My friend Nancy admonished me that I should stay upright on this trip (I have a tendency to trip and end up on my backside with some frequency). Well, it wasn’t my intention to go ass-over-teakettle on this trip, but after successfully getting over a stile from a sheep pasture, I stepped backwards and ran into a board partially buried in the ground and was attacked by a barbed wire fence. My jacket got the worst of it, but I also managed to catch a few fingers of my right hand as well, and there you have it.
I was kindly patched up, managed to buy some yarn, and then we headed to the nearest emergency room to see if stitches were needed (they weren’t). Oh yes, yarn purchases do take priority over stitches!
After fixed with bandages, the kind RN (who also is a sheep farmer raising x-breed Scottish Blackface/Blue Faced Leicesters) went on to tape up my jacket to prevent further loss of feathers.
Jane Cooper, shepherdess of the Boreray flock where I tangled up with the barbed wire, has invited me back for Saturday to do some more photos of her sheep, and have a good chat. I shall stay on this side of the stile!
We were up bright and early the next day to catch our flight to North Ronaldsay. It’s a small plane, and the flight schedule is tightly controlled by the weather, so low fog kept us in Kirkwall. Plan B! We switched our flight to Friday, moved everything else around, and had a leisurely day sight seeing around town.
It was, in fact, good that we had the chance to check the shops, since it will allow me to get some of the North Ronaldsay yarn if we don’t make it on our second try. I do, however, have high hopes of still getting to visit the seaweed eating sheep, and Friday is forecast to be clear.
One of our first stops was the Cathedral of St. Magnus. It’s a lovely building with a soaring vaulted ceiling and multiple plaques on the walls where there seem to be burials. Some of the iconography is on the creepy side, but there always are interesting designs to record. I have collected this kind of thing for years thinking I’ll someday incorporate them into knitting, but so far that hasn’t happened.
Orkney is a place where there always is wind, so the front entrance to the cathedral has developed really interesting patterns of erosion of the stone.
There are lovely knitwear shops around the islands. Like in the Shetlands, the designers here use knitting machines to produce their garments…hand-knitting wouldn’t be economically feasible. The styles often are loosely based on Fair Isle patterns, but tend toward more contemporary interpretations.
One designer who favors more graphic images is Hillary Grant. Her studio in Orkney uses only fine lambswool spun and dyed in Scotland, and produces blankets, throws, hats, gloves and scarves. While both subtle and architectural, her designs are engaging and quite recognizable. I found myself particularly drawn to a hat with the “Forest” design, which reminded me of the runes carved into bone and stone artifacts in the local museum.
And with all the too-ing and fro-ing, seemed to have lost it (or it may be buried in the luggage.
Hume Sweet Hume is another local design shop. Founded by sisters Lizza and Jenna in 1997, they have gone on two include Lizza’s two daughters, Megan and Eileen as of 2017.
Pullovers and ponchos have a slightly oversized, relaxed profile, and frequently feature simple bands of Nordic designs. Although located only about 10 miles north of Mainland Scotland, the Orkney Islands were annexed by the Kingdom of Norway in 875. The islands were absorbed into Scotland in 1472 when the Kingdom failed to pay a dowry for Margaret of Denmark to King James III of Scotland.
Culturally, however, the Orkneys have maintained close ties to Nordic traditions, and this can be seen in many of the local stranded knits.
Judith Glue is a very well known designer and entrepreneur known just as well for her restaurants as her knitwear.
What I find most striking about Judith’s knitwear is her absolutely fearless use of color. The jumpers, scarves, and clothing are bright and fun, but the line of her daughter, Annie, runs in a more traditional direction if you prefer.
And more fog. My dream of visiting North Ronaldsay and the seaweed-eating sheep has been dashed. Plan C!
I’ll do some more work at the archives today, and perhaps some additional retail therapy. I do need to purchase the NR wool, which I saw in a couple of shops. I did see a bit of knitwear that might “do” as an Orkney souvenir.
I know there will be something unexpected today that will make everything all worthwhile.
I will remind myself that this is all just one big adventure, and with its ups and downs, everything adds to the story. I guess I don’t actually have to see the “Ronnies” in person to appreciate their wool. It would be nice, but I can do wool by touch just as well as the visual. In any case, que sera, sera.
So until the next time, stay calm, stay positive, and craft on.
Oh Sara I hope you are ok! Glad to hear your fingers are ok….pick up your feet! Beautiful pictures.
You know me — at least I bounce when I hit! Fingers pretty well mended; the little finger that was the worst is still a little sore, but since it doesn’t get in the way of knitting I can easily ignore it.