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
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
Scarves being woven in Shetland wool
After the wool journey we headed to the work room to see the machines in action and the finishing area.
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.
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!
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.
Interesting. Do Jamiesons and Jamiesons and Smith share the same mill? Enjoy your hap class and look forward to more Shetland wool week updates!
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.
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!!!
No, they are two separate companies. J&S have their wool spun in Yorkshire mill. Had SUCH fun today making mini haps!
I’m so envious. I would love to visit. Enjoy Wool Week
Jacqui
Next year, jacqui! Start planning x
Thanks for sharing all those fabulous photos. It looks fascinating. I love it when you can peek inside the process like that.
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)….
[…] got a goodie bag from Jamieson’s Of Shetland Mill when I took the wool week tour last week. Inside are two balls of the lovely Ultra yarn in the Titanic (151) colourway. This is a very soft […]
[…] first ever trip to Jamieson’s of Shetland Spinning mill (post here) and a fantastic social knit evening at the Lerwick Hotel. I met so many fantastic people there and […]
[…] are one of the partners of the festival and Garry can reveal there will be more mill tours (check out my visit to the mill last year) and Garry will be doing some talks in the evening and there are some more evening events planned […]
[…] are one of the partners of the festival and Garry can reveal there will be more mill tours (check out my visit to the mill last year) and Garry will be doing some talks in the evening and there are some more evening events planned […]
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!
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