So there I was, trying to persuade the twinnage to stop putting worms in each other’s hair, when my phone pinged with an email from none other than Hazel Tindall.
(By the way, there is an extremely lucky giveaway winner to announce, right at the end of this post.)
Just in case she’s not on your radar, Hazel Tindall is from Shetland and she’s the world’s fastest knitter. In the time it’s taken you to read this sentence, she’s finished off two fisherman’s keps and a jumper. She’s fast, and she loves to knit Fair Isle, so I’m a fan. But why was she emailing me? I was pretty sure that it wasn’t to seek my advice on speeding up her knitting… and fortunately, I was right.
No, the reason for her message was to ask whether I’d like to review her new DVD. My response was roughly as fast as Hazel’s knitting: of course I wanted to review her DVD!
Introducing 50 Tips From Shetland Knitters:-
Available as a DVD or download, it comprises 3½ hours of wisdom from Hazel and her fellow Shetland yarn-sage, Elizabeth Johnston. Both women are highly experienced knitting tutors, and their choice of content was based largely on what people most frequently ask them.
(Before we go any further, may I just point out that a DVD review is blimmin’ difficult to illustrate, so in addition to a snap or two of the product, I’ll pepper this post with a few photos of the snow, that I took the other day as I wandered around our village, OK?)
If you’re after a whizz-bang action drama on a conspicuously Hollywood budget, then this is not the DVD for you. Instead, this is a simple, calm-paced, video of two wise knitters sitting on a sofa, discussing what they do and why they do it, demonstrating as they go. James Bond patently doesn’t abseil in at the end to rescue them from imminent peril; instead, Hazel thanks the viewer politely and signs off. (Oops, I’ve spoiled the ending: sorry.) The biggest plot intrigue I found was wondering about the history of the graffiti etched into the table that they were using. Was this an old Shetland school desk? What did the graffiti say? Who’d written it?
Flippancy aside for once, this is a very, very, helpful DVD, perhaps most suited to the intermediate knitter who wants to add to their repertoire of skills, or to the advanced knitter who wants to deepen their understanding of why they do what they do.
Hazel and Elizabeth were shaped by their environment, as production knitters raised to knit fast, efficiently, and pragmatically. (And goodness, Hazel is fast. I couldn’t help willing her to show us her speediest work, and there are a couple of spots where she seems to really go for it.) The pragmatism of their approach is refreshing: clearly the Knitting Police don’t have jurisdiction on Shetland. An example: whilst I tend to use the Is-it-visible-from-three-feet-away? rule when deciding whether to correct a mistake, Hazel employs the far more evocative, “The man on the galloping horse is never going to see [it]” principle – I like her thinking… though obviously it depends on the skill of the rider. (If I were riding a galloping horse, then I wouldn’t even notice if you’d accidentally knitted three sleeves on your cardigan.)
Sorry, I’m straying into flippancy again.
The DVD covers 50 subject areas, from cast-on, to increasing/decreasing, making neat edges, to repairing mistakes, to grafting. Each is not so much an instruction, as a discussion of alternatives, with demonstrations from one or both women. The close-up demonstrations are perfectly clear and well-paced. It’s refreshing to hear Hazel and Elizabeth discussing the reasons for doing what they do, comparing notes and learning from each other. The most skilled knitters I’ve come across always seem to be open to alternatives and new ideas, rather than dogmatically sticking to Doing It The Way You’re Supposed To Do It Because That’s The Rule. Elizabeth and Hazel may have been renowned knitting experts for decades, but they’re still learning.
Given that both women hail from Shetland, it’s hardly surprising that there’s a bias towards Fair Isle colourwork and steeking, and that was just fine by me. I learned a lot. Seriously. And when I go back and watch it again, I’ll learn even more…
…which brings me to how to use this video. You could try and use it like a reference tool, although it might be frustratingly difficult to pinpoint the exact segment that you need, even with the contents guide on the back cover (see below). Instead I recommend sitting back and watching all the way through, gathering ideas to try along the way. There are certainly quite a few things that I’m going to do differently in the coming weeks.
It was interesting to hear both women’s preferences. In short, they’re not fans of circular needles, they acknowledge that fixing mistakes in lacework is a faff, and they don’t like purling if they can avoid it. (I am so with them on the purling thing, and if even Hazel Tindall doesn’t like purling, then I feel bold enough to come out and say it, too.)
In short, I really, really, like this DVD, and there is a vast amount of wisdom distilled into these two small disks. Unless you’re a complete beginner knitter, I thoroughly recommend it. Thank you, Hazel, for the opportunity to do this review.
50 Tips From Shetland Knitters is available right now. You can either purchase it as a download from Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/50shetlandknittingtips/ or you can order the DVD from several suppliers in Shetland: current list can be found on Hazel’s website: www.hazeltindall.com/dvd.
The download costs US$30 (roughly £23), and the DVD costs £25.
And if you want to learn more about the contributors, their websites are here:-
Elizabeth: www.shetlandhandspun.com
Hazel: www.hazeltindall.com
Enjoy!
Meanwhile, we have a giveaway winner to announce, do we not? THANK YOU to all 317 of you who entered the Adagio Teas giveaway either here, or @thetwistedyarn on Instagram, or on The Twisted Yarn Facebook page. You all made it a big success. Unfortunately, there can be only one winner. So I allocated each entry a number, fed them all into the random number generator at random.org, and waited for it do work its magic. And we have a winner! Step forward, please, and take a bow:-
Carol-Anne Adreetti. Congratulations! Courtesy of Adagio Teas, you win a PersonaliTEA teapot in a colour of your choice, with two cups to match, plus a festive Stocking Stuffer Set, AND five different loose tea sampler sets. Wa-hey! I’ll send you a Facebook message within the next day or so to request your address.
To everyone else, thank you for entering, and I’m sorry that you weren’t lucky this time. Meanwhile, the festive Christmas tree tea cosy crochet pattern is here, and if I can squeeze a few more hours out of the next couple of days, I’ll finish the knitted bauble tea-cosy pattern, too.
Wondering if I can persuade North Yorkshire County Council we should have the DVD in the library.
What an excellent idea to ask a library to have it in the collection Nana Cathy! And congratz for the winner of the teapot + Carol-Anne. I’ve to admit I think two knitting ladies chattering away will lull me into sleep. I’m sorry ;>D
I would love to buy the DVD but apparently the only way I can get it in the US is via download; I can’t do that so if anyone has a suggestion of how to buy the DVD I’d love to hear it.
Hi Kay. Hmm, good question. I need to email Hazel tomorrow anyway, so I’ll ask her.
I too am in the US, and I am wondering if the physical DVD is region-specific … While you are inquiring, could you please ask that also? Thank you! (As a bit of background, a DVD may use one code, a combination of codes (multi-region), every code (all region) or no codes (region free); the US is in Region 1, while the UK and most of Europe is in Region 2. This would not affect digital download at all, only the physical DVD.)
Will do. Hadn’t thought of that.
Appreciate it! (Really enjoyed your review … And the great snowy photos, too!)
Hi Georgia and Kay,
I’ve emailed Hazel asking about shipping the DVD worldwide. And I noticed when I re-read one of her previous emails that she clearly states that the DVD will play worldwide – hurrah!
Hello-Any answer about ordering DVD in US? I’m interested also. Thank you!
Yes, see my latest response in this thread. 🙂
UPDATE! I’ve checked with Hazel and she says that the Shetland Times Bookshop, Jamieson and Smith, and Shetland Museum all ship worldwide. Hurrah! And the DVD can be played in any country.
Thanks so much for checking this out! I’m excited. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing?
Thanks again for going to the effort on researching this!
I was a beginning knitter for over 20 years until I found several of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s VHS in my local library and watched them and others I found. And checked them out again and again. I moved across country and again have expanded my knowledge and skills with other videos–DVD’s now not VHS. I’m not the type to hang out at a LYS or knit nights, but have improved my skills through good videos of techniques and mistake fixing. Asking your local library to purchase them is a good idea because it expands the skill set of many people who might not otherwise hear of these wonderful women.
Lovely photos thanks for sharing them. We got stuck in the snow recently but luckily I had my knitting with me so I sat in the car and carried working on a project – loved it. I had some odd looks from the lorry driver sat at the side of us but hey ho. Looks a wonderful DVD thank you for the opportunity to enter x
Who hoo, thank you!
Congratulations! And apologies for mis-spelling your surname.
No problem, thank you ????
The photos completely destroyed me with longing – but then I remember that I’m not young any more and have trouble coping with the fairly gentle winters here in Portland, Oregon – have no chains or snow tires, etc. But I thank you again and again for being your wonderful chatty and clever and witty self. As for the DVD I would probably love it but am on a limited budget – maybe the library idea here too – I’ll see what I can do about that. BTW I made and gifted a total of 20 Christmas trees – slight alteration of your version but still your idea basically and everyone has been delighted with them – another thanks to you.
Gosh, 20! Wow! I’m very impressed by your productivity.
Re the galloping horse: When I made a mistake when knitting my mother always used to say, ‘Oh well, a blind man in a thunderstorm wouldn’t notice . . . .’
Ha, I love that! You could get away with most mistakes if that’s the criterion.
I am so happy to hear that 2 expert knitters are not fans of circular needles! I feel like an old fogey going on with my straight needles in knitting situations but I maintain I can not go nearly as fast on circulars. They do have their uses…hats…and large pieces of work. I shall now go check these ladies websites…
Julie
Thank you for such a witty review???? I am very interested in this dvd and loved your photos, especially the melting one????love the titles! At my LYS we call mistakes we aren’t taking out design elements.
Just to let you know that as of today none of the sources listed as carrying the DVD have it in stock. Jamieson and Smith does say it’s out of stock; the others don’t list it at all as far as I can tell. I am hoping that maybe after the holiday madness things will improve and it will be back in stock.
Oh! That’s a pity. I hope they can restock soon. Thanks for letting us know. 🙂