ragamuffin loves...all things knit!

We sell this fabulous Colinette yarn - pop in for a ball and join in National knitting week!

It's national knitting week from 15th - 21st October and we are jolly proud to say that this winter we are bursting with beautiful handmade knits! Here is a round up of some of the gorgeous designs that are in store now...perfect timing seeing as it's gotten so chilly in the past few days!

Kearse & Boys Willie waistcoats

Kearse and Boys Box jacket

We continue to stock Kearse & Boys - their super soft felted lambswool jackets are always popular and we've got them to make us, old favourite, Willie waistcoats again for this year! Also in felted lambswool, with cute handmade button detail, Sophie's Wild woollens are gently tailored - perfect soft suiting for winter office wear or for lunch at the weekend over a white shirt with jeans and chic leather boots!

Sophie's Wild Woollens jackets

Proper Fairisle from Jamiesons of Shetland

We are delighted that The Killing will be back on the Beeb this winter (17th November, can't wait!) it truly is the TV show that launched a thousand jumper enquiries and we have a superb selection of Icelandic and Fairisle designs!


Janette Murray Icelandic knits
 

As always we have an amazing array of accessories to compliment (or matchy-match!).

Match a go-go with this Quernstone trio of Waistcoat, sweater and cowl!
 

These pretty hats by Breege Walsh...

...have matching mittens!

And of course we haven't forgotten the chaps! We have cuddly sweaters from all of our favourite Scottish and Irish designers. Go Nordic, like the cast of the hilarious BBC4 comedy Lilyhammer...

Harley of Peterhead provide the sweaters - just add a log fire and some eggnog!

...or cosy and soft with these comfy, subtle Scott Officers! We do from medium to extra large and also stock traditional Irish Grandad shirts in soft cotton flannel.

Lastly, don't forget to checkout our Facebook and Twitter pages! We will be posting our "one ball" knitting ideas all next week - we hope we inspire you to get your needles out and get knitting!

Ragamuffin loves...being so busy we forget to post!

Hello all! It has been an age since we last posted (well two months) and we have had so many deliveries, lovely customers old and new, the Edinburgh Festival and Fringe, a fabulously hot and sunny summer on Skye, new members of staff  in both shops and a new arrival for Tanya on Skye (a beautiful baby girl Maia) that we just have not had time to sit down and write a post!

                                                                Brand new from Flax!

So what has been happening? New collections from all of your favourites: Flax, Terry Macey, Yaccomaricard, Elemente Clemente, Two Danes, Out of Xile...and the list goes on! Hundereds of gorgeous new scarves and textiles, hats and gloves and the newest cuddlies from Jellycat. Lesley has had time in the studio and we've had a steady supply of our own Angels Don't Trudge jackets this year; whilst Karoline and the girls in Edinburgh have been busy making crazy sheep and highland cows and Finlay on Skye has been leading the corsage charge up there!

                                                          So many lovely new scarves!

We have been "tweeting" lots, so if you are that way inclined join us either @ragamuffinedin or @ragamuffinskye for the latest news on all things ragamuffin! We are also on Facebook and love the chance to interract with you all - search for "ragamuffin clothes and knitwear" (if you take the trouble to "like" us we'll give you our downloadable guide to layering absolutely free - very handy now it's getting chilly!)
Lastly, if you look to the right, you can join our mailing list! We send out a regular newsletter, full of lovely pics of new stock, as well as news on sales and special events.

                                                              Our virtual guide to layering!

Expect a proper post with lovely pictures in the next week or so. Please pop in if you are in Edinburgh or on Skye - we've got lots to show you!

ragamuffin loves... getting crafty!

We're so delighted that our archive of tweed is flying off the shelves, and with all the money going to Macmillan nurses and Dog's Trust it's a double happiness! We just love to see what you're all making with our beautiful Shetland tweed, please keep sending in your photos and we'll feature them here! In the meantime, here's a trip down memory lane of some our customers' past craft triumphs; we're feeling quite nostalgic and have a yen to get making...

We were amazed how fashion-forward some customers are, Rachel's shooting vest was country glamour epitomised, and Kristin's tweed shift would take you to the smartest occasion!

Bags are always a popular choice for the smaller project, and a fat quarter of tweed at a mere £5 is enough fabric for a small bag, and a metre at £10 makes a good sized shopper, like Marice's creation, and nice and strong too!

Note Asia's clever use of the pretty selvedge in her nostalgic photo purse!

There's no limit to some people's imagination - Dawn made this introvert/extrovert bag that we loved, such a tactile work of art!

We still use the tweed here in the shop, and our lovely in-house range of Angels Don't Trudge jackets designed by Lesley are back in stock for the festival season, a great range of colours and styles. Here's our model Dagmara in our popular Myrtle style, perfect to wear over linen layers between seasons.

The girls in the shop have also been busy making our signature crazy highland cows and sheep that Karolina designed for us; they have pride of place now in one of our cabinets; we even took the door off so people can giv'em a bit of a squeeze! Hope you're feeling inspired now! Remember to keep us posted with your own craft projects, we love to think of you all making fabulous things with our tweed, it warms the cockles!

ragamuffin loves...all the colours of the rainbow!

The one remark we always get from first time visitors goes along the lines of "look at all the lovely colours" or "it's so colourful - like an Aladdins cave!". We take pride in putting together colours in  creative & unusual ways, in stocking very little black and in having pretty much every colour in the rainbow - not just having colours in stock because they are deemed to be fashionable but stocking colourful clothes because they are fabulous!

Of course we are beholden to trends as everyone is. Over the last few years teals, petrols and aquas have become ubiquitous (which is fine by us as they suit the celtic complexion as much as they suit mediteranian skin tones!). We thought we might never stock orange again but it has had a fashion moment and we found ourselves adding a bit of mandarin to the mix. Along with mustard, burgundy has had a return to popularity and again, we are pleased as it is lovely mixed with earth tones and pure white on a hot summers day.

For a bit of fun we thought we'd make up an outfit for each of the seven colours of the rainbow - let us know which is your favourite!

ragamuffin loves...the Waverly paddle steamer!

We always squeal with delight when we see the gorgeous Waverly Paddle steamer dock at Armadale pier! She was in last week, bringing a boat load of daytrippers around the highlands and stopped here on Skye for a couple of hours. Built in 1947 and the last ocean-going paddle steamer in the world, the Waverley, is named after the novel by Sir Walter Scott.

If you fancy a good day out on the ocean waves, she'll be back at Armadale on Weds 6th June at 1.30pm and 4.15pm or on Fri 8th June at 12pm and 6pm. Alternatively, download the summer timetable from her website - there are trips running up and sown the British Isles.

The nautical look never goes out of style...we have some gorgeous summer linens in navy, blue and white so pop into ragamuffin before you board and look the part! Ahoy there!

ragamuffin loves...getting creative!

One of our very favourite activities at ragamuffin is creating the gorgeous displays that adorn the two shops! Every member of staff - from the longest serving to our very newest team member - has input into our colourful combinations!

We love to use colour in a creative way and put unusual colours together - sometimes clashing sometimes toning. Visitors to the shop always admire our displays - some liken them to gallery installations which makes us beam!

It is such a useful way to highlight our layering of clothes to achieve the popular "lagenlook", and a fantastic way to draw attention to all of our wonderful scarves, corsages and hats!

Just when we thought we'd used every colour combination imaginable, someone creates a fab new combo...grey, purple and natural is cool and sophisticated! We love to use texture and pattern to create interest - here fabrics range from heavy linen to gauzy silk, using fabrics in polkadots, stripes, checks and plain - throw on a floral scarf and we have some truly unique outfits!

We always offer a few well chosen gifts - these lovely long-legged coos and sheepy kitchenalia look cute atop our rails! The trick at ragamuffin is to keep looking up - you never know what you'll spot!
We are always delighted to put together unique outfits for our customers - just let us know if you want us to turn you into a walking work of art!

ragamuffin loves...tea parties

We are having a tea party today so hope you can make it to share these lovely cup cakes with us.