After having no agricultural shows for the last 2 years I was so looking forward to going the the Voe Show this year. It’s the first in the Shetland show calendar and always the first Saturday in August. What I love about it is the combination of meeting old friends, making new and admiring all the entries people throughout the community have spent time and effort on. And in the case of the crafts, knitting and cake decorating a lot of creativity! With the rough weather and long nights winter brings there’s plenty of time to let your imagination go and put your hands to good use.
For someone who loves fair isle knitwear it was a feast for the eyes and a tonic for the soul. The organisers said show entries across the board were down on previous years but it wasn’t obvious in any of the sections. I think there will be more entries next year as life returns to a more normal cycle. Some had missed the closing date or were away on a long awaited holiday.
Many of these jumpers are designed in the knitters own heads and graph books but folded on the right hand side of the photo, you can see a deep pink yoke sweater designed by Barbara Cheyne and published in a Shetland Wool Adventures Journal vol.3. Next to it is a cardigan designed by Rachel Hunter which was published in the 2020 Shetland Wool Week annual. Also on the furthest cane display is the Sandison jumper designed by Hazel Tindall but in this case knit by another Shetlander.
It was great to see the tradition of fair isle knitting is continuing with the younger generation. These socks were knit by a teenager and won the trophy in that section. Beautifully knit I’m sure you’ll agree and with the complexity of the fair isle heel and toe.
Jamieson and Smith sets a colourwork challenge each year for the main shows. It’s been running since 2012 and each year there are 8 shades of 2ply jumper weight chosen by them. Knitters have to use a minimum of 5. This years shades were 4, 133, 366, 1281, FC15, FC38, FC51 and FC64. It’s always interesting to see how different knitters apply the shades to their project.
If you want to know more about the knitting created from the colourbox challenge check out this years display at the Shetland Textile Museum in Lerwick.
You can also find more photos and info here on their Facebook page
If you look closely you might spot a couple of my hats from 2018 and 2019.
Hope you enjoyed my little snapshot of the fair isle knitting at the Voe show. Share your thoughts in the comments below and let me know if you’d like me to do blog posts for the other shows I’m going to.
Best wishes from Shetland
Janette
Alison Jaffrey says:
Thank you for this blog . The knitting is so wonderful ….those socks…how fantastic. I am in awe of the skills of the knitters of Voe more power to their fingers and their wires!
Helen Herbert says:
Thank you for sharing the knitwear at the Voe Show. I would love to hear about the other shows. We are looking forward to staying on Shetland in mid September for a couple of weeks and I have booked to attend a few Woolweek events.