A friend of mine recently took me to explore the Western Isles as a birthday treat. I had a marvelous time amid some truly spectacular scenery. Of course, I just had to go take look at the Harris tweeds made on the island of Lewis & Harris. The tweeds are handwoven by local residents during the winter months, using wool from the sheep that roam freely about the island. The wool is sent away for spinning, but aside from that, every step of production happens locally.
There is a store at Tarbert on Harris, about 3 minutes walk away from the ferry terminal to Uig on Skye. Walking in there is like going to heaven. Here is a picture to give you a flavour of what is available (click to zoom in):
The colours are muted for the most part, with speckles of bright colour visible on closer inspection. This reflects the colours that were possible to achieve using vegetable dyes in previous times. The fabric is not cheap (£12 pm for 75cm width and £30 pm for 120cm width), but well worth it - not just for the quality and beauty of the fabric, but because the proceeds support a local and sustainable island industry.
Of course I bought some, and this is what it looks like:
It was an end of roll piece, only enough for a waistcoat, but oh how I love it!
I can heartily recommend a visit to the Hebrides. Here are some pictures to give you a flavour of the scenery:
