Another New Face on the Croft

Just before tupping time last year, our four-horned ram went to live on a croft at Ammunsuidhe in North Harris and the Hebridean ram who was living there came to us.  The picture below is of our ram in the trailer ready for his journey.

We hear that he has settled down well.  The exchange ram is a fine fellow with two horns - very dark brown and a little more reserved in character than Mr 4 Horn.  But he was working with the Cheviot ram we got from the auction mart and we are now looking forward to lambing at the end of March to see the results!

On Saturday we went up to Bernera to drop off a load of mohair and Friesland hand-spun which I've been working on over Christmas and New Year.  We also collected another new ram who was in need of a good home.  This one is called "Tuppie", and is a Shetland ram of two years, though he's a good size.  He had a difficult early life, but is now a real handsome fellow with a good helping of attitude and a lovely kind nature.  His fleece is gorgeous, you can just bury your hands in it and its crimpy and white and fine and soft - and I could go on, but I won't!

Here he is (above) getting ready to leave Bernera, and here he is again (below), settling into the apportionment at Croft 37 on Scalpay.

He has a couple of ewes with him for company and comes running down the hill to the fence when we appear with an armful of hay.  I've wanted a Shetland ram for ages as I think the crosses will be interesting.  If he's got a black gene lurking in his DNA then we will be even more pleased!

This week we have got more spinning on the agenda, a trip to Stornoway to pick up the new issue of "Events Monthly" (out on Wednesday so don't forget to pick up your free copy!) and then a quick nip round Harris delivering them on Friday.

The sun is out just now but its been very wet and the shed is quite damp.  We need a few days of easterly winds to dry off the croft and air out the loomshed, and also get an early start on the falaisgean (heather burning).



Scalpay Linen Dog does Winter Sports

A perfect picture from across the Atlantic to update us on the progress of the Scalpay Linen Hebridean Tweed dog who moved to the states last year.

He has been lucky enough to go skiing at Cranmore Mt in Conway, New Hampshire which is one of the oldest ski resorts in the US.  He's obviously having a good time - many thanks to Sandy for keeping us abreast of his adventures.

All is quiet at Scalpay Linen just now - lots of spinning of mohair, the gift of a Shetland ram from Sallie the tapestry weaver in Great Bernera, another gift of some wonderful Zwartbles fleeces from our new neighbour here at Outend, Scalpay.  Sewing classes at Tweeds with Style, Drinnishader, Isle of Harris re-started after the Christmas break last evening.  The festivities continued with much indulgence in Fionas "Smooth Sensations" excellent truffles and, it must be said, no sewing was done at this class!  But we will be back to work again next Tuesday.

The weather has turned wet and mild which is a change from all the snow and ice, but I believe the Isle of Lewis are still in an arctic armlock.

New Harris Tweed on the shelf...

Just before Shawbost Mill closed for Christmas holidays, we collected our new Harris Tweed that they had finished for us.  Now this tweed has been on the go for months - it took ages to warp, ages to weave, it sat around for ages whilst I was in Japan, then I left it in the mill for ages.  So when it came back, I'd almost forgotten what it looked like!

There are three basic wefts in the tweed, together with accent ends.  The above picture shows the plain Hebridean weft (the one with the orb mark on it), which is much softer than the others and has a quite strange shot effect when you move the cloth about.  To the right is the scarlet and pink - two shots of each which gives a lovely warm rich look when combined with the shading of the warp.  And at the bottom cloth has pink and blue - again two shots of each.   

 

 Above is a close up showing the first accent threads I used in the warp.  On the warping mill it looked great but when I started weaving I thought they looked too bold.  When the tweed came back finished we liked them with the red and pink weft (top) but still felt they were too heavy for the pink and blue(bottom).  However, they do have a certain charm and tone down quite a lot when viewed from a distance.

So then we put in some space dyed accent ends - they featured in the blog a while ago when I was using some Landscape dyes.  These turned out very subtle on the red and pink (above) but I like the effect very much.



On the pink and blue they worked really well.  Sorry for the pathetic photo which doesn't show the colours up at all well.  If you nip back to http://scalpaylinen.blogspot.com/2010/08/ok-at-last-we-are-back-to-some-creative.html then you can see some of the space dyed yarns that went into this tweed.

On the whole, we are really pleased with the effect of the space dyed element in the cloth and hope to develop this more in the future.

Now for something completely different.....

Up here in the Western Isles, we are very much aware of our position balanced on the edge of Europe, surrounded by sea - the Minch to the east and the North Atlantic to the west.  Every year people get into difficulties due to our maritime situation, and we are very reliant on the Coastguard service to help.  As someone who comes from a fishing family, it is reassuring to know that there is someone there to help in the event of an emergency, and the Coastguards help numerous small craft users and holidaymakers each year too.

Now we find that, due to government budget cuts, we may lose our Coastguard Station at Stornoway.  I quote from an appeal which is being circulated to gather support to retain the station:

"We are asking for the support of our community to ensure that those who live, work or play on or around the seas and also our diverse, beautiful but often hostile coastline, continue to be served by a Coastguard Station which has vital local knowledge of our unique environment and society.

If you would like to help us please e-mail: savestornowaycoastguard@gmail.com or go to http://www.stornowaycg.co.uk/ to find out how."

Whilst we all know that budgetary cuts are inevitable, it seems not quite right to cut a service which in 2009 co-ordinated the rescue of 684 people across the district which stretches from the west coast of scotland northwards and into mid-Atlantic.

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.