We're moving

Well actually, we've already moved... over to the other side... Wordpress.

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Launching...

A lovely shiny new book with 15 knitting projects in Real Shetland Wool by 14 designers. 

Introduction by Kate Davies, tech editing by Jen Arnall-Culliford, interior and cover design by Laura Palumbo and photography by Dave Donaldson. 

We'll be launching the book digitally, shortly but there are only a limited amount of real live glossy versions here.

The book is available worldwide, including the USA. As a special launch offer, UK postage on the book is free until this Friday 21st October 2011.

You can see each of the kits for Knit Real Shetland here.

Eeek, we're so excited. Will post images of the launch where Kate Davies, Masami Yokoyama, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Mary Kay, Sandra Manson, Gudrun Johnston, Lesley Smith, Joyce Ward and Hazel Tindall joined us on Friday night at the Shetland Museum. 

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PS. If you're a retailer and would like to stock Knit Real Shetland, please contact us at sales@shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk

New pieces

Some special releases from the Jamieson & Smith archive, because it the company's 65th birthday! 

And some new designs...

Specially for Shetland Wool Week 2011. 

1 Eva Shawl 2 Fischou 3 Yuglet Socks 4 Yuglet Hat 5 Harpa Gansey 6 Winter Yoke  7 St. Ninian's Scarf 7 Eid Top

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65, and feeling fresh.

Wool Week is here

We've been very quiet in the run up to Shetland Wool Week, but now that it's here we're hoping to get lots of posts in.

Last night there was a felting class here at Jamieson & Smith with Norwegian artist Karin Flatoy Svarstad.

Place the Shetland Combed Tops ever so carefully, then add some spelsau for the sea, then destroy it all with water and roll roll roll until VOILA, a beautiful 'wool watercolour', as Karin calls it.

And here's my (rather flustered) attempt - with the dark Shetland winter in mind. 

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PS. Have you seen Sheep Heid. It's possibly the most brilliant piece of genius I've seen in a little while. Kate triumphs again!

Bookshop

Some new books we added today:

Sasha and Gudrun's books are particularly gorgeous - drooling style.

Shetland Wool Week

Shetland Daisies

We're delighted to have put a kit together for Shetland Daisies by Kieran Foley of Knit/Lab. 

Ooooh. Lovely, no?

The design combines intarsia, stranding and lace stitches. After drooling over Kieran's images for a while, we've decided that this combination of different techniques makes Shetland Daisies even lovelier because it's challenging in a way that makes you consider the colours and stitches, and revel in the finished piece (while everyone else goes green).

Wool (2 Ply Jumper Weight) here, and Kieran's beautiful pattern here.

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Stitch Stools

And here they are... Stitch Stools made of Jamieson & Smith 2 Ply Jumper Weight by Claire-Anne O'Brien.

Go see at Wool Modern, La Galleria, Pall Mall, London.

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We're at Wool Modern

If you're lucky enough to be in London, go check out Wool Modern at Pall Mall.

Jamieson & Smith are there, as part of a collaboration with Claire-Anne O'Brien. We'll come back with some images of her beautiful work. Also exhibited is pieces by Maison Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. 

The exhibition is part of the Campaign for Wool and will tour Berlin, Shanghai, the US and Tokyo.

Oh I wish we could teleport ourselves down to have a look. If you go, leave us a comment and let us know how it was...

Jeannie and Nan

Jeannie Shewan and Nan Anderson, at Easthouse, Tangwick. c.1930s.

Now get those photos/memories in so that the museum has more records like these, and you might win the best bed in the world! Only 9 days left to find a photo that relates to Shetland's wool, textiles and/or sheep and tell us a little about it - a knitting pattern, a garment, a person, a place, a journey. 

Remember that your photo can be from the photo library, just like Jeannie and Nan. 

Photo Courtesy of Shetland Museum and Archives.

Unst and Harrogate

The prize winning coloured Shetland Sheep at the very wet Unst show last Saturday.

We're off to Harrogate for the British Wool Weekend this weekend, so come and say hello if you're around. Hopefully be back with lots of photos from the show - yay!

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A knitting castle

Work is beginning on the renovations of Brough Lodge, a nineteenth century estate on the Shetland island of Fetlar. It's stunning and everything - both the building itself and it's beautiful surroundings feel a little bit unreal, like something from a fairytale - but that's not the whole reason we're mentioning it to you...

One day Brough Lodge will be a knitting retreat. Yup, a place to cosy up for an entire holiday and knit. We've been speaking about this with the people behind the project, Pierre and Deborah (Deborah is a lovely knitter herself). The pair have the most amazing and inspiring vision for the place that includes knitting workshops and residencies. Plans are to finish the building to an exceptionally high standard in terms of materials, design and furnishings to create a place that you just won't want to ever leave.

The project is a big one - and it needs support. The house is in need of major repairs and there's a long way to go before it's a luxury knitting escape in the wilds. We can hardly wait for that point, so Jamieson & Smith are sponsoring the project. Individuals can also donate to the project here. Please do. Your name is kept on record as a supporter of the project. And if you're really keen, they are also looking for a patron who the Lodge will be named after... How cool is that?!

http://www.justgiving.com/broughlodge/Donate

Dispatch

Part of a load of wool waiting to go out for processing. The numbers scrawled on each 275kg (roughly) bale identify the grade of wool, as well as the local wool grower it came from. These identifiers stay with the wool right through all stages of the process, both electronically and in huge marker pen, so we know who and where it came from. All we need now is a computer genius who can give us a system to let customers trace their products back to the origin, Original Beans style. Anybody?!

The photo was taken by Stuart when our first load of the season went out (which feels like forever ago now because we've put a few out since!). Stuart is back for the summer being indispensible in the wool store and just generally keeping us all entertained. He's off to the mainland for a week doing architecture stuff, and is apparently missing the rock already:

I finally got yun photo aff my phone if do wants it.

P.S. Canna wait tae get back....am so fed up.

Aaww!

The Cunningsburgh Show

    

A mammoth photo post of the Cunningsburgh Show this Wednesday. 

1.Entrance to the Wool tent  2, 3, 4.Oliver's fleece judging skills put to the test again 5, 6, 7. Some prize winning Shetland Sheep 8. Charlie Simpson and a herring feast 9. Cool footgear and a woolly dog 10, 11. More beautiful Shetland Sheep posing for the camera 12. Tractor love 13, 14. Elizabeth Johnson of Shetland Handspun's beautiful things 15 and 16. Yummy wool in the sun (which decided to make an appearance after weeks of grey, woop woop). 

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