It has been something of a hectic week here. Tom and I have had our heads down completing our new book, which, all being well, will go to the printers next week. The title we’ve settled on is Shetland Oo: Wool, Textiles Work, and those of you who were keen on the idea of a…
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Thanks so much for your feedback on yesterday’s poll! I found the results really interesting and illuminating, but also somewhat troubling, as I wasn’t completely sure that all respondents had a full sense of what Shetland Oo is actually about. We are currently working on two projects. The first, Shetland Oo, marks an interesting departure for us as…
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It’s been an interesting (and busy) couple of weeks. Tom has been travelling around Shetland, finalising the photography for our new book, and I’ve been here, at home, working. Without Tom, I’ve a tendency to go a bit feral. I eat whatever happens to be in the cupboard, I leave things lying around with no…
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So this is the new project we are working on which has (until today) been very much under wraps! It has been on our minds for some time now for Tom to pursue a project exploring the documentary photography he particularly enjoys. . . and what better subject than a place we dearly love, and…
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Hello! We’ve been away! camping in one of my all-time favourite places . . . exploring some new-to-us spots . . . and meeting some inspiring people. Though we were having fun in Shetland (as we always do) this was a working week, and the inspirational folk were the reason why we were there. We’ve…
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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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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 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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It is Jen’s day! Hip Hap Hooray! When we began working on this project last year, Jen (Jen Arnall-Culliford) and I spent a considerable time musing on the brief that we sent out to designers. Haps were originally functional, working garments, and so we decided that the designers’ basic remit would be to create an…
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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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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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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 