WildCat Designs

15/03/2024

It’s been a little while since I sold one of my WildCat Designs scarves, but a very welcome surprise this week. I quite enjoyed the familiar ritual of preparing this little parcel of woolly goodness. 🧣🧶🐏

28/02/2024

This is so lovely. I clearly remember having to make scaled-down miniature versions of my designs as a textiles student many years ago, but they were never quite this detailed & intricate! They are little works of art.

This rare Irish needlework instruction book from 1833 contains samples of sewing, darning, embroidery, knitting and miniature clothing, and was used at the Female Model school in Kildare Place, Dublin.

It is called 'A Concise Account of the Mode of Instructing in Needle-Work', and was printed by Thomas I. White of Dublin in 1833. The cover is inscribed 'Sarah Darby 1837'. These are normal needlework instruction manuals that the students would paste their work into.

In May last year this book was auctioned by Freeman's Hindman of Philadelphia, PA, with an estimate of $3,000-$5,000!

Source: Ireland and Peg's Cottage

28/01/2024

As it's Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, here's a little PSA.

A wee reminder that (for those of you with a cervix!) a cervical screening test can literally save your life.

I don’t say this lightly: my own family has been directly affected by cervical cancer - trust me, the minor inconvenience of a smear test is preferable!

Also look out for anything abnormal in your monthly cycle - such as bleeding between periods or after in*******se. If you’re post-menopause and suddenly start bleeding again this is also a potential warning sign & worth getting checked.

I've included a few resouces with useful info below:
https://www.cervicalcancerpreventionweek.com/
Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust website: https://www.jostrust.org.uk
Cervical screening + HPV info: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/.../diagn.../cervical-screening

25/12/2023

These are so charming. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas folks.

06/12/2023

How lovely! ❄️⛄️❄️

One of our amazingly talented staff crocheted every snowflake from the book 100 Snowflakes to Crochet by Caitlin Sainio. You can borrow this and lots more books on crochet and knitting from the Lending Library. And why not join our Knit and Natter Group which meets every Wednesday afternoon on the mezzanine.

10/11/2023

I’m reviewing my product range at the moment, and would love to get some feedback - do you think I should resurrect this style?

31/10/2023

Happy Halloween, or Samhain if you celebrate it too! 🧡🦇

Thinking a lot about endings and beginnings of late, which I suppose is only natural at this time of year. The year is turning and the clocks have just gone back, like they do every autumn, marking the start of a time where we traditionally turn inward and reflect.

If I was being very traditional, I’d have made a “tumshie” - a Scots name for a carved neep (turnip) lantern. As pumpkins have much softer flesh, this is definitely a wee bit easier on the hands!

26/10/2023

Skinny scarves are back! 🧣

I’ve been restocking my WildCat Designs Etsy shop with one of the most popular items I make. These skinny striped scarves are made from merino wool and I’ve been adding in some designs with lovely Shetland wool too. 🧶🐏 (Perfect timing for !) They’re great for layering up, adding some much needed warmth without bulk and can typically be wrapped around a couple of times.

There are smaller versions for wee ones as well, which you can find in my WildKittens shop. 🛍

Big or small, every scarf is handmade with love in Scotland on my vintage mechanical knitting machine and then felted in Scottish water to make them beautifully soft. 💛

Links to both of my Etsy shops can be found in the comments below.

24/10/2023

A few weeks ago, I made a pilgrimage up to the V&A in Dundee to visit the Tartan exhibition. I was not disappointed! It’s well worth a gander and I’ve shared some selected highlights here.

As someone with a degree and background in textiles, I was impressed by the depth and breadth of the exhibition. It was well considered, engaging and thought-provoking - and notably didn’t shy away from the more uncomfortable aspects of the fabric’s history which are inextricably linked to that of Scotland as a country.

The exhibition design was also really innovative and unusual, evoking the process and structure of an interwoven fabric, which I loved.

I’m in the process of writing a blog post about it - coming very soon to my Substack! (Link below in the comments)

19/10/2023

Current status: getting reacquainted with my merino wool stash! 🧶🐏

Soon to be made into all manner of stripy scarves for my WildCat Designs label. 🧣 This yarn is one of my all time favourites to work with. It felts beautifully and is lovely and soft.

17/10/2023

Since it’s officially scarf season here in Scotland, I have been doing some inventory and these wee beauties will be added to my WildKittens Etsy shop in the coming days. They are skinny scarves for kids, knitted in soft felted merino wool.🧣

One of these could make a lovely Christmas present for a child in your life. Watch this space for more colour options too! 🌈

04/09/2023

I decided to publish my essay on the Great Tapestry of Scotland - a piece I originally wrote on visual culture for my MA studies but recently updated, as it's the 10th anniversary of the tapestry's first outing back in September 2013!

I designed and stitched the unicorn cover image myself by hand, inspired by the beautiful work on display. The heraldic unicorn motif is also intended as a symbolic representation of Scotland as it is the country’s national animal. 🦄🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

You can read the essay on my Substack, link is in the comments below.