a symphony of Shetland shades
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All articles filed in Jamieson and Smith
Houlland
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…
Read MoreA conversation with Gudrun Johnston
Gudrun I recently had a chat with one of my favourite designers, Gudrun Johnston, and thought I’d bring this to you today. I just love Gudrun’s work. She has this knack of producing designs that are are always classic, timeless and wearable, often using stitch patterns (particularly those originating from Shetland) in really innovative and…
Read MoreCockatoo Brae
Yes, you did read that correctly — Cockatoo Brae. This remarkable phrase is, in fact, the name of a lane in Lerwick, Shetland, and it is also the name of the final yoke in my collection. This design emerged from an exciting collaboration with my friend Ella. In Shetland, machine and hand knitting go very…
Read MorePeerie Flooers kits
A happy Beltane to you! It being the time of buds and flowers and new growth, I have today released kits of what is probably my most Spring-like design. Yes, Peerie Flooers is a woolly hat, but this is Scotland and a hat always comes in useful, whatever the season. I think the linchpin of…
Read MoreMachrihanish
I was very excited to have the opportunity to design the Machrihanish vest and always enjoy knitting for Tom, who is its recipient and model. Tom often bemoans the general lack of shaping, and poor fit of men’s garments, so I like to knit him things that are well-fitting. Men’s knitted vest patterns rarely include…
Read MoreEcclefechan Mitts!
Over the past couple of days, quite a few of you have contacted me to ask about the black and white mitts that appeared in the header image at the top of this page. Well, this is my new design — the Ecclefechan Mitts! I was so happy with the photograph that I just couldn’t…
Read MorePuffin Post
One of the many things that makes me very happy as a designer is seeing different interpretations of a sweater I’ve created. I often learn a lot from the modifications knitters make to my patterns, and sometimes a simple change of shade can make a design look like a completely different garment. The Puffin sweater…
Read Moreby demand
The First Footing sock kits sold out much more quickly than expected yesterday – I spent several days packing up kits and felt confident I’d made plenty available… Anyway, because I’ve received numerous requests to publish the pattern individually, I’ve decided to do so, so that you can, if you wish, knit it up right…
Read Morea spencer dress
It is a grey and murky day, but I thought I’d take the opportunity to show you my amazing Spencer dress! You’ll have probably seen that my Shetland friend, Ella, first scored one of these a few weeks ago in the Lerwick saleroom. She was then put in touch with Margaret Stuart, who originally designed…
Read MoreToatie Hottie
It is time to launch the first of my seasonal kits in my online shop! This design is called Toatie Hottie, and, as its name would suggest, it is a mini-hot water bottle cosy. (“Toatie” is Scots for “tiny” and is pronounced to rhyme with “hottie”). The pattern starts with a Turkish cast on, and…
Read MorePort o’ Leith
Here is the third garment in my Edinburgh series – the Port o’ Leith gansey. This garment has twisted stitches and cables, that are reminiscent of maritime nets and rigging. It also features a deep, cowl-like collar, which is great for warding off North sea winds. . . . but which is also detachable, for…
Read MoreLayter – a celebration of sheep and wool
In case you haden’t noticed, today is the first of WOVEMBER! I thought I’d begin the month by showing you a garment that, like no other I can think of, truly celebrates the glorious variety of British sheep and wool. It was designed by my good friend and fellow WOVEMBERIST, Felicity Ford, AKA, Felix. This…
Read MoreUrsulas
I always find it exciting when different iterations of my patterns are posted on Ravelry. This is particularly the case when knitters’ colour choices and personal modifications really transform the look of a design. Some amazing Ursulas have begun to appear which, because they have a completely different feel to my original, and also because…
Read Morehat at Hermaness
I’ve had a lot of queries about Peerie Flooers over the past few days, so here are a couple more photos of the particular hat in question. After being approached by the wardrobe folk involved with Shetland, I knitted up this new sample especially for the production. I remember knitting it over the May bank…
Read MoreSixareen Cape
While we were in the Highlands, we took the opportunity to photograph a design I’ve had ready for a while: the Sixareen Cape. I started knitting this Fair Isle wrap last October. You may remember that at that time I’d just designed a hat especially for Shetland wool week (The Sixareen Kep) using Jamieson and…
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KDD & Co 