As I came home from Shetland, Katherine Montgomery (right, with Kathy Coull’s dog, Rufus) flew into the Fair Isle for 10 days.  Here is her report so far!

 

“The flight over to Fair Isle was right on time.  It was lovely flying under the clouds looking down on the crofts below on the southern Mainland and then watching shafts of sunlight stab the sea through breaks in the clouds up ahead.  Suddenly, Fair Isle is before you with Sheep Rock rising majestically out of the sea.  Circling around the island to land we got a good glimpse of the new Bird Observatory which looks much more impressive than the old one with lots or roof peaks and windows.

“Kathy’s croft was reassuringly much the same.  Early on I had to check on the current animal population.   The cats all look well-fed.  Rufus is as wild and crazy as ever.  Hens now provide fresh eggs for the table.  And there are some really nice coloured sheep in the field by the house.  These guys must know I’ve got my eye on their fleeces!

“Then, of course, I had to check on the current population of spinning wheels which has grown since I was here—they have a way of doing that, don’t they?

 

“It’s so hard to choose which one to try first, but  the fine Shetland fleece from J&S certainly cries out for a little Shetland spinney, maybe the 100th one made by long-time  resident Stewart Thompson.  This wheel (right) belongs to Kathy, and is named Annie, after Stewart’s wife.

(Stewart has made a new wheel out of wood from the old and new Bird Observatory; it will be auctioned off to raise money for the building.   You’ll be among the first to know when and where—what an opportunity to have a chance to buy a S. Thompson Fair Isle wheel!)

“Today we are getting started on putting together the new weaving shed and loom so I’m not sure how much spinning I’ll actually get done.  The days are short now, though, so there’s lots of time in the evenings.  It’s so unlike summer in Fair Isle with the simmer dim, almost round the clock daylight.  Fair Isle at any time of year is special.”

The time has gone so quickly.  Katherine left early this morning for the Fair Isle, and I leave at lunch time for home…

The past couple of days we have spent going south and east, in each case to visit old friends.

Doreen Brown is an Orcadian married to a Geordie who has lived in Shetland for many years!   She has a small machine knitting business and her sense of colour as fantastic – as is her welcome to the folk that go down to the shop attached to her house near the airport.  In the shop she not only has knitwear for sale, but a couple of cabinets of old lace beautifully displayed.  I love going to see it!

Going east was breaking new ground for me.  My old friend Margaret Peterson has recently moved to Nesting, an area off the main road going north that I had never been to.  She gave us excellent directions to her house, but when we got there, the sign said something different and the map something different again, so we did an extra loop before getting back to the right place.  She had said her house looked over the water – trouble was, there were so many bits of water about….!  The view from her house, looking west across a voe to the hills beyond, was fantastic.

I hadn’t seen Margaret for a couple of years, so it was great to be able to catch up.  She had invited us to lunch and we had the most beautiful Shetland lamb.  (Yep – see the sheep, spin the fleece, eat the animal!!)

And the really good news is that she has agreed to come down to Orkney to teach a week of workshops on fine spinning and lace knitting in the last week in May. The exact details are still to be worked out, but it should be a fascinating week.

So having stocked up with yarn and fleece at J&S, yesterday we went over the hills to Sandness, heading for  Jamieson’s mill.

Woolly life in Shetland is definitely more complicated than it could be, due to the names of the two main yarn companies!!  Jamieson and Smith is one; Jamieson is the other.  Jamieson and Smith is basically the same as Shetland Wool Brokers, and is generally called J&S.  Jamieson’s (pronounced Jimmy-son) is a different company.  J&S do 2 ply jumper weight as their main 4 ply/fingering weight;  Jamieson’s does Spindrift.

(And as you are going to ask, both companies produce excellent yarns, and I use both.  They are not the same – they do feel different.  Of the  fingerings, I prefer J&S yarn but Jamieson’s have a wider colour palette….  For lace knitting, J&S have much the better yarns, while for arans, Jamieson have a wider colour range.  J&S tops are fantastic for spinning as well as dyeing and felting.  Jamieson’s carded fibre is coloured and great for felting, but doesn’t spin well.)

Jamieson have their spinning mill over on the ‘West Side’, about 25 miles from Lerwick.  The drive over is spectacular in all weathers – sun, rain, fog….  I have done them all!  This time it was a bit windy, but not gales, and a bit rainy, but not constant.

Once you are out of Lerwick and beyond Weisdale, the road gets narrower, first with sections of single track, and then beyond the turning for Walls, all narrow single track with passing places.  There are several miles without habitation, just peat with stony outcrops and shallow bits of water which dry up if there is no rain for a bit.  Sheep live here, but not much else.

Then you start to come down off the hill to the west coast, with its border of (relatively) good, green farmland, and the village of Sandness.

Jamieson’s not only spin their yarn at the mill but they also make garments from that wool and do some of the finishing there.  (The rest is done in Lerwick.)  As the knitting machines sometimes drop a stitch, or go wrong in others ways, they have scrap pieces which they sell for felting or whatever.  They also have carded ‘remains’ for felting.  This is what we had come for.

We are, as they say, not disappointed!  A huge great box of knitted bits for foraging in.  It is always pot luck as to whether they have any, and if they do, what colours.  This time we had plenty of choice.  We were given a big black plastic sack and told to get on with it.  We did!!

Katherine and I shared one bag quite happily.  These ‘mistakes’ used to be waste, but since Burra Bears came on the scene, there has been a trend towards using the pieces for a variety of projects.  Very eco-friendly, and fun…

I also wanted some of their carded remains.  This is not nice for spinning, but great for felting.  I have several colours at home and wanted more for use in workshops next year.  Again I was lucky – they had some lovely colours.

Once we got back to the flat, we emptied the bag onto the floor and picked out our own:

Now all I have to do is get it all in my case….

One of the joys of visiting Shetland is a trip to the J&S shop.  I know I go on about it, but really, the yarn, the tops…

And at this time of year The Fleece.  Over the past couple of months this year’s wool clip has been arriving at J&S.  (It is officially known as Shetland Wool Brokers after all…)  So the sheds are piled high and Oliver Henry and his team are very busy.

Oliver Henry in the 'white' sorting shed with a 'Very Fine' fleece

The smell of the fresh fleece was wafting through to the shop when we were in there on Wednesday, and Sandra, who mans the shop, suggested we might like to see the sheds.  Before we could answer she had gone off to find Oliver, and that was us for quite a while!

Oliver Knows everything about Shetland sheep and their fleece.  And I mean EVERYTHING!  He knows their history (dates off pat), their lifestyle, and, most of all, their fleece.  Each year it is Oliver who judges the fleece at the Shetland show, and it is Oliver who decides which of the fleeces coming in to the shed come in to the coveted ‘Very Fine’ category.  Fleece is not only his job, but his passion.

Oliver explaining to Katherine the criteria for the 'Very Fine' catagory

As he showed us the differences between the different grades of fleece, he told us of the report done on the Shetland sheep in 1794, and how that explained there were two types of fleece. Most of the sheep were quite ‘coarse woolled’ but there were a small percentage which were ‘kindly-woolled’.  These tended to be kept out of sight, as their fleece was so highly prized.  The report said that the farmers’ wives would use this wool for spinning the very fine yarns for knitting lace.

A coarser fleece

Oliver went on to show us examples of the Very Fine against the lower grades.  Only the Very Fine and Fine go in to the yarns for knitting; other grades were of less use, but now are used for carpets.  (The first roll is now in the shop and they are expecting delivery of five more rolls shortly.)  He also explained that sheep which have lived out on the hills have a fleece with blue-tinged tips before it is washed, whereas ‘parkland’ sheep have browner tips.

At the Wool Brokers, it isn’t just the whole fleece which is graded, but the wool within a fleece is graded.  As spinners know, the neck and shoulders tend to have the finest wool on any sheep, with the back end, or britch, being coarser.  Each fleece is manually checked over before being put into the correct area to be bagged up and sent off for processing.

Oliver at the sorting table

Each year, Oliver keeps some fleeces for hand spinners.  These are the best fleeces – he knows what spinners require from a Shetland fleece!  The white is usually the very finest, but some coloured fleeces are very, very fine too.  I wanted some white, and Katherine hankered after some mioget.  Oliver said that he would look some out for us and it would be ready for us when we came back later.

The coloured fleece store

And what awaited us when we arrived??  A bag of fleece each.

Now, I am used to good fleece.  I am used to exceptionally good fleece.  I am used to fine fleece.  I am used to exceptionally fine fleece.  But this….!!

Inspecting our fleece back at Kathy Coull's flat

As mine is white, you can see the blue in the tips – definitely a hill fleece.  The crimp is tight and fine, ending in ‘sneuds’ – the clumped tips which come apart at a touch.

The colours in Katherine’s is wonderful – changing from tip to cut end.  Hers is a ‘park’ fleece, and so has no peat.

Katherine's fleece - colour 'mioget'

Although I can show you pix, you cannot feel the softness, or smell that fresh, sheepy smell!  You will have to take our word for that….

I have three legs on which I stand

I have four maids at my command

I go much faster than a mill

And yet my feet are standing still.

 

What am I??

I heard that today from a Shetland wheel maker, Hamish Polson of Yell, when Katherine and I went to pick up some bobbins for her wheel, and to order mine!  The answer is, of course, a spinning wheel.  He heard the rhyme from an old man when he was a boy, and has remembered it ever since.

I was hoping Hamish would have a space in his schedule to make me a wheel, and he has.  It will be made in sycamore, a beautiful, almost white wood.  It will be a Shetland ‘spinney’ – ie an upright – and should be ready for the spring.  After I have helped him send wheels to Iceland and the States, the idea is that this one will be picked up from his home!

I had met Hamish before, and I had spoken to his wife, Ruby, on several occasions on the phone. But this was the first time she and I had actually met.  They live in a house on a steep slope, overlooking the sea, on the island of Yell (about a quarter the way up for those who know the island).

Last night I had arranged with Ruby that we would see what the weather was like this morning and if it was NOT what was forecast, we would come.  Instead of the predicted rain and wind, it was dry – even sunny at times – but with dark clouds coming over at intervals.

I always love the journey up Mainland.  The bare hills sweep up on either side of the road, today red, peaty, rich.  Then the clouds come over, and it all changes to shades of lowering grey.  As you go north, the road is above the sea – inlets known as ‘voes’ in Shetland.

The road goes on until without warning, you come to the ferry – just an extension of the main road!!  Twenty-five minutes takes you across the Sound to Yell – and the road continues.

After our morning with the Polsons, we went on to the north of the island to a café called The Wind Dog.  Wonderful soup and tray bakes even at this time of year.  The café also houses the local library, and there are plenty of things for children to play with.

left to right: Ruby, Katherine, Hamish

And next time I will tell you what awaited us when we got back to Lerwick….!

Experiencing the terrible weather last weekend, I thought I wasn’t going to make it up here on Monday. In the end, the ferry was cancelled – but I had decided months ago to fly. Right decision!

Flying in to Shetland is always impressive. The airport is at the southern end of a long finger of land, and the main east/west runway goes right across the land into the sea on both sides. On Monday the easterly wind meant we came in from the west, over an angry sea with the waves crashing on the rocks below. The sun was out at the time, and the light was beautiful.

Katherine, my friend from Kentucky, arrived later that night, and yesterday we both spent knitting and getting over jet lag!! We got as far as walking down the street and finding that Fibres, a lovely yarn shop, is no longer there. A big disappointment. In addition, the other yarn shop, which was taken over a couple of years ago, has reduced its range right down. Another disappointment.

Today we picked up a hire car, and headed off to J&S. That shop, too, had changed. NOT a disappointment!! The whole of the left hand side is now all the undyed ‘stuff’, ranging from the carpets, through the blankets, to the Shetland Supreme yarn, and to the tops and fleece.

The rest if the shop is pretty much as before – I just love the two walls of wooden cubby-holes full of yarn all colours of the rainbow.

I was pretty good, considering! I only bought 2.5 kg tops And ONE ball of yarn – that the denim-y colour aran for swatching for a sweater….

Then we were off down to the Museum to meet Connie for lunch. The café is one of the best bits of the museum in my opinion – huge glass windows looking out over Hay’s Dock, one of the very old small boat docks, to the newer port beyond. Even on a day like today (RAIN!!) it is a gorgeous view. And their seafood chowder is delicious!!

KY Katherine (left) and Connie Williamson (from J&S)

Now we are back in the flat, warm and dry. And I am putting off taking back a section of lace knitted in 2/28 cashmere…. My own stupid fault. But at least I have noticed it now, only 8 rows on, and not 8 ins back as is my usual habit.

Having got a copy of the new Estonian lace book, I wanted the old one.  Thanks to Monica, an Estonian lady on the Lace Knitters Yahoo list I now have it!  And what a treasure it is!!

It’s title is Pitsilised Koekirjad by Leilli Reimann.  This is the Second edition – expanded from the first – and published in 1986.  Unlike Haapsula Saal, this is not just patterns from Haapsula, but from all over Estonia, and it includes photos of other items as well as shawls.

Unlike the new book, there is not a word of English in it – this was written for the Estonian market, not for anywhere else.  Fortunately the chart symbols seem to be the same as those in the new book as far as I can see so far.  With a little bit of thought you can work them out, anyway!

There are far more patterns in this one, but they are not as well set out as in the new one.  After all, this was published before the days of easy type-setting of charts!    But a little patience gives you the understanding of all of them.

In this book, the photos of each of the stitches is at the beginning of the book, with each stitch taking half a page.  Later in the book are the charts, numbered from the photos. If the pattern is simple there are several charts on the page; if it is complex there may only be one.

As the charts are not actual ‘graphs’, but individual symbols, you do have to watch the spaces between the symbols.  Many Estonian lace patterns change the number of stitches in a row, and I would want to chart a pattern before I actually knit it.  But having said that, the symbols are distinct and the photos clear, and my fingers are itching…..

I had had several emails to and fro with Monica before she sent the book, and I mentioned I was interested in Shetland lace.  She very kindly put in an actual sample of  Estonian lace for me to touch and see!!  It is about 7 ins across:

The wool is fascinating – very creamy white, worsted spun 2 ply, about a 2/28 at a guess.  It is, of course, stocking stitched based, but the needles are relatively large compared with the wool, so it is difficult to see which is the right and wrong side unless you look very closely.  The nupps form very solid spots on a light and airy background, counter balancing the holes.  Looking at the sample you think it is going to be a bit stiff, but it is very soft – and practically weightless!!

Monica is in the process of building a website - I will let you know when it is up!

Isn’t the internet wonderful? !  I ‘meet’ so many kind and interesting people on line, and am able to learn about knitting traditions previously impossible to explore….

At this time of year the Scottie group I am in has a gift exchange.  At this time of year the Scottie Rescue group, STECS, that Scottie came from has new things in its ’shop’.  So I have been buying…  It also got me thinking (again) what I could do to help fund raise for them.  This time I had an idea.

I have  been knitting Scotties.  I had been collecting designs for a while, and it suddenly struck me that I could put them together in a booklet and sell it in aid of STECS.  Don’t hold your breath – these things have to be done between times.  But I took the opportunity of  needing something individual for my giftee, and yesterday I knitted this hat:

A bit ago I had made a chair back (or pram blanket!) and a cushion for my kitchen:

Now I need time to make a sweater and a vest….  THEN I will be able to tell you where you can buy the patterns!!

So what did I do while waiting for the wool?

1.  Clipped the dogs.  Well, to be precise – scissored the dogs.  My new clippers seemed to be working, but when I got Ben up on the table ready to go, they wouldn’t cut (yep – I did have the correct blades!!).  So, this only being Ben’s second cut, I went ahead with the scissors.  He was just angelic.  I am used to Scottie being good, but Scottie is a slower beastie all round.  Ben is never still.  But he was while I went right over him.

Ben has the typical black coat.  In a different life style, he could grow very nice skirts.  But as he is never happier than when in a manky ditch, he needs to be short.

Scottie’s coat is very different – it grows straight out.  So that now he is one third the width he was!!  He is also a different colour.  The longer, outer hair is grayer, so now his blonde streaks show much more, along with his tiger striping.

2.  Got on the computer and did the maths and charts for the Estonian shoulder shawl I had planned on rough paper.  I had a note of the pages of  That Book, along with the stitch and row counts, and so all I needed to do was to chart it and work out the exact figures.  Knitted the first couple of sections.  Looking good….

3.  While I was on the computer, book on desk, I charted out another Estonian pattern for use in another cowl.  (It is the diagonal one, for those of you with the book.)  It is one of those patterns that will work well in the round, and be very easy to do, but writing the instructions for others to follow will be more challenging.  I am still brooding on the exact way to do it.  But the charts etc are ready for when I want to start.

4.  Got on with the notes for the workshop I am leading for the On-line Guild in November.  Most was already done, but there were a few pix that needed doing, and Nick came over to wield the camera.  I take most of the pix, but when both my hands are needed in the shot, and I can’t wedge the camera somewhere, he steps in.  This time it was feathers, the perfect orifice hook for small wheels:

The dark shape behind the wheel is Bess.  We gave up on trying to exclude 3 dogs from all shots….

5.  Finally, and most depressingly, I have had to take back all of both sleeves of the FI done so far….  I had just started the raglan decreases when I realised the patterns were a couple of stitches out.  Rows were right, stitches were wrong.  I really AM going to have to learn to count to 12.  In the meantime, instead of two sleeves, I have two balls of yarn waiting to be reknitted….  Good job Carla is not now coming until the early spring!

There I was.  Happily working on the current Fair Isle sweater and listening to a book.  Minding my own business.  I came to the end of one of the colours, put my hand in the bag to get the next ball – only to find there was NO next ball…

It was only then that I remembered I had started this using some of my own wool and some left over from another J&S project – it is, of course, J&S 2 ply jumper weight.  The Colour In Question was from J&S and, although I searched the boxes upstairs, I haven’t used that colour before so do not have any left overs.  I have 19 sts left on the row, then 14 rows before I need the colour again.

SO it was on the phone to Lerwick.  They are putting the ball in the post, but it will take a bit to come.

A bit about the sweater.  This is for a book by Carla Breeze about European knitting.  That was the excuse to do something I had had in mind for a while.  It is a fitted sweater, with a deep V and raglan sleeves.  I am now on the sleeves.

The colours are based on greys with a white background.  But one of the colours is a pink/grey marl and another (the one that ran out) is a blue/grey marl.  This means that if you put it with black or grey, you see the grey, but put it with denim and the blue comes out.

In the meantime, I am sitting here with nothing else on the needles…  Typical.  I have several other things in the planning etc etc, but not on the needles.

The next problem came soon after.  I had decided to start a pale shawl, but before sitting down again I was going through another box-from-the-garage.  There were all sorts in this one – bits I recognised from my room when the flood came.  I was delighted to find the Laura Ashley roll up sun hat that I was thinking had gone for good.  I put my hand in again – and it came up covered in black ink.  There was a stamping pad in the box which had leaked.  Of course it is permanent….  I have washed and scrubbed my fingers to no avail.  If I do try knitting pale cobweb I just KNOW it will come off on it.  So no pale shawl….!!

Still, I have plenty of work on the computer to keep me occupied.