Tag Archives: jamieson’s of shetland

Da Crofters Kep.

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We’re so excited about “Da Crofters Kep,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2021!

“Da Crofters Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, shown in Colourway 1.

This six-color fair isle hat is currently available as a free pattern download from the Shetland Wool Week website. A new Shetland Wool Week hat pattern is something I look forward to every year, so I downloaded it as soon as it was available, and then went straight to our Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift to play the color game. I spent some time putting together five color combinations, inspired by the five colorways shown in the pattern.

“Da Crofters Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, shown in Colourway 2. © shetland wool week

“Da Crofters Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, shown in Colourway 3. © shetland wool week

“Da Crofters Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, shown in Colourway 4. © shetland wool week

“Da Crofters Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, shown in Colourway 5. © shetland wool week

Yarn bundles for “Da Crofters Kep” are $48.30 – 7 balls of Shetland Spindrift (2 in the main color, and 1 each in 5 contrast colors) at $6.90 per ball. We just got a fresh delivery of Shetland Spindrift with this project in mind, so all five colourways are currently in stock – get in touch if you’d like to order yarn for a “Da Crofters Kep” of your own!

New year’s eve.

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What are you working on as 2020 comes to an end? Anne and I have closed up shop for the day, and we’ll be closed tomorrow, Jan. 1, as well. Now’s the time for rest, year-end contemplation, and knitting, of course – here’s a peek at our current projects.

Anne has been busy stitching for her grandchildren all year, and is closing in on this intricate lace pullover, “Leaf Sweater for Kids.”

She’s using a semisolid shade of Malabrigo Sock, which shows off the lace pattern beautifully. I’m looking forward to seeing it after blocking!

I’ve started another “Stasis” pullover, a replacement for one of my most loved sweaters, which I’ve worn out and mended several times – you can see it here, in a long ago show-and-tell blog post. For my second “Stasis,” I’m using a marled shade of Brooklyn Tweed Loft as my main color, and assorted bits and pieces of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for my contrast colors. It took a bit of sketching and swatching to get to this particular arrangement of colors, which was good fun in and of itself. Below are my first and second drafts, and above is what I settled on.

 

Your kindness and support have meant the world to us this year – wishing health and happiness to you and yours in 2021!

Pom Pom Quarterly: Autumn 2020.

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The Autumn 2020 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly has arrived here at the shop!

This issue is guest edited by Ocean Rose, who chose the theme “home,” so appropriate for the season any year, but especially this year. For safety and also in keeping with the theme, the folks at Pom Pom had models take their own photos at home, and the results are truly beautiful.

The cover sweater is a striking intarsia pullover by Sylvia Watts-Cherry, knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Pick up this issue for essays by Sukrita Mahon and Elliot Maud, designs by Tressa Weidenaar, Audrey Borrego, thepetiteknitter, and others, and even a spectacular cheesecake recipe!

Pom Pom Quarterly is $18.50 – order online and we can ship it to you, or you can come by to pick it up here at the shop! Along with this issue, we also have the Summer 2019, Autumn 2019, Spring 2020, and Summer 2020 issues in stock – preview them on our blog and get in touch if you’d like to add them to your Pom Pom collection!

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland.

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The appetite for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and colorwork knitting in general seems to be growing, if our frequent Jamieson’s orders are any indication. We recently unpacked yet another big box of Shetland Spindrift, a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool, which has brought our selection up to 160+ colors at the moment!

It’s fitting, then that Marie Wallin’s Shetland is back in stock! This exquisite book is full of intricate fair isle designs in a kaleidoscopic array of colors, all knit with the quintessential Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. We still have a couple of copies of her newest book, Meadow, as well.

What else to make with Shetland Spindrift? Two knitters we know have recently completed colorwork hats with it, an excellent use of one of our favorite yarns.

Above is Sue’s “Roadside Beanie,” knit during a recent class here at the shop. Below is Joanne’s “Alba.” Both of these knitters have become somewhat smitten with Shetland Spindrift, developing collections of the stuff for colorwork swatching and projects, and they’re not alone – give it a try and see if you don’t feel the same way!

Look for Shetland on the teacart here at the shop, amidst piles of new books and magazines, full of inspiration for new projects, and you’ll find Shetland Spindrift in our fingering weight section. See you there!

Show and tell: colorwork hats.

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We love to see finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and when I’m able, I love to photograph them and share them here on the blog. At the moment, I have enough photos stockpiled for at least four blog posts – let’s begin with colorwork hats!

Kerry designed and knit the “Rionnag Hat” above with Tukuwool Fingering, a match for her “Rionnag Cowl” pattern.

Above is Peggy’s “Selbu Modern,” knit with Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering. This high contrast combination of navy and cream is so striking, and really pairs well with the repeating motif.

Kate knit this “Slalom Ski Hat” with Kelbourne Woolens Andorra, another high contrast combination well suited to the graphic motif at hand.

Nancy knit this “Frances Hat” with Swans Island All American Sport, a good example of the lovely effect that semisolid hand dyed yarn has on a colorwork project.

Our Nancy does love colorwork – here’s another hat she knit, the “Roadside Beanie” in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. She taught a class on this one, which means I expect to see more “Roadside Beanies” as they come off her students’ needles – always fun to see variations on a theme.

Thanks to the knitters, crocheters, and weavers who bring in their work to show us what they’ve made! You inspire and amaze us, and we can’t wait to see what you get into next. Keep an eye on this blog for more show-and-tell soon!

Show and tell: colorful shawls.

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We love seeing what folks are making with yarn from our shop. When we choose the yarns we want to carry, test driving them in swatches and discussing their qualities, we’re thinking always of how our clientele might use them. Our knitters and crocheters come up with projects even lovelier than we can foresee, however – let’s look at some show and tell!

Elsebeth knit this mosaic and lace shawl with Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply, a fingering weight yarn that’s hand-dyed in painterly, low-contrast colorways. The pattern is “Laurelie,” by Lisa Hannes.

Here’s another Lisa Hannes design, “Right Around the Corner,” knit by Cindy. Though the pattern calls for fingering weight yarn, Cindy chose Fibre Co. Arranmore Light, a DK weight, preferring the cohesive fabric it makes at this gauge.

Tom knit this textured shawl with Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 01, a naturally-dyed Rambouillet wool with sharp stitch definition. The pattern is “Bradway,” by Shannon Cook.

Below is Robin’s “Entrelac Shawl,” knit with Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Starke 6, a self-striping yarn.

She taught a class here at our shop on this project, an unusually delicate example of entrelac, knit loosely for maximum drape.

Linda knit this “Efflorescent” shawl during a class here at our shop, following Felicity Ford’s pattern but adding a clever lining and closure at the neck.

She knit it with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, a fingering weight wool that’s perfectly suited to steeked colorwork projects like this one.

Thanks to Elsebeth, Cindy, Tom, Robin, and Linda for sharing their shawls with us! Keep an eye out for even more show and tell soon.

Roadside Beanie kits.

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The shop is buzzing with excitement about the “Roadside Beanie,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2019. Nancy will be teaching a class on it, and we’ve just made up kits in several colorways with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

The pattern shows the hat in four different Shetland yarns, including one in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. I’ve made up several kits in the suggested Shetland Spindrift colorway, another in shades similar to the Jamieson & Smith colorway, and two more of Anne’s design – shades of gray with pops of blue or purple.

Come by the shop to pick out a kit, or select your own color combination – we keep over 100 shades of Shetland Spindrift in stock, so the possibilities are plentiful.

See you there!

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland Spindrift.

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The appetite for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and colorwork knitting in general seems to be growing, if our frequent Jamieson’s orders are any indication. This weekend brought another big box of Shetland Spindrift our way, a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool.

We usually keep around 110 colors in stock, an awe-inspiring selection that we display in big trays, so you can see them all clearly. Because the yarn is so well-suited to stranded colorwork knitting, Jamieson’s makes a staggering 220 colors, and we are happy to special order any of them for you if you don’t see what you’re looking for on our shelves.

We have several patterns in stock for Shetland Spindrift, like Sandy Blue’s “Autumn Tam” and “Midnight Sun Tam,” Churchmouse’s “Wee Wooly Sheep,” and Janine Bajus’s “Redbud” vest.

This yarn is also popular for Gudrun Johnston’s “Bousta Beanie,” a featured pattern for Shetland Wool Week in 2017. This year’s SWW pattern also calls for Shetland Spindrift, and we’re busy putting kits together to make it – more on that soon!

Now for a bit of show and tell – here’s Nancy’s “Efflorescent” shawl, knit with Shetland Spindrift as a sample for a class she offered here at the shop last year. The pattern is from Felicity Ford’s KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Playbook, which is bursting with colorful inspiration, along with techniques and patterns. Nancy has graciously lent us the shawl for display, so you can see this work of art in person at our shop.

Kathryn wove this incredible guitar strap on an inkle loom, using Isager Bomuld and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Kate came in recently wearing her newest sweater, Leila Raabe’s “Stasis” pullover, knit with Shetland Spindrift in the colors Eggshell and Teviot, a charming combination. She made a few modifications for a perfect fit and is rightfully pleased with the outcome – well done, Kate!

Thanks to Nancy, Kathryn, and Kate for sharing their handiwork, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to our shop! Look for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in the fingering weight section  – we can’t wait to see what you make with it!

New year’s eve.

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2018 was a big year for us here at the shop, full of exciting new yarns, books, tools, projects, and classes. We won the title of “Best Yarn Store” in the Triangle for the third year in a row, celebrated our twelfth year in business, and worked every day toward our goal of bringing the best quality yarns and information to the wonderful community of knitters, crocheters, and weavers that we feel lucky to serve.

On this last day of 2018, I spent the morning mending a hole in one of my most-worn sweaters. The pattern is “Cockatoo Brae,” from Kate Davies’ Yokes, a book I still want to knit in its entirety, four years after its initial publication. I knit this sweater with the super-sturdy Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, but three years of very frequent use can wear down even the strongest fibers, so I couldn’t blame the yarn when a hole popped up in the armpit.

It took only a few minutes of duplicate stitch and creative weaving in of ends to make my cardigan wearable again, a pleasing and empowering result indeed. Here’s to the promise of a new year and new projects, and here’s to mending and using what we already are so lucky to have. Happy new year!

 

A reminder: the shop will be closed Tuesday, January 1, 2019, but we open again at our regular business hours on Wednesday. See you then!

Show and tell: colorwork accessories.

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Time for another round of show and tell! Colorful knitting projects are popular around here – I had enough colorwork hats to fill a recent blog post, and now I’m back with other colorwork accessories.

Is a stuffed chicken an accessory? Whatever category it belongs in, Amy’s “Fancy Hen” is adorable, and beautifully knit. In preparation for a class on the subject earlier this year, she knit this charming chicken with Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK, a yarn well-suited to stranded colorwork.

Ellen knit these intricate colorwork mittens with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. The pattern is from Jorid Linvik’s Big Book of Knitted Mittens, a great resource if colorwork mittens are your cup of tea. A cute pair of mittens is a great starting place for learning and practicing stranded knitting, just like a hat or any small accessory.

Here’s Margie in her “Fresco Crescent” shawl, by Kieran Foley. This shawl is an impressive combination of knitting techniques from lace and stranded knitting to intarsia, stripes, and beading.

She used Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in a big palette of neutrals, reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, working these colors intuitively into the piece as she went, rather than planning it all out ahead of the knitting.

Gwen’s “Hudson” shawl, by Shannon Cook, is a simpler design of stripes and lace, but no less striking. Gwen’s color choice in Ewe Ewe Baa Baa Bulky is particularly eye-catching; she knit it to wear to a spring wedding and finished just in the nick of time.

Karin knit not one, but two pairs of Rachel Coopey’s “Alfrick” socks, using Coopey’s own CoopKnits Socks Yeah! yarn for both projects.

Thanks as always to the talented knitters who shared their work here today, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. I’ve got even more colorwork show-and-tell in store for the coming weeks – stay tuned!