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.

Just Off the Needles

Here is my latest project, just finished last night. A lace scarf worked in white with purple, pink and three different blues. I didn't really enjoy knitting this I have to say. I am much more comfortable using natural colours. And all those ends to sew in!!! I've actually told my lovely niece that if she will sew them in for me I'll cross her palm with silver!! Well, it will probably be a note of some colour!
Here's the scarf.....

I may enter it into the local agricultural show which will take place in my village round about July.
My next project is another lace scarf, this time in a lovely shade of blue. The pattern is called "Arches and Columns" and I haven't knitted it before. When knitting for a show you just have to knit what they ask for, hence the blue. But it's a really nice shade in real life. Photographs and computers don't always do justice to these things.
Here's a sneak peek at the pattern and wool.....

Click pic for larger image

I will keep you updated on my progress.
Just to mention also, my sheep are doing well and seem to be settling into their new pasture. I hope to add 2 more Soays to the flock over the next few weeks, so watch this space!!
Please feel free to comment, follow or whatever. I love new visitors to my blog. If there is any particular woolly or Shetland subject you wish me to cover, please ask and I will do my best to provide the information I have.
Until next time, take care and keep your needles busy!!

Making Progress Once Again.....and Having Babies!!!

It has been a couple of months since I last posted on here but there are a couple of very good and valid reasons for that. First and foremost I was not very well for several weeks but I'm coming through that now and beginning to enjoy doing things again.
Secondly, I've been 'growing' my own little flock of sheep!! I'm very excited about that. I advertised locally to see if I could get a sheep park near where I live and was blessed with one which is less than five minutes drive from my house. I now have 5 Shetlands, one Cheviot and 2 rare breed Soay sheep.
Here are some photos for you.......

Aren't they adorable? These are twin sisters a year old and I have named them Yaisah and Shulah
Now my gorgeous Shetlands.....

Agnah

Branjah

Fraynah

Leelah

Nellah
And last, but by no means least, my darling Cheviot ewe....

Sjovah

Leelah is my "golden girl". Her and I have some things in common, eg. not as many teeth as we used to have, bad hair days aplenty, weathered complexion....to name a few!! She's just as sweet as they come and will happily follow me around the field and eat out of the food bucket wherever I set it down. The Soays are quite tame but can be 'spooked' easily, so I'm now sitting in the pen with them as they all feed just to let them know I'm not going to hurt them.
Sjovah is a little more wary because I had to get hold of her one evening as I thought she'd lost an ear tag. So she's a little distant with me at the minute but that'll change. I hold the food bucket!!
OK. I'll leave you with that just now. Hope you like the sheep pics. Thank you for visiting. Please feel free to follow if you're not already doing so.
Until next time......

The Makkin (Knitting) Belt

Well, it's almost 3.30am and as usual I'm up and about amusing myself til' sleep finally takes over again! So I thought I'd keep to my promise and tell you a little bit about the 'makkin' or knitting belt that we Shetland folks use. (Makkin is just our local dialect name for knitting).
Here's a photo of my one. (Also seen in my blog header.)



My one is actually a child's one! I haven't had it since I was a child. I just happened to find it in a charity shop and I've added another belt to it so it can fit me!!
Makkin belts are made of leather, stuffed with horse hair and tightly stitched around the edges to make them very strong and to keep the hair in. The belts are worn on the right hand side of the knitter, who will then put their knitting needle (we would call this a makkin wire) into one of the many holes that are put on the front of the belt. Here's another photo so you can see how it works.....

link to original image

Makkin belts are particularly helpful when knitting socks and Fair Isle jumpers as they are most often knitted 'in the round'. By placing the makkin wire you are knitting with into one of the holes, it immediately stabilizes the wire and the garment being knitted, thus making it far easier to keep the tension on the makkin continuous and stopping the garment from moving around too much.
The older generations of Shetland women would really have been the ones to benefit most from these belts, and of course they date back a long way. You'll see what I mean by this next photo........

An old Shetland postcard
A hardy breed indeed!
This woman has probably walked all the way to the peat hill and back, knitting as she went! It was normal for the Shetland women to do this as their husbands, brothers or fathers were away at the fishing, often for very long periods of time, so they had no choice but to take care of everything else. You can see just how tough these women were. Their hands were the hands of workers. No acrylic nails in those days! Probably no nails here and there!
Here's two more hardy women makkin, 'yakkin' and 'takkin' the peats home!

An old Shetland postcard
Can you just imagine walking, perhaps miles, over a rough track with a 'kishie' of heavy peats on your back, knitting an intricate Fair Isle pattern as you go? No wonder they all had their makkin belts to help out. And remember, it was necessary to be knitting all the time as this was a source of income for them while their men folks were away at sea. Plus, some of the garments would be for the men at sea to help add an extra layer when exposed to the wild Shetland elements. Interestingly, the sleeves of fishermen's jumpers were made a little bit shorter than normal so that the arms could be kept drier and warmer. This was especially necessary in the icy cold waters of the winter season, although thick gloves would have been worn too.
Well, I'm just going to finish off with a cute little photo that I hope will make you smile. I also hope you have found this post interesting and informative. As always, if you have any questions or want to know more about the fascinating islands of Shetland, please comment or email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

link to original imageI love this photo!

Time for a Change!

After my last post about looking forward to spring, I thought it was time for a fresh new header for my blog, so I lay in bed last night and planned one in my mind ready to get up this morning and get to work on it.
The backdrop is a pure Shetland wool all-over Fair Isle jumper made by my darling niece Victoria. The lace shawl in natural colours in the foreground is my first ever attempt at knitting lace and is almost finished. I will post it on here when it's done. All the wool is 2 ply lace and is available from The Wool Brokers Shetland Ltd (aka Jamieson & Smith Lerwick. Just click on the red J&S logo on the right of my blog to take you to their very interesting website where you can buy books, patterns wool etc.)
The little 'leaping sheep' cup is one of two cups and saucers my fab sister Anne gave me just after me and my hubby moved into the cozy little house we live in now. Twinings tea is one of my favourite brands. That and Melrose's. And the funny looking leather thing with the holes in is a knitting 'belt'. These are used only in the Shetland Isles to my knowledge and I will do a separate post soon just for this very interesting and useful piece of equipment.
OK, that's it for just now. I hope you like the new header. Comments, likes, dislikes are all welcome here. I want to make my blog really interesting to those who read it!
Thanks for popping by. Please feel free to join the site and become a follower if you haven't already. Just click the button on the side bar of my blog.I'll always be posting new articles, photos etc about Shetland, Shetland wool etc.
I'm off for a cup of Twinings!

Looking Forward to Spring!

A very short blog post this time.

Just wanted to say......I am SO looking forward to spring and the new lambs of the season!!

World's Fastest Knitter Comes from Shetland!

Knitters to Know – Speed Knitting Champion – Hazel Tindall

Hand knitting at great speed, Hazel won the world speed knitting championship with an eye-popping speed of 255 stitches in 3 minutes.



















Hazel proudly holds up the Shetland flag!!

When did your your love affair with yarn start?
From first days as a baby I was surrounded by three generations of knitters as the ladies of the household, my grandmother, mother, aunt and older sister, all knitted. All neighbours and visitors also knitted. Everyone knitted quickly. There was great excitement when a huge bag of coloured hanks of yarn arrived some weeks after our own Shetland wool had been sent to the commercial spinner.

What are your 3 favourite yarns and what do you like about them?
Shetland yarn from Jamieson’s or Jamieson & Smiths. I like the way the wool handles and I know I will always get good results as well as light weight garments. Don’t often use anything else.

Who taught you to knit/crochet?
I don’t remember learning to knit so I guess I learned from my mother, or perhaps my older sister. I taught myself to crochet by following pictorial instructions in a book.


What’s the favourite thing you’ve ever made?
I have so many favourite things!
Here is a photo of one of my most recent creations.









What else do you do for love? (Any other hobby?)
I play cards at least twice a week in winter. I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren.

Favourite book/film?
I enjoy autobiographies and biographies. Rarely watch films.

Is there a knitting/crochet tip you’d like to share with us?
For someone who wants to learn: watch others knit or crochet and if their actions look comfortable and ‘flowing’, that’s the person you should ask to teach you.
For everyone else: make sure you finish off the work carefully and neatly. A poor finish can spoil an otherwise beautiful piece of work.

If someone wanted to start knitting, what would you recommend they attempt as a first project?
At school, we always started with a hot water bottle cover! I guess an oven glove or a pin cushion would be just as good as a starting project – or a cover for a Kindle or mobile phone.

What do you like most about knitting?
The magic of converting beauty from long lengths of yarn, as well as the relaxation from the rhythm of knitting.

Knitting’s taken me to America several times to demonstrate, teach and give short lectures. The last speed knitting competition was in America where I met the Guiness World Record Holder, Miriam Tegels; she took second place. Winning that competition led me to being invited to appear on Weakest Link (along with other ‘alternative’ champions) and I feature in a new book “Significant Figures in Art and Craft Today” (a great honour).
In Shetland I have taught evening classes in crochet, and a few short Fair Isle knitting courses. Demonstrating knitting is always enjoyable. I’ve rarely had the opportunity, or invitation, to teach or demonstrate elsewhere in the UK – disappointing but travelling between Shetland and mainland UK is expensive so I guess that’s one reason for few invitations.

What do you admire most in the knitting community?
Willingness to share ideas.

How did it feel to represent the UK overseas at speed knitting and then to win?
I felt I was representing the many generations of Shetland knitters who had to knit quickly in order to get food for their families. Up till World War II, knitting was bartered at local shops for basics such as tea and sugar. For many families this was their only source of income. The ladies I watched as a young girl were always knitting at speed so it doesn’t seem anything unusual to me.

Will you be competing again, and if so when and where?
If invited I’ll compete again but have no idea when or where.

Shetland Lace

Hi, and thanks for popping by. If this is your first visit, please feel free to browse my blog, comment, follow, request further information etc. I'm open to questions and suggestions as to how I can improve my blog and make it more interesting to you.
Today I'm just going to share with you some details of the next project I have in mind. I'll also be showing you some lovely lace knitting patterns, suggesting a great book on Shetland lace and bringing you a little bowl of colour!!
So let me start with the colour to brighten up the very dull and misty day we have here.
As I mentioned I'm already planning the project I will be doing after I finish my natural coloured Shetland shawl. It's ALMOST finished now and it should be on the stretcher by Sunday at the latest!From there I am planning to make a coloured lace scarf in the "new shale" design. This is what the scarf and pattern look like..........



Now here's my little bowl of colour.....



This particular scarf will have white as the main colour and I'll choose 6 other colours with the white, blended as well as possible to make a nice coloured new shale lace scarf. The colours in the photo have not translated all that well as the lighting today is bad for taking photos indoors. The purple in the middle is a much richer "plummy" purple and the blues are not so "samey" as the photo portrays, but I hope you get the general idea.
This is actually one of the easiest of patterns to knit and was the first one I learned from my mother. If you would like the pattern details please just email me and I'll send them over to you. The scarf when finished measures about 46 inches long.
The pattern comes from a great book called, "The Art of Shetland Lace" by Sarah Don. The book shares the history of Shetland lace knitting, gives basic techniques, shows samples of Shetland lace patterns, some of which I'll share below and also gives knitting instructions for Shetland lace garments. All in all a very informative book and worth having on your shelf for constant reference and inspiration.
Here are four Shetland lace patterns. I'd be interested to know your favourite. You can let me know in a comment below if you like. I'll share some more in my next post.




The first one is "Fern Lace, the next one "Diamond Madeira and 4 Hole Lace", the third one "Lace Cable" which is one of my personal favourites and the Print o' the Wave, a very important pattern to Shetland with it's history of seafaring and fishing.
And isn't this christening gown just adorable.....



I hope something in this post has whetted your appetitie to find out more about Shetland lace knitting. Please ask if you want to know anything. Just click the email icon at the top right of the blog.
Until next time, don't let anyone stitch you up!!!

Three Quarters of the Shawl Finished

I'm very chuffed to say that I've got three quarters of my shawl knitted and I'm quite pleased with how it's looking. I really didn't think when I started it that it would go so well and almost ""boo-hoo"" free!!
Here's a photo......



Today I've been thinking of what I need to get knitted for the local shows this year. Where I live there is a local show that takes place just over our garden fence! Not far to travel to that one. The year before last I came home with 5 rosettes and a trophy. The trophy was for "Best in Show" jam. It was strawberry jam and I think the jar was empty next day!!
Last year I had been ill for several months and didn't manage to get anything made to enter. Hoping this year I'll manage knitwear, chutney, jam, maybe some artwork too. We'll see. The lace shawl and some scarves is my main goal.
Well, I'd better press on. I've got holes to make in some knitting!!See you again soon.
Until then, stretch your boundaries and discover new heights!

Is it a Sheep? No! It's a Horse!!

Well, it's been a busy day. I had the first of my appointments today that I mentioned yesterday. There's something about appointments, even if they're GOOD, that makes me get all worked up and anxious. So, just to ease the stress a little, after the appointment, hubby and I visited a second hand store with a neighbour and look what I came home with!!!



That's right. A rocking horse for the cats!! It also doubles up as a handy 'step' to help them get onto the bedroom window!

Yes, I know I'm daft. But it made me feel really good! Retail therapy for the furries. You can't beat it!

So I'm now off to relax with a book, ready to make noticeable progress with my shawl tomorrow. I may even get a photo of it posted on here.
Stay tuned and keep challenging yourselves to new things. Email me with any photos of your own knitting or wool related hobby and I'll be happy to post them on here if you'd like to share them.
Back soon.

Fair Isle Jumper for Sale

Hi again folks!
For anyone following the progress of the shawl I am knitting in natural shades of Shetland wool, I am happy to report that I am almost finished the third quarter so it may not be too long before it's finished and on the stretcher. But I have several appointments this week that will very annoyingly keep me from my needles!!
However, I would like you to feast your eyes on this gorgeous HAND KNITTED Fair Isle jumper made by my very talented niece Victoria.



Victoria, who is also a brilliant artist, has an exceptional eye for colour blending as this beautiful garment shows. I have never actually seen these colours used together on a Fair Isle jumper before. It is finished to a high standard, both inside and out.
At Victoria's request I am offering this jumper for sale for the very reasonable price of £180. If you do an online search of HAND KNITTED Fair Isle jumpers you will see that they can sell for a much higher price. Machine knitted ones are cheaper for obvious reasons.

The measurements are as follows:-
Underarm to underarm (or as we say in Shetland "oxter to oxter") - 20 inches
Oxter to rib - 14 inches
Back of neck to rib - 26 inches
Oxter to cuff - 21 inches

Here's a closer look at the colours and pattern..........



And I love the way the rib, neck and cuffs are worked..........



The jumper can be sent to anywhere in the world but please contact me if you are interested in buying so I can let you know the postage and packaging cost for your country. And of course because this is a one-off garment it is being sold on a "first come first served" basis so the first person to email me will be given first offer.
Should you have any questions at all please email me by clicking on the sign at the top right hand side of my blog.
Please also let your friends and relatives see this jumper. Someone would LOVE it as a birthday present!! Or even a Valentine gift!
Catch up with you soon. Hopefully with photos of my shawl on the stretcher!
Thank you for popping by. Feel free to leave a comment to say you were here and follow to be kept up to date with all things "woolly Shetland"!
Until next time, keep on clicking!

A Fair Isle Recipe ( Of Sorts!)

Hi again, if this is your first visit to my woolly blog then a very warm welcome. If you are a follower or regular visitor, then thanks for popping by again. You are always welcome back!
Anyone who knows me will be aware of my love of books and my inability to pass by an old Fair Isle garment knitting pattern and I have a great one to share with you today.
Here's the front of it.....



I found this one on a well-known online auction site and just HAD to buy it.
You know how it is!

There are three things I really love about this little leaflet.
First of all, it has those three gorgeous child's beret designs to choose from.
Secondly, there are NO CHARTS!
I know some people are great with knitting charts and even prefer them to knitted instructions, but for me a chart is a little bit like reading ancient history. It's all Greek to me!!!
And finally something that made me smile. I think this is so cute! Look at the picture below and see what they call the 'instructions' for the patterns.....



RECIPES!!!
Isn't that just fab!
I've never seen knitting instructions being called 'recipes' before! But I think it's just so delightful and amusing.

On the back page of the leaflet they advertise 4 other leaflets. Here are the designs for those, plus a close up of the three beret designs.












If you'd like any information on these please email me and I will try to help you out.
I hope you're enjoying my blog posts. Please tell me if there is something in particular you would like me to write about on the subject of Shetland or Fair Isle knitting, wool and sheep.
Until next time, stay on the creative side of the street!!!