Sgioba Luaidh visiting Galgael

This Friday was a very special day, because at long last Sgioba Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh (The Inverclyde Waulking group) came to put on a show at Galgael. If you have follwoed this blog ehre you will have met them already several times - at the Woolfest in July, and then Frances and Innes at an informal visit. This time they came in full strength - 8 women and Archie. They donned theiur Highland crone costumes and then never got cold in the big cold workshop, waulking the cloth with full throated waulking songs, bringign alive the history of the Isles, singing of feuds and fights (and there was lots in the times when these working songs were sung in very hamlet and town!), and of course, of the joys and sorrows of love and parting.

One hour before lunch and one hour after - it sure was a feast of witnessing the hypnotic spell cast by these vigeourous songs, and now and then also the longing lilt of a spinning song.

The guys (Navigating Life Trainees and trainers) were spellbound, and touched to their bones by something they may have never heard before, but which touched them in their blood with the power of past generations.

Some even dared to have a go at the waulking themselves, and learned soon that the grab&throw handmovements of the cloth are not that easy!

It is best if you see all the pictures on this album:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/urban.clansman/SgiobaLuaidhVisitingGalgael#

and better still if you see and hear the 10 wee video clips on the urban.clansman youtube channel

Here is one tiny taster of a beautiful spinning song sung by Frances whilst Innes was spinning and our women were teasing wool:

So, remember to visit

http://uk.youtube.com/urbanclansman & http://uk.youtube.com/user/woolcraftatgalgael

for to see some of the show, and visit also http://www.geocities.com/luadh/, the group's website and learn about their story - and maybe invite them to your group, too. It is great fun and they have many registers they can pull, with their big repertoire and vibrant vigour, as well very modern IT support (very educative and imaginative slideshows!)

We know we want them back - knowing also they loved the madness that is Galgael - and we would like the harp next time (February?), too, and then also (in early summer?) try out the songs in the boats to the beat of the oars, as many of the songs have been sung by men to the rhythm of rowing.

So, lets open the song books of the past,

and thanks be those here who make them last..

week ending the 12th of September

This week, at long last, saw Frances and Innes from Sgioba Luaidh at Galgael. They were rather taken by the vastness that is Galgael, and when we all cramped into the wee bothy, to look at Innes's folders and hear Sarah-Jane sing her latest Gaelic song Norman was also part of the party. You can see him here enjoying a quick waulking song demonstration with Innes using a felted Blackface fleece as cloth. And then we were literally blown away by George, friend of Norman, filling the bothy and all Galgael with the mighty drone of the pipes.

We are looking forward to have the whole bunch of waulking song singers with us in November, on the 21st, where they will entertain and teach everybody on songs and traditions of the Highlands and Islands. As the woolcrafters we are now looking into doing something together with Sgioba Luaidh, combining our love of the lore and our skills for ... well, watch this space!

Meanwhile Sarah-Jane and Flora had started to wetfelt the last light grey stonefelt sheet, so that at the Plantation project it could get finished, and we embarked on sizing the prefelt for the Portal picture felt, and on laying out the contours of the scene to be depicted, as well as getting the tree stuffed:

The prefelt turned out needing a lot of backing with white wool, all needle felted into it, before we dared to lay the wool for the scene, which was decided to be a landscape spanning the 4 seasons.

You can see it here grow in its fourfold bands under Mary's and Alison's hands back in Galgael the next day:

Once the colours were laid out thr needle felting begun, and it was lovely to have Tawny join us, too. Meanwhile Debbie wetfelted her cushion cover in the bothy, listening to a CD of birdsong.

On Friday at the regular woolcraft group time, more folks carried on with the needlefelting of the background colours - quite a big job that, actuall. But many hands (Lynsey, Sarah-Jane, Ali, Naomi and also Anna from Helensburgh) made light work. Laryna and Jackie carried on preparing the dark wool for the mittens (also a big job, it seems!), and were joined by Jeanne, the partner of one of the Galgael volunteers, who finally had managed today to come along with her knitting, too.

For more pictures - remember to visit: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/September08Woolcraft#

week ending 29th August

Big group this week at the Plantation Production felt making workshop, which was mainly about designing and sizing the "Portal into Wholeness and Wellbeing" wall hanging. Ali came to continue laying and felting the inner arch of the portal at Galgael, as well as getting her hands into clay and ceramics with Luis.
Sarah-Jane was also getting rolled in by making stone-felt for the felt portal with some clever effects such a wool neps! Plus:, she is getting Eugune rolled in too! ;-)

Wednesday saw also our participation at the Bridges Programmes Stakeholder meeting in the Pearce Institute. Bridgesprogrammes is a local organisation which help refugees into work in Scotland. It was very nice meeting them all, albeit some of the affiliated community groups we were hoping to meet for possible future working together had not been able to come. Still we hope that future working together is possible between Bridges and Galgael.
Sarah-Jane performed her spinning song she learned from Norman, and we met Sgioba Luaidh properly at last! You can watch Frances giving an introduction to the waulking tradition on
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kb_EVaRWXE
and as snippet of the cheerful energetic singers on http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz8HO8gfBhY. Some of the young African men thought the song and rhythm was perfect for to do break dancing to it! Well there would be meat for a future project? !

More pictures can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/woolcraft.atgalgael/BridgesProgrammesStakeholderEvent#


The next day, back at Galgeal, the German girls were enjoying themselves with the woolcraft, and would like to felted hats!
So, Anneruth was sourcing a firm foam roll to serve as a base for shaping a hat via needlefelting, which Luis the potter sawed into an oval shape. He also prepared to create hat moulds via plaster pouring for the perfectly measured German heads.

Today on Friday, Laryna and others met for the usual group, with Jackie deciding she will embark on felting one or more pairs of mittens made from Hebridean wool, and got started with stage one: teasing the Hebridean wool. Katie from Berlin also got down to teasing wool for the hats, and thus partaking in the full wool craft process = from fleece to fabric.

Phew - this was a very busy week!