OO'VE BEEN FRAMED!!

Hi again.
For those reading this who may think the post title is a misprint, or a product of a tired brain, let me explain. In this blog post I'm going to share some of the photos I took when me and my sister visited Jamieson & Smith (The Wool Brokers) here in Shetland. The Shetland dialect word for wool is 'oo'. Plain and simple 'oo'. I could have called it 'Ewe've Been Framed' but there were no sheep inside the building so technically I would have misled you!! Now, joking apart, here are some photos........



No better place to start than with a teapot! This one has a nice Fair Isle cover to it. The pattern is available through J&S.


Spotlight on Pure Wool

I loved going into the wool shed because of the smell of the raw oily wool. It was the real deal! Straight from the sheep and ready for the next step.
Down a few steps from there we went into a part of the building that Oliver Henry, the director of J&S told us used to be the old Police Station many moons ago. He showed us the cell where they put the offenders. No moon shone in there! And we were on our best behaviour for the rest of our photo taking time!
Here are a few photos from that section of the building.....


A hand knitted lace hap draped over an old herring barrel with a photo of a Shetland herring station in the background. I will add a link at the side for those of you who would be interested to see more photos of the herring stations. You can also simply Google "Shetland herring stations".



Oliver told us that you will know pure Shetland wool by the 'wavy' look it has nearer the body. The photo below also shows pure Shetland wool, this time on the surface. I do believe I unintentionally captured some grass in the form it goes in one end and also in it's 'post-processed form'!! Oh well, this is raw wool at it's most organic!!



And something I hadn't seen before was this excellent quality pure wool carpeting made from Shetland wool.The photo below shows a mat made from the same carpeting with the 3 Vementry rams Logo on it. Vementry is a place in Shetland.






Just beside the carpeting was this lovely old rocking chair, probably made in Shetland too, complete with 2 hand knitted lace cushion covers on the cushions. I could have sat in it for a few minutes but I was frightened I missed something!



Some more photos now.....



A beautiful example of an all-over Fair Isle jumper in natural colours. Exquisite when seen in reality!




Snuggly!!!




Just a very small selection of the shades of wool available at Jamieson & Smith, The Wool Brokers, Shetland Isles.



Shawls in natural shades. I love these. They are a work of art and of huge talent. I aspire to produce work like this!




I couldn't resist photographing this old window half way up the stairs that had the wool cones on them. Although I couldn't get the whole window in because of the stair banister I was happy to include the spinning wheel ornament, the three little sheep in the middle and the old vase ( maybe full of spiders by now!!) I love quirky!!!




Fair Isle knitting in the natural un-dyed colours of Shetland wool. There are many very talented Fair Isle knitters on Shetland. I've knitted a little Fair Isle but at the moment I'm trying to master fine lace knitting. One thing at a time!!!




This is a Cockle Shell scarf knitted by Sandra Manson who also designs and knits garments in pure Shetland wool. She is always very welcoming when you enter the shop and has a great way of encouraging people to try something new. She has helped me a lot!!

Well, I'll leave you to have a look at those for now. My next post on here will be a photo of my shawl progress. Until then, stay crafty!!