Purchase Item
When Thistle & Broom ran a tiny ad in the Shetland Times back in early 2007 for our Fair Isle Knitting Project it was 'with hope' that we might have some response from the ladies that knit - we did, as well as from their daughters.
Mrs. Irvine's daughter got in touch about her Mum's gloves. To be honest we really weren't planning on offering gloves. But then her daughter explained that her Mum used to knit full size Fair Isle jumpers (sweaters) but the weight was too much for her wrists now. So she knits garments for her grandchildren and great grandchildren. When I asked that a sample of the gloves be sent, her daughter sent me 16 JPEGs with 4 pairs in each photo indicating that this was a small sample of the gloves available. Get the idea? A LOT of gloves! We only show 8 pairs at any one time but obviously all of those shown on our gallery page (and more) are available - send us a note to ask about a particular pair if you don't see it offered here.
Her precise skill is one thing (born in 1926 on Burra Isle, Shetland she's been knitting since the age of 11) but Jackie, described as a 'knitoholic', is also gifted with a fantastic eye for colour, her talents come together with her passion to make her gloves incredibly special. At one time she used bits of leftover yarn from other projects, but now, having knit so many pairs, Jackie actually has to buy yarn. Her 'nothing goes to waste' sensibility is still apparent in her current work. You see it immediately when arranging the gloves where the dominant colour of one pair becomes the accent colour of the next and then ever smaller details of the traditional Norwegian Star pattern picked out in flashes of contrasting colour. Each pair of gloves is a work of art, every pair a unique colourway and all pairs are different sizes - don't be put off by that. When your gloves arrive if not perfect we suggest taking a steam iron each glove in turn and blast it full of warm moist air and then put them on so they take on the size of your hand (wool is very forgiving). If too large simply gently hand wash them and block to size. Or, if all of this is too scary against your domestic skills, you can send us your measurements and choose the colourway you want and Jackie will knit them to order. (Allow 4 weeks for special orders.)
As with all of the Fair Isle Knitting Project offerings 66% of T&B's retail price goes directly into Jackie Irvine's hands - giving her the ability to buy more yarn and continue her passion for knitting. 8% of the net profit of your purchase serves to benefit Thistle & Broom Scholarship to provide stipends for young Shetland knitters to learn Fair Isle Knitting from their expert hand knitting neighbours to ensure the future of this uniquely Scottish cultural icon.
