Fires and fireplaces are a recurring theme in Shetland's museums and
heritage centres. Maybe it is because so much of life revolved around the
fire, either cooking on it, keeping warm during the long winter days and
nights, or the story-telling which occupied the residents.
The
most northerly fireplace is to be found in the Unst Heritage Centre at
Haroldswick. The Centre is also famous for its fine lace collection.
You don't need to look closely to appreciate the delicate work involved,
and it is even more astounding to consider that the knitter was without the
benefits of modern lighting or a knitting pattern!
More fine lace treasures can be seen in the Shetland Textile Working
Museum at the Weisdale Mill. Their exhibitions change twice a year so you
cannot guarantee seeing lace shawls but there will always be small pieces on
display.
Shetland Fair Isle and patterned knitting are perhaps one of
Shetland's best known art forms and the textile museum is a good place to
see them. Look for the haf caps which are interesting in their design and
construction, using both natural and hand-dyed wool.
But
for Fair Isle knitting on Fair Isle you have to the George Waterston
Memorial Centre.
Here they have panels of knitting patterns representing hundreds of
designs which were kept in the minds of women for generations, before being
assigned to graph paper.
The
sea features strongly in the collections at the George Waterston Memorial
Centre.
Look for the practical, well-made chairs of driftwood and straw, a style
unique to Shetland - if only we could hear some of the stories that have
been told from such seats.
A china doll's head brings us
back to reality in understanding the dangers of the sea.
This was from the
wreck of the Lessing in 1867, the scene of a daring and successful rescue.
