British Wool, giveaway, knitting, mill, sheep, shetland, wool
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Tour of Jamieson’s Spinning Mill

I went on a visit to my local mill.

What better to do on a rainy day, but to get on a bus and head to Jamiesons of Shetland mill, in Sandness!

Rainy day in Shetland

Rainy day in Shetland

The bus was full of Shetland Wool Week visitors and I was sat next to a woman from Texel who had created something utterly fascinating which she called sheep theatre!

Having lived in Shetland most of my life it is really silly that I have never visited Shetland’s only spinning mill. It was utterly amazing to see the whole process from fleece bales to finished spun yarn to knitted garment and woven cloth.

Bales of wool awaiting processing

Bales of wool awaiting processing

Scarves being woven in Shetland wool

Scarves being woven in Shetland wool

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After the wool journey we headed to the work room to see the machines in action and the finishing area.

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Of course, there was also the obligatory trip to the Mill shop….yarn, cloth, patterns, samples. knitwear, seconds….oh my! They even gave us a cup of tea and a biscuit. It was in the shop that I met the lovely Tori Seierstad who was wearing her Next Year in Lerwick…you still have time to enter the pattern giveaway here.

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After a fantastic afternoon at Jamieson’s Mill I had a spectacular evening at the Lerwick Hotel bar in the company of about 25 other knitters. It was really lovely to meet so many people I have been chatting online with for a while now and it was especially nice to catch up with some familiar faces.

This afternoon I am off to learn hap knitting with Gudrun Johnson. No doubt more photos will follow!

16 Comments

  1. Lydia Sage says

    Oh, how wonderful to be with so many knitting people – enjoy your class with Gudrun. I am afraid that I have to confess I am green with envy but loving your posts about Shetland wool Week. So, from Western Australia to The Shetlands soaring with the global winds my very best wishes.

  2. Interesting. Do Jamiesons and Jamiesons and Smith share the same mill? Enjoy your hap class and look forward to more Shetland wool week updates!

    • louise says

      No, they are two separate companies. J&S have their wool spun in Yorkshire mill.

      • Now that is very interesting! I just presumed both business did all of their woolly stuff on Shetland. Were you designing your own mini haps? I’m def coming next year….. Mr D says I’m good to go so Fizz dog will be taken care of for the week.

        • louise says

          Fantastic!! No, we were knitting from Gudrun’s hap pattern. Traditionally it’s square but this is triangular. Am thinking a giant square hap could be perfect to showcase British breed yarn!!!

    • louise says

      No, they are two separate companies. J&S have their wool spun in Yorkshire mill. Had SUCH fun today making mini haps!

  3. Lovely – brought back memories of my trip to Sandness a couple of years ago. I’ve still got some of the consequences in my stash (ahem)….

  4. Sally A Conboy says

    This really inspired me to come to Shetland but! Last year they were still closed due to Covid restrictions and low and behold we came back again this tear(2022) only to be told they hadn’t bothered reopening even though all restrictions are now lifted, and have no plans at the moment. To be honest it sounds like they just don’t want visitors anymore!

    • louise says

      That’s a shame! I guess people are just being cautious about their workplaces in the Covid times. Also I don’t think they ever did tours outside Wool Week, but I might be wrong.I hope you had an absolutely fabulous time in Shetland

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