About me

My name is Janet Turner.  I live in the Baljaffray area on the northern edge of Glasgow (hence the name) with my husband and one of our five children, who are all now in their twenties.

As a child, I learned how to knit (and many other needlecrafts) from my mother and continued to do knitting and tapestry into early adult life. Gradually, pressures of work and bringing up a young family meant that I had less and less time for my hobbies and I didn't knit for many years after my youngest children (twins) were born.


In the summer of 2009, whilst considering a change in career, I went on holiday to Skye with my family.  I visited several small craft fairs in village halls where crofters were selling things they had made to supplement their income - mainly knitwear and crochet work - but some other crafts as well. I thought, 'I could do that', and so began Baljaffray Handknits.


I began working in acrylic to keep costs down and followed published patterns to revise my skills.  Gradually, I was able to begin to devise my own patterns and now only use these.


Since January 2010, I've mainly used locally produced wool: New Lanark wool (see separate page), Strathearn Fleece and Fibre and various Scottish hand dyed yarns.  I also use vintage yarns sourced from various suppliers in Glasgow.