Anna Macneil

If you order anything now it will be sent out in the New Year.

The Workshop is now closed for the Christmas holidays.
Thanks to all who have visited us in this last year.

Until Easter we will be open by appointment only, although if the door is open and the lights are on, you are welcome to come in. I hope to do a lot of working from home to save on heating and driving, so please do call ahead of your visit or you might find us closed.

A day off - covid vaccination in the morning, then meeting a friend for lunch.....

We had lovely weather a week or two back, but now we are well and truly into autumn. It was blowing a hoolie today, so definitely time to look out the warm clothing. And if you want to be outdoors, try one of our warm and cosy hats.

Today I got a lovely email from Carolyn telling me that she had bought one of our Morag hats on a recent visit to Orkney and how pleased she is with it. Here's what she said:

"I just wanted to get in touch to tell you how much I love my hat!

"My family and I came to Scotland in August, working our way up to Orkney to visit some friends. On our first day in Orkney we went to Skara Brae and I fell in love with one of your hats. I didn’t really have a plan to spend any money and agonised over whether I should/shouldn’t/should etc. But I kept coming back to it, and in the end we left Skara Brae together. For the rest of the holiday, and since I’ve been home, every time I’ve put it on I’ve told my family how much I love my hat. It’s so warm and cosy and just a great shape. It’s perfect."
https://www.annamacneil.scot/shop-hats.php

And on Saturday I had a visit from Catherine who fell in love with one of our buttoned wraps.
https://www.annamacneil.scot/shop-wraps.php
It needed lengthening and the button moving a bit to get a good fit, but I was able to do it while she waited - and as she was waiting she rummaged through my Harris Tweed scraps
https://www.annamacneil.scot/shop-miscellaneous.php
and filled a bag. I am not sure what she is going to make with her selection but she left happy.

We had a delivery of new fused glass buttons from Half-A-Moon www.halfamoon.co.uk These will be used on our buttoned wraps and hooded capes. We have already used two of them on buttoned wraps, and have another two embroidered and ready to be made up. The rest of the buttons will be used as and when we get time to make things. www.annamacneil.scot/shop-wraps.php

It always feels like Christmas when I get a delivery of tweed.😃
This morning Woody's delivered 2 lovely fat bales from Harris Tweed Hebrides and I had great fun unrolling and re-rolling. Now the problem is that I have to re-organise my tweed shelves to be able to fit them in.
The creamy herringbone tweed is earmarked for a customer - she wants one of our lovely swing jackets. When she visited the other day she chose that tweed but I didn't have enough. As I was placing an order for more, I thought I might as well choose a few more to make it worth the carriage charge. Click on each photo for more details.

That's the new website up and running.😀 http://www.annamacneil.scot/index.php
It's a lot simpler than previously. I hope you like it. Do let me know if you find any broken links, typos or other mistakes.
I have only put a small selection of products in the online shop, so if you see something you like but it's not the right colour then just ask - we might have something suitable, if not we can always make something especially for you. The idea of the smaller, simpler online shop is that I should be able to keep it up to date much more readily - that's the plan!

I have been working on the new website (almost there!) and realised that it has been a while since we took new photographs. Today, all my girls (daughter Mary and granddaughters Rachel and Lauren) were free so we did a photo-session.
Lauren has just got a new puppy and she brought her along to "help".
Most of the pictures are just simple studio shots of hats, scarves etc. but between the showers we nipped outside and took a few more interesting pictures.
And then I treated us all to lunch at The Priory Hotel in Beauly, followed by a few more pictures in the grounds of the Priory.
Click on the images for more details - all available at The Workshop, and soon to be available to buy online.

We are currently redesigning the Anna Macneil website - apologies for any inconvenience.
Our plan is to make it more streamlined and easier to buy things and to order custom made items.
Follow this page so you know when we are up and running.

My friend Gail from Half-A-Moon came to put some finishing touches to a project she started a few years ago - the egg is about the size of an ostritch egg and was wet felted at one of my felt-making classes. Today she added some needle-felted detail.

I have been at Ruth's studio this afternoon ( Anna Macneil in Inchmore) finally doing some needle felting on an egg I made here at least five years ago
I am really pleased with this, it is quite an addictive process

I have spent the morning sorting things out after the weekend craft fair. Before the event I had finished off some of our small wallhangings and also raided some from our display wall so that I had a good selection.

Now I would appreciate some feedback….. do I display them randomly (which was the way up till now) or group them by design, or group them by colour? We have loads more than will fit on the wall, so the remainder will be in a basket for people to rummage through.

And with luck, I will get them all photographed and do the long overdue task of posting them on our website.

Please leave a comment about which arrangement I should go for. Thanks.

Back from my holiday and wallhangings now up on the wall. I spent the morning cutting out some more hats. I will eventually catch up and have everything re-stocked.
From now to the end of the year it should be normal opening times, but it's always helpful if you call ahead before travelling to visit us.

There seems to have been something of a rush over the last couple of weeks and I find my shop looking a little bare. In particular, there are spaces on the wall where I pin up wallhangings for display.
So I have just embroidered quite a few more. One of my most popular designs is the St Martin Cross from Iona - in fact, as I was writing this someone came into the studio and bought one, so yet another space on my wall!
I embroidered a large version along with a few of the small ones, one of which I did using the same tweeds and threads as the large one.
It will be a full week before you can buy any of these as I am off on holiday tomorrow morning.
The Workshop will re-open on Tuesday, 27th September.

The Workshop is closed until 6th September as I am away visiting family.
Apologies for any inconvenience.

I am pleased to report that I am now back to full health, the covid test is negative and The Workshop is now open again. My apologies for any inconvenience caused by the closure.

Sorry - just tested positive for covid, so The Workshop will be closed for the next week or so. You may see me in there working if I feel up to it but I am affraid visitors won't be able to come in.

My granddaughter Lauren Wood was helping me yesterday. Now that the tourist season is well underway we seem to be going through lots of our keyring purses - selling them in our own small shop and through other shops that we supply.
I thought you might like to see some of the many steps that are involved in making these very practical things.

1 - select suitable size pieces of tweed
2 - cut out the three pieces needed for each purse
3 - embroider the designs onto the main piece of tweed
4 - sew a securing tape onto both ends of the zip
5 - cut a short length of strong nylon webbing to hold the split ring
6 - melt the ends of the webbing in a flame so it doesn't unravel
7 - fold and press over the edges of the tweed
8 - sew the zip in place
9 - sew the side with the zip onto the side with the embroidery, right sides together, securing the tape with the split ring at the same time.
10 - zig-zag stitch around the edges so the tweed won't fray
11 - turn purse so that it's right sides out
12 - close the zipper and press flat

So..... next time you look at something and wonder why it's the price it is, think about all the different steps that go into making it. And of course, the list above doesn't take account of the development of the designs, the planning and colour choices. And that's not the end of the story - even selling them takes time and effort.
You get all this for under £10 - what a bargain - and no two identical!
We made about 80 of these yesterday so plenty for you to choose from.

Choosing tweed to have your own custom made garment can take time. It is fun to pull out different bales of Harris Tweed and see the client's face. Rather than have just one gillet made this customer has today chosen three tweeds (a check, a stripe and a plain) and has left her cheap fleece gillet for me to take a pattern from so we know they will be a perfect fit. These will be fully lined - one in silk for posh days, and the other two with a polyester lining for everyday wear.

It's good to get our "Open" signs out again. I spent time last week making sure that the shop is well stocked and tidied up ready to welcome visitors again.
We still sell tweed and tartan facemasks for those who want them, but it's nice to see your smiles again.😀

These lovely delicate tulips growing in the containers at the front door of the studio were closed up today cowering from the nasty dreich weather - but today's customers were pleased it was a cold day as it gave them the perfect excuse to wear their winter coats.
Gill commissioned her coat a while back and it all had to be done by zoom and posted to her, but this year she and her family travelled north for a holiday in Scotland. Today they called at the studio for a fitting and finishing of a similar coat for her daughter Hannah.
Hannah's eyes popped as she entered the studio and saw her coat hanging on the dress form. (Up till now she had only seen photos). We spent a wee while checking the fit, making sure the buttons were in the right place and then pinning the hem. They had a browse around our small shop and allowed themselves to be tempted by a few things before heading off for a few hours while I stitched buttons and hems.
By 3pm the coat was finished and the family were back for a final check - and a photography session.
It was a busy day - but well worth it as the result is so good. Hannah says she may well live in the coat for the rest of her life!

Why Harris Tweed was invented.....!
I came to the Isle of Lewis yesterday to buy some tweed. Because of the covid pandemic, it's been almost 3 years since I was able to do it in person rather than by phone or online so it was a real treat to come here and browse - and fill the boot of the car with lots and lots of tweed.
I was only supposed to be staying for one night, but today it is "blowing a hoolie" and the ferry was cancelled, delaying my return home until tomorrow. So I made the most of my day and went to various favourite places on the island. Just as well I had brought my Harris Tweed Coat and my Morag hat. It was a cold and very windy day but I was snug and warm....
It was weather like this that prompted my mother to start making Harris Tweed hats, and that turned into the business we have today.
www.annamacneil.scot

Every so often it’s nice to make something for myself…😊

I recently replaced my ten year old laptop and after a lot of bad words and tears I eventually managed to get all my data transferred to the new computer. I decided it would be a good idea to make a new bag to hold not just the laptop, but also my ipad, external hard drive and any other bits and pieces I might need.

I had a suitable sized piece of Harris Tweed from the time when I had my loom in the Outer Hebrides which I combined with my Highland Celebration Tartan. I got some foam padding which is enclosed within the cotton lining that provides protection and gives the bag structure.

The shoulder strap is held with small trigger clips so if I want, I can thread one end through the D ring and clip it on the other side so I have a doubled short strap. The flap secures with concealed magnets which make it snap into place.

It has taken best part of a day to make this bag, but I am very pleased with it. If you want a special bag made to hold your own particular collection of bits and pieces why not get in touch and we can see what we can work out.

Rachel and Ruth will have a stall at this event so do come and visit.

I have been making a selection of capes and ponchos over the last few days. Some of these are heading off to the USA for one of our trade customers there, but others are going into our shop.

Rachel was able to model a couple of the capes. The cream one has a lovely curly sheepskin and although this particular one is spoken for, I can make another similar one on request.

For the ponchos, I needed to make some cords that are used to make the poncho fit cosily at the neck. This was the first time that I had needed to make cords since I moved my cord-maker into the Loomshed. (It had previously been in the attic, but we have done a bit of re-organisation since getting the new loom installed).

This poncho is made not with Harris Tweed, but with my own tweed - one of the last pieces to come off the old Hattersley loom. It's very much a one-off, never to be repeated, with random bands of colour. These photographs show how the cords work to tighten it at the neck. This one is for sale on the website or visit in person at the Workshop. https://www.annamacneil.scot/in-wraps05.php