January Deco & Epistropheid February Winning Microbusiness of the Year! Miss Rachel’s Yoke and Gauntlets March Funyin; Edinburgh Yarn Fest April Work in Shetland. May The Book of Haps June Pink fish mittens ; knitting with Bruce July Woman’s Hour interview at the BBC; trip to France August Return to Shetland. Photography, writing and designing.…
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As you know, I photographed my Moder Dy design on a beautiful vintage hap stretcher that I borrowed from my friend Anne Eunson. In Shetland, such stretchers have been used for well over a century to block haps and shawls ready for sale, as well as for their knitters’ own domestic use. (washing and dressing…
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Martina Behm will be well known to all of you as the creator of many beautiful shawls that have been made and enjoyed by thousands of knitters all over the world. Often working with garter stitch and using innovative techniques to create interesting shapes that wrap in multiple ways about the body, Martina’s designs seem,…
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There are so many things I admire about talented Hélène Magnusson, but perhaps most particularly her completely joined-up approach to sheep, wool, yarn production, textile history, and contemporary knitwear design. All these elements are to the fore in the very special hap Hélène has created for our collection, a Hapisk – whose name as well…
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It is no secret that I am a big fan of Hazel Tindall. I first met Hazel during a visit to Shetland in Wool Week, 2011, when I took a class with her on Fair Isle knitting. I often think about that afternoon, and the profound effect it had on me. Hazel talked to us…
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Today’s hap is by talented Edinburgh-based Lucy Hague, and you can read Lucy’s fascinating account of the inspiration behind it over on Jen’s blog. When we asked Lucy to contribute to The Book of Haps, I knew she’d create something really special. Combining cables and lace in an intricate but highly structured way, Lucy’s Uncia…
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Today’s hap is a rather special one. It is the work of Shetland designer, Donna Smith, who you may know as the patron of Shetland Wool Week, 2015, and the creator of the famous Baa-ble hat. Donna’s hap was inspired by her great auntie Emma Isbister, a wonderful knitter, who has been making Shetland haps…
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Today’s hap is Lang Ayre by Gudrun Johnston, who is interviewed over on Jen’s blog today. As you probably know, Gudrun was born in, and has close family ties to Shetland. She’s very well-known for her beautiful hap designs, and she was top of my list of must-ask contributors for this book! One of the…
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Today’s hap is designed by talented Veera Välimäki, whose interview you can read over on Jen’s blog today. Veera is one of a very small group of designers whose knitterly aesthetic is, I think, immediately recognisable. I admire her work deeply, perhaps most of all for its elegant simplicity, and the way that she manages…
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Today’s hap is a particular pleasure for me to introduce, as it was created by my dear friend, Tom van Deijnen (aka Tom of Holland), using my own Buachaille yarn. Tom’s hexagonal, modular Hexa Hap is just so very him. Spinning the customary borders-centre construction of Shetland haps in a completely new direction, it combines…
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Today’s hap is a symphony in intarsia from inventive designer, Bristol Ivy. Bristol is interviewed today over on Jen’s blog, where you can read more about her creative ethos, and why you don’t need to be intimidated by intarsia. Bristol’s Harewood hap is one of the designs in this collection that made me gasp when…
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Today I have the very great pleasure of introducing one of my favourite designers. Rosemary (Romi) Hill is someone whose work I have admired for a very long time, and towards whom I feel one of those interesting affinities that are the happy consequence of working online in the digital age. Romi’s medium is lace,…
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So this is my design for The Book of Haps! You can read a wee interview with me about it over on Jen’s blog today, but I thought I should say a little more about it here. I have been wanting to make a Shetland hap for quite some time, and before I did so,…
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O hap-py day! The Book of Haps launches today! And we are now open for pre-orders! During the pre-order period, Jen and I will be revealing (and discussing) one hap design each day. The haps in the book are wonderfully varied, but each was similarly inspired by some aspect of their designers’ everyday lives: from…
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Hello! If you’ve signed up to my newsletter, you’ll now know that we’ve set a date to open pre-orders for The Book of Haps, which is next Thursday, May 19th! By that time, the book will be at the printers. Opening sales a few days prior to the arrival of the book allows us to…
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A few weeks ago, I visited the home of the UK Knitting and Crochet Guild – a fantastic organisation that exists to support and promote the crafts of knitting and crochet. The KCG is supported entirely by charitable donation, and is staffed by a group of wonderful volunteers, who administer a growing international membership; organise…
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KDD & Co 