Recently I visited my favourite town, Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. We enjoyed several days walking in the beautiful countryside.
In Galashiels, a new visitors centre and Gallery has opened. It was built to house the Great Tapestry of Scotland. It is an 'artwork for the nation by the nation.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Tapestry_of_Scotland
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| The Gallery in Galashiels |
The author, Alexander McCall Smith had the idea and he gathered a team to bring his vision to reality. One thousand volunteer stitchers from around Scotland were engaged by this vision to bring the Tapestry to life. Each small group had their own stories to tell of the pleasures, difficulties, excitement and joy they experienced during the making.
The Tapestry was finished in 2013 and was first exhibited in the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. It toured Scotland regions so that everyone could get to see it.
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| The stairway to the gallery |
The whole Tapestry consists of 160 panels and is displayed in the first floor. The stairway to the gallery has this lovely art work Threads by Andrew Crummy, Threads, which contains the name of everyone who was involved in the creation of the Tapestry..
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| The entrance showing the stunning roof. |
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| One section of the gallery |
The stories in the Tapestry start with the Ice Age in Scotland and end with the opening of the Scottish parliament in 1999. There are seven zones which each cover a period of history.
Here are a few of the tapestries.
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| The Rosslyn Chapel |
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| Sheep shearing |
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| Shetland, the Ibister sisters. |
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| Spinning and weaving |
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| The paisley pattern stitched in Glasgow by 3 plus 3 |
My blog cannot do justice to the beauty and variety of the panels. If you visit Scotland - do go and see it.
Susan J Foulkes July 2023
