Heathergems

I learnt to knit in Scotland, so I always feel my knitting spirit has a scottish accent, so to speak. Not that you can see it in my knitting, but trust me, it is there. Possibly wearing a kilt, but I could be making that up.

At the time, I was a teen and we were on holiday on the Isle of Mull. On a whim, I picked up knitting needles, a pattern and a cone of aran wool from a local woollen mill. My mother showed me how to knit and purl, and I spent the rest of the holiday knitting an aran jumper with several cable panels. I was so pleased with it. I still have the jumper, but as this was … ahem…several decades ago, it is only fit for gardening now. It has had a lot of wear.

(first knitting project – an aran jumper)

After that experience, all family holidays to Scotland, seem to be punctuated by visits to woollen mills. The mills often stood alone on the side of the road. No big commercial set up. The signs would be modest and sometimes easily missed. I used to nag my father to stop at each and every one.

I loved seeing the wool on cones and handknitted garments. Amazing stitch patterns and colour work knitting. Some particular to the area and traditions. Rooms fragrant with the mixture of sheep’s wool and dye. Wood and dust caught by shafts of light from the small windows of the traditional buildings. Often they’d have a relic of tools from the past, like looms and spinning wheels. That’s how I remember it.

Unsurprisingly, when we go away now, I’m keen to visit local crafts people. For a start, you steal a glimpse of how they see their surroundings. The colours of the landscape and seasons. The purpose of the item. If we spot a local art exhibition, we’ll make a beeline for it. There is always a different perspective.

This summer, we went up to the Cairngorms area of Scotland. In the cottage where we stayed, there was a tourist leaflet for Heathergems in Pitlochry. I popped this to the top of the pile of possible places to visit. It did not disappoint.

(Heather from a previous year – we were too early to see them in flower)

I’d not heard of heather gems before and was fascinated to see how they were made. The Heathergem centre has a film running in their entrance lobby, explaining the process, before you can peer through windows into the workshops to see the gems being made.

They take the heather stems off the moor and prepare them by removing the last of the foliage and bark. Then they dye them. Squeeze them together with epoxy resin and dry them. Next cut into slices and shapes, to reveal the colours and the grains. Final part is to lacquer each gem. The result is beautiful and unique. I’ve added the video at the bottom of the post if you’d like to see the whole process.

This was a new craft for me. The raw material of heather stems is sustainable, which interests me. I love the patterns that each gem produces. I let the children choose a simple pendant each as a souvenir. I couldn’t resist picking this one for me, as it reminded me of the landscape we had been walking through.

If you are interested, here’s a video below which shows how heather stems are transformed into gems. This post is not an advert or sponsored post. I wanted to share a craft that I’ve not seen before. They do have an on-line shop here.