Our brand ethos is to use Scottish products, as local as possible. That way we really love what we make, value it and want to share it with the world.
My daughters and I grew up with fabulous knitters who passed on their skills. Knitted things represent love to us.
One year my mother bought me a spinning wheel and I was off on a quest, learning to spin from You Tube videos using prepared fleece. This led to curiosity about the qualities of fleece from different sheep breeds.
I discovered that the preparation of raw fleece is a challenge, messy, smelly and time consuming (but I still enjoy it). All of a sudden it was clear why wool has become a waste product in the sheep industry. Conversely the selected and prepared good fleece is amongst the most marvellous materials nature produces. Warm, water repellant and absorbent, soft, strong, comforting, springy and compressible, the list goes on. Hold on, even the waste wool is good for insulation or compost. It is no real surprise that we have our own sheep. That's as local as it gets.
I discovered all this from the gift of a spinning wheel.
Our current 'Balgownie' range is from the 2020 clip and features fleece from Jenny, Barbara, Matilda, Sparkles, Lara, Clara and Rogue. All these girls have some Shetland heritage.
After taking off the 'waste' which provided plant protection and compost, the good fleece was sent off to The Natural Fibre Company in Cornwall to be spun into a 4ply style yarn. This was rigorously checked to see how well it held the dye and for washability and we were delighted with the results.
Our 'Shetland' range is produced from top quality, purchased, Shetland yarn. We used this yarn to develop our plant dyeing process while our Balgownie fleeces were being 'grown'.
We have tested that the 'Shetland' and 'Balgownie' ranges can be mixed happily together in one garment and they are ideal for colourwork such as Fairisle patterns.
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