Category: wovember

Beyond Merino and Blue Faced Leicester: Top Alternative Breed Choices and Blends in Hand Dyed Yarns

Louise Scollay on

Here at WOVEMBER we have featured a great deal of wonderful yarns for your knitting and crafting delectation. As well as singing the praises of different breed yarns, we do like to celebrate the skilled people who bring that wondrous skein into our stash too. Today’s post does just that – looking beyond the confines… Continue Reading Beyond Merino and Blue Faced Leicester: Top Alternative Breed Choices and Blends in Hand Dyed Yarns

Pure Wool for Socks (no nylon here folks)

Louise Scollay on

During WOVEMBER we have already had a little look at which wool yarns are best suited to certain projects. Interested in finding out if there are pure wools which are best suited to socks Louise tasked designer, and author of Sock Anatomy, Clare Devine in finding out. Happily, Clare jumped at the chance to investigate…… Continue Reading Pure Wool for Socks (no nylon here folks)

Chris Dyer: crofting aspirations

Louise Scollay on

Here at WOVEMBER we recognise the importance of the wool journey and we have been very lucky to have had such insightful contributions looking at sheep farming. In today’s post we look at the experiences of first time crofter Chris Dyer. Originally from London, archaeologist Chris decided to take over a croft in Bressay, Shetland… Continue Reading Chris Dyer: crofting aspirations

The relationship between wool and design

Louise Scollay on

This WOVEMBER we have looked at how different breed wools should be celebrated for their individual characteristics and how these can really compliment the pattern of your choice. We are very pleased to have designer Karie Westermann discuss her personal relationship between yarn and the design aesthetic.   As a knitter I am drawn to… Continue Reading The relationship between wool and design

The Daily Bleat

Louise Scollay on

As well as here you can find Team WOVEMBER on Facebook and Twitter and on Ravelry. Louise looks at how the world of wool operates in social media and introduces us to some of her favourite Tweeters! Who can remember the times before social media? Although find it odd that things like cassette tapes and dial… Continue Reading The Daily Bleat

Sponsors of Shankend Sheep

Louise Scollay on

Yesterday  Kate Graham talked about the successful sheep sponsorship scheme she ran this year. Having read the sponsorship thread on the Shankend Farming group on Ravelry and seen the sponsors excitedly chatting about their sheep and fleeces Louise asked for some of the fleece fosterers to talk to WOVEMBER about their experiences of the scheme.… Continue Reading Sponsors of Shankend Sheep

Shankend Sheep Sponsorship

Louise Scollay on

In the second of this week’s WOVEMBER posts featuring Kate Graham and her farm at Shankend, Louise finds out more about the sponsorship scheme Kate runs. Earlier this year I had read an article about Ralph Lauren buying yarn from a farm in Oregon to clad the entire USA team for the Winter Olympics in… Continue Reading Shankend Sheep Sponsorship

Which wool?

Louise Scollay on

At Wovember we take great pleasure in enabling you to wear 100% wool. Always keen to promote the myriad of breed yarns available in the UK, Louise has selected some of the UK’s more characterful wool yarns to bring out the most in a design. I get a lot of email enquiries from people who… Continue Reading Which wool?

Wovember Words: Island Spinning Song

Louise Scollay on

This song appears in a collection of Island and Highland tunes compiled by composer Hugh Robertson, in the 1950s. I had heard it referred to before as the Shetland Spinning Song, but that is quite incorrect as it features the kind of  beautiful non-lexical vocables (think to Hickory-dickory-dock) which are present in Gaelic purit a… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Island Spinning Song