"The folk of Fair Isle had the good fortune to welcome Helen Robertson in April, to share in her marvellous Gloril project.  The chance to knit in wire, and to make a beautiful lightshade was too good to miss and I found the whole weekend inspiring.  Of course us isle women often used to sit and knit together but after two years of forced isolation from one another, it was easy for that lovely habit to fizzle out.  The meeting of like minds, from young to old, novices (that'll be me) to real experts was great fun and really felt more like therapy than crafting.  I felt a real connection to my forebears who would have sat together, sharing stories and tips.  Fair Isle is a proud and strong community, who love to learn new things when given the chance and I would absolutely love to take part in any future projects.  These opportunities help our community to stay connected and strong, a true common thread." Eileen Thomson

The support letter that helped Shetland Arts decide to support my Filskit project. I'm very grateful that they did!

As you can see it was very windy when we arrived in Fair Isle. I was trying to get a photo of my new 'Flock' Cowl. I designed it using Kathy Coull's fabulous yarn grown in Fair Isle and only available from there. I was lucky to buy some on my last Gloril trip. The cowl pattern is available here https://www.helenrobertson.com/products/flock-cowl-pattern and can be in in Aran weight yarn. All proceeds from the sale of the pattern are donated to the George Waterson Memorial Centre aka The museum in Fair Isle.

The Flock Cowl is so fine and warm especially n windy days! I'm also wearing my Smookie jumper from Niela Nell and available to order from here: - https://nielanell.com/collections/contemporary-shetland-knitwear/products/fair-isle-shetland-smookie-jumper and my Mariner's Compass Hat. 

We met  around Anne's kitchen table and spent a happy 2 days catching up and knitting. I was delighted that 2 children came and had a go at the new technique. I love the cover image with Anne assisting Grace to get the hang of the makkin belt (knitting belt). 

The makkin belt is a device used by many generations of Shetland knitters to enable them to knit fast and to walk whilst knitting! Many old images show women walking with kishies (straw baskets) on their backs. Close examination shows that they were knitting socks. This makes sense as socks were portable, light and mostly involved knitting 'plain' or stocking stitch on short needles. The belts are usually made from leather and are stuffed with horsehair.  

The belts shown here are from top; a modern belt still available to buy in Shetland, an artists belt complete with stencilled fair isle pattern, a seal skin belt and a child's belt. 

The belts are usually worn on the right hand side of the body and anchor the needle. Janette Budge runs classes in how to get started using one. They are fab for knitters but really useful for knitters who only have used of one hand. Margaret Doull has made many award winning shawls with the help of her knitting belt using her one good hand.

https://www.janettebudge.com/workshops/

I found this fair isle moose that I had gifted Anne 30 years ago, after years of being played with by 2 generations of children and grandchildren, he still looks good! I made hundreds of these in my early 20's. It was a great lesson in colour placement as I was gifted lots of bags of 'peerie cloos' or small ends of balls of yarn in a huge variety of colours, some dating back to the 1950's! It was a great way to practice colour work. During this time the nurse stationed in Fair Isle bought around 80 for me. Sadly I no longer have her letters but she sent me lovely thank you letters including on in sheikh she told me that she had sent the mice to her "friends in the cells of Calcutta". On enquiry I found that her friends were nuns. 

In the early 90's my brother and I were big fans of singer John Martyn. At that time it was pretty rare for musicians to perform in Shetland. It costs a lot to get here and knocks out a couple of days of a tour. Unpredictable and potentially adverse weather means few take the risk. John Martyn was scheduled to play in a small intimate venue, The Norscot Angling Club, in Lerwick. I had been away when the tickets went on sale and they sold out very quickly. An hour before the gig I was yarning on the phone to one of my friends who told me about ' Some Country band" that were staying in their chalet. They had offered my friend's family free passes for the concert and their name was " something like John and Martin"! I leapt up excitedly "OMG dats John Martyn! Dats John Martyn! can you still get the passes?!" Luckily she could and within an hour we were there! It was an amazing gig! All the better as it was so unexpected! At that time the chalets sold some of my Fair Isle mice. John Martyn, famous for indulging, became enamoured with one on his return to the chalet and left Shetlnad with it hanging from the neck of his guitar the next day! The mice were designed by my neighbour and Knitting Teacher, Florence Shearer, who gifted the pattern to me on my return from University. I made many hundreds but an order for 100 from Stackhoull stores in Fair Isle tipped me over the edge and I found I could no longer face the repetition! I managed to get their knitting and finishing time down to 2.5 hours but by that time needed a few hours to psyche myself up to knit them! Fiona of Stackhoull Stores was very understanding and 32 years on I've still not knitted another one. I've told my friends to check on me if they see them appearing for sale again as it will a sign that all is not well! 

Easterhoull Chalets in Scalloway - popular accommodation for visitors.

https://www.selfcatering-shetland.co.uk

Back to the Fair Isle trip, I was delighted to visit Marie Bruhat's specially built studio. She runs classes in machine and hand knitting as well as her fabulous Knitting Holidays. https://www.fairislewithmarie.com

This is Anne and I just outside Marie's studio! Right on the 'Banks Broo' or cliff edge. My gorgeous rust linen dress was my last purchase before Lockdown. I wore it til in wore in holes. It's now living a new life as a Ragtime Knitting Cowl! 

I love the mix of hands in this photo! Peerie hands an older hands. Thanks to Anne and Barry for their generous hospitality. 

That concluded my Filksit Fizzy Fair isle tour. For various reasons I didn't get to Papa Stour and Foula within the timescale of the project although I've promised both communities that I will return soon. 

Big thanks to Shetland Arts for allowing these events to happen. Both tours left me feeling so much more part of the whole of Shetland and the importance of each area to the whole, and that's saying something for a Toonie!