizers and everyone attending this years Up Helly Aa have had a fantastic day and enjoy the long night ahead!
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The Knitter Issue 66
We recently received our copy of the December issue of The Knitter which has three patterns in it using Jamieson & Smith Yarns! the first is a lovely stole by Judy Furlong which uses Cobweb Yarn alongside 2ply Jumper Weight for a 3D effect photo copyright: The Knitter/Jesse Wild This ethereal stole, which is named Eirwen, has textured 'boxes' which are knit in the Jumper Weight alongside a Cobweb stocking stitch and a Shetland Lace Edging. The next pattern is a beautiful pair of beaded arm warmers by Barb Brown photo copyright: The Knitter/ Jesse Wild The Samarkand arm warmers extend almost up to the elbow has peerie Fair Isle patterns with subtle beading to bring out the colours of the Heritage worsted spun yarn, they are knit in Berry Wine and Auld Gold, I think the colours are perfect for this time of year! photo copyright: The Knitter/ Jesse Wild The last pattern is a sampler cushion by Judy Furlong which uses both Shetland Aran and 2ply Jumper Weight together photo copyright: The Knitter/Jesse Wild This Cushion features Scottish themed sampler panels in Fair Isle and Sanquhar designs with a beautiful cabled Aran pleat joining them together. The Scottish Mood Cushion is part of a Knitalong in the Magazine, which had the Aran sections in Issue 65. its very inspiring to see the different things designers can do with our wool! Happy Knitting x
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Christmas Delivery Dates
With it now being less than a month until Christmas we're excited to be able to give you a guide to help you prepare for any Christmas gifts you get from J&S. You should order by the following dates at the very latest: Australasia & Asia - Tuesday 3rd December Africa & South America - Thursday 5th December Europe - Sunday 8th December North America - Monday 9th December UK - Tuesday 17th Dec These dates are taken from a guide by the Royal Mail and are not a guarantee of delivery by the specified dates. Please order early to ensure delivery of your order. Thank you!
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