shetland

Vementry Vest

November 23, 2019 by Mary Jane 1 Comment

Vementry Vest has been published on Ravelry as a stand-alone pattern with extended sizes. It was originally designed for my Craftsy Class (now Bluprint) The Fair Isle Vest: Stranded and Steeked, and is in my opinion a great introductory project for Fair Isle knitting, not too hard, but with enough going on to learn the basics. The traditional styling makes the vest popular with experienced knitters as well. With unisex styling it is easy to customize and make your own. It’s a wonderful project for developing your own colorway. Find the pattern Here.

Vementry Vest is knit with a DK weight yarn so the work goes quickly. You can immediately see progress. It is knit in the round with steeks for the armholes and neckline. The pattern comes with two pdfs, one each for the smaller sizes and the larger sizes, so you only have to print the one you need!

Vementry Vest is named after Vementry, an uninhabited island in Shetland, that I was lucky to visit with friends several years ago. As there isn’t a bridge or a ferry, we chartered a boat in of the town of Aith on Mainland Shetland. The island is known for its well-preserved Neolithic heel-shaped cairn, which sits at the highest point on the isle with spectacular views in all directions. Cairns were used as burial chambers, and heel shaped ones are only found in Shetland and Orkney.

PATTERN DETAILS Smaller Sizes

Finished Smaller Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Bust 32 (34½, 37, 39½, 41¾, 44¼, 46¾, 49¼) in, 81.5 (87.5, 94, 100, 106, 112.5, 119, 125) cm

Yarn
Jamieson’s Double Knitting (100% Shetland wool, 25 gr ball – Approximately 82 yds / 75 m)
4 (4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7) skeins 103 Sholmit (MC) 
2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3) skeins 102 Shaela
1 (1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2) skein(s) 106 Mooskit
1 (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skein(s) 105 Eesit
1 (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2) skein(s) 182 Buttercup 
2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4) skeins 390 Daffodil
1 skein 350 Lemon
1 skein 660 Lagoon
1 skein 570 Sorbet

PATTERN DETAILS Larger Sizes

Finished Larger Sizes 9 (10, 11, 12, 13)
Bust 51 3/4 (54 1/4, 56 1/2, 59, 61 1/2) in, 131.5 (137.5, 144, 150, 156.5) cm

Yarn
Jamieson’s Double Knitting (100% Shetland wool, 25 gr ball – Approximately 82 yds / 75 m)

7 (8, 8, 9, 9) skeins 103 Sholmit (MC) 3 (3, 4, 4, 4) skeins
102 Shaela
2 skeins 106 Mooskit
2 skeins 105 Eesit
2 (3, 3, 3, 3) skeins 182 Buttercup
3 (4, 4, 4, 4) skeins 390 Daffodil
1 skein 350 Lemon
1 skein 660 Lagoon
1 skein 570 Sorbet

Find Vementry Vest on Ravelry

Fair Isle – the place

October 13, 2019 by Mary Jane 3 Comments

Three sheep rounded up during the caa on Fair Isle. Iconic Sheep Rock in the distance. Bright green grass with blue seas and sky. — Sheep with Sheep Rock in the distance, Fair Isle, Shetland.

When an opportunity arose to spend a week on Fair Isle in a creative residency, I jumped at the chance. To enjoy peace and reflection in the place where my favorite knitting technique hails from was a gift.

Lying where the North Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, it takes a bit of planning to get to Fair Isle. Traveling from Maine, USA, I took a bus, three planes, a car and a boat! Even with the best of planning, you are never guaranteed of getting there, it all depends on the wind and the weather.

I’ve always wanted to take the boat to Fair Isle, but time constraints and unwilling companions meant I’ve always flown. I believe we had a good crossing, or maybe I’m just used to being on lobster boats, but I loved every moment of our journey. Watching Mainland Shetland recede, while Fair Isle slowly came in to focus made it all the more real for me, getting to an island by boat just seems right. I posted some videos on Instagram (@mjmucklestone) if you would like to see more.

And here below is my darling croft-for-the-week, where I spent time working on my upcoming book. Stay tuned for further posts, take a look at my instagram archives, and sign up for my Newsletter!

Lower Leogh Creative Residency with Malcolm’s Head in the background.

Fair Isle Travel information

By Air:

Air Task – Shetland Islands inter island air service
Air Task Facebook Page Keep an eye on this page for current flight information.

By Sea:

The Good Shepard IV Tuesday year round, also Saturday in Summer, weather permitting.

Where to Stay:

Fair Isle Studio – Creative Residency

Fair Isle Studio Residency details and application information.

Shetland in July

July 6, 2018 by Mary Jane Leave a Comment

July means Shetland for me this year! Beautiful Shetland! Above you see St. Ninian’s Isle, connected to Mainland Shetland by the UK’s largest tombolo. St. Ninian’s is one of my favorite places to take a walk. We are blessed with stunning weather so far. Shetland is a WiFi challenged location, but I’ll try and defy the odds!
Tomorrow I visit Fair Isle with a few friends who are helping me with a secret project. Subscribers of my newsletter will get the first details, so sign up if you’re inclined!

Knit Stars Special Offer!

Production has started for Knit Stars 3.0 and I can’t WAIT to share my lesson with you! I’m developing some of the content while I’m over here in Shetland. November is still a ways off, though, so if you can’t wait and want a some fresh inspiration and fantastic instruction RIGHT NOW, you can get a special deal on Knit Stars 1.0 and 2.0 for the next week! Click HERE for more info and to see who’s teaching what. Offer ends July 12th.

Summer also means small project knitting. I’ll be making a hat while I’m here because I forgot to bring one and I already needed one last evening! What’s your favorite summer knitting project?

Oorik Pattern Reveal!!!

September 2, 2017 by Mary Jane 3 Comments

I’m pleased as punch to reveal my contribution, Oorik, to the great new book A Year of Techniques by the ever-clever duo at Arnall-Culliford Knitwear, Jen and Jim.

Oorik is a sweet vest for the toddler in your life, the word Oorik which means “small person” in old Shetland dialect.

Knit in the round with just four colors. Of course never more than two are used in a single round. The sweet vest features two border patterns alternated with a single peerie pattern. I feel the colors are suitable for all genders, but they are easily substituted for you to dream up your own color scheme, which would be really fun. I can’t wait to see what folks come up with.

Steeking is the technique you’ll learn with Oorik. As with every project in this stellar book there is a technique to learn and master. Jen and Jim have made a video tutorial which will be go live on Mason-Dixon Knitting on 1st Feb 2018, the same date as a KAL will begin.

A Year of Techniques (with complimentary ebook) costs £19.99 plus shipping, or you can buy the ebook only for £19.99.

Visit Arnall-Culliford Knitwear to purchase.

A kit with the yarn will soon be available in their shop as well.

I hope you’ll join us for the KAL in February…if you can wait that long!

If I ever need cheering up I look at the many photos of Jen and Jim’s niece the vest. I know full well how challenging photographing a toddler can be – she is the cutest!!!

Foula Wool

December 12, 2016 by Mary Jane 1 Comment

I got a treat in the mail today, wool from one of the most remote, permanently inhabited islands in the UK, Foula, one of the Shetland Islands. The sheep on Foula are the least fussed with flock, living in isolation for a very long time, so their wool is probably the most like that of the original ancient Shetland breed of sheep.

The natural colors are beautiful, I got 2 balls of mioget and one ball of fawn. I intend to make a pair if Muckle Mitts so I can enjoy a good view of the yarn all winter! It feels surprisingly soft, which I was not expecting. Because the wool comes from such a small flock, several colors were sold out. I think that just adds to the charm. It seems pretty amazing that the wool can be ordered at all, and so lovely to receive with a handwritten thank you note.

It was easy to purchase online from the shepherds Magnus and Justyna Holburn who raise the sheep that grow the wool. Visit their website Foula Wool to learn more about it and to order. Don’t miss scrolling through the gorgeous sheep portraits taken by Magnus.

I hope to visit sometime, the ferry runs twice a week in the winter and 3 times a week in the summer. You’ve got to stay overnight. There’s good hiking with spectacular scenery and loads of birds to see. Foula means bird island in Old Norse. Sounds like an adventure I need to take!

Last summer, our group took a walk from the top of Sandness Hill, skirting the coast down to the beach at Deepdale and had spectacular views of Foula.

Be sure to visit Kate Davie’s blog for an interview with Gudrun and I about our trips!

Learn more about Foula here!