Rainbows and Unicorns

Hello, friends. My husband and I recently returned from a two week holiday to Scotland. We had a wonderful time. Friends have asked if I came back with Harris Tweed or other textiles, which would have been lovely, but I did not. We spent most of our time walking, eating cake, and taking in the beauty of the Scottish landscape. We did see the tapestries at Stirling Castle, a thirteen year endeavor for the weavers who produced these astounding textiles:

Everyone warned us the amount of rain we’d encounter in Scotland. It did rain, but not for long and then the sun would come out. We have never seen so many rainbows as we did in Scotland:

We took many, many photographs, but here is just one that captures the beauty of the Highlands. We did some hillwalking (note: when you’re in Scotland, you refer to “hiking,” as we do in the States, as “hillwalking.”)

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you may have seen one of my newer scarves on the loom. This weaving was inspired by the heather which is so abundant in Scotland:

I’m calling this wrap “Highland Heather,” and it is woven from a merino/Tencel blend (Tencel makes the yarns sturdy enough for warping). I think I am going to keep one for myself. 😉

I was thrilled with all of the people who stopped by my little weaving workshop during the Monadnock Art Tour this year. What fun! It was lovely to see so many friends and neighbors, and to meet new people who are curious about weaving in the old way. Thank you. I don’t have many photos of the day since I was busy demonstrating weaving on the floor loom and rigid heddle, but Don did manage to take a short video of me at work:

I hope to participate in the Monadnock Art Tour next year, so please stayed tuned. For the short term, though, I’m looking forward to participating in Stonewall Farm’s “Farm Fare” coming up in November. This looks like a really fun event just before Thanksgiving week. Vendor participants are local food and beverage purveyors and artisans, so if you’re in the Keene, NH area on November 17-18, 2022, please do stop in to say hello. (PS: there is no admission fee to shop!)

Time to get weaving. Thanks for checking in.

Be well,

Kate K.