The Independent Stitch

The William Wallace Monument, Stirling, Scotland

Because of some family history and connections, I needed to get to the William Wallace Monument, which is located a short and pleasant walk from where the UK Knit Camp was held in Stirling, Scotland. I finally had a moment between two classes on my final day in Stirling and I hiked over there. The monument sits on top of a volcanic plug. I did take the shuttle bus from the valley to its base, because I wanted to have some hope of climbing to the top. I did make the climb (246 steps), mostly by not setting it as a task but simply deciding at each of the three levels whether to attempt the next flight of steps. The steps are about a foot wide, sharply angled, inside such a tight spiral that falling on them wouldn't be an issue—despite the height overall, there's no room to fall anywhere other than onto the step or two below where you are—but there is also no way to descend other than the way you came up. Passing others is, well, a huge challenge. Mostly you listen for other people and try to time your passage so as not to encounter anyone else.

The architect did a fine job of spacing the risers and treads, and the climb up and the return journey were breath-sapping but much easier than I expected.

The monument is so large you can see it from very far away, and from many directions.

Here's a closer view:

Statues and busts of Scottish heroes and inventors and artists are outside and inside. This is a statue honoring Wallace:

The spiral staircase is inside one corner of the monument. On the way up, there are three great halls with exhibits. They end up being places to catch your breath and decide whether to attempt the next set of steps. Here's what the staircase looks like from outside:

And here's one of the views from the top:

Stirling, the castle, and the tapestry project

UK Knit Camp was held in Stirling, Scotland, which is just north of, and pretty much equidistant between, Glasgow and Edinburgh. It's an old town steeped in history.

There are swans on the lake at the university, where the Knit Camp was held.

The castle itself sits on volcanic rock overlooking the area.

I spent a chunk of time there learning about the project to weave replicas of the Unicorn tapestry series now located in New York City, at The Cloisters (Metropolitan Museum of Art). I'll be writing a short article for Handwoven magazine including the answers to some of the questions I asked. Four of the seven tapestries have been completed. This is their temporary location within the castle; they will be hung in the palace, a portion of the castle that is being restored. (The information on the tapestries here is a little out of date, but gives an introduction to the work.)

Not far from Stirling is New Lanark, a World Heritage Site and location of a social experiment that took place concurrent with the industrial revolution to improve the quality of workers' lives.

This is part of one of the mill wheels at New Lanark.

 

Here's a view of part of the community (mostly workers' housing) in the valley, from the hill above it:

 

 

Scotland and England: a few people I've been meeting

I have intermittent internet connections here in the British Isles, although the USB modem I bought has been working amazingly well for where I've been. The experiences are rich. I've met so many wonderful people, including all the participants in the six classes I taught* at UK Knit Camp in Stirling, Scotland; the other presenters at the camp; the organizers; and others I've encountered in all the packed-to-overflowing days.

* Three groups on breed-specific and rare breeds wools, for both spinners and knitters, as well as three introductory spinning classes.

I'm not sure I'll ever catch up with the blog posts that I want to do, so I'm going to post a few collections of photos and brief comments.

Mostly I am somewhat bashful about taking photos of people, and I like to keep my full attention on the conversation. But I snapped a few.

This is Lawrence Alderson, without whom the Rare Breeds Survival Trust would almost certainly not exist. It's always such a pleasant shock when someone whose rigorous and wide-ranging work you've admired for decades turns out to be an exceptionally nice person, too.

 

Oliver Henry, the wool buyer for Jamieson and Smith in Shetland, shared his knowledge of the wools from the islands' sheep. A "normal" wool grader for the British Wool Marketing Board goes through seven years of training to be qualified. Oliver took a summer job decades ago and has been grading and buying wool ever since. His mind and hands encompass an incomparable stock of knowledge.

Jean Wilson is a preeminent sheep judge. She keeps Herdwick sheep and here is demonstrating a judging point on one of this year's lambs. Herdwicks lighten up in color as they mature. Jean is a woman of vast knowledge, strong opinions, and few words.

I have met a lot of fantastic people, including these and many others. What a gift of this trip these encounters have been.