STRAIGHT INTO STITCHES

Wake up to birdsong and breakfast in style!

We’ll take a trip through the rolling landscape of Dumfriesshire this morning to reach fine old Shambellie House. Here local textile artist Helen will guide us in stitching with fiber scraps and simple embroidery, inspired by the wild gardens there.

INTO THE BORDER HILLS

Today our first stop is in the aptly named Ewes Valley where we will meet a flock whose wool is transformed into heritage-inspired blankets and covetable yarn. 

We’re invited to a traditional village hall for lunch with farmers and textile makers before calling in for a tour of Creation Mill. It was established to shout about all things textile from fiber creation to recycling waste in the South of Scotland, and it is doing a great job! They have a scrap store, where we may well be tempted by fabrics to enhance our stitching...

HOME COMFORTS

Time to gather inspiration for the first of our at-home workshops, led by a local artist-maker. We'll share more details of this fun experience, of course, but it's good to know you’ll have a workspace to call your own and use whenever you like through the week as we continue to be inspired by the natural world.

DUMFRIES

Organic, single-origin Scottish wool from a flock of native breed sheep? Lead us to it! We’ll visit Ruth at her farm where building a rich and biodiverse environment that allows their animals to thrive is her top priority.

After lunch by the waterside we’ll explore the town of Dumfries, known as Queen of the South, and final home of Scotland’s much-loved national poet Robert Burns.

STITCH & SIP

Enjoy a relaxed morning working on projects (or not!). We’ll be joined at lunchtime by Susie who has coordinated several large-scale community tapestries as well as running her embroidery classes. She will lead us in a floral-inspired project through the afternoon and we’ll round off the day with a tutored gin tasting from a local distillery in the comfort of our sitting room.

KIRKCUDBRIGHT

It’s pronounced kirr-coo-bree, of course! Known as the Artists’ Town, it has long attracted creative folk for the quality of the light and its waterfront setting. Several of the Glasgow Boys group of painters and the Scottish Colorists based themselves in the area from the 1920s. We will visit the home and Japanese-inspired gardens of Jessie M King, a respected illustrator, fabric and wallpaper designer, and her equally multi-talented husband Ernest Taylor who lived in the town from 1915.

SANQUHAR

And this one is pronounced san-kur…

On our final day we'll make a short hop to the village of Sanquhar. It’s notable for its tiny post office, established in 1712 and believed to be the oldest working post office in the world. But for us the attraction is Sanquhar knitting. It is internationally recognized for its distinctive 17th century two-color patterns, with names like the "Rose" and the "Midge and Fly". We’ll meet knitters carrying on the tradition, and helping to make the patterns more accessible to everyone.

Afternoon will find us back in Glasgow. Explore, pack, seek out a cozy place for dinner, have that last dram on Scottish soil!

Farewells & Departures

A fond goodbye to our handsome retreat house.

As you make your way to Glasgow Airport to start your journey home, we hope you feel refreshed and inspired by the flora, fauna and folk of southern Scotland.

Lindsay, aka  “The Border Tart”, is a stitcher, a printer, a maker and a lover of words. Inspired by color and pattern and passionate about world artisans and textiles, she values most highly all things made by hand. She’s a proponent of mindful stitching and hand work of all kinds. In her words, “Making with your own hands brings pleasure, calms the heart rate and imbues each piece with love.” We’re so pleased to collaborate with this wonderful Scottish artisan and teacher.