Hazel Tindall's Blog

For all knitting enthusiasts, my blog is a treasure trove of information on everything related to Shetland knitting and Fair Isle knitwear. I'm always happy to share behind-the-scenes sneak peeks of my latest projects and offer helpful tips and tricks for knitters of all levels.

Crofting assistant

June 24, 2022

I'm sometimes needed by my sister to help with sheep. This week's task was for her to drench lambs and check the feet of a few ewes which were showing signs of discomfort. The flock behaved very well, allowing themselves to be steered by two elderly ladies without the benefit of a sheepdog, and they...

Casting on and casting off

Casting on and casting off

November 16, 2021

Recently it's been really good to have the monthtly meetings of Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers in person. We met on Saturday and the activity for the day was to learn a few different ways to cast on and cast off. Members were spread around tables and those who had something ...

Jumper back from USA

Jumper back from USA

January 21, 2021

This photo pretty much sums up the joy I felt to be reunited with a jumper I knitted in the mid/late 1980s. It was knitted for myself but before I started wearing it I entered it at the annual show in Walls. In those days so many people were regularly knitting that the schedule sought entries by che...

Casting on

Casting on

September 8, 2020

A recent discussion on Ravelry about long tail cast on has had me experimenting. I had suggested that using a larger needle for a long tail cast on would make it more stretchy. This was somewhat vehemently denied, so I began to doubt myself. The discussion on Ravelry started from a query about knitt...

Summer 2020

Summer 2020

July 30, 2020

For everyone spring and summer 2020 has been very different, and everyone is getting used to a new way of living. Sometimes sleep has been interrupted so I've caught some very colourful early morning skies. Some time has been spent knitting - no more than two or three hours a day, but not every day....

Wrap for a card player

Wrap for a card player

May 22, 2020

I'm an avid card player - before Covid 19 appeared I used to play 500 three or four evenings every week from September to May - so I'm missing my evenings out in good company. At the start of lockdown - as I write I'm starting week 12 of physical distancing from other people - I found it hard to set...

Yoked cardigan for Louise

Yoked cardigan for Louise

April 26, 2020

I started to knit Fair Isle yokes onto machine-knit jumper and cardigan bodies as a teenager and my love for them has never waned. There's so much scope for making each one different. I have a knitting machine but it's not been used for years as I find hand knitting more relaxing. One day I may get ...

Knitting tutorial discount

Knitting tutorial discount

April 9, 2020

Normally at this time of year I'm anticipating meeting groups of people whose particular love of knitting - or anything to do with wool - has brought them to Shetland, as well as spending some time as a volunteer demonstrator at Shetland Textile Museum.  The first group was due at the end of Ap...

Benniegio Cardigan

Benniegio Cardigan

December 19, 2019

Writing a pattern for Benniegio cardigan has taken a long time! I was wearing a slightly different version of this cardigan away back in January 2016 when I visited Vogue Knitting Live in New York, blithely answering queries with "the pattern will be written soon"! I realised that the original cardi...

Ollaberry - 2019

Ollaberry - 2019

September 29, 2019

On day one of Shetland Wool Week 2019 I spent the afternoon at the Ollaberry hall, looking at the knitwear display, as well as enjoying speaking to the demonstrators and visitors. So good to catch up with fellow Shetlanders as well as visitors who have come back for this special time in Shetland. I ...

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About Shetland

Shetland

Shetland is the most northerly group of Scottish islands. Apart from mainland Scotland, the other near neighbours are Norway to the east and the Faroe Islands to the north west.