One rarely has the chance to meet an individual who could qualify as a National Treasure, let alone spend an hour with them hearing their story. Meet Oliver Henry from Shetland. You could give him many titles; master wool judge, driving force behind Shetland Wool Week (and 2019 Wool Week Patron), husband, father and grandfather, and walker of his dog Joe. He also is an incredible story teller, and the stories he spins around his career with wool at Jamieson and Smith, are captivating.
He is wearing his “Roadside Beanie,” a pattern reflecting two important forces in his life; Shetland sheep, and fishing boats. His father and brothers fished for their livelihood, but Oliver was plagued by seasickness. We knitters should be very grateful that he went the way of wool, since he has had such a profound impact on the way we think about Shetland wool. J&S take on more than 95% of Shetland’s wool clip each year, and Oliver’s expertise in grading that fleece is what controls the quality and hand of their yarn.
Left: Oliver Henry of Jamieson and Smith wearing his signature Roadside Beanie.
He chose the beanie as the style that year because it keeps his ears warm when he’s out walking his dog. Then he worked with knitting designer Sandra Manson to finalize the idea and pattern. The beanie was the hat of the year for the 2019 Wool Week, and the one he is wearing here has clearly been worn and loved since that time. In this photo (left) you can see how many variations on Oliver’s theme were on display that year.
I will save a longer story about Oliver for another time, but spending time with him was such a highlight of my recent trip that I couldn’t let more time pass before I introduced him to those of you who haven’t had the luck yet of meeting him.
Left: Participants in the 2019 Shetland Wool Week wearing their hand knitted Roadside Beanies.
Back to Perth…
I’ve gotten a little out of order here. The reason for this trip was primarily research for my next book, but I wanted to be there in time to make a visit to the Scottish Wool Producers Showcase in Perth. This was the second year of this particular Showcase, and it was, in my opinion, even better than last year. Most fun for me was meeting up again with people I’ve met before, like Marguerite, here (left), introducing new offerings in her line of yarns.
Her farm is called Westfield Croft, and her sheep include the primitive Boreray that hail from the Outer Hebrides. The new yarn she was featuring is a singles, lopi-style that looks really interesting. Although it is machine spun, it has a hand spun feel. I did bring a skein home that I hope to test drive soon.
Showcase organizer, Eva Christie, chose a perfect space for the Showcase, giving each of the vendors sufficient space to show off their offerings and giving buyers enough room to handle and explore (squeeze, fondle) the yarns.
The Showcase was busy from the moment I walked in to the end of my visit, and I hope there will be even more vendors in the years to come. In my opinion, this Showcase is a very important one to highlight the activity ongoing in the country. The wool marketplace is both vibrant and fresh, and there is real creativity among the makers giving knitters, weavers, crocheters and felters ample materials that are not available in the wider commercial market. Bravo, Eva!
There were some repeat vendors from last year, but also some newcomers with different and interesting yarn. The Boreray yarn was a real “find,” and I also picked up a skein of Shetland wool/mohair mix (30/70) from Annfield Farm. The owners provided me with a nice hat pattern to use, so I’ll get to that as fast as I can, along with a review.
Matteo Nencini is a fairly recent immigrant to Scotland from Italy, and he has jumped feet first into yarn production. He is raising Hebridean sheep and cashmere goats for his 95/5 blend. I believe he plans to offer his yarn only in natural colors. While he might have found the offerings of some of the other vendors a bit daunting, he shrugged his shoulders and professed that he had both the time and opportunity to grow his own market. I wish him all good luck.
Another very special person…
Another really special part of my trip was a return visit to Wilma Malcolmson’s studio. I first met her on a 2012 trip to the islands with a small group of knitters. She had a nearly overwhelming number of different patterns worked in many, many colorways, and I was really taken by her unusual color palette .
This photo from 2012 shows what was in her studio at the time.
The left two photos (below) are some of the current colorways, while a sample board (right photo) shows more, including many of her earlier models.
Many of the Fair Isle patterns have historically worked in bright colors including bright red, yellow, and navy blue (below), so I’m sure you can also see the appeal of some of her more recent designs and colors derived from the environment around Shetland.
In 2020 Wilma was designated as Patron for Wool Week, and her hat design, Katie’s Kep is among the most popular of the festival’s designs. The hat is named for her mother, Katie, shown below with her sister, each wearing a Fair Isle sweater that they knitted.
Left: Wilma wearing Katie’s Kep. Right: Katie and her sister
Wilma is a prolific designer, and her use of color is unique. She finds inspiration all around her, in photos, in the landscape, and (above right) in a simple fish platter. She told me that she has been doing this kind of color mixing since she was a teenager. What I find so inspiring about her eye for color is the way she can take 5 or 6 colors, and using the same pattern, derive as many as 5 different and unique outcomes by changing the color placement or prominence of the design motifs. There isn’t yet a pattern written for the samples shown here, but I am hoping we might see one in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, you can find several other of her designs on Ravelry.
Wilma knits many of her designs by hand, but the sweaters for sale in her studio are mainly produced on a knitting machine to make them affordable. Should you find a model that isn’t in your size, she will happily make one for you. I was thrilled to be able to purchase both a cardigan and a pair of gloves that I’ve worn constantly since 2012. Obviously, I’ve been a huge fan of Wilma’s now for many years, and I’m certainly but only one of her huge fan club.
Wilma’s inspirations are not confined to the Shetland Islands. We had a fun time talking about Gotland Island in Sweden after I came across her Gotland Skull Kep pattern. The colors in that hat really reflect the subtle shades along Gotland’s shores; many different greys, the grey-green and brown colors of grass and lichens, and the stormy colors of the sea. We both agreed that there was a unique “pull” of that island that made you want not only to remember the place, but to return again and again.
We also talked about the similar pull that the Shetland Islands have. Like so many other of the islanders I’ve spoken to, Wilma couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. With such never-ending natural beauty around her, as well as her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, she’ll never run out of subjects for inspiration.
Off the needles!
I finally have a group photo of “The Sweater” made by several of us from the Wednesday knitting group. These are the ones finished so far (well, except for Suzanne in the front showing the yarns she plans to use). The best part of this group challenge was that we used only stash yarn, and sometimes raided each others’ stashes if we needed a color we didn’t have.
I did short sleeves on mine because I just get too hot wearing a wool pullover. I ended up wearing it nearly every day I was in Scotland. It was still pretty chilly there, and I had to do quite a bit of layering to stay warm.
Next…
I’m once again in the situation where I have too much knitting to do to catch up with the various yarns I brought back and want to test drive. I’m also continuing to work on my take on the Gunnister Man knits, and would really like to get back to work on the museum inspiration knits with Katarine Segerbrand. I need to find an illustrator who can take my crude design drawings and make them into proper fashion drawings. That alone would push me forward quite a bit.
I’ve cast on and ripped back a cowl I’m working on using Heatherlea Black Cheviot lace-weight (in white rather than black). I had promised Serena that I’d have it on the needles by the time I saw her in Perth. I had cast on and done about 12 rows when I figured out that I had cast on 180 stitches rather than 118. Rookie mistake! So it’s ripped back again, waiting for another go. I intend to start again this afternoon, and I will use stitch markers to indicate groups of 20 so that I don’t have to repeat my mis-count over and over. Focus, Sara!
Meanwhile, cast on yourself and carry on. It’s a good thing to do.
Love reading your posts. What a fascinating trip!