Becoming a Highlander
By Lucy Carter
A charming tribute to becoming a Highlander and new found pine marten neighboursImage provided by Lucy Carter
A plucky young pine marten, stuck on a roof topImage provided by Lucy Carter
I had long wanted to live in Scotland, first visiting when I was 11 and seeing much of the country on holiday with my Mum and Dad. Living in the Highlands became a dream realised, eventually, in 2005 when I moved to Fort William. At the end of that year I moved to Ross-shire with my new partner. We bought an old stone-built cottage high on a hill in 2010, and a mother Pine Marten moved in while we were having the roof re-slated. I thought this was the most "Highland" thing that could happen to someone, so I felt as though I really belonged! (A year or so before that, a lovely colleague told me I was an 'adopted Highlander' and I was so pleased!) My journey stone image shows one of the Pine Marten kits who had got itself stuck on the scaffolding one mid-summer night. Let me tell you, they are very noisy neighbours. The stitching is not so great as I am a bit of a novice. This was done very early on in the process.
Many thanks to Lucy Carter for sharing with us the story behind her journey stone, created as part of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands.
WHAT IS A JOURNEY STONE?
Prior to the beginning of the stitching of each tapestry panel, each stitcher of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands was tasked with telling their interpretation of the 'Spirit of the Highlands and Islands' within a blank outline of a stone. The possibilities were truly endless - is it represented in the land? The people? A historical site? A favourite memory?
In any case, each journey stone represents the connection between each individual stitcher, their story, and their own sense, or 'spirit', of place. Discover more of the stories behind the journey stones of the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands here.