Letters
Shetland Wool Week Is a State of Mind
Dear Ann,
If your Instagram feed is anything like mine, it’s starting to blow up with glorious images of Shetland Wool Week. It looks like a lot of fun. It sure is far away. Someday we will get there, my girl!
Meanwhile, there is other big news out of Shetland. As reported by The Shetland Times two weeks ago:
The Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers has released A Shetlander’s Fair Isle Graph Book, with knitting charts reproduced from two notebooks dating primarily from the 1930s and and 1940s.
The charts are aimed at adventurous knitters and also include Norwegian-inspired motifs.
The notebooks were in the possession of William (Bill) Henry who was in charge of the hosiery department of Anderson & Co, though it is not certain if Mr Henry compiled the books himself.
The patterns show the kind of Fair Isle knitting patterns purchased by the company from self-employed knitters at the time.
WHOA. Here’s the cover of this tantalizing tome:
A couple of small images of the colorful charts inside can be found at the blog Desperate Reader, in a post musing on the mysteries of the source and purpose of these charts. Were they really used by self-employed knitters? We may never know. But they are beautiful, and they are a window, however blurry, into the past.
The book is available from Jamieson & Smith and other sellers in the UK.
In the United States, the book may be available from Schoolhouse Press, which says it has low stock and will ship in October. If anybody can get us copies of this treasure, Meg Swansen can! Go on over and put it on your wish list, or weasel a copy out of anyone you know who is headed to Britain.
Love,
Kay
Maybe you could make a trade with someone going over the water; I understand “Drop Dead Easy Knits” isn’t available there yet. This one looks beautiful. Thanks to you guys for keeping me in touch with what’s great in knitting books!
Wow, this book looks great–like everything else related to Wool Week!
No matter where you are you can buy that book direct from the Shetland Times Bookstore. I bought the guild’s other book, on Shetland lace (which is fabulous!), from them with no problems and quick shipping to the US. Click through the Times link above and you should find it. May have to get this one too, although Fair Isle is something I fantasize over rather than actually knitting…
A real life knitting book shrouded in mystery!
Haven’t even done Fair Isle, but with an eye to the future, have put it on my amazon.ca wish list. Groovy!
Uh-oh. I think we might see some Fair Isle sweaters for Olive in the months to come…lucky girl!
The tweeted pictures from Wool Week are beginning to get to me…something about the suddenly bright blue skies of Shetland today just nudged me over the edge of “vicarious enjoyment” into “almost-jealousy which I am not proud of.” But I still wouldn’t want to miss a single picture!
No self control – just ordered the book – including shipping $40. Seems reasonable to me, but I am gaga for fair isle and I owe that to Kate Davies and her magnificent Sheep Heid hat, my first fair isle project.
I’m here…£20 is the cost…shall I get one for you?
Thank you for linking to my post about this book. It’s well worth getting your hands on if you can – an absolutely fascinating bit of knitting history, and inspirational with it.
Wow, this is mouthwatering, as are the pix I’ve been seeing on Instagram from Shetland. I’m ready to hop a plane. As it is, I’m ordering this book from whatever source will get it.
I also have the Alice Starmore book, original edition I bought in 1988. Have not made any sweaters from it because I always become intimidated by choosing colors and doing math for patterns. But I will eventually!
I loved the link to 60N magazine and website, the link for all news Shetland-related. It reminds me that they must still be enjoying some long days at 60 degrees latitude, while we New Yorkers languish with shortening days at 40 degrees.