Fiber Friday: My Trip to Scotland

It is that time of the week for a little creative pick me up!

A resource that I use frequently are images that I have that were taken on trips and outings. One extremely influential trip in my life was to Ullapool, Scotland. I went a couple years ago when I had received an Undergraduate Summer Research Grant through Buffalo State College for my project "Felting as a Sustainable Media". With the grant I received I traveled to Scotland to take a workshop on creating felt and learning about natural dye processes.

The workshop was put on by Wild Rose Escapes, which focus on specialist outdoor holidays in the Highlands of Scotland. The workshop "Fleece to Felt" was an incredible experience and I learned so much about the Scottish culture, crofting, natural dying and small wool production (and did lots of foraging for dye materials and felting along the way!) Here are some images that I go back to time and time again when I am looking for color and textural inspiration in my textile work and my weavings.

Dying silk with Indigo
Dying silk with Indigo
Dying with locally harvested Bog Myrtle
Dying with locally harvested Bog Myrtle
The fruits of our labor hanging up to dry (local wools dyed with natural materials).
The fruits of our labor hanging up to dry (local wools dyed with natural materials).
Our workshop hostesses tending the open fire which we used to heat our dye baths.
Our workshop hostesses tending the open fire which we used to heat our dye baths.
Heather tops - one of the plants that we harvested to dye with.
Heather tops - one of the plants that we harvested to dye with.
The loch where we dyed outside, and where we also sourced our dye water from.
The loch where we dyed outside, and where we also sourced our dye water from.
Wool being sheared by hand by a local shepherdess.
Wool being sheared by hand by a local shepherdess.
One of our hostesses guiding us on a hike around one of the locks, foraging for bog myrtle and other natural plants for dying.
One of our hostesses guiding us on a hike around one of the locks, foraging for bog myrtle and other natural plants for dying.

These are only a few photographs from my trip. I will be sure to post more in the future. If you are interested in this workshop or other experiences in Scotland please look into Wild Rose Escapes. This experience is not one that I will soon forget.

Enjoy!

Part of our income comes from the support of readers like you, one of the ways we make money is through the use of affiliate links in posts like this. Unless otherwise noted we will never recommend something we don't own or haven't vetted, and we will always disclose if we have been paid for the link or endorsement.

Questions & Comments