Hats off to wool week as festival opens

THERE were hats aplenty at the Anderson High School in Lerwick on Sunday evening as this year’s Shetland Wool Week was formally opened with a welcome event.

The building was swamped with guests wearing variations of this year’s toorie hat, designed by patron Elizabeth Johnston, as well as other wooly garments.

Johnston herself was on hand to give a speech to the hundreds of attendees, pointing to the inspiration locals find in Shetland’s ever-changing weather and landscapes.

This year’s wool week is expected to see around 600 people visit the isles from all over the world.

A slew of workshops, talks and events will take place over the coming week, with over 300 planned in total.

Shetland Wool Week, which is run by the isles’ Amenity Trust, is now in its ninth year and in 2017 it is estimated to have brought in £700,000 to the local economy.

The trust’s chief executive Mat Roberts also gave a speech at Sunday’s event, as did Shetland Museum curator curator Carol Christiansen.

After the speeches guests mingled with wine and chocolate as they browsed stalls, while some relaxed with knitting needles in hand.

There was a tangible international feel to the event, with accents heard from all over the globe. One excited wool-lover from the US said the week was a “bucket list” event for her.

Amenity trust chief Roberts, meanwhile, said the wheels are already in motion to celebrate Wool Week’s tenth anniversary in style next year.

“To see this many people here is not a surprise when you look into it because knitting and textiles and wool and crafts involves hundreds of millions of people around the world, and we’re just the tip of the iceberg,” he said, with a colourful wooly hat stuffed into his jacket pocket.

“It’s been building over nine years, and with the tenth anniversary next year, we’re looking to see what we can do to make it really special.”