weaving studio - Fiona macdonald

This is Fiona MacDonald in her beautiful studio at Crackaig Farm, about a mile outside of Craighouse.  Fiona is from Cornwall, England, but moved to Jura 40 years ago, when she married a local Jura man, who she tells me is the last native Gaelic speaker on the island.  She built her studio building slowly on a shoestring budget with the help of her five children, and in it weaves beautiful textiles out of wool.  She agreed to let me come up and talk with her, and was happy to show me her workspace.  Inside were two looms, hundreds of balls of yarn, and her handiwork laid out all over the space, many pieces incorporating the blue and brown tartan pattern that she designed for the Isle of Jura.  What I found particularly interesting is that she dyes her own yarn, using natural dyes made from local plants and lichens.