One of the most exciting activities of the Thematic Network on Northern and Arctic Island Studies Research (NAISR) has been the opportunity to run a series of "Yarns and Yarns" events with local knitting groups across the North Atlantic. These in-person and online events have been hosted by knitting groups in St. John’s, NL, North Uist in Scotland, and Iceland. These events have seen over 100 knitters from all over the North Atlantic Zooming in to each event.

The most recent session was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, on December 3, 2024. It was hosted by the Institute of Island Studies at University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), in collaboration with the Institute for Northern Studies at University of the Highlands and Islands, Shetland, Scotland, and other members of the NAISR.

Knitters enjoyed an hour of knitting and storytelling. There was a fascinating discussion and demonstration of island knitting traditions focusing on mittens. Local knitter and UPEI Master of Arts in Island Studies student Cheryl Wartman talked about the tradition of making fishing mittens felted in salt water, as told to her by her grandmother Yoston from Launching Place, PEI.

Photo: Mittens from a pattern by Christine Legros and Shirley A. Scott in their book "Saltwater Mittens from the island of Newfoundland: More than 20 Heritage Designs to Knit" (Boulder Books, 2018).

Kim Doherty Smith from Fleece and Harmony, a locally sourced wool mill in Belfast, PEI, answered questions about how they mini mill their yarn from PEI sheep. And Lynda Harling Stalker, from a long line of PEIslanders, joined online from Antigonish to discuss handknit mitts and islandness. Local knitters brought their knitting and shared their current projects and mitten stories.

Watch the recording of the "Yarns and Yarns" event, organized in December 2024, here:

The "Yarns and Yarns" event from North Uist, in April 2023, was organised by Meg Rodgers from North Uist, and included talks by Monkia Ravnanger and Hege Therese Nilsen from Osterøy Museum, Bergen, Norway, Dana MacPhee from Uist Wool, Grimsby, Outer Hebrides, and the North Uist Knitting Group.

Meg discussed croft life on Berneray in the Outer Hebrides and her Hebridean North Atlantic sheep. She introduced her yarn business The Birlinn Yarn Company and some of her knitwear designs. She then told the story of how the outstanding Viking female leader Audur the Deepminded led her to Iceland, Norway and back, resulting in an art exhibition which involved the making of a Viking varafeld cloak from many of the North Atlantic sheep breeds.

Monika talked about the varafeld, woven cloaks worn by the Vikings and made on warp weighted looms, while Hege, Arts and crafts consultant in Hordaland, talked about traditional knitting techniques from Osterøy and beyond. Dana talked about Uist Wool, a spinning Mill & Wool Centre based on the island of Grimsay, North Uist, where fleece and fibre is bought directly from selected wool growers and crofters in the Islands & Highlands and graded, washed, carded & spun at the Mill on restored heritage machinery. The local North Uist and Berneray knitting group happily discussed local knitting patterns, spinning and sheep keeping.

Watch the recording of the "Yarns and Yarns" event, organized in April 2023, here:

The very first "Yarns and Yarns" event which was organised by Heritage NL (Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador) along with NAISR, was held in Newfoundland and Labrador in January 2023 and has grown arms and legs! It was streamed live alongside the regular weekly knitting group at the St. John’s Public Library. Online participants were encouraged to make a cup of tea, tune in, and knit along as they hooked up with friends and colleagues in the aether.  As people knitted in person and online, Siun Carden from UHI Shetland talked about her woolly experiences in Shetland and the Aran Islands, the rural creative economy, and Shetland textiles.

Watch the recording of the "Yarns and Yarns" event, organized in January 2023, here:

Following on from the success of the January event Heritage NL received funding through the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) of the Canadian government for eleven workshops. These focused on areas beyond the St. John's capital region to bring knitting and storytelling workshops to rural communities across Newfoundland. These communities included: Port au Port, Pasadena, Deer Lake, Salvage, Carbonear, Woody Point, Plum Point, St. Anthony, Port aux Choix, Port Union, and Clarenville.

In the community of Salvage, they partnered with the Salvage Fisherman’s Museum, and the event took place in the centre of the museum where they were surrounded by their artifacts and displays, including an exhibition on local knitter Aunt Annie. Annie Lane was a prolific knitter who knit for NONIA for over 65 years. Founded in 1920, the Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association (NONIA) was incorporated as a non-profit business (social enterprise) in 1924. It was established to assist Newfoundland outport communities to access health services, by raising money from the sale of handknit garments to pay the salaries of public health nurses. Aunt Annie’s beautiful knit lace became known as Salvage lace.

Literally hundreds of people from around the North Atlantic and beyond have joined our virtual knitting and storytelling circles. It’s been a wonderful way of raising awareness of our shared island and coastal heritages and traditions across the North and bringing scholarly work to a popular audience – and vice versa, of course! Plus, all this talking and knitting together is just plain fun!

Photo: The Charlottetown, PEI event on December 3, 2024, with participants from across the North Atlantic. Photo: A. Jennings

What’s next? NAISR are looking forward to running some new community-based "Yarns and Yarns" this year. If you have a community knitting group interested in taking part let us know!

NAISR Leads Andrew Jennings (Andrew.jennings@uhi.ac.uk) and Laurie Brinklow brinklow@upei.ca