Christmas Time at J&S

Christmas time has arrived at J&S so we have been happily decorating the shop in between serving customers and packaging up & sending off hundreds of little woolly parcels. Our new kit samples look so Christmassy that they are taking pride of place displayed opposite the Christmas tree. My mam has already finished the Annie Jumper for my baby nephew (with a few alterations, as knitters can do, to fit the little fellow) and is now moving on to the Peerie Bairns Jumper for my neice, so that’s some of their presents nearly finished!

We also have three new kits on-line to add a little bit more celebration to the occasion. The Fair Isle Cap, like the Fair Isle V-necked Jumper, is from the textile collection in the Shetland Museum and Archives and is made from our Shetland Heritage yarn. It is thought the original came from Fair Isle itself and would have been a fisherman’s cap made from local wool, hand spun and dyed. It has a plain lining made from the Peat Heritage Yarn and so it is doubly warm, keeping your head cosy and snug over a cold winter. It is also soft and beautiful and definitely something to treasure.

The original Fair Isle Cap from the Shetland Museum and Archives collection

The second new kit is the Karelides Cardigan by Outi Kater, a beautiful, Finland-inspired Fair Isle cardigan which makes excellent use of the natural shades of Shetland Wool. Its design reflects the beautiful, subtle nature of this undyed Shetland Supreme Jumper Weight yarn.

Kate Davies’ Warriston is now available from us not just as a bundle of yarn but complete with beautiful pattern from Kate herself. It is a raglan smock knitted in Shetland Aran with inset pockets, cowl neck, and raglan shaping, perfect for this cold winter weather. This is just one of Kate’s stunning designs in our yarn and we hope they keep on coming as she is great to work with.

The Heritage Yarn, with its beautiful warm shades that fit so well into our shop’s Christmas decorations, has been a huge hit with knitters so far so we are planning on expanding the range of this worsted yarn. It would be great to hear all of your opinions on this and what colours you would like to see, including those discontinued shades of ours that you long to make a comeback. You can leave a message on here regarding this or email ella@shetlandwoolbrokers.co.uk with your thoughts. We would really appreciate your input.

We will be closing on Friday 21st December and won’t open again until Monday 7th January so any orders received during this time won’t be sent out until next year. But when we get back we will get them out to you as soon as possible.

Have a great Christmas period and happy knitting!