The McLeod Project

Day 197: They call it the "loud MacLeod." The tartan of MacLeod/McLeod of Lewis is even more recognizable than Royal Stewart, being one of very few "plaids" with a yellow ground (a "plaid," incidentally, is a garment rather than a pattern). It also happens to be my family's tartan by way of an indiscretion committed by my grandfather's mother with a man of the clan, a dalliance which, according to his personal research, led to my grandfather's birth. My grandfather went to Skye in the early 1900s to speak with people who had known his family and found enough support for the story to convince him of his right to the tartan. Although that bloodline is somewhat diluted in its present incarnation (me), I am proud to be a McLeod (the spelling used in our line), if from the "wrong side of the blanket."

The necessity for sticking close to home has found me digging into my stash of fibers with a critical eye to potential projects. I had on hand a good supply of Caron "Simply Soft" worsted in gold, harvest red and black, having used the colours previously to make ladybug and bee hats for Joppa Flats. Those, or as close as makes no nevermind, are the colours of Clan McLeod. Obviously quite a bit heavier than I would have liked, availability suggested a project to follow the tablecloth: a McLeod shawl. I was able to find the exact sett written in the code unique to tartan weaving, and reinterpreted it to proportions reasonable for the yarn. Admittedly, the width of a shawl only allows for one full repeat flanked by a half-repeat to either side, but at approximately six feet in length, there will be five red intersections. The worsted-weight fiber makes the weaving move very quickly. By yesterday evening, I had woven over two feet even though I had spent very little time at the loom. I suspect the McLeod Project will be done by Tuesday.