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The Knitting & Stitching Show - Harrogate
We're halfway into the Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show so I thought this would be a good time to share with you how it's going. As you may know, this is the first show we've attended for quite a few years. We weren't sure exactly how it would go or what people would be looking for so we took a mixture of kits with samples, combed tops, jumper boards, glove boards... a lot of different items! It's been great so far, many beautiful stands and we've met some wonderful people. Here are a few visitors who stopped by to see us and a small selection of exhibitors we love (more in next post!). Knitwear designer and tutor, Graeme Knowles-Miller, brought along some of his designs made using our 2ply Jumper Weight. It was so lovely chatting with him! You can see beautiful images of his work on his website. While Helen (AntyHelenInspires on Ravelry) was looking at yarn I couldn't help but notice a wonderfully coloured something peeping out of her bag... she was happy to show us her handspun(!) Stephen West Mistery Building Blocks Shawl. Amazing colours! Another customer had a beautiful shawl she'd knitted several years ago using our 1ply Cobweb Yarn. Wow! Catherine (africandaffodil on Ravelry) was wearing a really lovely crescent-shaped shawl which I just had to ask about as I loved the colours! It turned out to be her own design - The Sheperdess. I didn't get a photo at the time but here's one of Catherine's own images. The Sheperdess - image Copyright Catherine Holmes Next up are two of my favourite exhibitors. Both will be at Edinburgh Yarn Festival 2017 so keep a look out for them. Beyond Measure is Grace Whowell who has the most beautiful collection of textile-making accessories and notions. Love! The last wonderful person I'll mention today is Sue Stratford of The Knitting Hut. She's an author of some seriously cute knitting books! At the show she also had knitting kits for different birds, my favourites were the Chunky Blackbird and Chunky Robin! I've still not made it all the way around the whole show, a lot more to see. I'd like to get some photos of a couple of stands I've already seen so I'll tell you about them in the next post. If you're yet to make it along to the show at the Harrogate International Centre it's on today and tomorrow from 10am until 5pm. We have some limited edition coloured combed tops as well as all our natural shades, lots of kits which could be perfect Christmas presents, we have special prices on our Knit Real Shetland and Gladys Amedro Vintage Lace books, and also free postage on any orders placed at the show. For those of you who can't make the show I'll be writing up another post after Sunday x
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A Shetlanders Fair Isle Graph Book
You have probably seen this book if like us you love anything related to Fair Isle, Knitting and Shetland! Published by The Shetland Times and compiled by the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers A Shetlanders Fair Isle Graph Book in Colour is a bright and inspiring book - perfect for this dark and dreary time of year. It was released just in time for Wool Week this year and since then it has been selling like hot cakes, everytime I went to do a blog it would be sold out! As things calm down though its a lovely book to look through. It is filled with hand coloured motif's for Fair Isle knitting, the originals of the notebooks belonged to Bill Henry who ran the Hosiery side of Anderson & Co in the mid 20th century. They were most likely used by knitters to put together pattern to put on items to sell. The idea of the notebooks themselves is not unusual, Shetland knitters have many self drafted pattern books but what makes this one unusual is the coloured aspect, it is very common to see the black and white dotted kind you see in many Fair Isle books like Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor, Alice Starmores Book of Fair Isle Knitting and Fair Isle Knitting Patterns by Mary MacGregor. Those kind of graph books are invaluable also because they help you to put together patterns without being distracted by the colours but this book is a feast for the eyes if you like Fair Isle and Stranded knitting. It's very tempting to gather up colours and try to match them up... 2ply Jumper Weight l-r: 77, 1403, 66, 1, fc15 and 34 greens: 34 and FC11, blue: FC15 and FC47, cream: 1 and 202, yellow: 66 and 121, reds: 1403 and FC55, black: 77 and 81. The yarn on the right-hand side is the same kind of shades as the ones on the left for the pattern in the previous picture but it would give you a more subtle version of the pattern. That's another fun part of putting colours together, you can adapt it until it is more your kind of shades. Shetland Heritage Naturals l-r: white, fawn, light grey, moorit and black 2ply Jumper Weight l-r: 1403, 23, 21, FC15 and 202 We have the book in stock just now and it costs £20.00. It would make a great present for anyone interested in Shetland Knitting, the historical aspect is just as interesting as the colour inspirations!
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Annes Sheelagh Shawl
A few weeks ago I spotted on Ravelry a beautiful version of the Sheelagh Shawl, knit by Anne for her wedding. It sparked a memory in me of an email inquiring about receiving the kit in the Shetland Supreme Yarn, we get (of course) lots of emails every day but its always so nice to see a finished item you helped someone get the yarn for. The Sheelagh is a classic Gladys Amedro pattern which begins with the border before picking up stitches (in this case 960 of them!) and knitting it in towards the middle decreasing as you go. I asked Anne if I could share some photos of her beautiful shawl from her wedding to her Husband Johannes and she gracefully agreed as well as telling me a bit about her knitting of the Shawl: 'I have been a ravelry member since 2011, for the last 2 or 3 years I am online almost every day, browsing patterns, putting them into my favourites, queue, etc. ... I don't remember when, but I came across the Princess shawl from Sharon Miller. I think I discovered the Jamieson & Smith yarns there in the projects (or maybe also through admiring fair isle knitting, which came up around the same time ;) ). When my now-husband asked if I'd like to be his wife last year in October, I knew I would like to have a shawl to wear on my wedding. In fact I knew this already before and was admiring all the nice lace shawls on ravelry, I started a meant-to-be wedding shawl in a nice off-white Tussah silk from my LYS. I was already done when I realised, this would be way too heavy to wear on a summer wedding. I somehow was afraid of this fact already before, but just did not listen to my inner voice. I still was browsing patterns and yarn shops online almost every day, also the J & S page. I found the Sheelagh shawl kit there and fell in love. It was just the right thing. Not too simple, yet not super complicated (I would also have liked to knit the Princess shawl, but this was out of question at this time point, but I will do it someday…). It was already April and I am a slow knitter. By far I wasn’t sure, if I could ever complete this until end of august. The pattern called for the 1 ply cobweb lace yarn, but there wasn’t an off white available (I already bought my dress which is ivory), so I asked at J&S, if I could also get the kit but replace the yarn with the 1 ply supreme lace. Off course this was possible! The yarn arrived middle of April and I started knitting madly. I literally used every free minute I could get: before I went to work, at work I could only think of when I get home to knit, knitted every weekend. In May I was off sick for a week, I knitted all the day! In the middle of June I finished the last stitch. One day more, it would have been 3 month… In this time I changed my mind constantly from ‘Oh gosh, I will never finish this in time’ to ‘Seems to be manageable, right?!’ and back. But I still could finish the other silk shawl, right? Just parts of the borders were missing. And then not wear it, because it’s just too hot… At least I had a plan B. I ordered some blocking wires in the US and again was afraid, they would not get here in time. They came, and the shawl blocked from 87 cm to 127 cm each side. I sat next to our guest bed, where it was pinned on, knitting another project and proudly patting the shawl every now and then. I took it to the bridal shop, when I tried my dress to get it fitted and put it on my shoulders there to see if it fits. It was just perfect! The wedding took place on August 27th, it was 30 °C and super sunny. I wore the shawl during the ceremony, the champagne reception and our first photo shoot in the park next to the castle where the ceremony was. I was glad to have the Sheelagh shawl instead off the other heavier one. It did not add any heat in the afternoon as it is super light and late in the night when we spend some time outside with the last guests it kept my shoulders warm. I still admire my shawl every now and then and I think I will wear it again in the winter, because in my opinion it should be used and not sit on a shelf waiting for the next wedding in our family, which might be still years away…' Thank you Anne for sharing with us the beautiful pictures of your lovely shawl! You can see more pictures of the knitting process on here ravelry project page here. Many people see these types of Shawls as strictly for a Christening but I think this shows you can make it look very classic yet modern as a Wedding shawl. Seeing this has got me going to sort out the Sheelagh Shawl page on the website and you can now order the kit in cobweb but also in all six of the 1ply Shetland Supreme shades here. Happy Knitting!
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Deepdale Shawl Colourways
Every now and again we come into work at the shop and find there are a lots of orders for the same thing without knowing what its for! a few months ago that happened and we noticed there were a number of orders for 2ply Lace in shades L54, L203, L3 and L202. I thought they looked lovely together and then when I went on Ravelry later on I realised Gudrun Johnston had chosen to use those shades for one of her colourways in her MKAL pattern. For the past couple of years Gudrun has run a mystery knit along where each week new clues are revealed and you don't know what the final project will look like! this shawl was this years effort and the final pattern is now available itself: Deepdale It gave me an idea to put together a few colourways using the 2ply Lace, it's a sometimes overlooked yarn but it makes for lovely lightweight but warm projects. the original colourway: L54, L203, L202 and L3 warm browns: L5, L4, L78 and L202 greys: L77, L54, L27 and L203 blues: L21, L63, L15 and L16 pinks: L43, L68, L136 and L101 A number of people also ordered the Shetland Heritage Naturals for this project and they would work beautifully, the Heritage is a little bit thicker than the two ply lace but that only makes for an even more snuggly finished shawl! grey, light grey, moorit and fawn The above colourways is very similar to the original, but the two below will give you more of a brown finished shawl or a grey one - I love the greys! shetland black, moorit, fawn and white shetland black, grey, light grey and white I hope this has given you some ideas for colours for a Deepdale Shawl, if you make one using J&S yarns remember to tag us on Instagram, our username is thewoolbrokers and we love to see in progress pictures. :) Happy Knitting!
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Harrogate - The Knitting & Stitching Show
We're beginning to get back to normal after Wool Week which was amazing as ever! However, there's no slowing down in the shop as we're beginning to pack up for going to The Knitting & Stitching Show (24-27 November). If you've read the earlier post I wrote then you'll be familiar with the type of products we're planning to have on the stand. Living and working in Shetland means travel and delivery of all the items we want to take to the show takes a bit of figuring out! Flights (two of these and pretty much a whole day to get us down to Harrogate) and accommodation for Sandra and myself were booked a couple of months ago so that leaves all the lovely Jamieson & Smith things for the stand. Just a taster of the kit selection we'll have available! You'll have the option of adding in one of our beautiful new gift boxes... Our 'Every Week is Wool Week' printed canvas bag has been so popular over the past year that we've added a new design which we really love! We'll also have our two books - Knit Real Shetland which has patterns using a range of our yarns, and Gladys Amedro Vintage Lace Collection 1. For anyone who makes cushions or similar items then our Peerie Project Bags full of Shetland Wool stuffing are perfect! All of the above will be available to buy at the show but if there's anything else you'd like then you can place an order with us. We will have examples of all our yarn types and colours, like a giant shade card! We think this is important so you can really get a feel of the different yarns and see the true colour. That's about all for now, got to get back to packing up all those kits! You can find out more about our stand in the show Exhibitor List. I'll be back again soon to let you know of offers and special products so watch this space!
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Last Few Days of Wool Week 2016
I hope you liked our post last week about the classes at J&S during Wool Week, again I'm sorry it was so brief, I still can't get over how busy it was! We were still working on Saturday but I nipped out quickly to visit the Makers Market at Islesburgh - which was pinned! Its a great chance for local makers and small yarn producers to show what they make to a very appreciative public. My (Ella's) Dad Smirk was there with Cartoons Foula Wool Students from the Textiles Course at the Shetland College Kathy Coull was there with Fair Isle Yarn The always bright and cheerful Neilanell knitwear busy busy! I came back from the Makers Market and me and Sandra headed up for a quick look at the Marts, every year the Flock Book have the sale of Pure Shetland Sheep and Lambs, its always good to see the Sheep (reminds you what Wool Week is all about!) Scott who works in the Woolstore had been there all morning as Oliver and Jan were judging the wool on the hoof so the next photos are all taken by him Vispring always provides the sponsorship for the Fine Wool and I was asked to present it to the winners: Me with the White Lamb and Coloured Lamb winners l-r: Lamb White winner and Overall Champion, Coloured Lamb winner, Adult White winner and Coloured Adult Winner. On Sunday after a bit of a lie in I headed out to Tingwall for the Sunday Teas held by the Guild, its one of my favourite bits of Wool Week.. As well as the lovely food there are brilliant displays of the Work of the Guild which is always so inspiring! Sue Arthurs Handspun Handknitted Jumper Kathleen Andersons Lovely Lace Hazel Tindall's beautiful Fair Isle I hope you've enjoyed this more relaxed look at the last few days of Wool Week, we are just about recovered, but already looking forward to next year. Happy Knitting! Save Save Save Save Save
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Wool Week at J&S
Hello! I'm so sorry we haven't been able to update you this week of all the happenings at J&S for Shetland Wool Week, I'm afraid it has just been so busy!!! A great problem to have of course, We have just about managed to get some snaps here and there during the week so this post is all about what we had going on in the shop fair isle knitting with Hazel lace with Elizabeth Johnston On Monday we had a Fair Isle Class with Hazel Tindall in the Morning and Shetland Lace with Elizabeth in the Afternoon, we always have these classes and they are always some of the first to sell out, Hazel and Elizabeths years of experience make them excellent teachers! Drop Spindling with Deborah On Tuesday Morning we had a Drop Spindle class with Deborah Gray, I always think this looks like a really fun class to do! Tuesday night we had a trunk show for Monique Boonstra, Monique is a fabulous lace knitter and she had samples of her lovely patterns and knitting Haps with Gudrun Wednesday led to more lace knitting, Haps with Gudrun in the Morning and more lace with Elizabeth in the afternoon. Gudruns Hap class is always very popular and she has the students make a mini version of her Hansel hap, it's very manageable for the length of time of the class and gives everyone a taste of all the elements of this traditional Shetland garment. This is the only photo I got on Wednesday of Elizabeths second lace class but it looks like they are learning a lot! Elizabeth is always great to have at Wool Week and she teaches lots of classes in Hoswick also. Of course, we have spent the week spotting crofthoose hats too! It's great to see all the different colours people have chosen. Thursday morning had Hazels second Fair Isle class, she had the ladies knit in the round and then steek! Everyone seemed to have a great time and I loved the samples at the end. Friday morning we had no classes so we got caught up on our post and then in the afternoon Monique Boonstra was back with a class using 1ply Shetland Supreme Oliver has been doing his tour this week too, and yesterday was the last day of that, he has it down to a fine art and we always get lots of people coming for the tour. photo by Scott Goudie Today is the Makers Market and Flock Book and tomorrow is the fabulous Sunday Teas hosted by the Guild so I'll be back next week with a few photos from that. It's been a great week and as always we are so proud to be involved in Shetland Wool Week!Save Save Save Save
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Shetland Wool Week 2016
Can you believe it? Shetland Wool Week 2016 began today!!! Shelves have been filled and the shops as tidy as it will be for the next week! We are hoping orders and email disruptions will be kept to a minimum but we might be a bit delayed in getting back to you, just know we are working as hard as we can to keep getting orders out as fast as we can. This is our busiest week of the year and we love seeing all the people who have come to Shetland for the event. We have classes every day and three tours on so lots to do! We will be blogging throughout the week so keep an eye out for out posts about Shetland Wool Week at J&S.
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Shoormal Hap
As soon as we saw the Shetland Heritage Naturals we all knew they would be perfect in a traditional Shetland Hap, Sandra quickly got to work and just in time for Wool Week the Shoormal Hap is the result! The Bestway K133 pattern booklet is full of inspiring Shetland patterns, (we have a photocopy of the pattern booklet for sale here) They are all written out longhand in very small writing but we were very inspired by the 'Scalloped Shawl' pattern, its a traditional Hap which you probably know has been everywhere lately. They have been made and worn in Shetland for centuries and we knew the nature of the Shetland Heritage Naturals would be ideal to recreate this pattern. courtesy of the Shetland Museum and Archives. We have used shades White, Fawn, Moorit and Shetland Black in the Shawl, Oliver has told us many times that the Heritage is very similar is weight to the old Hap weight of yarn, long since discontinued but the soft and strong properties of the Heritage yarn especially in the undyed colours harks back to this historical yarns. We have added charts for the border and edging sections of the pattern as well as keeping the written instructions so you can choose which to use. The construction of this Hap is that the centre is worked first followed by the four sides which are all worked individually and sewn onto the centre and each other, finally the edging is worked and sewn on. This makes it a great portable project as you are working each element separately before sewing it all together. The finished shawl is approximately 45 inches square making it very large, warm and cushy. It's knit on relatively large needles for the yarn (4mm and 5mm) which creates a warm and lofty fabric, perfect for wrapping yourself up in, keeping on your couch or wrapping around a baby. If you would like to knit your own Shoormal Hap you can buy the kit here! Happy Knitting! Save
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