‘Wool is our common language’
ALMOST 100 wool and textile enthusiasts from Shetland, the UK and overseas gathered in the Shetland Museum and Archive boats hall to celebrate the opening of the fourth Shetland Wool Week, on Monday.
Highlight of the evening was the launch of a beautiful new book covering almost 3,000 years of local textile history. Edited by Sarah Laurenson, Shetland Textiles: 800BC to the Present brings together the latest research on a subject at the centre of Shetland identity.
The treasure of a book contains contributions from nine authors plus reminiscences from 30 others.
Laurenson said writing and editing the book had been an “amazing journey”. (She details that journey in her own words here).
“I considered myself interested and passionate and reasonably well informed before I started, and I have been just constantly amazed by how much I didn’t know.
“There is so much out there – and this book brings it all together,” she said.
Participants in this year’s wool week will be treated to a number of events and workshops across the isles, including those hosted by this year’s guest patrons Felicity Ford and Tom Van Deijnen.
An artist and lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, Ford describes herself as a “listener” who is interested in the everyday sounds associated with wool and woollen textiles.
As such she has recorded the sounds “that tell us more about Shetland wool”. Samples can be found at: http://aporee.org/maps/work/projects.php?project=shetlandwool
“What is incredible about Shetland is that the working textile industry here is still transparent; you can pick up a sweater in Shetland and understand exactly where it is from. For me, sonically and culturally, that is very exciting.
“The fact that the knitting is really embedded in the culture here and that the wool industry is still alive, and the possibility of connecting regional textiles with regions is irresistible for me as a knitter and a listener,” she said.
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Self-taught knitter Tom Van Deijnen meanwhile focuses on his work of fixing things.
He became passionate about darning after realising he couldn’t throw away his first pair of knitted socks, and became immersed in mending and patching up. He now teaches different techniques for repairing knitwear.
“The fact that you want to fix it means the garment is something special to you; something that you want to keep wearing.
“I am here to run a few darning workshops to teach people how to darn,” he said.
Wool Week runs until Sunday and is packed with events across the islands. A full programme is available at www.shetlandwoolweek.com/assets/files/Shetland-Wool-Week-programme-2013.pdf
The week will be followed by the North Atlantic Native Sheep and Wool Conference. Details at www.shetlandwoolweek.com/assets/files/NANSW_Programme.pdf
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.