It’s that time of year again when I start to make Fair Isle shawls. They are made on my vintage Empisal knitting machine and each one takes two days – I select the colours (20-30 of them), wind them into smaller and more manageable cakes of wool and then eventually (lots of mind changing goes on!) start knitting. Afterwards I check for dropped stitches (yes, it happens on knitting machines as well) and add the fringe. Finally I give them a good wash to allow the fibres to relax and the wool to become SO soft!
I made the first of these shawls over ten years ago and it is still going strong. I wear it over my shoulders as a shawl, wrapped around my neck on those really cold days, and folded over my legs in the car on cold winter evenings driving home.
I have a small selection in the shop at the moment but hope to add more. Of course with the Christmas exhibitions coming up they are likely to go so if you would like to buy one don’t hesitate for too long!