A package from Mull

Last Friday I came home from work to find in my mail box a nicely wrapped parcel from the Isle of Mull. It could be only one thing -- the tweed cloth I had ordered from Ardalanish, the weavers from Isle of Mull specializing in organic and eco-friendly tweed cloth that I posted about earlier.

I excitedly opened the package, which included not only the cloth I had ordered, but also labels, several copies of their brochure, and a swatch book of their stock tweeds that I had requested.

I especially was happy to receive the swatches. This little book will enable me to show samples of their tweeds to individuals interested in having their kilts, jackets, etc. made from ethical fabrics. Seeing the colors and patterns on line is one thing, but holding them in your hands is quite another!

Of course the major content of the package was the cloth itself. I had ordered enough of their ethical Hebridean Tattersal to make a kilt. In the photos it looks rather black and grey -- and indeed in certain lighting this is what it seems to be. In reality, however, the cloth is really a very dark, rich brown, which comes out best in natural light. The photo below was taken under the work light (an Ott-Lite) in my sewing room.

As soon as I can find the time, I'll make a kilt from this tweed, with the idea being to photograph it for my web site so that I can begin offering this cloth as an option for my kilt clients.

The fabric is not inexpensive, to be sure. Their "ethical" cloth is a lower cost than the full organic certified. However, I'm going to try to keep the cost of the kilts as reasonable as possible. The fact that the four yard box pleated kilts I make only require half the cloth of a typical modern kilt will help a great deal. In any case, it's never a bad move to pay a bit more for quality, and "quality" is an excellent word to describe this fabric. Plus it supports the great work that Ardalanish is doing to preserve Hebridean tradition on Mull. And that's a Good Thing!

Keep your eye on my web site for further developments!

A grand time at Stone Mountain

Last weekend was the 37th annual Stone Mountain Highland Games (Atlanta, GA), and once more the Scottish Tartans Museum was proud to be in attendance.

Like all of the Highland Games and other Scottish festivals we attend, museum staff and hardy volunteers were on hand to answer questions about tartans and kilts, look up tartan information for Games visitors, and promote the museum. Unlike most festivals we attend, we are allowed to bring down stock from our museum's gift shop to vend. It's a lot of extra work, to be sure, but it's a great fund raiser for the museum, and so I always want to thank the Stone Mountain Games folks for allowing us this opportunity.

And thanks, as well, to all of those who came by our tent at the Games to say hi, talk with us about kilts, and support the museum with your purchase.

The forcast for the weekend was supposed to be cool and sunny. On Saturday what we got was cold instead of cool, and rain instead of sunshine. To be more accurate, what we had was a misty morning followed by a drizzly afternoon. It never rained hard, but with the cold temperatures it felt pretty miserable. That didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the Games attendees at all, though, who seemed delighted that the state of Georgia went to the trouble to import authentic Scottish weather!

Sunday was just as cold as Saturday, however Mr. Sun made an appearance and the crowds were noticably thicker.

All in all it was a good, fun, weekend, though it has taken us a while to recover from the packing and travel (as evidenced by the fact that it has taken me a week to post this!).

Here are a few pictures to share.


This was taken Saturday morning, before it got too wet. Left to right is Peter Wilson, owner of Great Scot International (Charlotte, NC); Brian Wilton, director of the Scottish Tartans Authority; and myself.

Brian is wearing a kilt made from certified organic tweed cloth, woven by Ardalanish Isle of Mull weavers. Here's a close up.


I recently posted about this mill, and am hoping soon to be able to offer my own kilts made from this wonderful cloth.

Next we meet Tom Mungall, Highland dress enthhusiast and owner/moderator of the Scottish Attire mailing list on Yahoo.


Pictured to the left in the foreground is Tom's son, Jamie, in a four yard box pleated kilt in muted Cameron of Erracht that I made for him.

Tom is also wearing a box pleated kilt in the ancient Campbell tartan, and some wonderful hand knit hose that he inherited from his father. Aren't family heirlooms wonderful!

Speaking of Jamie's kilt, above, it's always rewarding to see the product of your hands being worn and used in such a grand fashion at the Games. This weekend, my wife got to join in the feeling. This gentleman came up to show off the Royal Cuff hose that he ordered from us last year at the Games, which my wife knit for him.


The red and blue shephard's check cuffs look grand with his modern Hamilton tartan kilt.

I didn't catch this gentleman's name, but he was wearing the MacSporran tartan. I had to take his photo, his outfit was just sublime!


It was perfect for a stroll about the Highland Games on a cool, damp afternoon. Barbour jacket, tweed flat cap, tattersal shirt (I'm a big fan!), emblem tie, wooly sweater vest. The pipe just completes the look. The only thing I could find to criticize is that the sporran is a bit formal for the rest of the outfit, but it's a grand sporran to be sure (looks to be seal skin), so who could blame him for wanting to give it good use? I made sure to compliment him on his taste.

(As a side note, I realize that some don't think a flat cap appropriate attire with the kilt; others do. In any case, I think it works very well with this outfit.)

Of course, there are the obligatory "crowd shots." These were taken on Sunday afternoon when the crowd was heaviest.





Our own museum's tent.


Lastly, your intrepid reporter, taken at the end of the day on Sunday, after a very long weekend, indeed!


It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I look forward to seeing everyone at Stone Mountain again next year!

Organic and Eco-friendly Tweed

Greetings, all!

It's been a while since I've posted here, and rest assured it is because I've been busy. (Trying to whittle that kilt making queue down a bit, as those currently in the queue will be happy to hear).

But I thought I'd post a brief update to let you know about something in the works.

The most recent edition of the STA newsletter, the Tartan Herald, contained an article about Ardalanish weavers on the Isle of Mull. I had discovered the web site of this mill a few years ago, and found them extremely interesting. However, I never made contact with them. Reading about them in the newsletter inspired me to get off my duff and send them an email, however.

You can see their web site, here:

http://www.ardalanish.com/

Here are a few quotes from their web site that give an indication of their philosophy and practices.

"Ardalanish Farm lies in the remote south west corner of the Isle of Mull in the
Inner Hebrides, extending west from the white sand of Ardalanish Bay. Highland
cattle and Hebridean sheep are reared for organic meat, and the sheeps' wool is
used for weaving and knitwear. Organic turnips and potatoes are also grown."

And...

"Producing Hebridean and Native Breed Tweeds is a step towards revitalising
the traditional industry of weaving, with the end product paying tribute to the
sheep and the energy used to grow their lustrous wool."

And...

"...we pay a fair price to Hebridean and Shetland sheep breeders for their wool,
encouraging them to go organic and look after their unique environments by using
native breeds of sheep. Your purchase supports this."

I encourage you to visit their web site to learn more. You'll especially enjoy browsing their eye-catching collection of natural tweeds.

I've just placed an order for their "Hebridean Tattersal" (pictured here). It's described as "A rich Hebridean brown tweed with a silver grey tattersal over check."

I'm going to use it for a traditional box pleated kilt, and if I am happy with the results (as I have every expectation of being), I plan on offering my kilts in these organic and ethical tweeds. So please keep an eye out on my web site for more information!