Day Seven, 22 April 2013

This is the first day of mostly driving to travel from Inverurie on the east coast all the way over to the western Isle of Skye. Even with the very late arrival of spring this year, and numerous breezy showers today,  through a dust storm near Inverness,  the journey on single track B roads  around lochs, over Applecross pass, the landscape was spectacular.

As I stated on the first day of the blog, for venues we visit on past tours, I refer you to the extensive writing I've included in 2011 and 2012 blogs.  However each tour I include something new that not even I have yet seen,  Knockando Wool mill  http://www.knockandowoolmill.org.uk is a restored district mill.  District mills dotted the landscape before the industrial revolution centralized processing of wool.  They were as common as creameries were to rural North America.  Records date  back to 1784 when  wool was washed and carded at Knockando.   Several families had long history of mill ownership.  Eventually wool was also dyed, spun, and woven into cloth here. 

A trust has owned the mill since 2000.  With the help of many grants and volunteer hours, the mill was completely restored in 2010-2011.  The looms, carding, and spinning equipment were brought in as used equipment in the 1800's.  With final tweaking in process, the trust hopes to be actively creating new woolen products onsite within the year.  Currently they design the products but have them woven at another mill.

Hugh Jones, the present weaver, was running the entire mill himself before the trust was formed. Hugh learned to weave from Duncan Stewart, who came to the mill in 1919. Hughes mechanical knowledge has kept the old machines running and now is the genius behind restoring them. 

The Victorian waterwheel came from another mill in 1860. It stopped working in 1948. The wheel is now restored and will power the mill as soon as the machine restoration is complete.

The old and the new

Knockandoo loom

Spinning mule

Knockandoo District Mill site restored

Nadine , Margaret, driver/guide Karen savor the best dessert in the country, sticky toffee pudding at our lunch break.

Sharolene wearing her new Knockandoo woolen scarf

The afternoon was filled with loch and munroe views like this

The tree quickening with sap just before leaf burst. Vegatation was 3 weeks behind normal spring in Scotland

Day Six, 21 April 2013

 Workshop day offers a chance to leave travel behind for one day and be a student. Elaine Lindsay, straw artist extrordinaire introduces the group to traditional straw work and shows them examples of her work that appears as fashion accessories during London fasion week and atop local wedding cakes.    We end the day with a house concert with music from Gaye Anthony.

Claire focuses on her corn dolly

Elaine's deft fingers demonstrate making delicate flowers with straw thread

Elaine's straw exotic bird made with nunerous straw techniques

Elaine demonstrates a technique to Jane.

Jane displays Via Roma's magnifique ice crean sundae

Gaye Anthony has relaunched her solo folk music career after many years of singing herring fishing and other maritime songs with G& T. She also teaches us local dialect such as the answer to "how are you?"  Fit like!

Day Five, 20 April 2013

 We left the big cities of Scotland behind today to spend the rest of the tour in the Highlands and the islands.  The east coast road passed through fishing villages such as Pittenweem as well as the famous links golf course in St. Andrews.  Our destinations, Verdant Works Jute Mill Museum and the Discovery Museum in Dundee, and our home for the next 2 nights, Inverurie in Aberdeenshire.

The Firth of Forth Railway bridge from Queen's Ferry as we leave Edinburgh 

Pittenweem villagescape

Marilyn, Claire, Jane, Margaret in the jute mill museum

Melissa at the wheel of the Antartic ship, "Discovery"



At Gadies Restaurant in Oyne, each tour we enjoy a Scootish feast. Here is a tian of haggis neeps, tatties, whisky jus. Food in Scotland is often locally sourced, fresh, and delicous!

Day Four, 19 April 2013

Edinburgh welcomed us with a completely sunny day, the warmest and brightest of the tour! We started the day at Dovecot Tapestry Studio.  After that, travelers were turned loose to explore the Royal Mile and new town as they wished.  3 of us explored the Royal Botanic Gardens. 

Dovecot Studio and Galleries are housed in a former Victorian era swimming pool. The studio commissioned a new tapestry loom  this year which was made from scratch, copying the plans from their other loom which may be 100 years old.

Dovecot weaver, Jonathon Cleaver talked to us about the history of the studio which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.

Jonathon enjoys working on inovative projects such as this collaboration with jeweler David Postin. David created the wire armature and Jonathon wove within the shape to create "Circles in Green."

Dovecot mostly weaves commissioned works. However, this new speculative piece being woven by David and Naomi, "Large Tree Group", will hang in  an exhibition at Dovecot in August.  It is based on a painting by Victoria Crow.

The Royal Botanic Garden boasts 10 glass houses with plants from all over the world.

Travelers, daughter and mother, Jennifer and Melissa are avid gardeners and landscapers who added much to my enjoyment of the gardens with their vast knowledge of plants.

Once glass house had an amazing array of fiddlehead ferns.

At the end of the day, Jennifer was always ready to walk up someplace high with me. We are on Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park, about one mile from the Royal Mile.

Day Three, 18 April 2013

The Borders region of Scotland is self explanatory. It is the land just north of England's border, home to the River Tweed, River Yarrow, multitudes of sheep, cattle, and where most of the remaining textile mills in Scotland are.  We visited New Lanark World Heritage center, Lochcarron Mill and Andrew Elliot Mill, both in Selkirk. 

New Lanark is a restored mill and village. Robert Owen was the enlightened manager  in the 1830's who provided good working condition, sanitary living quarters, medical treatment, and schooling for the workers.

A trail follows the River Clyde past 3 water falls. The water provided the power to operate the mill.

With the abundant rain and snow melt, the River Clyde was running very high. Claire, Dot and Jennifer ventured to the first of the falls.

Marilyn and Jane purchased wool yarn currently spun in the mill. The mill originally spun jute and cotton yarns.

Andrew Elliot is one of just 4 mills left in Selkirk and the only one still owned and operated by the family. We visited the mill in 2007 when Andrew was still designing and weaving. Andrew died in 2009.

Robin Elliot now operates the mill. They weave specialty orders of woollen fabrics including district tweed patterns.

Day Two, 17 April 2013

Paisley is just a twenty minute drive from Glasgow City centre. The town once boasted the most highly skilled handloom weavers in Scotland, and later on, huge thread mills.  The town goes back to the 6th century when St Mirin founded a church there.   We spent the entire day in Paisley visiting Paisley Abbey, Paisley Museum, Sma Shot Cottages, and the Thread Mill Museum.

Dan Coughlan is the curator of the Paisley shawl collection. He showed us pattern books from the mid 19th century of paisley patterns. The first record of weaving in Paisley dates back to 1695. At that point they were weaving muslin and checkered linen.

Dan is a master weave. He has rebuilt and refurbished the jacquard and draw looms at the museum.

Lee and Dot examine a paisley shaw fom the handling collection.

We eat lunch and tour the Sma Shot Cottages.  Jane models how the paisley shawl was worn as an outer garment.

Nessie worked at a thread mill in Paisley for 6 years. She is holding a functioning hand crank sewing machine that the Anchor mill used as a promotional tool. 

The museum is run by volunteers, many who worked in the mills.

This is a much older section in the Paisley Abbey's choir. The choir was rebuilt in the 20th century.

Day One, 16 April, 2013

I'm back in Scotland for the sixth, "Threads, Ruins, and Tunes" tour.  This year I'll focus on showing you pictures of the travelers in each day's venues.  I've written loads of information about the venues we visit in past years' blogs.  So if see a place you are keen to find more about, browse back through this blog to 2012 or 2011. 

This year ten travelers from Canada and the United States have joined me from Ontario, California, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Iowa, and Washington. We start and end our journey in Glasgow.

Travelers smiling and eager to start the day

We tour House for An Art Lover as an introduction to designer Charles Renne MacKintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald. The house was designed for a competition in the early 1900's. It was not built until the 1990's. It showcases the forward thinking design sense of the couple.

MacKintosh rose design

Jennifer sitting in a MacKintosh chair.

Pollok Park is a green oasis in Glasgow city limits. We get a first glimse of hairy coos and a tour of the tapestries and embroideries on display at the Burrell Collection. 

Hairy coo, the Highland Scottish cattle breed

Dina, our excellent guide explains how the tapestries in the collection were made and how to interpret the imagery. Jane, Marilyn, and Dot look on.

Spring in Scotland is about 3 weeks behind normal. But these spectacular primroses in the formal gardens at Pollok House are at their best