Intermittent torrential downpours punctuated our August visit to Auchindrain Township. We had a fairly steady stream of visitors, who were glad of the warmth of our peat fire, chilled as they were in the August wind and rain! Our animal puppets were kept busy, as we had a number of tiny children in. We had some real animals in too – a delightful wee Westie, and a huge Labrador cross. Plus the usual mix of nationalities. We were stowed out all day, and glad of our delicious leek and potato lunchtime soup to keep us going!

Sgioba Luaidh then relaxed for a few weeks’ holiday, before our return to Auchindrain on Saturday 26 September, to waulk our new tweed. (Two “real” waulkings in one year, Wow!) We were given a beautiful ten-yard length by Sam Goates (Woven in the Bone), one of whose tweeds we waulked last year. We are so grateful that Sam trusted us with another one.

It was a chilly, but dry day, thank goodness. We had some interested visitors, including three ladies from Canada, who had arranged their trip to Scotland to coincide with our performance! One of them, who has started a group in Quebec city, gave us a couple of Canadian milling songs.

The weave of the tweed was fairly loose, so in only an hour and a half we had taken the required four inches off the width. It took only about ten songs (some of them quite long, right enough!) We are very pleased with the finished article – looks and feels lovely. You can see a picture chronicle of the work here. Cat Liath (Grey Cat), the boss of Auchindrain Township, kept a watchful eye on the proceedings!