Posting from Scotland: I was very honored today to be invited to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh for the official launch of the St. Ninian tartan which I designed on behalf of the Scottish Tartans Authority. The STA was contacted by the Scottish Catholic Media Office (the media outlet of the Scottish Catholic Bishops) who wished to design a tartan to celebrate and honor the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland on St. Ninian's Feast Day, Sept. 16.
The design incorporates white and yellow (the colors of the Vatican), white and blue (the colors of Scotland), white and red (the colors of John Henry Newman's arms, who will be beatified by Pope Benedict XVI during the visit), and green for the lichens growing on the stones at Whithorn, site of St. Ninian's church.
There are also 8 threads in the wide white line, one for each of the Catholic dioceses of Scotland, and exactly 452 threads pivot to pivot in the thread count, one for each Catholic parish in Scotland.
More information in these links:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/custom-scottish-plaid-created-to-celebrate-papal-visit/
http://www.scmo.org/articles/official-st-ninian%E2%80%99s-day-papal-visit-2010-tartan-launch.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11245080
Neck ties and scarves in the tartan were produced by Ingles Buchan of Scotland. One was given to each member of Scottish Parliament. One will also be given to each dignitary visiting Scotland with His Holiness.
I had enough cloth woven to make myself a kilt, which I wore today in Edinburgh. Photos below. I am very honored to have been involved in the project. I will be in Scotland until the 17th, taking advantage of a grant made available to the STA from Scottish Enterprise to allow me to take an educational tour of many of Scotland's tartan mills and other Highland Dress manufacturers (sporran makers, hose makers, etc.) to learn about the ins and outs of the Scottish Highland Dress industry. I'm sure there will be must for future articles and blog posts.
Just for now, though, I'm off to bed at the end of a very exciting but tiring day!
The design incorporates white and yellow (the colors of the Vatican), white and blue (the colors of Scotland), white and red (the colors of John Henry Newman's arms, who will be beatified by Pope Benedict XVI during the visit), and green for the lichens growing on the stones at Whithorn, site of St. Ninian's church.
There are also 8 threads in the wide white line, one for each of the Catholic dioceses of Scotland, and exactly 452 threads pivot to pivot in the thread count, one for each Catholic parish in Scotland.
More information in these links:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/custom-scottish-plaid-created-to-celebrate-papal-visit/
http://www.scmo.org/articles/official-st-ninian%E2%80%99s-day-papal-visit-2010-tartan-launch.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-11245080
Neck ties and scarves in the tartan were produced by Ingles Buchan of Scotland. One was given to each member of Scottish Parliament. One will also be given to each dignitary visiting Scotland with His Holiness.
I had enough cloth woven to make myself a kilt, which I wore today in Edinburgh. Photos below. I am very honored to have been involved in the project. I will be in Scotland until the 17th, taking advantage of a grant made available to the STA from Scottish Enterprise to allow me to take an educational tour of many of Scotland's tartan mills and other Highland Dress manufacturers (sporran makers, hose makers, etc.) to learn about the ins and outs of the Scottish Highland Dress industry. I'm sure there will be must for future articles and blog posts.
Just for now, though, I'm off to bed at the end of a very exciting but tiring day!
