Natural Dye

Harris Tweed is the cloth woven by hand in the Outer Hebrides.  The wool used was originally dyed using local plants vegetables and lichens.  Every time we look out of a window here at out little cottage the surrounding meadow and croft is a link to a bygone era where plants were used to dye the cloth.  The moorland and vast swathes of peatlands are a joy to behold where the living plants were used in the dying process.  Each time I look at tweed it reminds me that from the land comes the cloth.  Sadly these days the plants are no longer used in the dying process of the wool but there are some Artisan Crafters around the Island that are still familiar with the process and use local plants.  Seaweed is often seen been collected along the shoreline.  Let me take you on  quick look at some of the beautiful wild plants growing  along the hedgerow.  Pour yourself a cup of tea and take a piece of shortbread and make yourself comfortable for this picture heavy post.

Have you tried dying wool or fabric, I would love to hear about it?

See you soon.

Crochet Finishes And Starts

Last night we were supposed to see the lunar eclipse, the shining bright hue of the moon that would be turned into a bewitching blood red.  Despite looking for several hours, nothing not a thing.  There was some very pretty and striking cloud formations but not a moon in sight of any description.

How did the rest of you get on, did you manage to see the amazing phenomenom?

Honeys little throw is finished and  all ready to be posted.  The border was a fun finish.

Another finish was the shawl all ready for Christmas.  The border was a mixture of stitches some of them new to me but despite its beauty quite easy to master.

It is certainly on my to do list again, I love the drape of the shawl and its versatility.

Gerard painted a wooden coat hanger for me and I stamped it and added a ribbon to match the shawl.

Two finishes, gives me two new starts.  A simple project for when we are in the waiting room at the doctors/hospital.  Coat hangars...

Coat hangars, which will be embellished with a bright flower corsage.

The trusty wool winder has been out and a more manageable size ball of yarn wound all ready for another project.

A throw for Bertie, he loves a crochet blanket on his bed.

A start has been made.  This will become my project for the evening.

As always I thank you for your support reading this blog, emails and comments.  In my last post I shared  local sheiling that we stumbled across on one of our little adventures.  It looks like an old blackhouse that has been used as the outer skin for the building, so I can only presume it was built inside the beautiful stonework.

The arched doorway in the post titled Saturday Stroll is in fact an overflow drain that puts surplus water back into the sea.  It does look so very pretty in the photo and could be a magic tunnel for the elves and fairies that live around here.

See you soon.

Out And About

Finally the sun is shining on our little Island paradise, despite a little splattering of rain now and again.  It is one of those moments, shall I, shan't I?  Hang the washing out is what I am talking about.  There is the bedding and a stack of towels.  I think I am going to leave it for half an hour, enjoy a cup of tea and reevaluate.  Apparently the temperature is set to rise a little today so I am hopeful that I will finally get to wear some summery clothes.

We have not allowed the dull weather to stop us and have continued with our little adventures around the Island.  We actually discovered a single track road about 200 yards away from our little cottage that leads right down to the machair a Gaelic word meaning fertile low lying grassy plain.  Despite how dull and overcast is was still a delight to wander.

The car won't go much further so its time for a stroll.

I was amazed how still the water was, it will be nice to come back through the seasons and different weather fronts.

Not sure who the sheiling  belongs to but what an amazing view.  The stonework was a real delight to see.

There are signs of crofting life and particularly sheep all around.  We were trying to work out where our little cottage was but we couldn't see it has it sits in a dip behind the hill from the machair.  This is why we haven't a sea view unless you count standing on your tip toes from an attic window.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour, I took some photos of the wildflowers which I will share on another post.  I also have a couple of crochet finishes to share and of course a couple of new starts.  Hope you are not wilting in the heat.  Take care.

See you soon.