Blog
Lace Collection 2012
Anderlea by Ina Irvine Loren by Gudrun Johnston Quarry by Ina Irvine Early Spring Blossom by Nancy Bush Dunella by Kathleen Anderson Shetland Crescent by Kieran Foley Shetland Bound by Monique Boonstra Great Grand Aunt Leezie's Scarf by Mary Kay Tether by Ysolda Teague And here is the last in a flurry of new releases. The Lace Collection has been our little secret jewel, in the planning since Shetland Wool Week. There are pieces in Jamieson & Smith 1 and 2 Ply Supreme from some of our favourite designers in Shetland and further afield... 1. Anderlea by Ina Irvine 2. Loren by Gudrun Johnston 3. Quarry by Ina Irvine 4. Early Spring Blossom by Nancy Bush 5. Dunella by Kathleen Anderson 6. Shetland Crescent by Kieran Foley 7. Shetland Bound by Monique Boonstra 8. Great Grand Aunt Leezie by Mary Kay 9. Tether by Ysolda Teague And with that, some changes are afoot at J&S. Sarah is off to pastures new. From Monday, Ella and Sandra will be taking care of the blog as well as keeping in touch through Twitter, Facebook, Ravelry and email. We've written this post together, saying hello and goodbye at the same time. Wish us all luck...
Learn more
New yarn launch - Shetland Heritage
Today we’re launching Shetland Heritage yarn, the newest addition to the collection. Shetland Heritage yarn recreates the original characteristics of handspun ‘wursit’ used in old Fair Isle garments. The yarn is replicated from that found in knitted Fair Isle garments in the collection of Shetland Museum and Archives. Wool experts, specialist dyers, curators and knitters have worked together to develop and trial Shetland Heritage yarn, which is worsted spun from Jamieson & Smith’s combed tops to give a soft feel, and a smooth finish. The yarn is slightly finer than the four ply we use today to knit stranded colourwork and Fair Isle. Instead, it gives a definition and complexity of colour and pattern that goes right back to the nineteenth century. Shetland Heritage Yarn is part of a collaborative project between Shetland Amenity Trust, Shetland Museum and Archives, Curtis Wool Direct and Jamieson & Smith (Shetland Wool Brokers) Ltd. Together, we were inspired to recreate the worsted spun yarns in Fair Isle artefacts in the Shetland Museum’s collection after the success of a project to revive Shetland Fine Lace in 2010. As with all of our wool products, every stage of development and production is carried out in the UK and is made from the wool of over 700 of Shetland's crofters and farmers. We’re working with local knitters and the amazing Jen Arnall-Culliford on translating artefacts in the Shetland Museum’s collection to hand knit patterns. This collection of garments will be launched during Shetland Wool Week 2012. Technical info: 25g, 110m/120yds, 2.8nm worsted Tension: 30 sts and 32 rows = 10cm/4in over Fair Isle pattern using 3mm needles Enjoy... x
Learn more
Nortower Lodges
Gosh, there's lots of exciting things to blog about today. Hazel and Kenneth Mackenzie have recently opened their beautiful holiday accomodation, Nortower Lodges, which are all done out in our Real Shetland Carpets. The Mackenzie family are one of our 700+ wool suppliers. So, as well as padding around on some woolly luxury, you can experience their way of life (and even spend time knitting with them). Now that's an idea for Shetland Wool Week... image: one of the 360 degree views from Nortower lodges
Learn more
Oliver Henry's 45 years at Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers
Oliver's knitted banner by Ella Gordon Oliver Henry (standing on pier) and Jim Smith (in boat), Uyea, Shetland Oliver loading wool for shipping Oliver and Catherine Henry, ready for a night out with the Hunter's of Brora team Oliver shearing sheep on the Isle of Skye Oliver hand sorting wool with a trainee Oliver feeding a Shetland pony at Berry Farm in Scalloway, the birth place of Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers Ltd. Oliver presenting prizes to textiles graduates Oliver's 45 year anniversary cake, a gift from Jimmy Moncrieff of Shetland Amenity Trust. Yesterday we celebrated Oliver's 45 year anniversary as 'Wool Man' at Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool Brokers. We thought we'd share some images of his time here since 1967. x
Learn more
Flying the (knitted) Shetland Flag
Here's a fun project for a happy Friday afternoon... Fly the Shetland Flag wherever you are (and send us back pictures from all over the world). Hooray! Designed by June Onigbanjo. x
Learn more
Shade card love
Just popping in to say that our new shade cards are now available online. You can choose to buy the full collection, or select your preferred weight of yarn. Each shade card comes in a folder for keeping patterns and notes beside your favourite shades of Real Shetland Wool. Hurray! Each one is handmade here in Lerwick and they come in to us in batches looking like furry sea creatures before being tucked away in their folders, ready for a new home. x
Learn more
Sheep Carousel by Kate Davies
We've been impatiently waiting for our postie to bring us a whole load of Sheep Carousel patterns. Well now they're here! This is the latest in a series of sheepy designs by Kate Davies. Kate is dedicated to the British wool industry and her designs celebrate and support native breeds. That's why we love her Shetland sheep collection - Sheep Heid, Rams & Yowes and now the Sheep Carousel. We especially love this new one because every time we see it we think of plinky plonky fairground music. There's no way this tea cosy won't make you smile (especially in the middle of this rather grey summer).
Learn more
Shetland's Wool Season kicks off
So we're a month into the wool season, which officially started in June. However, bad weather has meant that it's only just starting to kick off - until now our crofters and farmers haven't been able to get their sheep clipped because of wet, cold, windy days. This isn't terribly unusual, because most folk do only start clipping in July (starting with gimmers - year old lambs - which are usually nearer the house and aren't busy feeding lambs). Despite the slow start to the season, we put over 2o tonnes of wool (known at J&S as 'Load 1') off to the scourers on Friday afternoon. We'll then spin this wool into our J&S yarns, or sell it on directly to our partners like Vi-Spring and The Real Shetland Company. This is the earliest that Load 1 has ever gone out in at least the last five years (we'll need to go and dig in our archived black books to see further back). We're hoping this means that there are more sheep around, and therefore more wool. It will be towards the end of the year, when the season is well and truly over and Load 12 (making the total around 240 tonnes) has left us, that we'll know more about exactly how much wool we've taken in. Fingers crossed. Until then, thanks to you all for your continued support of Real Shetland Wool. Image: Bales of Real Shetland Wool piled to the beams of our wool store on Friday afternoon. Each bale shows weights, grades and identity numbers for traceability of each supplier's clip.
Learn more