A YARN shop in Sanquhar has become the latest knit specialist to collaborate with Dumfries House in efforts to produce a colourful knitted art installation set to be unveiled on the Cumnock estate later this year.

Stenhouse and Crafty-Artists, located at 19 High Street, is inviting contributions for a patchwork mosaic of thousands of hand-knitted squares to be draped over the estate’s historic Adam Bridge, which dates back to 1760.

The small shop is owned and run by Frances Watts and sells pet supplies and handcraft essentials, including yarn.

Frances, originally from Zimbabwe, explained: “My Dad had the shop as a pet supplies shop for 25 years but needed help to run the shop around eight years ago so I moved here from Wiltshire and, since 2014 and due to local demand, I’ve been selling yarn and haberdashery.

“There’s a real appetite for knitting and yarn in this area, to the point where the government gave us permission to sell yarn and associated products during the pandemic as they were of the opinion that people accessing yarn was essential for their wellbeing. I wasn’t allowed to actively advertise but was given permission to trade in these items.

Cumnock Chronicle:

“The shop was deemed an essential service and gives people the chance to come in for a natter and keep themselves and their minds active. When some people came out of shielding, the first thing they did was come to the shop. They were desperate to just feel the yarn again and get knitting.”

Stenhouse and Crafty-Artists will encourage submissions of squares from customers and knitting enthusiasts in the Nithsdale area before forwarding them to Dumfries House. A similar arrangement is already in place at The Yarn Cake in Glasgow’s West End and Ginger Twist Studios in Edinburgh.

Contributions to the art installation should contain the name and hometown of the knitter and can alternatively be posted to “Knitwise”, Dumfries House, Cumnock, KA18 2NJ.

The deadline is the end of June.