Knitters turn up in force for Böd of Gremista event

Around 80 people took part in an outdoor knitting project at the Böd of Gremista last night, before the cold eventually affected their nimble fingers.

The project, entitled Own Our Own Time, was one of a number of events in the International Textile Festival, run by Shetland Arts.

Dealing with issues of time associated with a human pace, the project also included questions about tradition and development, the participants’ own stories and about attention. It was run by the Swedish artist Kerstin Lindstrom with the help of skilled knitters from many countries.

A strong Nordic theme is running through the textile festival, as marketing officer Lisa Ward explained: “Textiles have long been important to Shetlanders, and the festival aims to explore their contemporary potential and future in relation to the wider world, particularly the Nordic countries.”

The knitting conference In the Loop 3.5: Making Connections, which ends today, explores the contemporary potential of knitting with a strong Nordic theme.

The conference is the fourth in a series initiated and led by Linda Newington from the University of Southampton Library. Participants have been hearing from various experts in the field of textiles including artists, curators, designers, knitters, theorists and historians.

Tomorrow will see the public opening of Lighten, an exhibition of textile art at Bonhoga Gallery by a group of 10 textile artists from Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, exhibiting along with two Shetland artists. The work will stay on display until 15th September.

Also tomorrow is Meet Shetland Textiles – a drop-in, free to attend, textile networking afternoon. It will be in the upper cafe bar in Mareel, giving visitors the chance to meet textile artists and craftmakers living and working in Shetland.

• Round-up and more photos in next week’s Shetland Times.