At the beginning of August, my beloved and I went on a road trip around the Scottish Highlands and I have to say, I fell deeply in love!
Here are some postcards of my road trip and the inspiration it gifted me.....
The scenery was breathtaking ~ truly a land of magic, and the textures and depths of the many greens (of forest, moss and mountain) mixed with the pinks and purple tones of the heather, made me want to try to capture the moment in cloth. But I'm not a weaver sadly, so I took up my knitting needles again and literally have not put them down!
I treated myself to this beautiful Tartan scarf in Ullapool in the colourway Heather, which couldn't be anymore perfect! I know it's a totally touristy thing to do but when I look at it, I see all the colours that inspired me on our wonderful journey: the mauve's of the heather, the granite of the mountains (and occasionally the sky), the blue of the sea in Bettyhill, and the Schiaparelli pink of the Willow~herb that lined the roads wherever we went.
I had a lovely time matching ( but not matching) wool with my scarf. I chose this gorgeous antique pink Rowan Felted Tweed, which has flecks of mauve, granite and navy in it. I also chose this beautifully soft and luxurious wool from Erica Knight in the loveliest shade of mauvy deep blue. I'll be knitting my favourite Vintage Tassel Beret in both and shall enjoy mixing and matching them on cold winter days. I got both of these wool in a lovely little wool shop near me in Tenterden called Hoop. Well worth a visit for the wonderful selection of wools and embroidery supplies.
I was thrilled to see this beautiful Cow Beastie by the side of the road, the Highland cows were almost my favourite part of my trip! And that's because there were so few of them to be seen!
I completely understand why such beautiful cloth, inspired by and emulating the colours of the landscape is woven here! I want to make one of my circle skirts in Harris Tweed or a jacket maybe ~ or even a vintage style jumpsuit! I'm fizzing with ideas inspired by this wonderful land!
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Harris Tweed cloth during my visit but that just means I will have to go back and make sure I do. The tweed fabric samples pictured above were from Merchant & Mills, who are very local to me and have a stunning collection of fabrics, patterns and trims.
And I had to get the recent copy of Selvedge magazine because it tied in so nicely with all my ideas inspired by the Scottish Highlands. And my renewed love of knitting.
When I got home, sad as I was to have said goodbye to such an awe inspiring and beautiful country, I was happy to see my new postcards waiting for me on my doormat. A little reminder of what I'm all about!
I hope you get to visit Scotland if you haven't been. It was nothing that I had expected and so much more than I could have imagined! I really do feel as though a part of me remained behind and I can't wait to visit again! And maybe my magnificent Cow Beastie will still be there, waiting by the side of the road for me to return..... I can only dream.
Until then, I shall be knitting and sewing my memories into garments that I shall treasure even more because of what they mean to me. And I hope you're finding the time to sew, stitch or create now that the weather is turning and the longer evenings are beginning to creep in.
Tara x