Makkin Our Way Through Shetland

May and August 2022

Anne Frost of the I Thought I Knew How Podcast and Online International Fiber Festival is partnering with Island Vista, a Shetland owned and operated tour company, to host a series of tours of Shetland in 2022!

This lovely area of the world is known for its knitting, natural beauty, and history, and each tour is designed to expose you to the best of it all!

Makkin Our Way Through Shetland: Fair Isle will run May 15 – 22, 2022 and August 21 – 28, 2022. This trip will focus on Fair Isle knitting history and methods. 

Makkin Our Way Through Shetland: Lace will run May 22 – 29, 2022, and August 28 – September 4, 2022, and focus on Shetland lace knitting.

Each tour will include instruction with Shetland knitting teachers, visits to local fiber farms, explorations of historical sites, and time to enjoy the natural beauty of Shetland.

To increase your comfort on the trip and maximize access to your teachers during classes, each week of the tour is limited to a small number of people. Non-knitting companions are welcome, too, though everyone should have advanced beginner knitting skills to participate in the workshops. 

There is very little overlap between the two tours, and they are designed to run back to back, so you are welcome to join us for one week or both!

Bressay Lighthouse protects the south entrance of Bressay Sound and houses the Marine Heritage Centre.

What's Included

  • Transfers within Shetland on arrival and departure
  • All tours listed on the itinerary with a fully qualified tourist guide and experienced driver
  • Seven nights accommodation with your own private bathroom at a Lerwick guesthouse
  • Breakfast daily
  • Five lunches at a variety of venues
  • Six dinners in some of Shetland’s finest food establishments
  • Multiple knitting classes and experiences with all the yarn required
  • All admission fees to museums, historical sites, and attractions

What's Not Included

One dinner and one lunch (assistance will be offered to obtain both), transport to and from Shetland, notions and knitting needles required for classes, spending money, travelers insurance.

Classes

Fair Isle week will include a class with Janette Budge about Fair Isle yokes, a steaking workshop with Barbara Cheyne, a Fair Isle project and Shetland dialect talk with Viveka Velupillai, and talks about the history of production knitting by Hazel Tindall and color blending with Wilma Malcolmson.

Lace week will include a day-long workshop with renown lace knitting experts Anne Eunson and Kathleen Anderson, an afternoon lesson with spinner and lace knitter Elizabeth Johnson, a lace project and Shetland dialect talk with Viveka Velupillai, and the opportunity to whittle your own shawl pin with Cecil Tait of Paparwark Furniture.

For more information, including detailed itineraries of both trips, or to reserve your space, please visit Island Vista’s website.