A Fresh New Header

Hi folks, decided today I would give my blog a fresh, new header picture. I had actually taken this photo for another purpose but felt it was also suitable for my blog. I like the blend of colours together.
Just to tell you a little about each thing and why I chose it, I'll work from left to right around the lamp, which I just chose because I like it so much. Here we go......
1. Real Shetland Yarns, a book in which I have a story published about my father and grandfather, both weavers of Shetland rugs. My father worked exclusively in natural un-dyed Shetland colours and his designs were instantly recognizable. I was one of 40 runners-up and we recently all met up at the book launch and received a complimentary copy of this very interesting and colourful book. It was a fab night! I must just tell you this too. As many times as I have seen the photo of my father which is published in the book, I had never before realized that on the wall of the weaving shed were the words (Chad style!!) "Wot? No rugs?" My sister and I really laughed when we saw that. We could just imagine dad doing that.
2. A very old pattern for knitted Fair Isle berets for children. It was humorous to note that in the pattern it doesn't say "instructions" but "recipe"!! I love that.
3. An Introduction to Keeping Sheep. A great little book just to browse and look up things. I was brought up on a croft and we did keep sheep then, but things have changed enormously since then and you can never have too much knowledge or expertise when it comes to animal husbandry.
4. This is a photo of my late father, a weaver, a knitter, a humorous story teller, baker of fine scones and pancakes, jam maker and overall great man.
5. Pattern for a Shetland cockle shell scarf.
6. The Dogs of Woodcutter Down by David Kennard. The book I'm reading at the moment and enjoying too. Makes me wish I had a sheepdog though. I have to run up the steep hill myself!!
I'm off now to put all these items back in their place and get on with knitting the "Arches and Columns" scarf I blogged about in a previous post. It's driving me mad but I AM going to finish it........and secretly hope it will win a prize at the shows. Well, you have to be positive about these things!
Until next time, take care and be creative.

Lace, Wool & Sheep (Not the normal order of things!)

Hi there.
If you're visiting my blog for the first time, WELCOME!
If you are a regular here, WELCOME BACK!
I am making some progress with the "Arches and Columns" patterned scarf I told you about in a previous post, so I'll just give you a sneak preview today.......

I found it difficult in the beginning and had it ripped back to the bare needles 6 times before I finally got underway with it. Now I'm enjoying it, and I feel the pattern suits this particular shade of blue.
My next project is a coloured cockle shell scarf and here are the colours I have chosen for that.....

I'm hoping this will work out in reality the way I think it will in my head! Oh my head!!! I feel the soft shade of pink and also the pale flecked bluey green will sit nicely between the natural colours but not stand out on their own.
Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!! Ha ha

And now please allow me to indulge myself a little as I share some sweet photos of my sheep, taken last night at feeding time. Oh how I love my fleecy friends! Every night when I feed them I put out their food then turn the orange bucket upside down and sit on it (Oor Willie style!) and talk to them. Sometime when cars or cyclists go by they will wave, toot or honk. I expect they think I am completely off my trolley!! But guess what? I don't care!

So here are some photos, hot off the press as it were......

Shulah

Shulah and Yaisah

Nellah

Grub up, heads down!

Branjah the messy eater!

Full tummies on legs!

All very special to me. Some are missing from the photos as they don't always come down from the hill to be bucket fed, and I only have eight sheep at the moment. Planning on a couple more Soays and perhaps three coloured Shetland lambs later in the year, so I'll keep you posted on that.
Right now I'm off for a nice cup of tea.
I hope you've enjoyed browsing my blog. Please let me know if there is anything you'd like to see more of in connection with Shetland and Shetland wool.
Until next time, take care.

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!!

Gilet is Finished

Hi again, I'm happy to say my hubby's gilet got finished and he is delighted with it. I think he was surprised it fitted him!! I didn't enjoy knitting it as much as I should have because it wasn't wool I was using. However, it was his choice of yarn so that was what was important. Here's a photo of it on the jumper board.



It's amazing how the various levels of stripes can make the whole thing look lop-sided. I actually had to measure the pockets to see if I had got them right, I was so convinced they were "up the creek"!! But sure enough, they were OK. That was a relief. I don't think I'd have wanted to start over again. At one point the pocket linings were driving me quite mad!

But I am SO much more excited to show you my very first cockle shell scarf, knitted in pure wool which I bought from Jamieson & Smith, Shetland, aka The Wool Brokers (Shetland) Ltd. (SEE LINK ABOVE RIGHT TO GO TO THEIR EXCELLENT WEBSITE).
Here's the scarf. The wool is 2ply lace yarn.



The Wool Brokers have an excellent range of colours to choose from. Of course there are the natural un-dyed colours of the Shetland sheep, but there are also great coloured yarns. My scarf was knitted in a lovely pale green with faint flecks of pale blue, pink, lilac etc. It knitted up beautifully.
My new project is the shaded Shetland shawl I blogged about in an earlier post. Scroll down to see that. I will keep you posted on my progress. Until then, please have a look at the Wool Brokers site. I think you will find it very interesting.
My sister and I got permission to take some photos in their premises one afternoon and I will upload some photos for you in my next post.

Take care. Stay creative. Kate