Hebridean Tweed

Although I love almost every thing about my work, one of the most enjoyable things about designing and weaving cloth and hand-spinning yarns is that sometimes I get to see what it being made from them.

Today I had a lovely surprise to receive this picture of a cushion made from my Hebridean Tweed. The Gaelic saying embroidered into it is translated as: "whoever burns his bottom must sit on it".

The maker is Deirdre Nelson - www.deirdre-nelson.com . Deirdre completed a residency at Taigh Chearsabhaigh in North Uist a couple of years ago which culminated in an auction of fish which had been knitted during her time on the island. She has some great ideas and is always up to something exciting. I'm pleased to say that Deirdre has worked with both my linen and now with the Hebridean Tweed. She has an interesting blog at http://dstitch.blogspot.com which I'm going to add to my followings.

Weather good today - plenty of sun and no wind. Long may it last! Sorry to the folks on the East Coast who have not had it so good.

Spent the morning with the winder hanking up my hand-spun single tweedy yarn which is now washed and aired and ready for Etsy. It started life as a bag of bits from the Carloway mill and is now a soft and springy yarn which is a joy to knit with.

There are four hanks ready - one mid-blue and three multi-coloured.

Also, I now have my Hebridean Tweed available on Etsy.

It's a little heavier than Harris Tweed, because I wove it with 21 shots to the inch instead of the usual 19, and it's quite a bit softer. I've seen it tailored into a jacket - and it hangs beautifully.

I was trying to take photos of some of the different sorts of hens we have on the croft. They were all running about and most of the pictures just came out blurry.

Hen of the day today is a Lemon-Pencilled Frisian Bantam who I nearly got into focus as she sped past.

The only member of the croft family who would stand still was our young ram, who is a bit of a prima donna......