Grand opening
The evening of the 16th arrived and the guests started arriving well before the start time of 7.30pm. And they just kept on coming. We were thrilled to have a very full house. People really did make an effort and there was a huge mix of parents, children, members of the local community, council members, contractors, personal guests, etc. In all, it was very well attended.
I had put up a display of the children’s design work and my final designs, and a selection of photographs showing the whole process, which was a good idea because it got a lot of attention and people were obviously interested in seeing how it had all come together.
After a while it was time to start the ceremony! The sculptures were concealed, with a little posse of children holding the fabric coverings down around each one. Frances made a speech and I did too, then it was time to do the unveiling, which the children did admirably, and everyone crowded around to have a look. The response was very good; everyone seemed to love them. I think the subject matter – Fair Isle knitwear – was a good choice. Everyone here can relate to it and most people seem to be proud of this part of their heritage. It is also a sensitive issue politically right now because Shetland Council has announced huge cuts within education and one of them has been to cut knitting classes, which have been a feature in primary schools for decades. I am pleased that in a small way this piece of work may help to raise the profile of knitting in Shetland, as it is a hugely important industry.
One lovely outcome of this project has been that one of my designs has been knitted into a beret by Mary, the mother–in-law of one of the teachers, who comes from Unst. Mary did me proud and rendered my design very accurately in Shetland wool, after translating it into a knitting pattern. Although she has been knitting her whole life, she has never made a beret before, but grasped the challenge and did it very successfully. I am thrilled and wore the beret for the first time for the opening, which Mary attended. She showed an interest when I asked her if she might consider translating all the other designs into knitwear, so that remains to be seen, but is very exciting nonetheless!
