Colors of Scotland

I ordered this 3/2 cotton Sherwood Forest warp from Blazing Shuttles.  She's an amazing Dyer who's been at it since the 1970s, so she's honed her craft well.  Usually her stuff sells almost as soon as she posts it to her shop website (or in live classes).  This set stayed up on her website longer than usual ...  [I get why she doesn't put much in her shop -- The documentation to post a product takes a lot of time and effort.  I have seen photos of her at her live workshops with tables piled high with painted warps.  I suspect that is where she sells most of her wares.  And many weavers have multiples of her warps in their stash.]

Fairy Glen by Gerry MacDonald Artist [Photo from here.]

The colors kept haunting me -- There was something familiar about it, and then I realized it reminded me of Fairy Glen on The Isle of Skye when we visited in May a few years ago.  Yes-- much more red than I expected.  Kind of like this Sherwood Forest Warp!   You don't really think of the rust / red as part of the Scottish landscape, but there it is ...

This photo does not show the colors as I remember them that day.  I seem to have lost a bunch of my own pics from that era.  Alive only in my memory now.  ;-(

I wanted to get a Blazing Shuttles Warp in part to study it:

• How far apart are her color intervals?  
• How do they move across the warp?
• How do the colors transition?
• What should I use for a companion warp?
• What weaving pattern should I use to highlight the warp (not lose it).

 

Footpath - Let's Do 52 - Week 11

 Ruined Tower at Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye, Scotland
I think the official name is Ewen's Castle

Fairy Glen is one of our favorite places to visit on The Isle of Skye.  It should be some kind of national monument, or historical place, but instead it's just a bit on someone's farmland there.   If you follow the road to the end, you wind up in the farmer's yard.   Sheep graze the hills there (Watch your step!).      It's getting so many visitors these days who are not careful about disturbing the space ...  that I've really seen it get more run down and tired in recent visits.    It's sad, and magical, just the same.  

Photo Processing :

1) 2LO Texture as background : Fairy Tales 18

2) Ruined Tower at Fair Glen Photo - Blend Mode : Multiply

         Touch ups (remove people)

         RadLab Magical Black & White

3) Sparkle Brushes to add texture to the rocks and sky

4) On iPad in Distressed FX App,

         Add bird trio brush

         Add Azure Sky texture

5) Back to PhotoShop Elements to clean up a few bits in the sky

6) Final brighten

Here's the original photo for contrast.  

Once again, I am participating in Denise Love's 2018 "Let's Do 52 : 52 Weeks of Photo Prompts" to kick start the lull in my photography.   If you'd like to join us, find out more at the link above.  The more the merrier!