Tag: Shetland

  • thankyou, KCG

    thankyou, KCG

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    Kate Davies Designs
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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…

  • Behind the scenes

    Behind the scenes

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Writing and photography for our forthcoming Haps book has rather intensely occupied the last month, and I’m now really hap-py to say the end is in sight, as we put the finishing touches to the copy and prepare everything for layout. The sight of a somewhat frazzled me, typing furiously at my desk at 5am…

  • J Cathcart Wason, Shetland’s knitting M.P.

    J Cathcart Wason, Shetland’s knitting M.P.

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    It’s election time here, and while we were in Shetland, our paths crossed with those of Scotland’s first minister on her campaign trail. The other day I was in the Shetland Archives and came across a fascinating campaign-trail image from over a hundred years ago. I thought you might be interested to see it. J…

  • Vementry

    Vementry

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Hello! We’ve been away in Shetland, photographing haps for the new book! It was a week of hard work, but always fun, and made even more so by the fact that we were staying out at Vementry – one of my all-time favourite Shetland spots. More about the trip soon – and in the meantime…

  • The Buachaille song by Felicity Ford

    The Buachaille song by Felicity Ford

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    At the end of last September, I travelled to Shetland for Wool Week. I’d spent several previous months exploring a new-to-me world of yarn development, and the result – Buachaille – was about to be launched with the Seven Skeins Club. At home, so many boxes of yarn had arrived that the bathroom floor had…

  • In the steps of Jane Gaugain

    In the steps of Jane Gaugain

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    In the Steps of Jane Gaugain From the quiet restraint of the Regency buildings that line Edinburgh’s George Street, you would never guess that this, a century and a half ago, was the scene of a knitting revolution. Here the ladies of the city gathered to exchange “receipts,” compare their success with the latest stitch…

  • generosity

    generosity

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    What an amazing week I had in Shetland! It was a complete privilege to see and talk to so many amazing knitters, who generously shared their work and thoughts with me. Mary Kay, at the Shetland Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, shows us an incredibly fine lace shawl, knitted in Unst around 1930. Joan…

  • hap-py

    hap-py

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I am extremely hap-py, because I am about to leave for a research trip to Shetland to do some work for a very exciting book that we will be publishing later this year. Do you want to hear a little more about it? The subject of the book is haps – the beautiful everyday shawls…

  • Shetland days

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    It is Wool Week in Shetland, and I began it in this cottage out at Vementry. What a spot! It was lovely to take some time out to visit my friend Hazel Tindall. I just love the part of Shetland where Hazel lives, and it was a real privilege to potter about her garden, and…

  • haps!

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    (image courtesy Shetland Museum and Archives) I am a great fan of haps (which form the focus of one of my long-term projects) and I’m very happ-y indeed to see increasing interest in these simple and timeless shawls: Gudrun has a wonderful Craftsy class on haps, and has been running a knit-along for her full…

  • A conversation with Gudrun Johnston

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Gudrun I recently had a chat with one of my favourite designers, Gudrun Johnston, and thought I’d bring this to you today. I just love Gudrun’s work. She has this knack of producing designs that are are always classic, timeless and wearable, often using stitch patterns (particularly those originating from Shetland) in really innovative and…

  • Thinking of Shetland

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    It was this time of year when I first visited Shetland. How well I recall that crazy drive across Unst in a blizzard! The weird half-light at midday! My first feeling of the profound difference of the place, but my immediate sensation that it was somewhere I could easily feel at home. . . Anyway…

  • Cockatoo Brae

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Yes, you did read that correctly — Cockatoo Brae. This remarkable phrase is, in fact, the name of a lane in Lerwick, Shetland, and it is also the name of the final yoke in my collection. This design emerged from an exciting collaboration with my friend Ella. In Shetland, machine and hand knitting go very…

  • The Fine Art of Fair Isle Knitting

    The Fine Art of Fair Isle Knitting

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    You will have heard me mention distinguished Shetland designer, Hazel Tindall, many times on this blog. I first met Hazel three years ago, when I was lucky enough to take a workshop with her during Shetland Wool Week. Over the course of the class, Hazel shared her knitterly tips and techniques, talked us through some…

  • Brilliant women

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Hello! I’m back again after a fantastic (and productive) couple of weeks research. I’ve had an amazing time in Sweden and Shetland, but what has really stood out to me about this past fortnight is the number of brilliant women whose company and conversation I’ve enjoyed. It has been a very long time since I’ve…

  • YOKES! Have your say

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    As you know, I’ve been working on a new book / design collection for most of this year. My work has involved . . . . . . examining a huge amount of yoke patterns . . . . . . thinking about the differences in styles, proportion, shaping, and fit of yokes over the…