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Christmas Time at J&S
Christmas time has arrived at J&S so we have been happily decorating the shop in between serving customers and packaging up & sending off hundreds of little woolly parcels. Our new kit samples look so Christmassy that they are taking pride of place displayed opposite the Christmas tree. My mam has already finished the Annie Jumper for my baby nephew (with a few alterations, as knitters can do, to fit the little fellow) and is now moving on to the Peerie Bairns Jumper for my neice, so that's some of their presents nearly finished! We also have three new kits on-line to add a little bit more celebration to the occasion. The Fair Isle Cap, like the Fair Isle V-necked Jumper, is from the textile collection in the Shetland Museum and Archives and is made from our Shetland Heritage yarn. It is thought the original came from Fair Isle itself and would have been a fisherman's cap made from local wool, hand spun and dyed. It has a plain lining made from the Peat Heritage Yarn and so it is doubly warm, keeping your head cosy and snug over a cold winter. It is also soft and beautiful and definitely something to treasure. The original Fair Isle Cap from the Shetland Museum and Archives collection The second new kit is the Karelides Cardigan by Outi Kater, a beautiful, Finland-inspired Fair Isle cardigan which makes excellent use of the natural shades of Shetland Wool. Its design reflects the beautiful, subtle nature of this undyed Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight yarn. Kate Davies' Warriston is now available from us not just as a bundle of yarn but complete with beautiful pattern from Kate herself. It is a raglan smock knitted in Shetland Aran with inset pockets, cowl neck, and raglan shaping, perfect for this cold winter weather. This is just one of Kate's stunning designs in our yarn and we hope they keep on coming as she is great to work with. The Heritage Yarn, with its beautiful warm shades that fit so well into our shop's Christmas decorations, has been a huge hit with knitters so far so we are planning on expanding the range of this worsted yarn. It would be great to hear all of your opinions on this and what colours you would like to see, including those discontinued shades of ours that you long to make a comeback. You can leave a message on here regarding this or email ella@shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk with your thoughts. We would really appreciate your input. We will be closing on Friday 21st December and won't open again until Monday 7th January so any orders received during this time won't be sent out until next year. But when we get back we will get them out to you as soon as possible. Have a great Christmas period and happy knitting!
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Brand New Kits!
The hard work is done and the patterns are printed so we can finally reveal four new Fair Isle kits to add to the J&S collection. Two of these are in our 2ply Jumper Weight yarn which I'm sure most of you are familiar with. The other two are in our new Shetland Heritage yarns that are inspired by the original hand spun 'wirsit' that used to be commonplace in the Isles. Three of these were designed by our very own Sandra Manson who is an expert at picking out colours and blending them together in beautiful patterns to create amazing garments. The first of these is the Antarctica Hat, Mittens & Neckwarmer. Sandra initially designed, knitted and gifted these to Dr Alexander Kumar whose address throughout 2012 has been Concordia Station, Antarctica. Dr Kumar learned of the wonders of Shetland wool for keeping you warm when reading of Sir Earnest Shackleton's trip to Antarctica over 100 years ago, when he was protected from the bitter cold with the aid of Fair Isle wool garments. We have had reports back that Sandra's knitting has helped keep Dr Kumar comfortable, or as comfortable as you can be in as cold as -91°C! You can learn more about Alexander's trip here. The second of Sandra's designs is the Peerie Bairns Jumper. This is an extremely cute little thing inspired by traditional Fair Isle patterns handed down over generations. It is completely flexible, with options available in blue or purple and for ages 2, 4 and 6. Though the more adventurous among you could try knitting it in different colours if you prefer - just make a note of the different shades of 2 Ply Jumper Weight you want in the Delivery and Order Comments box at checkout. The Peerie Bairns Jumper will definitely keep your peerie bairn cosy whilst making them look oh-so-cute. The third of Sandra's designs - and her first in our new Shetland Heritage yarns - is the Annie Jumper named after our Ella's neice. The Heritage yarn just oozes authenticity when it comes to Fair Isle knitting and Sandra's use of patterns brings it all together into a lovely little gansey. This yarn is also perfect for knitting for children as it is worsted spun, making it bouncy and soft to touch. The Annie jumper would also be suitable for boys or girls and is available in options for ages 2, 4, 6 and 9. My mam is currently knitting one for my nephew and I cannot wait for him to try it on! The final one of our new kits for now is the Fair Isle V-necked Jumper. The pattern for which is based on a garment in the Shetland Museum's Textile Archive which was one of the inspirations for the new Shetland Heritage range. The yarn for these original pieces was commercially spun but hand-dyed and it looks almost as good as new and very much like the new range. This shows just how well Shetland wool can last if cared for. One of the striking features of the garments in the Shetland Museum's Textile Archive is how they have been patched over time to match the original colours and pattern, giving them a real sense of history and emphasising their beautiful hand-made quality. This jumper truly is an heirloom piece of real Fair Isle knitting and we are very excited to finally be able to offer it to you. Detail from the original museum piece. Image courtesy of Jen Arnall-Culliford The kits are all available now and can be found here! (or directly by clicking on each kit's name above)
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A Legacy of Shetland Lace
A Legacy of Shetland Lace is a new book released by the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers. A collection of 21 stunning projects designed by members of the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers. The book contains everything from scarves and stoles, to wraps and lace tops. As well as the patterns the book has wonderful pictures and explanations of abbreviations, Shetland words to do with knitting, grafting and finishing. Each pattern is supported by a biography of the designer which charts their story with lace and knitting. There are patterns in this book from some of the best lace knitters in Shetland. Hazel Tindall, Mary Kay, Ina Irvine and Kathleen Anderson to name but a few.. The Legacy of Shetland Lace is a modern and contemporary book that encapsulates our lace knitting history in a group of well designed patterns. photo courtesy of the Shetland Museum and Archives Shetland ladies were (and still are) renowned world- wide for their superb knitting skills and their ability to produce designs from their environment and surroundings. Not only did they carry out most of the croft work they also were accomplished hand spinners and would spin a gossamer fine lace yarn which would be knitted into shawls or scarves. These works of art would be sold to the local merchant or knitwear shop and provide much needed income. All the patterns in the book can be knitted with our Shetland Supreme 1 and 2 ply worsted yarns which come in a range of five natural colours, any patterns calling for 2ply can also use our 2ply Lace Weight Yarn which comes in twenty five shades. There is a lovely pattern by Hazel Tindall which calls for Chunky Shetland wool, in which our Shetland Aran BSS16 would be a perfect match! We at J & S are proud to say that we have reproduced such a fine yarn as used to produce these unique garments all these years ago. In conjunction with our local museum we attempted to revive the art of Lace knitting which was becoming a thing of the past. Part of our inspiration was taken from reading in the local archives that Queen Victoria had stockings made in Shetland from Shetland wool. The yarn used was a combed worsted yarn and not a carded woollen spun yarn, the worsted spinning produces a smoother finer stronger thread which captures the unique characteristics of Shetland wool, especially the soft handle required to wear next to the skin. We congratulate the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters,Weavers and Dyers on their superb publication A Legacy of Shetland Lace. Their efforts and skill carries on the distinct culture and heritage of some of the finest knitters in the world. The book is available here for £23.99
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Wovember 2012
It is already half way through Wovember 2012 and we have realised that all has gone quiet on the J&S blog front recently. So to contribute our little bit to this magnificent month we thought we would give you a little sneaky peek behind the scenes here to show you where all your wonderful wool comes from. We start off in the wool-store, which could be described as the hub of Shetland's wool industry with more than 700 local crofters delivering their wool - ranging from bundles of a few kilos to trucks full with a few tonnes in some cases - through our big green doors. We then sort through the bags, fleece by fleece, to separate them into the different grades and natural colours with the finest being used to make fine lace and the toughest for durable wool carpets. The wool is then squashed into bales by our trusty old baler ready to be shipped and scoured, carded, combed, spun and dyed into the cushion filling, combed tops and lace and yarn that we send off to you. Some of it comes back to us transformed into beautiful rugs, carpets, duvets and even the life-changing Vi-Spring beds. We sent off our last load of wool for 2012 yesterday which has left room in the main store to clear out the coloured wool-store and sort each coloured fleece into the different grades, ready to be sent away in the final load of this year's wool season - usually in April - and processed into all of our natural, undyed products. This final 12th shipment will bring this year's total to over 240 tonnes of wool: a total which is usually greeted with a look of amazement from anyone who hears it. When the products finally arrive back here after their long transformation they take pride of place in our shop that is joined onto the wool stores where they first became part of J&S as raw wool. The shop was expanded in 2010 to make it three times its original size and give all of our treasured woolly products room to show off. It is now much-loved by knitters who can rummage around, comparing and contrasting colours to create their very own Shetland Wool knitwear. The shop also doubles up as the mail-room where we make up, package and send out orders from all over the world. This makes it a very busy place every morning until our postie comes just after 12 to take away the parcels. However, we love making up the little woolly bundles so thank you to each and every one of you who has ordered from us and helped support Shetland's wool industry. I just thought I'd end with an image of what makes this all possible. The humble Shetland Sheep with its world-beating wool in its wild, exposed habitat that makes it all so magical.
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Alexander Kumar: Guest Blog - Wool Week
Celebrating wool week: warmest greetings from the coldest place on Earth By Dr Alexander Kumar One year ago I had no idea what I was getting myself in for, as I prepared myself for my departure to the coldest place on Earth - Dome Charlie located high up on the Antarctic Plateau - the world's largest desert and the coldest, loneliest, most desolate and remote place on Earth. And here I stand, still alive with 10 fingers and 10 toes, which have been protected by Shetland's finest. 100 years ago Sir Ernest Shackleton brought fair isle wool to Antarctica. Following his fashion and sense, I decided I would do the same. Jamieson & Smith (Shetland Wool Brokers Ltd.) based Sandra knitted me several bespoke, unique and colourful items which I was fortunate to have through what I now describe as the 'worst winter in the world'. We are completely isolated here for 9 months from February until November. Temperatures dropped below -80 degrees Celsius as the sun disappeared for over 3 months- leaving our European team of 13 alone in the dark. Over the Antarctic winter your senses turn to perceiving in black and white, but now the sun has come back I can enjoy the colours once again and the Shetland Fair Isle designs are wonderful and warm. And in that, because I am still warm, I can leave you with my warmest greetings from the coldest place on Earth, proud to wear like explorers of times gone, Shetland's continuing unique contribution to Antarctic history - happy Shetland Wool Week! To read more about Dr Alexander Kumar's adventures, please visit his website www.alexanderkumar.com
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wool week days 5 and 6
Yesterday was another busy day for us at J&S, in the morning we had another Fair Isle class with Hazel Tindall, filled with people from the waiting list of her first class!! it was so busy i never managed to get any pictures in the morning but in the afternoon we had one of our most subscribed classes. Hap Shawls with Gudrun Johnston. using jumper weight wool she had the class knit a mini version of this hap, it is so lovely! Then in the evening we had our official closing ceremony and launch of the Shetland Heritage Collection. Together with the Shetland Museum and Archives, Jamieson & Smith developed this new range of worsted spun wool to recreate the old handspun colours. These are the four kits the Shetland Museum have released. They range in skill level and each kit contains everything you need, the pattern, the wool and even the needles! They're available online on the Museums online shop from Tuesday. They also had some of the original textile items from the collection out on show for us to see the inspirations. We have some new patterns coming out soon which are inspired by a few of the items above... you cant celebrate these things without cake, and whats better than a Fair Isle cake?? Today there were no classes on in the shop so Sandra held the fort there and i went to see the Flock book events up at the Marts in Lerwick (the Shetland Rural Centre) Here Oliver (the wool man extraordinaire at J&S) was grading fleeces on the sheep in the ring and awarding prizes for the best entries. The notes next to this fleece said it was near perfection! we then popped to the Shetland Textiles Open at the Bod of Gremista, and i saw mine and Sandras entries - i even won a prize! and i took this picture of my peerie niece outside the Bod Tomorrow there is a weaving class on in the shop and then its back to normal on monday.. Wool Week 2012 has been amazing!
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wool week day 4
today was a slightely quieter day in the shop, we had another class taught by the lovely Gudrun Johnston, this time she was focusing on Knitting in the Round. using the Melby Dress which is in Knit Real Shetland Gudrun had the ladies knitting the cap sleeves in the pattern. A great way to get into the circular knitting without doing masses of rounds of rib! With it being so busy in the shop we've had Stuart (usually he works in the woolstore this time of year) helping us with orders but today he had to go and do a bit of organising.. this was clear on Monday. poor Stuart.
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wool week day 3
Just one class today, but it was a good een! A whole day of lace with Gudrun Johnston Gudrun had the group making a mini shawl, such a good idea to try out different techniques but achieve something tangible from the day. We made sure the group left with enough wool and the pattern for Gudruns latest pattern for us: Loren everyone knitting away. Then tonight we had an evening of chatting about lace. Local lace legend Mary Kay was there, Gudrun talked about her lace knitting and the lovely Monique Boonstra spoke about her lace making including the stole she recreated from half a photo in the Shetland Museum Photo archives!! I cant believe its Wednesday already. More pictures tomorrow!
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wool week day 2
Today we had no classes in the morning and managed to get lots of online orders posted off, in the afternoon we had a lovely class in the shop with Hazel Tindall and tonight we had a meet up of our Ravelry group tomorrow is a day of lace, we have a class with Gudrun Johnson and in the evening talks with Gudrun, Mary Kay and Monique Boonstra. Talking of lace, the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers had published a book - A Legacy of Shetland Lace available here. The book features a wide range of Shetland Lace Patterns and is lovely to look at, we have some copies at the shop so have a look if your in! More pictures soon. xx
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