Shetland Museum and Archives
By Megan Goodacre
Do you remember the world without the internet? Isn't it strange the kinds of things we have access to? Historical facts, esoteric tidbits, music, art, photographs...
I'm usually a late-comer to resources (late joiner to Ravelry, for example) so I often assume that my discoveries are generally known facts for everyone else. But of course, that's not true. I often meet avid knitters who haven't heard of Ravelry. I always feel a little guilty writing down the url, it's sort of like giving someone their first hit of an addictive drug. They'll never be innocent again.
So I wanted to share an amazing online resource: the Shetland Museum's online photographic archives. It is just incredible the amount of information available. And free to access for personal use. I was researching traditional lace blocking methods, and found this, and it's such a wonderful photograph. Nothing beats film for black and white; the texture of the bricks, the fabric, the women's aprons is so beautiful in silver, I'll bet the original print is just a wonderful thing.
This particular photograph, of women washing and dressing knitted shawls and sweaters, is by R Ramsay.
Click on the image to go to the archives. I've started you off in the Knitwear category, but the archive is huge, with much more than knitwear.
I'm usually a late-comer to resources (late joiner to Ravelry, for example) so I often assume that my discoveries are generally known facts for everyone else. But of course, that's not true. I often meet avid knitters who haven't heard of Ravelry. I always feel a little guilty writing down the url, it's sort of like giving someone their first hit of an addictive drug. They'll never be innocent again.
So I wanted to share an amazing online resource: the Shetland Museum's online photographic archives. It is just incredible the amount of information available. And free to access for personal use. I was researching traditional lace blocking methods, and found this, and it's such a wonderful photograph. Nothing beats film for black and white; the texture of the bricks, the fabric, the women's aprons is so beautiful in silver, I'll bet the original print is just a wonderful thing.
This particular photograph, of women washing and dressing knitted shawls and sweaters, is by R Ramsay.
Click on the image to go to the archives. I've started you off in the Knitwear category, but the archive is huge, with much more than knitwear.