Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Over this series of twelve blog posts, I've been trying to say in different ways, Scotland is a unique and amazing country.

Leaving the Highland west coast city of Oban, sign posts read, "Haste ye back." All I can say is, "Aye." 

Scotland has a hold on my heart.  In addition to seeing new sights, there are many places I unreservedly will visit again: Glencoe, Glenorchy, Kilmartin Glen and the Hebrides to name a few. I hope you've been inspired.  I leave you with this review of places.  Maybe not a review, but rather future trip planning list.

About a mile outside of Oban, a foot passenger ferry runs once an hour across the narrow gap to Kerrera Island, where the best thing to do is to bike or walk the 2 or so miles to the Kerrera Tea Garden for drinks and cakes.  Along the way, the sheep are grazing unfenced - they are definitely living their best lives with ocean views. 

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Wow, did I feel lucky that my stay in Argyll & Bute coincided with the Open Studios Artmap Argyll. This meant that we could combine our sightseeing with stopping at artist studios along the way. First, we stopped at the home studios of Margaret Ker and Arthur Ker, both artists deeply tied to the landscape.  Margaret is a mixed-media artist and jeweler interested in the sacred labyrinth form. Arthur is a painter of trees and for the Open Studio, he developed a video presentation showing the layering of his work.  

Argyll is the central west coast of Scotland.  The roads are narrow and wending. Navigating is sometimes on a wing and a prayer but every turn reveals something surprising. Single track roads give way to two lane roads and change back again. After stopping at a playground, we got directions to our final destination of the day, the East Cottage Weaving Studio Gallery of Louise Oppenheimer.

I have been studying tapestry with Rebecca Mezoff both online and in-person since 2019 and like many people looking for visual inspiration, I follow many tapestry artists on Instagram.  Instagram is mostly a visual medium, so seeing photos of tapestries finished and in process is very interesting and inspiring.  But it is not a substitute for seeing tapestry in-person. However, this is easier said than done. Even if museums have tapestries in their collections they are not always displayed and when there is a tapestry weaving exhibition (like this Spring 2024 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY) it's not always possible to get there. I've been following Louise Oppenheimer for a number of years on social media, but it wasn't until I saw her name on the Open Studios Artmap Argyll, did I think I would have the chance to meet her or visit her studio.

Tapestry weaving is a very slow, meticulous and individual pursuit. So, being invited into an artist's studio to not only view their finished work up close with the naked eye, but also to see their set-up, supplies and works in progress, is a rare treat.

Louise was so gracious and unfurled her unframed finished work for me to see.  Although photos on Instagram are inspiring, seeing the pieces in person is the only way to get a sense of scale and the true color. And with true Scottish hospitality, Louise made me a cup of tea with milk and biscuits.  I was in the studio with Louise for over an hour and Paul was out on the street chatting with other carloads of open studio visitors.  Meanwhile, the sheep grazed in the pasture next door.

Louise was selected to create a new work to commemorate the re-opening of the Kilmartin Museum, which is not far from her home-studio and she exhibits in local galleries.  Louise's work embodies the coastline and sea, the rhythms and colors of tides and seasons, and the ancient landscape and artifacts that fill this western coast of Scotland.  It was a privilege to spend time with her in her studio workspace.

Find out more about Louise Oppenheimer on her website and Instagram. Watch the short 1:47 video below to hear Louise talk about her tapestry in her own words.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Up past the northern city of Inverness, lies a peninsula called the Black Isle. A haven for birds and dolphins, the Black Isle was so named for its dark fertile soil.  This area is also home to flocks of sheep. This post will explore how an "indie dyer" (the term that applies to independent small business people that hand-dye their own line of yarns for knitters and crocheters on a smaller scale than commercial businesses) is building relationships with shepherds in her home area and utilizing the natural resources available to bring an amazing product to market.  I also write in this post, about how many sheep there are in all of Scotland and what's happening with the wool - with some surprising discoveries.

I was able to make an appointment and visit with Julie Rutter, owner of Black Isle Yarns to learn more about her yarn business. Julie had just returned from some "wild swimming" but spent more than an hour with me in her Studio-Shed chatting about her work and passion. Julie has established relationships with sheep farmers within a 50 mile radius of her home in Fortrose, Scotland on the Black Isle peninsula. Some of the farmers are commercial farmers that are raising sheep for meat.  Some have smaller flocks, who are raising their sheep for meat but also may be spinners and knitters themselves and care about the quality of the animals’ wool coats.  Some are raising a few sheep on smallholdings for the joy of it. Julie hand selects each fleece for Black Isle Yarns (Shetland, Cheviot, Bluefaced Leicester, Gotland) and then hand skirts all of the fleeces at her home before sending the wool to British mini-mills for processing into yarn.  Once the yarn is spun according to Julie’s specifications (worsted or woolen; sock, aran or dk weight), the yarn is returned on cones ready to Julie to skein and begin the natural dyeing in her home studio.  After collecting alder cones, beech nuts, nettle, tansy, and brambles, all foraged on the Black Isle, Julie dyes all her yarns naturally, without chemical dyes.  Julie then takes her natural, unique, fully traceable all-British wool yarn to Scottish knitting shows and sells to customers directly and online.  What makes Black Isle Yarns unique, is that the wool AND the natural dye material is all sourced by Julie on the Black Isle.  This is a very local product and a very knowable provenance. Julie is one of a the indie dyers in Scotland producing a high quality, Scottish yarn. More about her unique story and business can be found in Issue 2 of Yarn: The Journal of Scottish Yarns.  (And please see the end of this blog for a list of additional UK indie dyers/yarn producers.)

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

It's hard to write the words to describe how I feel about the Highlands and the time we spent there. I am full of emotion for this beautiful place. My wish for you is that you may connect with this place through the photos in this blog and one day go there yourself.

Glenorchy is a 10 mile valley and in the middle, along the single track road, is the MacLennan's family farm, where we stayed in one of their self-catering cottages. Tristan and Fiona are amazing hosts successfully juggling farming, kids, hospitality and forestry management work - no wonder they were chosen for the BBC Scotland's 2024 grand final for Scotland's Greatest Escape.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

I am forever spoiled.  The sun shined on the day we spent on Shetland (the main island) revealing the most beautiful headlands and beaches I have ever seen.  This is as far North as I will go on this trip to Scotland.  Shetland is 110 miles north of mainland Scotland and 140 miles west of Norway.  Fishing, the oil industry and agriculture (sheep!) are the primary industries. For me, the natural beauty and remoteness held me completely captive. It is a wondrous, wild place of the North. Oh, Shetland.

There are 23,000 inhabitants in all of the hundred Shetland Islands and 30% of Shetlanders live in capitol of Lerwick. Lerwick is a beautiful port city with a smuggler's past. The weatherbeaten stone gives a sense of its history and that not all days are like this sunny summer one. 

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Before I even knew that I would visit Lewis & Harris, as a weaver, I was interested in Harris Tweed and what made it unique.  I had watched the following video and was mesmerized. The video is 10 years old, but amazing for the segment with Alice Starmore showing the host how the wool was historically naturally dyed with plants and lichens on the beach.  It's a 5 minute watch and well worth the time - you'll be transported to the Isles of Lewis & Harris with the BCC.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Traveling to the far north of the Scottish Mainland, the Orkneys are an archipelago of 70 islands and rocky reefs.  Twenty of the Orkney Islands are inhabited today. The Orkney Islands themselves have been inhabited for 8,500 years.  Located at the northern most tip of Scotland, about 235 miles from Norway, the Orkneys along with Shetland, were once part of the Danish and Norwegian kingdoms.  There is a shared Norse history, but of course the Orkneys have their own identity.  You remember the 2014 Scottish referendum for independence from the UK, but did you know that in 2023, the Orkney Islanders considered becoming a Norwegian territory and in 1967 voted on the question of becoming a Danish territory? These votes are clues to the visitor/outsider that islanders have a unique character and fierce independence.

At the furthest north of all the Orkney Islands, lies North Ronaldsay inhabited by 72 people and 2,500 sheep.   Traditionally, the islanders of North Ronaldsay exported kelp, but when that industry collapsed in the 1830's, the inhabitants looked for another means to earn money. They built a wall around the island to keep cattle on the grassy interior, and pushed the North Ronaldsay sheep onto the seashore.  The sheep had always eaten some seaweed as part of their diet, but now they had to live entirely on seaweed- somehow their digestive system evolved to do this and they survived.  This also meant that their systems evolved to extract the copper in seaweed so that if they only grazed on grass they would be poisoned. To this day, the islanders continue to maintain the 13 mile drystone "Sheepdyke" and every summer they host a sheep festival where the main activity is to rebuild the walls (and everyone is invited!) 

The North Ronaldsay sheep are very special not just because they eat seaweed. The breed is also very old, from the Viking age, but unique from evolving on an isolated island. Their ancestry is traced from the Caspian Sea to Scandanavia to the Orkney Islands, making them descendants of the oldest sheep on the planet. The UK-based Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) lists North Ronaldsay sheep as a "Priority" meaning they are critically endangered with only 600 breeding pairs (more at risk than the Soay and Boreray!)

Sometimes, you're just in the right place at the right time.  On my visit to North Ronaldsay, I was standing on the rocky shore when I heard a rumbling. Somehow I had the presence of mind to turn on my video camera and capture this amazing parade of North Ronaldsay sheep. When it was over, I could breathe again- it was nothing short of a thrill! Sound on! You don't want to miss the sound of hooves on the loose stones and what the little one said at the very end of the line.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you my images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

The feral Soay sheep on St. Kilda found on the main Island of Hirta, are descendants of Bronze Age Northern European short-tailed sheep brought to the island by the Vikings over 2, 000 years ago. The word "soay" is from the Scottish Gaelic and Old Norse words for "island of sheep."

These Soay, with their ancient unbroken genetic ancestry and isolation on a remote island, are the closest we have to a representation of sheep the way they were in Neolithic times. Soay measure in at about 1/3 the size of modern domesticated sheep. They are designated a primitive breed.  Rather than being a derogatory term, primitive conveys highly adaptive traits such as disease-resistance, ability to live in harsh climates and ability to bear young on their own. In other words, the Soay are what sheep were like when humans began domesticating animals.

Since St. Kilda's last human colony left these islands almost 100 years ago, the flocks of St. Kilda have been wild, meaning that they live without human intervention. Soay have never needed to have their fleece shorn yearly, which is what domesticated sheep require, instead, Soay sheep molt their wool - naturally shedding and rubbing the wool from their coats - an adaptive ancient trait. (Note: Although there are no permanent residents on St. Kilda, the islands and flocks are monitored by the National Trust for Scotland and UK University Researchers.)

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) lists Soay as "at risk" as a breed on the RBST Watchlist.  There are numerous flocks of Soay apart from St. Kilda in the UK and 20 flocks in the North America. Efforts to conserve endangered breeds relies on not having all animals in one location (don't have all your eggs in one basket).  Spinners, weavers, and makers all over the world can support farmers who are conserving rare and endangered breeds, by buying their wool products providing an income that sustains the keeping of rare breeds.  In the United States, the Livestock Conservancy has a program called "Shave 'em to Save 'em" which puts fiber artists and producers in touch directly, benefitting both parties and supporting the conservation efforts.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

When you read the title of today's blog post, which ship below did you think I meant?

After five days of museums and city touring on my own, I joined a group with Wild Fibers Tours and set sail (on this seaworthy  British 100-passenger ship) headed for the Hebrides, the Orkneys, and Shetland.  Most of the passengers on this trip were British birdwatchers and evenings were filled with presentations by naturalists on the flora and fauna that we might see the next day.  

Scotland includes 790 islands (93 are inhabited) and 6,160 miles (9,910 km) of coastline.  The Wild Fibers Tour visited 9 islands: Iona, Canna, Papa Westray, St. Kilda, Jura, Isle of Skye, Isle of Lewis, North Ronaldsay (Orkneys) and Shetland (the main island of the Shetland Islands). Our group saw Atlantic birds including Skuas, Gannets and Puffins on the islands and sea mammals including Minke whales, Bottlenose and Short-beaked common dolphins, and Grey and Common seals from the ship. Because our ship was on the small side, we were able to visit more remote islands by anchoring nearby and transferring to a local landing by Zodiac. With amazing crew, waterproofs, and life jackets, the adventure began on the zodiacs. This was the only way to travel because it meant we were able to motor very close to the island shores to see the wildlife - all in all it had the effect on me of being "in" a National Geographic documentary!

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

ScotRail whisks passengers every hour between Glasgow and the capitol. From the Waverly train station in the center of the old city, Dovecot Studios is a quick 10 minute walk and just off the Royal Mile leading to the castle.  Located on Infirmary Street, Dovecot is housed in renovated Victorian bath-houses that were built in 1885 during epidemics to improve hygiene in the city - a place where tenement dwellers could bathe, swim and have their clothes laundered at the same time (sounds like a deal to me!).  

Dovecot Studios was established in 1912 and moved to this location in 2008. There are gallery spaces (exhibiting Scottish Women Artists while I was there), cafe, gift shop, and viewing balcony onto the floor of the former swimming pool where the tapestry weavers are working. Dovecot Studios is a center for contemporary art, craft and design and free to visit.

Tapestry is an ancient art form, spanning the times of the Incas and ancient Egyptians, to the European centers during the Common Era. Tapestries are woven on cotton, linen or wool warps with mostly with wool weft. Maybe when you hear the word tapestry, you think of palace walls and maybe even the famous Unicorn Tapestries woven around 1500. At Dovecot Studios, contemporary pieces are produced for large-scale public spaces, such as the British Library at Kings Cross in London, the National Museum of Scotland entrance hall, the Royal Theatre in Glasgow, and private collections.  Click here to see more of the amazing Dovecot Studios projects that are collaborations with living artists and the skilled studio tapestry weavers.

If you are interested in learning more about tapestry and Dovecot, I highly recommend this podcast from Scotland, Haptic & Hue.

At Dovecot Studios, both traditional tapestries woven on upright looms and machine rug hooked pieces are produced.

Below is a short video I made of the rug weavers at Dovecot working on large scale pieces.  The second piece in the video is a tufted rug of Victoria Crowe's work "Above Stromness" (Click here to see finished tapestry).

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Since I was a little girl and my father took me into NYC on the Long Island Rail Road, I have loved traveling by train.  When they say "it's the journey not the destination" that would be true for me because I relish the chance to be on a train.  The trip from Glasgow to Dundee is 64 miles (103 km) and 1 1/2 hours each way. ScotRail runs 47 trains per day between the two cities - perfect for a day trip.

Dundee, northeast of Edinburgh, on the River Tay,  is historically known for the thread, linen and jute industries (derived from flax). Exceptional for the times, were the married women of Dundee that played a large role in working in the mills from the mid-1800s.  Today, no mills of Dundee have survived.

Blog tip: Double-click on any photo to enlarge and read caption

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London (read about my earlier visit in this blog post) built an extension in Dundee that was opened in September 2018.  Japanese architect Kengo Kuma was selected in an international competition to design the unique building, which he expressed as a "living room for the city."  I joined a daily one-hour architectural tour of the building to learn about its construction and the 2,500 concrete exterior horizontal panels (each weighing 6,000+ lbs/3,000kg) - mind blowing! In a way, this ship-like structure reminds me very much of my own Denver Art Museum's modern wing. For me this new, remarkable building was definitely worth the visit.

Welcome to my series of blog posts Travels in Scotland. Whether you're planning a trip, reliving a memory, or relaxing into some armchair traveling...thank you for joining me! Here I will show you images & share stories of my one month travels through Scotland. I'll cover this beautiful country of mountains, rivers, glens, islands, history, and, of course, fiber and textiles.

Beginning in Glasgow, where everyone is greeted with a "Hiya," we'll see some some sights while the jet lag wears off. Bring your waterproofs because you never know when it will rain in Glasgow, but it will.

The first stop is Mackintosh at the Willow on Sauchiehall Street in central Glasgow.  Designed by architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1903 for Ms. Cranston, the Tea Rooms were restored and reopened to the public in 2018.  In addition to a self-guided museum exhibit, guided tours take visitors through the rooms which function as a restaurant and events venue.  

What became known as the "Glasgow Style" was the U.K.'s response to the international Art Nouveau movement - and spearheaded by two Scottish couples: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald, and James Herbert McNair and Francis Macdonald, art school classmates known as the Glasgow Four.  Throughout Glasgow the amazing decorative artwork of the Macdonalds can be seen and although the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is most often referenced, the Macdonald sisters work in painting, textiles, stained glass, metalwork, jewelry and collage stands out. Gustav Klimt invited the Glasgow Four to exhibit with the Vienna Secession Movement and historians believe Klimt was influenced by their original work.

Blog tip: Double click on any photo to enlarge and view caption.

Here are my sketches from the first to the refined sketch that becomes my pattern.

Once I've settled on a sketch, I separate the major elements into pattern pieces.  The pattern pieces get traced onto a light fusible interfacing (my favorite is HeatnBond Lite) and fused to either cotton or wool, then cut to shape.

Background fabrics must be auditioned and then fused to Pellon 71F interfacing which gives a sturdy surface for the embellishing stitches to come.  First, the bottom layers of pattern pieces are satin stitched using free-motion embroidery with a clear lucite Darning Presser Foot.  When all the pieces are attached to the background, a final wide zig-zag satin stitch is done around the border using the Walking Presser Foot.

After the sketch and the pattern pieces are cut and stitched, the final embellishment is done with hand embroidery of the face and tail and attachment of the vintage buttons. All that needs to happen now is to attach the piece to a card blank.  I hope you enjoyed seeing how an idea turns into a new work.

I am demonstrating free-motion machine embroidery on a Bernina home sewing machine. In this clip I am working around a circular shape with a wide zig-zag creating a solid "Satin Stitch" which outlines the shape and completes the appliqué. Notice that my hands are on the work providing stability - somewhat in the shape of an embroidery hoop.  The feed dogs are dropped and a clear lucite darning foot is attached encircling the needle.

Notice in this video clip that I am keeping up a medium-high speed on the machine.  This is essential, because if free-motion embroidery is done at a slow speed, you may pull the fabric and force the needle to bend and hit the metal base plate (beware of broken needles!).  When first trying free-motion embroidery, it may feel reckless to hit the gas pedal and go at break-neck speed, but it's necessary!  Keep your needle in "needle-down" position, so that when you pause to take a breath, you can resume and not break the beautiful straight line of the satin stitching.

Have you been watching Masterpiece Theater's production of "Victoria"?  It's a fascinating look into the unique royal partnership of the newly formed House of Windsor that saw the industrialization of Great Britain.  Queen Victoria and Prince Albert cared very much about art, music, culture and history.  The V&A Museum houses vast (and I mean huge) collections of arts and crafts from the far reaches of the world, so that the museumgoer can see the development of an art from its inception thousands of years ago, to modern production.  

On my visit to London in November 2017, by far my favorite floors of the V&A were Ceramics and Glass (separate floors!).  Look closely at the first photo of the blue pottery above.  You will see in the background, glass display cases absolutely packed full of ceramics.  The shear number of pieces on display in the V&A nearly knocked me flat.  It's color, texture, form and design overload!  On top of this overwhelming display is the historical documentation of the development of mineral glazes and techniques from around the world from BCE to the present.  I could have spent my entire week in London visiting the V&A everyday, and never seen enough, nor gotten bored.  The inspiration of the color alone was amazing.

In the summer of 2015, I was lucky enough to film two video demonstrations at the studio of Quilters Newsletter magazine in Golden, Colorado!  Together with Associate Editor & Host Mary Kate Karr-Petras, I discussed and demonstrated my techniques for upcycling 100% wool sweaters into wool felt that I then use for appliqué.  You can read more about my work and inspiration here. Sadly, Quilters Newsletter magazine is no longer, but my video is available FREE FOR YOU TO WATCH on Youtube from Quilting Daily.