Community / Shetland Wool Week kicks off with packed opening ceremony
Curator Donna Smith said the festival gets ‘bigger and better’ every year
THE 15th annual Shetland Wool Week (SWW) opened in style at the Clickimin on Sunday night with hundreds of people – locals and visitors alike – gathering for an evening of live music and talks hosted by Claire White.
Shetland Amenity Trust chairwoman Hazel Sutherland spoke to the audience, welcoming “returning friends” and first-time visitors, saying: “Throughout the week you will see a wealth of creativity.”
This year’s event will see a vast variety of activities, workshops, talks, and classes, spread across the isles from Unst to Sumburgh. There are also a range of drop-ins available.
Sutherland added: “Come and immerse yourself in our world. Stop and chat, we will be delighted to share our islands with you.”
She finished by saying: “We love that you come here and take a peerie bit of Shetland with you when you go home.”
Guests were treated to sheep-shaped chocolates made by The Chocolate Box, and a glass of wine or juice on arrival and enjoyed music from local band Vair – who played a number of toe-tapping tunes.
This year’s SWW hat is the ‘Islesburgh Toorie’ designed by the Doull family, who are this year’s wool week patrons. They are hosting a ‘Sheep House Social’ at their family croft in Islesburgh, Northmavine, on 3 October.
The Northmavine Jarl Squad made an appearance, delighting the crowd with a rousing rendition of the Up Helly Aa song.
SWW curator Donna Smit took to the stage next, saying she’d finished her hat at 9.10am that morning, which was an improvement on last year. She called it “a privilege” being the curator of the event.
Stalls lined the back of the hall with an array of sponsors, including Silly Sheep Fibre Company, Neilanell, Uradale Yarn, and Jamiesons.
Shetland Guild of Spinners, Weavers, Dyers, and Knitters representatives Amanda McCartney and Kristi Stewart-Eliot were selling their books highlighting Shetland’s heritage in textile, knitting, and lacework.
McCartney said: “Wool week is crucial to continue on the tradition of it in Shetland. We’re still crofting, farming sheep, making wool and knitting ganzies. It’s good to pass that on, not just to people here but across the world.”
Stewart-Eliot added: “We’re at a critical point because the folk who have this knowledge are getting older and older, and if we don’t preserve that it will be lost.”
Addie, Margaret, and Anne Doull explained the inspiration behind the Islesburgh Toorie, which has a ram’s head in the pattern, with purple heather and sunset collars.
Anne said: “I’ve been continually wow-ed seeing other hats and colours online, and how people have tweaked the design to suit themselves.”
For the Doull family it’s a year-round farming journey to create their trademark wool. There are still a few tickets available for a short film, shown today (Monday), celebrating their family farm, from lambing, clipping, and judging fleeces at agricultural shows. It showcases their heritage, and will be followed with a Q&A.
Several people in the crowd won ‘golden tickets’, giving access to special opportunities with SWW sponsors.
Karin Fothergill, from York, has been thinking of attending Shetland Wool Week for the last five years and finally made it this year.
“I follow a podcast and they came up and filmed lots of the surroundings and events,” she said.
“I’d heard of wool week before, but it made me definitely want to come.”
Fothergill has been knitting on and off for her entire life and was knitting during the opening ceremony. She said: “I was really pleased to get a ticket for the one-on-one 1920s Canadian Sock Knitting machine, since there were only about six tickets available.”
She’s taking a tour up to the North Mainland and planning on doing some sightseeing while she’s here, and even went for a parkrun in Bressay.
Videographer and photographer Chris Morphet answered some questions about his exhibition in the Shetland Museum, featuring a series of Shetlanders wearing Fair Isle garments.
He was also presented with knitwear, a piece he’d bought on his first visit to Shetland that had been mended for him.
Closing the opening event last night, White said: “We are so blyde to have you here, and we hope it’s just a taste of what’s to come.”
This year’s Shetland Wool Week runs until 5 October.
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