Shetland Wool Week trip 2022: Tues 13 Sept

No rain today, but wind! When I looked at 6.00, my phone warned me of major disruption due to gales, but we hoped (and as it turned out were correct) this would not affect the plans to go up to Unst. This was to be a leisurely day and I hoped to find time to use my Ashford Electric Spinner which I had brought with me for the first time. (1) 

The ferry from Toft was booked for 10.45, so on the way up we were able to stop off at Brae. We didn’t try the Brae hotel for coffee, although this does look worth a try, but instead went into Brae Co-op which in our view is a super shop. We stocked up on pastries and enjoyed the coffee and hot chocolate (me) that we made in the Motorhome to have with these.

I had brought some natural dyeing and wool related items with me which I was going to gift. I was going to Unst Heritage Centre to have an afternoon with the Knitting and Spinning ladies tomorrow, so more gifting, and hence more space in the Motorhome for purchases. 

One of these being a bag of Lincoln Longwool locks that I had bought from Rigby Lincoln Longwools. I wanted to spin some fine to add to my complement of fine spun fleece types and  also to add some details of the fleece and the history of the breed to go in the ‘gifting bag’. 

Lincoln Longwool fleece unwashed 

The staple was advertised as ‘at least’ 10” inches long but the locks here were longer than that, 15” (38 cm)! 

I had washed some for myself previously and spun fine yarn with it. This is one of the skeins. A thing of beauty, so lustrous, from locks so full of lanolin. It is always a pleasure when I can start with the fleece, produce the yarn, and then as added bonus natural dye it and knit with it. But all time consuming!(2)

A spun skein, 2 ply. Singles 125 wpi (wraps per inch) NM 2/23

I was also going to take the Ashford Electric Spinner for the Unst ladies to try if they wished, so hoped that when we got to the campsite I would have time to check the e-spinner had survived the journey so far. For me this was late preparation! 

So we progressed to Toft and onto Yell and drove through to Gutcher to wait for the ferry to Belmont in Unst. (For interest in autumn 2022, the return fare was £21.70 for our motorhome). 

Arriving in Unst, Belmont House now a private property

I thought these were for the space centre, but I was informed by a local crofter they are in fact for the wave energy project around the islands of Yell and Unst. 

We drove straight to Uyeasound where we would stay overlooking the sea. What’s not to love about this place! 

There was one caravan parked there, so we parked up and proceeded to get lunch. The facilities had been renovated and now included 2 showers, with hot water, new washbasins etc. but no heat. We have a shower in the motorhome that will be warmer! This year for the first time we would not be able to use the facilities of the Gardiesfauld hostel due to covid restrictions. We had always enjoyed meeting and chatting to the many people who stayed there. At this time of year many would be ‘birders’. Also we got good Wi-Fi reception there, this year only my phone, Vodaphone, appeared to be working, ie no Three reception. I can understand why the hostel was only available as a ‘book the whole hostel’ but felt it would be have a serious effect on the income of the island businesses. One of the challenges of such a remote life, try and keep Covid at bay but still be able to maintain an income. I hoped as Covid becomes less of a concern in the future, the hostel will become a vibrant part of life in the island again. 

Looking one way from our parking spot

And the other way - taken at the same time! 

We decided to leave driving around some of our favourite spots in the island for another day. We had a couple of busy days ahead of us. I got out the electric spinner, which was working just as well as when I packed it away and settled down for a full afternoon of fine lace spinning in one of the most beautiful places. Bliss. It was so good to be back. Sitting looking over the sea we were blessed with great views of a little plover on the beach and a red breasted merganser in the sea. 

1. I use a rechargeable Talentcell (model YB 1206000 -USB ) which I find excellent and lasts for a long time between recharges. It was a bit of a fuss when it arrived as the rubber on the lead going into the back of the spinner was too wide, ie the hole made by Ashford was too narrow. I needed help from a knowledgeable friend to know which lead I needed to buy to go through the hole. When you know what you are looking for it can be found on a well known online auction site. I made sure I labelled the ends of the leads carefully! 
2. To spin 2.5 g this fine takes me two evenings, that is 1 ply of this skein. I have not added up the other processes. You can see why in Shetland at the height of the fine knitting era, often the knitter was not the spinner and the end product was a family affair. 
3. This gives some additional information https://www.shetnews.co.uk/2022/02/16/its-clean-its-predictable-and-its-invisible/