Tag Archives: Harris tweed pouch

shop update

Hello! It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a chance to sit down and write here… I really wish I’d been able to make time to do so as I love sharing a little of what I’ve been seeing and doing but I suppose we all have to prioritise activities and this year has been so full of lots of wonderful travels that I this little place has not got a look in. And I know I’m not alone is feeling that, somehow, the longer between posts, the harder it seems to get back to write one. But I do have a couple of plant and dye posts in the works and more waiting and hope to share them with you over the next couple of weeks! In the meantime, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m adding some pouches to the shop tomorrow…

A plethora of pouches

This is a cheerful bunch, made up of some of Lorna‘s beautiful handwork (that has been so loved by many of you- thank you!) and a few special fabrics. I’ve slowly worked my way through my lovely collection of worn-out jackets (and have also been doing a lot more plant-dyeing) and, as a result, my pouch-making has slowed down this year… I see this as a natural part of the way I work- there are only so many beautiful Harris Tweed jackets out there needing a new life and my focus has always been to do just that, to find a purpose for waste. But I stumbled on some beautiful (new) fabrics that I wanted to highlight in a short run of pouches, this time from Peter Grieg of Kirkcaldy, the same mill that weaves the linen I use to line my pouches. They are made from lambswool so are a softer fabric than HT but are based on some of the old Scottish tweeds and tartans and make a lovely juxtaposition to it.

Benmore Red from Peter Grieg (L, M and S)

Ancient Robertson (L and M)

As you can see, I’ve also expanded my range to include three sizes of pouches! Over the last couple of years, I’ve stored up some larger scraps so, when Rachel of Daughter of a Shepherd asked whether I’d be able to make some different sizes for our collaboration, it seemed like a great time to start using them. Because of the way I work, not all sizes are available in every fabric- it really depends on what size pieces I have- but I do have quite a few of each size in this update. My standard pouch is now my M and I’ve added a S (perfect for notions or needles) and a L (fits a medium shawl project or a baby garment) and they are £26, £23 and £30 respectively.

Harris Tweed (L and M)

And the other special fabric in this update is this wonderful hot-pink and green wool boucle!

Josh’s wool boucle

I was lucky enough to be contacted by Josh, a Dutch knitting friend from Instagram, offering me this wonderful vintage wool boucle- it had formed part of her godmother’s treasured fabric stash until her recent death and Josh really wanted to find a way to honour her and her stash and wondered if it might work as pouches. I held it back for a while, unsure if it was a bit thick for the purpose, and then realised that the gauge of the fabric would work really well as a larger pouch. And it does- the combination of that hot-pink/ grass-green/ sage check and the plump, dense fabric has made super cosy pouches and I love them!

So that’s the update. Please do head over and have a look if you’re interested- they are available for preview now and for sale tomorrow evening, Friday December 1 at 8pm Glasgow time. (For any overseas buyers keen for delivery before the holidays, please get in touch after making your purchase to discuss postage- as a guide, a small parcel containing up to 3 pouches tracked to Australia/ US costs £12.95 and takes an estimated 7-10 days. Please note that, while it’s almost certain to arrive by December 24, I can’t guarantee delivery!)

Many thanks for your interest!

shop update: pouches

4 Replies

Hello! I hope you’re all well and life is mostly sweet… A little heads-up that I’ve just added 20 pouches to the shop, most of which are Harris tweed from a series of jackets I collected in Melbourne.

Pouches

The incredible textures and colours found in HT never cease to take my breath away, especially when I get in close- and, in this case, I had no choice as my main lens is broken so I had to use my macro lens- apologies for the even shallower depth of field than normal ; )

Pouch in rust Harris tweed

Pouch in earthy houndstooth Harris tweed

Pouch charcoal Harris tweed

Pouch in teal/ rust Harris Tweed

I’m also really excited to be using some beautiful, heavy linen produced locally in Fife to line my pouches! I’ll still use secondhand fabrics where I can but it’s not always easy to find the right ones and, this way, I get to support (in a very small way) the last major domestic producer of linen… and I can also avoid having to interface the tweeds, meaning that the only non-natural component is the zipper tape!

Enjoy xx

open for trade

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I’m very, very happy to let you know that my shop is now open! It’s been a very long time coming but I got there in the end- who knew there was so much more to opening a online shop than just making the things you’re planning to sell?! But it’s been a lovely journey, this learning curve, and the fact that it has spanned Australia and Scotland has a nice bit of poetry to it.

So. In case you haven’t seen what I’ve been making recently, my colourwork cowls are a project I’ve been working on over the last couple of years… they are where I bring together two great loves, plants and yarn, in botanically-inspired patterned colourwork and, for that reason, I’ve been really committed to making them, despite life being pretty busy. But, once I get past the idea of them and why they feel important for me for that reason, they are actually a really useful thing- a double-layer, patterned neckwarmer that is small but very good at keeping the cold and wind out and the warm air in!

Parterre Cowl in Bleached White/ Sage Blue

Deco Fern Cowls

Deco Fern in Silver/ Jasper

The double layer tucks the little colourwork floats of yarn to the inside so they can’t catch on jewellery and doubles the protection from wind and cold. And it makes the colourwork looks lovely, rolling over the edge to the inside of the cowl…

Berry Cowl in Flannel Grey/ Fig

I looked all over for the right yarn to make them with. It needed to be a 3ply, 100% natural wool that would go through my vintage, hand-operated knitting machine and that had enough body to give the cowls structure- a floppy cowl can be a lovely thing but I wanted these to sit up a little when needed. Not so much that you feel like you’re wearing a neck brace but enough to shield the neck. And the colour palette had to be right. I really wanted complex, subtle, heathered shades. And it had to be soft enough to wear on the face. Sadly, I didn’t find any Australian yarns that could do all this for me (someone has to remedy the situation!) and ended up choosing a Danish lambswool yarn, grown and spun in Scotland, that comes is a beautiful range of over 100 colours and has the right balance of strength and softness. For this, my first run, I chose 7 natural base colours and another 12 for patterning and am excited to try some of the other shades… too much choice!

Parterre Cowl in Donkey/ Marlin

The cowls that I now have in my shop are my first run, made in part for the Edinburgh Yarn Festival last weekend and also to put in the shop. Many of my favourite colourways have already sold but I’m busy setting up to make more so do watch for other colours and patterns that I’ll be adding over the coming weeks.

I’ll also be adding more of the Harris tweed tool pouches that I’ve been making- the original idea for them was as knitting tool pouches but, strong and sturdy with a little padding, they function beautifully to carry any treasures in. They’re made from worn-out jackets or from vintage lengths or fabric collected in both Australia and Scotland and were snapped up by excited knitters at EYF- it’s been lovely to see people using them for both their tools and their small woolcraft projects!

Tool pouches made from worn-out Harris tweed jackets

So there you go! I hope you enjoy having a poke around the shop. A huge thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me in this undertaking- it was and is greatly appreciated! And, if you are interested in finding out about shop updates (at this stage, I’m aiming for every fortnight), you can subscribe to the blog or follow me on Instagram or Twitter- I’ll announce updates in all!