on The distinctive voice of Elizabeth Zimmerman has featured in Wovember Words several times previously. Today we are sharing extracts from her notes on knitting a Pi Shawl. A round shawl, in fine wool, on a circular needle, is my invariable companion when space is limited, waiting-around probable, and events uncertain. First of all, fine wool… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Fine wool takes up little space
on One of the key themes of Wovember is closing the gap between producers and consumers of wool. There are many ways to do this as an individual; you can explore the provenance of wool in yarns you knit with or clothes you wear by learning about where and how they are produced, and you can… Continue Reading Hug a Sheep Day
on ‘Deb Robson is never happier than when she is face to face with a flock of sheep. Deb is the co-author of The Fleece and Fibre Sourcebook. These particular sheep are a Swiss breed called Valais Blacknose. They are rom a flock near Tomintoul in the a Scottish Highlands.’ – Jeni Reid
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
on I often get asked why I only buy wool from the UK, what it means to me Knit British and what I mean by ‘British’. If I had a mission statement it would go something like this…. For the past few years I have only bought and knitted with wool which has been reared, spun… Continue Reading Knitting British
on ‘Blocking lace in the bath. A familiar sight to many knitters. The yarn is handspun BFL single, dyed with nettles. The pattern is Gossamer Stars by Kat Coyle.’ – Jeni Reid
on Sheep counting systems are a fascinating fragment of our dialectal history in Britain. Thought to be remnants of Brythonic languages there are variations in the dialect words that differ from Scotland, and throughout England and Wales. There is a similarity that runs through the systems and the ethnologist in me wants to travel back in time through the… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip
on Here is a wondrous photo of Sally Antill taken by Jeni Reid. Sally will be writing for WOVEMBER later in the month and we love this photo because it sums up just how we feel about WOOL. ‘Sally Antill and one of her many fleeces. Sally lives in Cumbria and is one of the world’s… Continue Reading Sally Antill
on When I did my degree at the School of Scottish Studies, I loved nothing more than sitting in the sound archive and listening to field recordings and oral histories, which have been collected there since the school was founded in 1951. Over the last 60 years there are thousands of recordings of songs, music, tales,… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Shetland Claith
on Team Wovember has a new team member: Louise Scollay. Louise is the voice of the Knit British podcast and the writer of the Knit British blog and has joined Team Wovember this year to share her love of native breeds and their beauteous wool. How did you hear about Wovember? I first heard about WOVEMBER… Continue Reading Introducing Louise Scollay AKA Knit British!