Christmas Greetings

No-name turkey is celebrating her second Christmas with us.  She has grown into a fine bird and we hope she will be with us for many years to come.

I'm not a great traditionalist when it comes to Christmas - we enjoy a walk out if the weather is suitable and a chance to think about future plans and dreams.  This year, though the forecast was a bit iffy and it was certainly pretty chilly, the sun was out and we decided to take a run out to Luskentyre to give the dogs a good run on the beach and pay our respects to past generations at the nearby cemetery.

I'm not sure what I expected, taking into account that there is still an awful lot of snow about, but the beach was magnificent coated in snow and frost - hard and crackly and very sparkly.  The above shows Bramble and little Heather facing inland and you can see the snowline at high water mark which stretched up over the marram and onto the dunes behind.  Bramble kept dashing up out of site in the grass - maybe there were rabbits about!

Not to be outdone, here's Pippin on the sand with the sea behind and the island of Taransay (remember "Castaway" in 2000?).

With an eye to next season, this afternoon I got out a bag of recently arrived lambswool produced by Hynchcliffe and purchased from Uppingham Yarns (http://www.wools.co.uk/).  The colour on my camera is not that great indoors because clockwise from top right is baby pink, cocoa, charcoal and pastel blue.
These will be used as weft for the linen warp I have currently in the loom and will become beautiful fluffy scarves which will be on sale from the loomshed next year.

We wish all our readers a happy holiday.  But those for whom today is a sad occasion due to bereavement are also in our thoughts -  may you find peace.

Weather first, then more interesting stuff!

First of all, yes it's been cold here, and yes, we have had a bit of snow, and here is an iconic picture of one of our Hebridean Ewe Hoggs looking like a sugar dusted christmas cake decoration.

Between them, this lot scoffed an entire bale of hay today.

The Cheviot ram just managed to get into the bottom left of the picture.  He hasn't lost an ounce of condition during tupping and still looks as chunky as he did in November.

Remember the angora goats I saw at Sallies tapestry workshop in Great Bernera the other week?  I've spent ages trying to decide what to do with it - having no experience with mohair whatsoever. 

Anyway, I think I've cracked it.  Here's the recipe for processing angora goat hair.......  First of all, steep it in a solution of Hebridean Soap (I use lemon and eucalyptus liquid soap that Linda makes up for me) and hand-hot water.  Leave it for a few hours - don't agitate it too much in case it felts. 

Then do the same thing again. 

Then use a bit of Merino Lanolin Wash (available from Skyeskins at Waternish, Isle of Skye) and soak in cool water for 30 minutes. 

Take it out, spin the excess water out in a horizontal spin drier (not the sort that's in a front-loader automatic washing machine). 

Stick it all on a towel and let it dry in a warm spot, turning gently every now and again.

At this stage, it must be completely dry before you start picking it or it will tangle and stretch.  It will be lovely and shiny looking now - anything that looks dull or short or bitty can be discarded as it will bring the quality of the whole batch down.  The bobbin below was spun direct from picking - didn't go through the carder at all.  A bit of thick and thin and a few curly bits did find their way in.  Thought it would be more curly but I think that mohair - unlike Wensleydale which is big and bold and right in yer face - is discreet and elegant and very understated but just reeks of class!

Then I hanked it up.  As a single its a tad twisty but taking into account that its got to be washed, re-hanked, dyed and then wound and then used in a shuttle for tapestry, I'm counting on the slight overtwist to even out by the end of the operation.

As a point of interest, the black hanks hanging next to the mohair is some Wensleydale spinning I'm doing for Teoshandspuns at Broadford, Isle of Skye.  So Teo, if you're seeing this - I am doing it, really...

With all this fabby fibre fun indoors we aren't really noticing the snow creeping up outside the front door, but if you are - take extra care and don't venture outside unless you are well-prepared (ie crampons, ice-axe, huskies, fully-provisioned sled and (on a special seasonal note) reindeer). 

A feed delivery just in time!

Though our weather has not been as cold or as snowy as others in the UK we have been disadvantaged by mainland conditions, and lorries containing our essential supplies have been taking longer than usual to arrive.

Yesterday we were are the supermarket in Stornoway and there were lots of empty spaces on the shelves.  Fortunately we have simple tastes and everything on our list was in stock - except the rich tea biscuits.

Down to their last bit of hay, the sheep have been waiting for the Lewis Crofters lorry to arrive at the gate, and today it did!  So it was cheers all round and a dash for the feed shed to put the bales and bags away before we got mugged (or should that be "fleeced"!)

The snow has more or less disappeared near sea level at least, but it's now blowing a gale.  So batten down the hatches....

Tapestries to die for.....

Every so often I find something textiley here that takes my breath away.  A couple of weeks ago I went over to Great Bernera on the West Side of Lewis to meet a weaver - Sallie Tyszko who has a studio "Driftwater Weaves".  http://www.sallie-tyszko.co.uk/ .  Sallie moved to Tobson from the Highlands a couple of years ago and brought her skills in tapestry weaving.

To start with, she has these amazing Angora goats - gorgeous and curly, they look right at home in the rocky landscape and their fibre is shiny and smooth, like short silk.  Sallie is also a hand-spinner but is busy making new tapestries so she asked me if I could do a bit of Angora for her.  In past years I've spun cashmere from goats, but this is something quite, quite different.  Will post up some piccies when I've really got going.

Above is one of Sallie's looms - this one an upright tapestry loom which is more comfortable to work with as the weaver doesn't have to bend down all the time.  There is a work in progress of some shilisdair (flags).  Sallie is a talented artist too, and makes sketches and paintings to base here tapestries on.  She dyes up all the colours she needs and is trying to use as much hand-spuns as is possible - which is great for me!

The tapestry above is a finished work based on a scene where she once lived on the Black Isle.  the driftwood framing is charming and so well-suited to the work.  You need to see the tapestries up close to appreciate the variety of textures and shades used.

The work below is simply stunning.  It's woven on transparent fishing line for warp and is sparkly and very dramatic.  The beads really do look like air bubbles.

I would advise adding Sallie to your itinerary if you are heading towards the Western Isles next year - her studio is a treasure trove of colour and texture, works in progress and finished pieces decorating the walls.

Meantime, we, like the rest of the UK are experiencing unseasonal snowy and very cold conditions.  Looks great but is proving a bit of a problem to get around.  For once I had stocked up early on road salt, de-icer and screenwash so have been congratulating myself since. 

If you are going out this weekend, please take care.

Spotted in Tokyo...

Well, after two weeks scouring the shopping malls of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka (yes, a tough job but someone has to do it!), when I got back to Scalpay on Friday I had seen only one item of Harris Tweed.  That was a natty pea-green jacket worn by a Japanese gentleman who was in the queue with us waiting to get into the annual exhibition at Nara. 

However, my spy in the east has sent me the photo below of a display in a shop called Beautiful and Young United Arrows.

Lots on the agenda now I'm back.  Some hand-looms to set up, some special spinning, some new linen..

Today we packed up the wool clip ready to be collected by lorry tomorrow, so its good to see the back of all that!

Winter is Here....

     This morning saw a light dusting of snow on top of the Clisham - the highest mountain in the Western Isles.  I would have taken a picture but my camera is packed away in my suitcase waiting for an early start tomorrow morning.  Scalpay Linen is going on tour again to the Land of the Rising Sun - this time hopefully to include some travel south and more visits to textile orientated venues.
     Apparently knitwear is a la mode this winter in Tokyo, so I have packed away some handspun and some needles (no, not in the hand luggage, though I am hoping to get away with a discreet crochet hook to while away the long haul).  Only fly in the ointment is that our friends from across the channel seem to be engaged in some sort of industrial action and the status of the airport in Paris is a bit iffy at the moment.
      So I am hoping there will be textiley photos in the blog over the next couple of weeks.  Blogging has taken a back seat just lately because things have been so hectic in the loomshed, but now its time to relax and do something different.......

New Rams on the Block!

Monday was one of the highlights of the crofting year - Ram Sales at the Auction Mart in Stornoway.  This year it was held in the afternoon/evening.  There was a crowd of rams waiting to be sold, and a crowd of crofters hoping for good prices.

Before the sale proper started there was the best ram in the auction competition - ably judged by John Murdo, the grazier of the Shiant Isles. 

I did the bidding, as usual, and we ended the evening with three lads who travelled home with us in the back of the pickup.  It had been a long auction and we were famished so we dropped off at the Bangla Spice takeaway and restaurant in Church Street, Stornoway for curries.  I had a Rogan Josh, and O/H had a Korma.  It is a very nice place with good food and a comfortable ambience.  Unfortunately, having spent hours in the fragrant company of a bunch of rams, and having ram-handled ours into the pickup I think we did not represent the people of Harris in the sort of way we might have done otherwise, and there must have been gasps of relief and shots of air freshener following our departure.  Anyway, the service was superspeedy!

On arrival back in Scalpay I couldn't resist taking a photo of the new Cheviot ram when we opened the van door to let him out.  Just with the light of the torch, we felt a bit like sheep rustlers in the pitch dark, except we were bringing them in, not taking them out.

Next morning everyone was happy to come for some crunch and all have now settled down on the croft - busy building up condition and limbering up for their duties which start on the first Saturday in November.

When downloading the camera I came upon this cloud picture which we must have taken in error.  It is such a peaceful one, and shows a glimpse of blue sky, so is worth recording for posterity on the blog.  Having said that, today has been really gorgeous - end to end sun though a bit blowy latterly.

National Mod in Thurso starts tomorrow I believe.  Choirs from local schools will be competing, so we wish them all every success and hope they all have a great time.