Scotland Journey Part 6: Isle of Skye and Shilasdair Yarns!

On the last leg of our Scotland adventures we took the ferry back to the mainland and trekked west with Stephen West and our friend Katie to the Isle of Skye. The Isle of Skye does not have the rich knitting traditions of the Shetland islands, but there is still a big love of wool, knitting and sheep! We explored Skye's epically beautiful landscape and were, again, constantly surrounded by sheep. Most of the sheep on Skye are Scottish Blackface, but Skye is near the outer Hebrides and the Soay and Boray islands - home to Hebridian sheep and Soay and Boray sheep - all very rare breeds of sheep.

The Quiraing is a stunningly gorgeous landscape on Skye that made us feel like characters in the Lord of the Rings...

Amber, Stephen, Katie and Jaime hiked the Quiraing!

Stephen happy among his sheep friends

Picturesque sheep on the Quiraing

We also went to the Fairy Glen, a magical collection of mossy woods and conical shaped hills dotted with sheep. If you don't believe in fairies, just go here and it will change everything.

Antics with Jaime and Stephen and a fairy tree

An adorable Scottish Blackface sheep in the Fairy Glen

Sheep graze near stone spirals in the Fairy Glen

On the northern tip of Skye's Waternish peninsula lies the most picturesque yarn shop of all time - Shilasdair! Shilasdair yarns is amazing because Tony and Eva dye all their own yarns using natural dyes. A lot of the plant dyes they use are from plants found on Skye. We couldn't resist purchasing even more yarn for even more projects!

Shilasdair yarn shop by the sea

The Shilasdair spectrum of naturally dyed yarns

Beautiful hues of red dyed with Cochineal, Madder, and Logwood

Jaime's acquisition of yarn dyed with Meadowsweet

More Shetland wool yarn at Shilasdair

Thanks so much for reading about our Scotland adventures. It is a magical place with a deep history and appreciation of wool and knitting and we hope you can all go one day. If you need any advice or suggestions for your own trip, feel free to email us! Check back tomorrow for a bonus post, with more epic photos of our journey, and look forward to lovely Shetland yarns in the shop soon!