Special exhibition to mark textile museum move to Böd of Gremista

The Shetland Textile Working Museum is holding a special event from 1st to 4th May to celebrate its move to a temporary home at the Böd of Gremista in Lerwick.

Visitors will be among the first to see the exhibition “New from Old (changes in fashion)” which shows Shetland’s traditional heritage through knitted garments and accessories, illustrating how fashions have changed over the years.

Members of the Shetland guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers will also be demonstrating the skills used in traditional Shetland spinning and knitting throughout the weekend. The whole weekend is part of the Show Scotland programme and supported by a Museums Galleries Scotland grant. The 18th century fishing böd was the birthplace of Arthur Anderson, and the story of the building and the man will still be told.

The textile museum has been without a home since 2006 and the guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, who manage the museum, are working with Shetland Amenity Trust with a view to creating a home within a derelict listed building at Voe House, Walls.

While that project is under development, the need for a base to explore the isles’ textile heritage, especially in the Hamefarin year, was identified. Therefore, the decision was taken to provide a temporary home in the Böd of Gremista, one of the buildings already managed by the amenity trust.

Chairman of trustees Frank Robertson said: “After four years we are really looking forward to opening our collections to the public again and welcoming everyone to our temporary home for this celebratory weekend.  We also hope to see many locals and visitors over the summer, especially during the Hamefarin period.”

Members of the Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers will also be in the böd every Wednesday and Saturday, demonstrating the traditional spinning and knitting techniques involved in producing the word famous Shetland textiles.

Mr Robertson added: “We hope the demonstrations will not only show the textile skills still in the islands but encourage others to take up this craft, and build on the recent interest in local knitting circles.”

Entry to the böd and textile museum is free of charge, with donations welcome. The building will be open from 1st May to 11th September, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.