Winding Down

There are places you never want to leave:










Windswept promontories, thatched cottages, heathered hills and long vistas to the sea. Skye was haunting, and lovely, and yes, there was sun every day....between the wind-driven rain showers! Cool weather, perfect for raising a good crop of wool:

indeterminate and yet ubiquitous hillsheep


Scottish blackface


Herdwicks, just like these! (photo totally stolen without permission from Sarah).

We made Sarah's poor husband stop in all sorts of odd places while we went crawling around to take photos of peat cuts, hillsheep and lichens:




We capped off the week with a fitting visit to Talisker, the whisky distillery which uses the peat soaked water which seems constantly to be pouring off the hills....

But all things change. Colorado in summer is dry and warm, though also windswept and sometimes rainy in the afternoons. I am on the road to home, by way of someone's first birthday:

Skye Now

Still in Scotland, and it's still sunny:

This was somewhere on the road from Inverness on the way to Skye. It's Loch Something, and Sarah will remember Loch what when I ask her and I'll try to remember to tell you!

We have had a great time at Summer School. Lots of weaving, some spinning and we saw others dyeing and making baskets, doing a photo course, more spinning, and weaving weaving weaving. People were busy: what luxury to have classes for 5 days, really 6 because we shopped a bit on Saturday and then went right back to work. They got Lots! done:









We used lots of different looms, and everyone got plenty done, enough for me to be confident they know the technique. Luxury, that 5 days of class. Some even finished:



And........ there were sheep!


More to come: the sun just disappeared and I hear rain....but it's what we expect here yes? :D!

Further Adventures

Glencoe, on a misty, mysterious day, much in keeping with it's history.
A beautiful ride into th Highlands, along Loch Ness, ending up in Inverness. We are in Edinburgh now, museums and castles, cathedrals and:

Dovecot Tapestry studio! Housed in a former baths, would this be the most fabulous studio space? Lucky weavers! There are tapestries to see, an exhibit currently of Indonesian batiks, and a nice cafe for lunch.

The Royal Museum (up the road from Dovecot) allows photos:

I'll have to look closely at my notes for spindle materials (stone?) and whether the shafts are reproductions. The mind, she is sometimes not at my command.

I loved this tea set:

Thistles! In silver :).

It was a rainy day in Edinburgh, which meant All The People were visiting the Museum at once. It's a perfect museum for families: lots of variation in the exhibits from animals, to science, cars, boats and planes plus an intriguing
Scottish history section, where I spent most of my time. I sat often and watched as families navigated their way, pointing things out to their children, teaching, passing on the culture, pushing strollers and trying to cling to one another. I listened to the cacophony of languages, happy to be able to step out of traffic, and knitted for a while under another glass-domed central hall. It's city life, a far cry from my usual days, and a great change of pace for country mice.

Life goes on at home, too, with little people learning lots of new things, like how to kiss Mama: