Donna Smith Designs

Donna Smith Designs Textile designer and maker

02/10/2026

Happy Fair Isle Friday!
Wearing the Freefield Jacket I designed for the Shetland Wool Week Annual last year (volume 11). It’s been amazing having so many visitors to my studio shop this week and meeting everyone and seeing so many lovely pieces of knitwear. Thanks everyone for coming!

A new cast on during Shetland Wool Week even though I have several other things on the needles! As soon as I saw the Vad...
01/10/2026

A new cast on during Shetland Wool Week even though I have several other things on the needles! As soon as I saw the Vaddel neckerchief in the new book by gudrunjohnston and published by Laine Publishing I knew I wanted to make it. I’m using Langsoond 4Ply in Shetland Black and Selkie. The whole book is gorgeous with several things I want to make. It was a pleasure to have gudrunjohnston, Mari, Alisha Edmiston and Jonna Helin at the Croft during the photoshoot, you can see some of the sheep and the Croft throughout the book.
I’m also using my new stitch markers inspired by the Croft which were a collaboration between myself and Jocelyn Naquin and are brand new for Shetland wool week. They are for sale in my shop and I’ll have them at the Maker’s Market in the Anderson High School on Saturday. They will go online once wool week is over.

Shetland Wool Week 2026 is nearly here! We have been very busy getting prepared, it’s a bit of a last minute rush this y...
24/09/2026

Shetland Wool Week 2026 is nearly here! We have been very busy getting prepared, it’s a bit of a last minute rush this year as the latest batch of Langsoond DK only arrived on Tuesday so there’s less naturally dyed yarn available this year. I’ve been working extra hours this week in my science technician job so my latest batch of indigo dyeing was done on Tuesday night in the dark with a head torch! The photo here was taken earlier in the summer but this is what I was in the dark!
The Langsoond yarn shop will be open extended hours from tomorrow, swipe to see the opening times. For directions see the Visit page of my website.
I have just received more grey DK and that will be labelled and on sale as well as some naturally dyed yarn, arts and crafts and publications.
Looking forward to seeing everyone!

I can’t believe it’s almost the end of August already and it’s over a week since I got back from Fair Isle. I spent a we...
25/08/2026

I can’t believe it’s almost the end of August already and it’s over a week since I got back from Fair Isle. I spent a week as a guest tutor for a natural dyeing and knitting holiday organised by Fair Isle with Marie. It was a fantastic week of dyeing, knitting, spending time with a lovely group of “students”, sightseeing and more. The group stayed in the Fair Isle Bird Observatory where we had our meals and knitting classes. The food and views were both equally stunning! Marie is already planning the holidays for next year, you can see the holidays available on Marie’s website (Fair Isle with Marie) and they will be available for booking from Thursday 27th August at 6pm. I’m tempted to go on one myself!

🌱Yarns were dyed with locally foraged dock leaves and nettles, rhubarb leaves, onion skins, together with logwood and madder extracts and indigo to give a wide range of colours 💙💜💛

I haven’t posted for a while but there’s lots going on behind the scenes. The lambing is finished and I’m getting some y...
29/05/2026

I haven’t posted for a while but there’s lots going on behind the scenes. The lambing is finished and I’m getting some yarn dyed again. I’m trying to get as much as I can on the website but the shop has been busy so often the yarn sells out before I get get it uploaded! I’ve also welcomed several tour groups and have been teaching some lovely participants for . It’s good to be in this season once again, although it’s a busy time, there’s so many enjoyable things. The sun has even made an appearance today!

The lambing is nearly finished here, only 3 sheep to go. It has gone generally fairly smoothly this year but the other n...
14/05/2026

The lambing is nearly finished here, only 3 sheep to go. It has gone generally fairly smoothly this year but the other night this little lamb needed a bit of extra help as she had somehow got separated from her mum. I took her into the house to warm up and bottle fed her and soon she was fighting fit. The third photo shows her the next day, they soon learn where they can get food!

It’s that time of year again where the Langsoond Yarn shop is open! We will be open two days a week, Tuesdays and Friday...
08/05/2026

It’s that time of year again where the Langsoond Yarn shop is open! We will be open two days a week, Tuesdays and Fridays 11am - 4pm. If those times don’t suit please send a message or email and I can see if there’s a time than can work for you to visit. For directions please see the visit page on our website (link in profile). Looking forward to seeing you!

Address

Lerwick

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Donna Smith Designs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Donna Smith Designs:

Shortcuts

Share