Anderson Before & After

 

 

Interesting historic kilts being discussed

Over on the X Marks the Scot kilt wearer's forum there are a couple of interesting threads started by Peter MacDonald dealing with some interesting historical kilts he has recently discovered.

One is an old kilt that appears to be a transitional style between the untailored feilidh-beag and the tailored kilt. This one is in the Sutherland tarta

n (aka Black Watch), just over three yards long, and box pleated, with the pleats sewn in across the top only.

Go to that thread here.

The other thread deals with a kilt in the Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan which has an interesting shape to the apron.

Visit that thread here.

It's always fascinating to read what Peter has managed to find. It's nice to know there is someone over there in Scotland with such a passion about traditional and historic Highland dress; and someone with such a good knowledge base of the matter, as well. Thanks, Peter!

Weathered Armstrong

I've made nearly 400 kilts in my short kilt making career, and many of them have been in the so-called "weathered" color scheme. This is the color pallete meant to reflect what a tartan might look like if left buried in a peat bog for a couple of hundred years. The originator of this color scheme is actually D. C. Dalgleish woolen mill in Selkirk. The inspiration for these colors was actual tartan samples found buried and stained by the earth. Dalgliesh called them "reproduction" colors, and since that mill trademarked the term, other woolen mills who now produce similar color ranges call them "weathered."

You can read more about tartan colors here.

In any case, often as I have been sewing up someone's weathered Gordon kilt, or weathered Black Watch, or weathered Lamont, etc., I have remarked on how nice the gentle browns and greys of the tartan looked. My wife has often made similar comments as she has seen me working on weathered tartan kilts.

Seeing as we both like the colors so much, it is a bit surprising that I have not had a weathered kilt in my wardrobe. Well, that is not entirely true. I do have a MacQuarrie kilt in Dalgliesh's reproduction colors, but the primary color in that tartan is red, and this gives quite a different effect than a primarily green/blue tartan. In the weathered, or reproduction, color scheme, reds fade to a softer "brick" red, while greens fade to brown, blues to grey. It is a very different look.

The only green/blue tartan I have family connections to is the Armstrong (my maternal grandmother's maiden name). But the only colors that are currently commercially produced in this tartan are modern and ancient. And I have a kilt in the modern Armstrong tartan, which I enjoy wearing. Here's a photo of me in my modern Armstrong kilt, standing with Capt. Sir Malcolm MacGregor of MacGregor, and his lovely wife the Lady Fiona MacGregor (nee Armstrong).


Some months ago I decided that there was no real reason I couldn't have the Armstrong done up in weathered colors if I so chose. Just because the larger mills don't keep the tartan you want in stock is no reason not to get your kilt in that tartan. I often have single kilt lengths of non-stocked tartans custom woven for clients, and it really is not that much more in terms of cost.

So I contacted D. C. Dalgleish and asked them to weave 4 yards in the reproduction Armstrong for a box pleated kilt for myself. The fabric arrived a few weeks later (actually, rather quickly -- it can typically take 8 to 12 weeks for a custom weave and I believe I had it in my hands in less than a month). It was beautiful. And it continued to look beautiful sitting in my sewing room for about six months! (Note to all of you in my queue right now "jonesing" for one of my kilts -- I know how you feel!)

Finally, earlier this month, I worked it in to my schedule to make my own kilt. And I am very happy with the results. Because the size of the sett in this tartan is somewhat smaller than typical, it worked out better for me to pleat this kilt (a 4 yard box pleated kilt) to the sett, as opposed to the stripe, as I normally pleat my kilts. This is actually the only kilt I currently own that is pleated to the sett. It's not my preferred style, but I rather like it in this kilt, as it shows the subtlety of the browns and greys in equal proportions. I think it creates a very balanced look.

I've already worn this kilt in to the museum a couple of times, and I'm finding the soft colors very easy to coordinate. I predict this one is going to get frequent wear!

So, without further fanfare.... the photos!

New Kilt: Duke of York

For the past several months, this kiltmaker has been sitting on the opposite end of the "new kilt" experience. Rather than making a new kilt for someone else, or even for myself, I've been anticipating the arrival of a new kilt from another kiltmaker, Barb Tewskbury, author of The Art of Kiltmaking.

I know Barb through the http://www.xmarksthescot.com/ forum. She's a fine lady, and an expert kiltmaker. I first met her in person when she came to visit the Scottish Tartans Museum and talk with me about the historic box pleated kilt style for a suppliment to The Art of Kiltmaking that she and I were working on. During that visit, I got to see a kilt she was working on in progress and came to greatly admire her skill.

Later on she came down for a week to teach "Kilt Kamp 2008" at the Scottish Tartans Museum, instructing a group of enthusiastic folk on making their own kilts. I got to see more examples of her work in person, and came to know Barb as a real jewel of a person, and knew that I'd be honored to have one of her kilts in my wardrobe.

In the meantime, I had rediscovered a fact that I had forgotten. The hunting version of the Earl of Inverness tartan is also called "Duke of York." This is due to the fact that the Earl of Inverness is also the Duke of York. The tartan was first worn by King George V while he was Duke of York and Earl of Inverness. It was later worn by Geroge VI. The following is an extract from the Oban Times 9th August 1930:

"The tartan of the kilt worn by the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, when in Lochaber last week, attracted considerable attention, as being of an unusual pattern. It actually is the tartan of the Earl of Inverness, the same pattern having been worn by King george V when he bore the title. The tartan, we may say, has somewhat the colouring of that of MacLaine of Lochbuie, being of deep blue, with red and yellow and white lines."

The reason that this is signifigant to me is that this is the only tartan that I have discovered that actually has some bearing on my surname. When helping people to select a tartan, one peice of general advice I usually give is that, all things being equal, if there is a tartan affiliated with the surname you actually bear, that is a good choice. The reasoning is simple. It only makes sense that "Mr. MacGregor" would be outfitted in the MacGregor tartan, and that "Mr. Mackenzie" wear the MacKenzie tartan. Now if Mr. Mackenzie's mother were a MacGregor, he's certainly in his rights to also wear the MacGregor tartan, but when people ask him about his tartan, it would require more of an explanation.

The Newsome surname is English in origin, and as such does not have a tartan. It is a Yorkshire name meaning "new house" or "new home." Variations are Newsom, Newsham, etc. Most of my Scottish blood comes from my mother's side of the family.

But it has become a common practice to adopt certain Royal Personage tartans as defacto district tartans for the places associated with the titles. For example, the Duke of Fife tartan is often worn as a Fife district tartan and is generally sold under the name "Fife." The Earl of St. Andrews tartan is worn as a St. Andrews district tartan. And the Earl of Inverness tartan is often simply called the "Inverness" tartan and worn as a district tartan for that city.

As the Duke of York tartan is simply the Inverness hunting tartan, it seemed appropriate that it also be used as a district tartan in similar fashion, especially since there is no "Yorkshire district tartan" to be had. One obvious reason why this version has not been as widely adopted as a district tartan as the others I mentioned above is that it is an English city and there simply are not that many Englishmen, or those of English descent, wearing the kilt! But for those of Yorkshire heritage who do wish to wear a tartan, the Duke of York tartan seems to be an appropriate choice.

In contemplating this tartan, I decided I wanted to do something special with it. It would be the one and only kilt I had that actually bore some relation to my family name. Most of my kilts are four yard box pleated kilts -- my preferred style for general wear. I wasn't sure how I would like the look of this particular tartan in a wide box pleat, however, so my thoughts turned to making a knife pleated kilt. I quickly decided that I wanted to ask Barb to make me an 8 yard kilt from this tartan, pleated to stripe.

She was delighted to make the kilt for me -- we exchanged some emails as to the pleating options. I had initially thought to pleat this to the white stripe, but after discussion with her settled for the double yellow to give a more muted effect; a decision I am very happy with.

Last Friday, my patience was rewarded when the postman delivered a familiar-shaped package from New York. I am now proud to have a kilt with a Tewksbury label hanging in my closet alongside all my "Newsome label" kilts. The fruit of Barb's labor can be seen below.

A few comments about the outfit. The sporran is a "Ben Glas" model from the Ferguson Britt line of sporrans, made in black sheepskin. The tie is a "regimental stripe" or club style tie that I just happened to find in a discount clothing shop on a recent visit to Charleston, SC. I immediately noticed the colors as thought it would look great with my "still in the works" kilt, so I snatched it off the rack. This was my first time getting to wear the kilt and tie together and I am very pleased with how well they match.

The socks are the work of my talented wife. It is a new pattern we are going to add to the Royal Cuff line in the museum gift shop. We are not yet sure what we are going to call this pattern, and my hose were the prototype. She was working on knitting the cuffs while Barb was making the kilt, and, like the tie, I couldn't be happier with how they look together.

My general wear kilts are all four yard box pleated kilts, made from heavy weight cloth. This is also made from heavy weight worsted wook, but is a full eight yards of tartan. I had almost forgotten how it felt, so long had it been since I strapped on an 8-yarder! Definitely a different experience. The four yard kilts are definitely lighter and more comfortable, but there is something about the "swish and swing" of all that cloth behind you that just makes you feel grand. I'm still a four yard kilt man, lest you have any doubts. But I wanted something special in my wardrobe for this tartan, and I have just that. Thanks, Barb, for doing such a wonderful job! I never would have expected otherwise.

Burns Night -- Franklin, NC

This is the second picture post from Burns Nights I attended this year. These photos are from the Burns Supper held on January 26, 2008, in Franklin, NC, hosted by the Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum. Again, every intention of a thoughful, reflective post, but I suppose I chanelled the bard all I could in writing my Immortal Memory speech and have nothing left for blogging (at least not at ten till eleven on a Wednesday night!). But, as I said in my last post, it's really all about the kilt pictures, anyway. So here they are!

First up is myself with my trusty sidekick Ronan MacGregor (business assistant at the museum). I'm wearing the St. Columba tartan in a four yard box pleated kilt. Purple Lewis kilt hose, and a nice heraldic themed necktie. Ronan is wearing the Black MacGregor tartan (custom woven for him!) in a box pleated kilt, bottle green Lewis kilt hose, with a black beaver Glengyle sporran from the Ferguson Britt line. Oh, and don't ask me about the sporran I'm wearing. I picked it up about ten years ago from an antiques/military paraphanalia vendor at the Williamsburg Highland Games and haven't seen another one like it since!

Here are the kilted men lining up for the calling of the clans. In front is Wayne Miller, wearing the Bell tartan, in a kilt made by Barbara Tewksbury. Behind him is Arthur Hayes wearing the Clan Hay tartan. Furtherst back is Hal Chapman in the Citadel tartan.

This final snapshot is of Jim and Marian Mathews, new members of the Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum. Jim is wearing his brand new box pleated kilt in Hunting Matheson that I made for him, with matching tartan tie, black Argyle, and black beaver Glengyle sporran. He's really enjoying his new outfit, and looks quite dapper in it (Marian agrees!).

At the Foothills Highland Games

I've just returned from the 7th Annual Foothills Highland Games in Hendersonville, NC. These are a very nice mid-sized Games that I have been neglecting to attend of late! I was at their inaugural Games in the year 2000, but since that time I've managed to have other commitments every year on that weekend. This year I was finally able to go, so took the chance.

The Scottish Tartans Museum has always had an information booth there, manned by some of our good volunteers. This year we had museum trustees Walter Taylor and Carl McSween, as well as volunteers Al Bullman and Chuck Coburn. With myself that made for five of us -- more than enough to cover the tartan information table and allow time for each of us to walk around, see the sights, and spend time chit chatting with old friends. And the best part is I was back home by supper time!

So here are some pics from the Games. First, yours truly.

It was a cool day. When we arrived at the Games site at 9:00am, I believe it was just above freezing. It warmed up during the day, but the wind picked up, making it feel very cold at times. I took the opportunity to wear my Harris Tweed kilt suit. It kept me nice and warm, though I admit that I had to keep the jacket on all day! I'm wearing my hinged-cantle sporran that I've posted about in this blog before, only I have had the bag completely replaced by one hand crafted by Adron L. Britt of Ferguson Britt sporrans. (More on that in another post). The walking stick I'm holding isn't mine. It was made by Mark Harden, Baron of Cowdenknowes, who has recently taken up stick making! It's a nice model with a bison horn crook and, if I recall correctly, a hazel wood shaft. I'm just holding it for him in this photo. Speaking of Mark...

Here is the Baron himself, wearing his Harden family tartan, and holding another of his walking sticks. Mark was the "chief of the games" at this year's Foothills Highland Games. He and his family appear to have had a great time. Mark is also a member of the Society of Scottish Armigers, and gave a talk on Scottish heraldry. I spoke to him about coming and giving a similar talk at next year's Taste of Scotland festival in Franklin, NC.

The above photo is of Adron L. Britt (left) and Bob Marin (right). Neither of these two characters really need an introduction, but Adron is the maker of the fine Ferguson Britt line of sporrans we are now proud to carry in the Museum's gift shop, and Bob is a kiltmaker (retired) and kilt historian, who taught yours truly how to make kilts. Adron is wearing the Burnett tartan in a feilidh mor and Bob is wearing a plaid in the Marin tartan, a waistcoat in the Campbell, and (though you cannot see it in this photo) a box pleated kilt in the "R. W.'s Fancy" tartan (his personal tartan). (By the way, those are Mark Harden's hands to the right grasping the single malt and pointing commands).

Lastly, a group shot. From left to right: James A. Bullman (my co-author on the Compendium of District Tartans), wearing a fine tweed Inverness cape (that he could have sold nine times over today!), and a 5 yard Kinguisse pleated Roxburgh tartan kilt that you cannot see; Bruce Ball, a friend of Bob Martin's who designed his own Ball tartan and made his own kilt; Marjorie Warren, of Thistle Studio, a very talented tartan handweaver; and yours truly.

I had a great day, spent some good times with friends, and managed to leave only buying a cup of coffee, a meat pie, and two heather plants that will soon be in my garden!

Report from Stone Mountain

As promised, a post with kilt pics! We have returned from the 35th Annual Stone Mountain Highland Games, a little road weary but none the worse for wear. It was another banner year for the museum. We were able to assist many people in finding a tartan, answered many Highland dress questions, and had a successful sales weekend for the gift shop, as well.

We had many people comment on the quality of our merchandise, telling us that we had the nicest offerings of the varied vendors at the Games. This is always nice to hear! I have endeavored to have the name of the Scottish Tartans Museum associated with quality Highland wear, so it is nice to know that folks notice.

We were so busy on Saturday that I quite literally only left our tent twice (both for reasons of, shall we say, necessity). Sunday was a little less hectic, and I did take the opportunity to walk around a bit Sunday morning and see some of the sights. I got to chat a bit with Larry Long (famous on this blog for his unusual kilt, featured here); Flora MacDonald Gammon and John Dall; the good folks with the Scottish Spinning and Weaving Society (Marge Warren and Betty Johnson); Rennie & Vicki McLeod, of Scotpress; Henry & Rebbecca Scott, of Purple Heather Pottery; the crew of Caledonian Fine Arts, and others. I took my wee son Alister out for a walk and he got more attention than anything. Of course I don't mind being outshone by my offspring!

On Saturday, I did get a chance to talk a bit with Tom Mungall, owner of the Scottish Attire mailing list. He introduced me to his son, Jamie, and later during the day I got to meet a friend of his, and fellow Scottish Country dancer, whose name I cannot recall but who was wearing an Elliott tartan. (He commented on the fact that I was sporting an Armstrong crest shirt, and that we were fellow border reivers). I also ran into a few other Scottish Attire list members, such as Pam Brownlee and Jim Lovelace.

I also met several X-Markers (from http://www.xmarksthescot.com/), including Jim Lovelace (Cawdorian), John Miller (shiner), Turpin Ballard, and several others I just can't recall at the moment. Between talking to everyone, measuring for kilts, and answering questions, Saturday was rather a blur! Sorry I wasn't able to make it for the X-Marks photo shoot -- and I understand that there was quite a dinner gathering Saturday evening.

Lest I forget, I had the distinct pleasure to meet with Kathy Lare, kiltmaker from New Mexico, and her husband. Kathy is quite the elegant and well-spoken lady, and I feel privileged to have made her acquaintance. Everything that Ron MacDonald says about her is absolutely true! (Ron is another X Marks member who must have a dozen of Kathy's kilts -- his photo is on her web site).

Then there were all the friends, familiar faces, and regular patrons that we enjoy seeing each year at Stone Mountain, whose names are too numerous to mention.

Even though the museum tent was a very busy place the whole weekend, we were able to handle it all smoothly thanks to our wonderful help. So thanks to our museum staff, which -- aside from myself -- consists of Ronan MacGregor and Kathy Akins; our spouses who volunteer to help us for the weekend, Joannie, Mary, and Jim; and especially those volunteers who help out even though they are not married to us, Chuck Coburn, Ryan Ross and Bisel McWilliams. We couldn't do it without you (or wouldn't want to, anyway!).

Enough chat -- here are the pictures! Regrettably, I did not have the presence of mind to snap shots of many of the fine folks I met. So you'll have to put up with mainly photos of myself and some of my crew.

Here is a shot of the front of our museum tent. We had some shirt and hat racks out front. At certain times during the day the crowd was so thick I could barely see these racks from the tent! Right inside we showcased some lovely sporrans from the Ferguson Britt collection (including a Japanese Fallow deer, and several skunk, beaver, and raccoon fur creations). These were very much admired. The left side of the tent was dedicated to free tartan searches and answering questions on Scottish history and Highland dress.

This photo of myself with my wife, Joannie, and son, Alister, was from Saturday. Alister was a big hit at the Games. Our other kids all stayed home with the grandparents, but Alister is too young yet to be that far from his mom (and main food source!). He was an angel all weekend.

Of course, as we know, it's all about the kilt. I'm wearing a four yard box pleated kilt in the Armstrong tartan, red kilt hose (I knew I'd be seeing Tom, who didn't disappoint by wearing his own red hose), matching red garters, my beaver fur sporran, one of the new crest shirts from the museum, and a hand knit broad bonnet.

I think red hose look nicest with tartans like the Armstrong, that are primarily blue & green, but with a minor red element that the hose can really pull out. I think with a predominantly red kilt, the red hose risk being too much.

This is Chuck Coburn (left) wearing the Cockburn tartan in a four yard box pleated kilt, and Jim Akins (right) wearing his brand new Confederate Memorial tartan, in an 8 yard knife pleated kilt made by Barb Tewksbury, author of The Art of Kiltmaking.

Here are Chuck and myself on Sunday. My wife, who didn't tell me my tie was crooked, took the picture. I'm in another four yard box pleated kilt, in the St. Columba tartan. I'm wearing it with a light weigh Lochcarron Argyle jacket, tattersal shirt, blue tie (notice the matching garters), and my brand new shepherd's check hose that my wife just finished knitting for me. (The medal I'm wearing is my Guild of Tartan Scholars medal, in case you are wondering).

Chuck is in a blue Harris Tweed kilt that I made for him (also a four yard box pleat). Here's a rear shot to show the pleats.

I'm really thrilled with these hose! They took my wife quite some time to knit, and she was using a new pattern from a book she recently acquired. She finished them just in time for the Games (literally on the drive down). I'm quite pleased with the color and design (I chose a natural cream shade and a dark brown). I had several compliments on them throughout the day, and not a few enquiries about where one could get a pair, or how much my wife would charge to make them (I had to marry her -- get your own talented wife!). :-) Joking aside, she made these for me as a labor of love. When asked how much she would charge to make a pair for someone else, her price quote was "a million bajillion dollars." So start saving your coin -- or learn to knit!

Sunday is always the hardest day, just in terms of stress. We are exhausted from Saturday to begin with. My wife and I got up early to make it to a 7:00 am Mass before heading back onto the field. Then it is all day at the Games, just like on Saturday. Only instead of heading out to dinner after the field closes, we must pack up our tent and drive three hours home. Someone suggested I could retire from this line of work and find another job -- not on your life! :-)

The museum was closed today, as well, for unpacking, re-stocking, and inventory. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will resume normal hours of operation (10 to 5, Mon-Sat). For those of you who may have come by to see us in Franklin over the weekend, we are sorry we missed you. And for those of you who saw us at the Games, we'll see you next year!

One of my kilts on Ebay!

No, I'm not the seller. But this is a kilt that I have made for someone in the past, which someone informed me is being auctioned off at Ebay.

It's a MacDonald modern, box pelated kilt, made from Lochcarron's 16 oz strome cloth. 42" waist and 23" length. The "buy it now" price is $250.

Base cost for most of my box pleated kilts is $350, so this is a good deal for anyone interested. Auction ends Sept. 10, so anyone interested follow this link.

Another Milestone

This weathered Gordon box pleated beauty above, made for Turpin Ballard (proprietor of Thorfinn's Sporrans), represents another Milestone in my kiltmaking carier. It's the 200th kilt I have made! It was only September 27th of last year that I posted on this blog of my 100th kilt. At that time, I listed out all 100 tartans (and a few non-tartans) of the kilts I had made. I didn't anticipate that such a list would generate much interest, but a lot of you seem to have gotten a kick out of seeing the variety in the list (or finding where your tartan stood on the list, I suppose).

So, in keeping with that tradition, here is the second "century" of my kilts. As was the case with the first 100, the great majority of these have been box pleated kilts made from heavy weight cloth. There were a few five yard knife pleated kilts and a couple of lady's skirts thrown into the mix, but most of these were four yard box pleaters.

101. Galbraith ancient
102. Hay hunting ancient
103. MacDonald modern
104. Scott hunting ancient
105. Paisley ancient
106. County Kerry
107. Lamont weathered
108. MacKenzie modern
109. Red Gordon weathered
110. Gunn ancient
111. German National
112. Lovat Blue tweed
113. Charcoal tweed
114. Dunlop modern
115. MacNeil modern
116. Ferguson ancient
117. Federal Memorial
118. Rob Roy (movie tartan)
119. Grant Hunting ancient
120. Grant Hunting ancient
121. Grant Hunting ancient
122. Grant Hunting ancient
123. Peeper
124. MacKinnon Hunting ancient
125. MacPherson Hunting (Harris Tweed)
126. German National
127. Carolina modern
128. MacKenzie modern
129. Fitzgibbon
130. Cuming Hunting modern
131. Hunting Stewart, regimental
132. Sackett
133. Irvine ancient
134. X Marks the Scot
135. Hunting Brodie weathered
136. Black Watch, regimental
137. MacGregor modern
138. Drummond of Perth modern
139. Maxwell modern
140. Lovat Blue Harris Tweed
141. Fraser of Lovat
142. Henderson weathered
143. MacDonald weathered
144. Carnegie ancient
145. Moncrieff ancient
146. Ross Hunting weathered
147. Maxwell modern
148. Ulster (brown)
149. MacCormick
150. MacCormick
151. Lamont ancient
152. Hamilton modern
153. Hamilton modern
154. MacDonald of Glencoe
155. Bryce
156. MacGregor weathered
157. Harris Tweed (blue, green & tan check)
158. Harris Tweed (lovat green)
159. Iowa
160. MacLaren ancient
161. Fitzsimmons
162. Harris Tweed (blue, green & brown check)
163. US Bicentennial (US St. Andrews)
164. Austin/Keith ancient
165. County Fermanaugh
166. Sutherland modern
167. Isle of Skye
168. MacDonald of Clanranald ancient
169. Lamont modern
170. MacFarlane hunting modern
171. MacLean of Duart modern
172. Campbell ancient
173. Saffron
174. Lamont ancient
175. Blue Alba
176. Boyd modern
177. Watson ancient
178. Watson ancient
179. Matheson modern
180. Watson ancient
181. Watson ancient
182. Davidson modern
183. MacKenzie, regimental
184. MacDonald of the Isles hunting, modern
185. MacDonald modern
186. MacGregor ancient
187. County Limerick
188. MacKenzie modern
189. Ulster (brown)
190. MacGregor ancient
191. Smith modern
192. MacIan/MacDonald of Ardnamurchan modern
193. Duke of Rothesay Hunting
194. Stuart of Bute
195. Greene
196. X Marks the Scot
197. Henderson muted
198. brown Harris Tweed
199. blue Harris Tweed
200. Gordon weathered!

Gatlinburg Games & New Sgian Dubh

Last weekend I attended the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Highland Games. These are some of my favorite. A nice, mid-sized games with friendly people, and since I've been going there for about ten years staight, I know the layout and the area pretty well. Good to see familiar faces. Also good to see some of my kilts getting good use. I ran into two gentlemen sporting kilts I had made for them over this past year. The one pictured below is in the Moffat tartan. (That's Pat McCabe behind him, star of my "Sharp Dressed Man" blog post).

This next picture shows the Buchanan Old tartan, weathered colors. I really like this one. I think if I were a Buchanan this would be the tartan of choice for me! Both of these two kilts are box pleated, as you can see, and made from Lochcarron's 16 oz Strome cloth.

Also while there I ran into Donnie Shearer of www.TheMadPiper.com. Donnie does some excellent work with blades, including some restoration work on a couple of peices in the Scottish Tartans Museum. I was hoping to see him so that he could take a look at an old Victorian by-knife that I bought from an antiques dealer about a year ago. It was being sold as a sgian dubh, and apparantly someone had decided at some point to use it for that purpose. A by-knife is part of the knife and fork set that is part of the sheath on some dress dirks. This one was by itself, and was housed in a leather sheath that really seemed too large for it.

I bought it to use as an interesting sgian dubh, and have worn it for that purpose a few times over the past year. However, the sheath nearly swallows the knife whole, only showing the top part of the handle, and is very bulky in my sock. I thought I'd have Donnie craft a smaller, simple, black leather sheath that would encase just the blade and make the knife more comfortable to wear.

So I showed the by-knife to Donnie and asked him if he could make a sheath for it. "No," he said, "I'll make you a whole new sgian dubh!" As it turns out, Donnie has a nineteenth century dirk that is missing the by-knife and this is just the perfect thing to complete that set. So, in exchange for this by-knife, he's making me a new sgian dubh, a reproduction of one that he refurbished for the museum a while back (pictured below). This one has a bery generously sized handle (compared to modern sgians dubh), and is carved blackwood. It dates from the late 1800s or early 1900s (before WWI). (The gentleman in the photo, by the way, is the original owner of the sgian dubh, as far as we know).

So all in all a great weekend. The weather was perfect, lots of kilts, lots of tartans, good pipe bands, and I may be getting a nice new sgian dubh to boot!

Tartan Day at the Tartan Museum

This past Friday, April 6, was National Tartan Day. We celebrated it at the Scottish Tartans Museum in our customary fashion with an Open House. Free admission all day, guided tours, and a complimentary luncheon of hand made Scottish foods offered by members of the Friends of the Scottish Tartans Museum.

Here are just a few pictures of the day's activities. Below is Jim Akins helping himself to a snack. Jim will be familiar to those of you who visit the museum on Saturdays. He and his wife Kathie are our "weekend warriors." Jim is wearing a box pleated kilt in the Gordon tartan, which I made for him from an old regimental piper's plaid.

We had lots of kilties visiting from out of town. Below are Ryan Ross and Bisel MacWilliams. These young guys always help us out at the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta each year. Obviously they decided to dress up in their finest Scottish formal wear for Tartan Day... or not! You can't accuse these guys of taking themselves too seriously. Ryan is wearing the New York City tartan, by the way (box pleated kilt that I made for him) and Bisel is in the ancient Gunn tartan, a kilt he bought from the museum years ago.

Next is a shot of the gift shop, where we had the food tables spread out. Enjoying themselves are a couple of kilties from the X Marks the Scot forum who drove up from SC for the day. John (better known on the forum as MacWages) is wearing a newly completed Carolina tartan kilt that he made himself. He brought with him the infamous "Dreadbelly" whom forum members will instantly recognize. After meeting him, I can truly say he is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, wearing sunglasses! :-)

Wayne Millar (of the Clan Bell Society) also joined us for the day and was even drafted into service as a volunteer tour guide. Thanks, Wayne! I included this picture to show off his new US Army kilt, which he ordered from us last summer. It looks especially sharp pleated to the yellow line, as you can see in this side-shot.

Last but not least, here is a shot of yours truly. I wore my Carolina kilt with my hew Harris Tweed jacket and vest (yes, it was cold enough for it!) - click to make the wee image bigger!

Web Site Back Up & New Goodies

Those of you who tried to access my web site (or this blog) late yesterday or the first part of today will have noticed that the site was down. Since you are reading this now, obviously everything is back up just fine. The issue, it seems, was one of bandwidth. It seems that the traffic on my site had exceeded my monthly bandwidth allotment.

This has happened to me only once before, about a year ago or so, and I simply bought more bandwidth to fix the problem. I thought at the time that I was purchasing enough to handle whatever traffic my wee little site might generate. I guess I was wrong!

Without getting into specific traffic stats, albanach.org and its dependant sites (such as kilts.albanach.org and this blog at blog.albanach.org) have been slowly but steadily growing in popularity. Over the course of the past year, my monthly average bandwidth use has more or less doubled. However, for some reason that I have yet to figure out, this past month has been a different story. My bandwidth for March increased by a factor of ten! It was such a dramatic rise that I thought for sure it must be some kind of glitch, or maybe a hacker had gotten in and sabotaged my site!

But, no, I was assured by those who know more about this stuff than I do that such was not the case. I really am getting that much more traffic. So for a few extra pennies a month I've upgraded to a new hosting plan that will hopefully be able to handle the volume of traffic this site has been getting. By the way, thank all of you who have enjoyed my site and chosen to share it with others!

And, just so there is something kilt related in this post, I thought I'd share with you some photos of my latest kilt goodies.

Here I am sporting my brand new Harris Tweed kilt jacket and vest, that you read about in a previous post. I couldn't be happier with this purchase. It fits well, and looks great with most of my tartans. Here I am wearing it with my Mull tartan kilt. I've also worn it with my Armstrong, Carolina, and MacQuarrie (Cockburn Collection, muted colors) and it looks great with each. It came in while the weather was still cool, so I got a few chances to wear it before the warm temperatures arrived. I know I'll be getting a lot of use out of it come Fall.

Also, recently, some Balmoral kilt hose I ordered came in from Hawick. These hose are fantastic! The sock itself is made the same was as our Lewis kilt hose (follow the above link), from a Merino Wool / Acrylic blend. Very soft, very comfortable, very high quality (and easy to care for). But the upper is completely hand knit in the colors of your choosing, to tone with your tartan. You design your own look. Below is a pair I designed for wear with my Carolina tartan kilt. I chose the brown hose to tie in with my brown leather accessories, and I think the effect is quite pleasing.

Lastly, below I am pictured with my partner-in-crime at the Museum, Ronan MacGregor. My hose were designed to match my Mull kilt, and Ronan selected his colors to wear with his Black MacGregor tartan (a personal variation of the MacGregor sett that he had woven for his kilt).

Scotsman paper attacks STA for defending Scottish tradition

The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) published a very good article in their January 2007 issue of the Tartan Herald decrying the plague of cheap Asian-made acrylic "kilts" being sold to tourists along Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

Kilt wearers, and others who are involved in the Scottish heritage community, have long decried these cheap imitations that can best be described as "costumes" rather than clothing. However, to much surprise, the STA has come under fire for their attempt to defend the tradition of real Scottish kilt making.

Those of you who are members of the STA most likely have already read the article on question, but if not, it is available here:

Tartan Herald, Jan 2007

The basic jist of the article has to do not with the comparitive merits of expensive, hand tailored, woolen kilts v. inexpensive, machine made, non-woolen kilts. The article actually had to do with "truth in advertising" and whether the merchants in question are guilty of misleading their customers.

The article included photos of the labels attached to these acrylic kilts (one is reproduced here). I, myself, have seen these same labels on cheap kilts being offered at Highland Games here in America. They claim that the kilt has been "designed in Scotland" and is made from "authentic woven material." The problem is that, while these claims are 100% true, they mean absolutely nothing. The fact that the kilt was designed in Scotland says nothing about where it was actually made (most likely Pakistan, in this instance), and while the kilt is made from "woven material" the material in question is poor-quality acrylic and not Scottish wool.

None of this would be of issue, of course, if the label correctly said, "made in Pakistan; 100% acrylic cloth." And that's the main point of the STA article. Edinburgh's Royal Mile is a big tourist attraction, and visitors to Scotland are being misled into spending their money on foreign imports rather than true products of Scotland.

Let's face it, when people buy a kilt like this, very often it is as a momento of their vacation to Scotland, and the value of the item is that it represents a unique Scottish tradition. While I, and other kilt wearers, may be able to look at a kilt like this and instantly know it is not an actual Scottish-made woolen kilt, the truth is that most people have no direct experience with kilts. I frequently talk to people who don't know if the pleats are to be worn in the back or front of the kilt, don't know what a tartan is, and don't know the different between wool, cotton, or polyester. They are not to be faulted for this, Highland Dress is just outside of their experience. And these people, on holidy in Scotland, are frequently fooled into believing that this cheap imported skirt is representative of true Scottish tradition and craftsmanship.

After the STA article came out, some of the shop owners on the Royal Mile predictably complained. No surprise there. My reaction was that if they took offense at the article, it was most likely because it struck a bit close to home.

However, the Scotsman newspaper recently ran an editorial criticizing the STA for being the "kilt police." You can read it here, but here are the pertinant parts.

The STA's biggest beef, however, seems to be with the ever-growing
popularity of lightweight kilts, which led them to claim in Monday's paper that
shopkeepers were misleading tourists by selling cut price acrylic kilts, for as
little as £19.99.
You'll not get a "real" kilt for less than £240
apparently, and therein lies the rub. How many locals, let alone tourists on a
budget, have a spare £240 to blow on a "real" kilt?
...
However, don't be misled into believing that the kilt police are driven by an
altruistic desire to save our heritage. The organisation might sound like some
historic body formed by the clan chiefs generations ago, but is actually a
fairly new collective formed in 1996 by Scotland's leading weavers and tartan
retailers ... no vested interests there then. Really, who cares what your kilt
is made of, as long as you wear it with pride.

Ok, first of all, whether the STA was formed in 1996 or in 1796 really has no bearing on the point of their article. The Scotsman author is just setting up a straw man. And yes, the STA membership is made up of some of the top tartan manufacturers and kiltmakers in the country. It is also made up of tartan scholars and academics, as well as a large body of interested individuals. And the STA watches out for the interests of its membership. Why shouldn't it? But the point to be made is that STA membership consists of many competing tartan producers. The STA here is not advocation for one company or another, but rather for the Scottish-based Highland Dress industry as a whole. And really, what Scotsman wants to see the tartan trade leave their country for the shores of some third-world nation? Recall not that long ago when the MOD was contemplating having the tartan for their regimental kilts made overseas? People were up in arms!

But the main complaint of the editorial seems to be that the STA is guilty of elitism, claiming that the only "real" kilt must be a heavyweight, hand tailored, eight yard masterpeice costing hundreds of dollars. However, this is not true! In the original STA aritcle itself, they state:

Most weavers and kiltmakers have no objection to cheap 'fun kilts' appearing on
the market, regardless of their country of origin or what they're made of.
After all, youngsters introduced to the 'kilt' through them will no doubt
graduate to the real thing one day. No... the objection is that people are
being misled into buying these cheap kilts under the impression that they're
Scottish and that the design, fabric, and workmanship are the output of
Scotland's traditional weavers and kiltmakers. That is regarded
as a travesty!

Notice how the Scotsman peice never even once mentioned this -- the main point of the STA article. Rather it attackes the STA for a position that they themselves plainly state not to hold.

Apparantly the author of the peice cannot even be bothered to read (or understand) the very article that he is commenting on. And the sad fact is that most people, not being members of the STA, will only hear about their opinion through reading garbage like this, without ever having the opportunity to find out what the STA actually said.

This author's expertise in the kilt stems from the fact that he rented one for a wedding once. And he is critcizing the STA for a position that they do not even hold. So, tell me... is it really the position of the Scotsman that cheap foreign-made acrylic kilts should be more widely available on the Scottish market? That is a position that I find very hard to defend!

Carolina Christmas

Just like the plumber who stays so busy he cannot fix the leaky pipes in his own home, so too does the busy kiltmaker (in this case, me) rarely have time to make a kilt for himself. Well, my Christmas gift to myself this year was to make an exception and add another kilt to my wardrobe.



In this case, it is the Carolina tartan -- a tartan I have long wanted to wear, as a native of North Carolina. This tartan was designed in 1981 by Peter MacDonald, and formally accepted as the state tartan of North Carolina in 1991 (South Carolina followed suit in 2002). The Museum took a bulk order of this cloth for a pipe band last year, and I had some extra woven for myself. I've been looking at it gathering dust in my sewing room for many months now. So while visiting family over the Christmas weekend I decided to treat myself and finally make my Carolina kilt.



I'm wearing it here with a blue Tattersall shirt that my mother got my for Christmas from L. L. Bean (thanks, Mom!). I have always thought that Tattersall shirts look especially nice worn with a tartan kilt. I think the blue in this shirt really tones well with the light azure blue in the Carolina tartan. I've also paired it with some lovat blue kilt hose and a pair of brick red traditional garter ties.



I'm also sporting a new (to me) sporran. It's a reproduction of an eighteenth century style, with a real working hinged cantle. One of my regular clients was looking to weed out some excess from his wardrobe and, well... he made me an offer I couldn't refuse! It just arrived in the post yesterday, so got to debut my new kilt and sporran on the same day.



I'm also very excited about my new kilt pin. When I first got the Carolina tartan cloth, I thought it would be especially nice to have a special kilt pin reflective of the state's heritage. The dogwood is one of my favorite flowers, and is also the state flower of North Carolina. I did a search on line for dogwood pins and found the web site of Stuart Nye of Asheville, NC. This jeweler has been making hand wrought jewelery since 1933, and specializes, of all things, in dogwood designs! You can see a close up of the pin below.



What a perfect compliment for this kilt, which I plan on giving good use this upcoming Games season in North and South Carolina.

Been Busy

I know I haven't posted here in quite some time. So I thought I'd take a few minutes this afternoon to show you what's been keeping me so busy. I've been trying to work my way through some of the backlog of kilt orders I have. Here are some of my latest projects.

These first two pictures are a four yard box pleated kilt in the Peeper tartan. This is a personal tartan that I designed for Dr. E. Quinn Peeper of Louisinanna.

Next is another four yard box pleated kilt, made for a regular client of mine, Ron Keeler of Canada. This one is made from a very heavy weight Harris Tweed in the Hunting MacPherson tartan. It only has six very wide box pleats in the back.

Lastly, here I am modeling a Hunting MacKinnon kilt I made. (I normally don't advocate the wearing of off-white hose, but in the case of this Arran sweater, I think the cream hose are a good match).