Award-winning Scottish publishing and design
Sometimes there is nothing better than being a beginner: nothing better than learning something new, completely from scratch. To explain: back in September, I had the pleasure of spending some time in the studio of weaver Belinda Rose, as part of my residency with Applied Arts Scotland (which involves developing a wonderful project with some…
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On our way to North Uist and Berneray a few months ago, we stopped off in Skye to say hello to Kirsty, who now runs Shilasdair, the Isle of Skye natural dye company. I first visited Shilasdair – when it was run by natural-dyeing legend, Eva Lambert, in its old home on the Waternish peninsula…
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Today, I’m delighted to introduce Melanie Berg as the next participant in our European Yarn Community conversations. Melanie is a German designer whose work will, I’m sure, be already very much admired by many of you. Melanie is best known for her shawls, but she also creates gorgeous modern garments, and everything she makes is…
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Hello, everyone, it’s Kate here – to introduce a new series of conversations on the KDD blog. I was born in 1973, a year after the Treaty of Accession paved the way for Britain’s entry into the European Union. Both sides of my family are shaped by histories of European immigration, and as a teenager,…
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Are you a beginner knitter who is wary of lace shawls? Does the very idea of putting holes in your knitting scare you? Or does a lace shawl just appear too complicated a thing for you to consider attempting? Well, Footfall – the latest pattern release from Bold Beginner Knits – offers you a deceptively…
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I’m very excited to reveal a wonderful new shade of Milarrochy Tweed yarn.
Introducing Cowslip.
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I find it fascinating how a different set of colours can change the feel of a garment. Here’s the Weel Riggit pullover, in four very different shades of our lovely new Àrd Thìr yarn . . Camusdarach (grey); Firemore (mauve-ish); Kintra (dusky pink) and Husinis (khaki-ish). This palette creates a softly muted gradient – very…
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Like many people, I think, this style of warm, hard-wearing and definitively wintery sweater fills me with a very particular kind of nostalgia. I first saw sweaters of this kind when I was eighteen, and went away to University. There I encountered a very particular kind of student who wore this type of sweater –…
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It’s yarn launch day! Let me introduce Àrd Thìr: our new aran (heavy worsted) weight yarn in a range of beautiful shades that have been inspired by the Scottish winter landscape. Our winter landscape is often thought to be drained of colour, but if you look carefully, you’ll discover a mix of many interesting shades:…
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Hello, everyone Things have been a bit quiet around here – largely because I’m busy working on the Knitting Season club. As well as the designs, the club involves a 12-week essay series (a course, if you like) exploring a range of different approaches to creative practice. These essays are polemical, and are meant to…
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Back in the spring, I knew my ten year owliversary was coming up, so I decided to knit myself a new owl sweater. These photographs were taken while we were in Berneray, back in May. It’s quite weird seeing myself with my ‘old’ hair – I suppose that must mean I’m now completely used to…
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Back in 2015, when Tom left academia and began working with me, I took a decision to only design with my own yarns. The reasons for this should be obvious: I’d taken a huge risk developing and investing in Buachaille. Buachaille was what I hoped would enable us to shift from a single-person enterprise to…
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