Crown Cairn
The Crown Stitchers gathered together in Inverness to stitch their stories in to a very special cairn. They created a homage to their home decorated with scenery and wildlife.
This is their story.
All around the Highlands and Islands, you will find cairns. Stone mounds, sometimes no taller than a few inches, constructed on an important site. People have been building cairns in the region since prehistory and originally they would be burial markers or perhaps sitting on land boundaries.
Nowadays, you will find cairns all over the place. They sit at the top of hiking trails, nestled in the woods just out of sight, stacked up on beaches, and now in our tapestry panel.
Our cairn is very special. It is made of stories. Stories of the places that we love to visit which bring back wonderful memories. Stories of the amazing wildlife we see around us. Stories of family, friends and Inverness.
We have used cords, vibrant yarn and textural stitching techniques to bring our stories to life inside their individual stones.
We hope our cairn will be a marker for the area for many centuries to come.
We are a group of 7 women and girls from age 10 to late 60's who live within streets of each other in Inverness but with one exception had never met before this project. Our individual stones and styles were influenced by our beautiful city of Inverness, nature, family and heritage. None of us were experienced hand stitchers but we very much enjoyed the creative and collaborative nature of the process and the feeling of community engendered by it overall.
The Crown Cairn, an ode to Inverness.Image provided by Sophie Gartshore
At the top of our cairn is the motto of the Inverness Golf Club, Concordia et Fidelitas.Image provided by Sophie Gartshore
The intricate detail of our stories preserved in our cairn.Image provided by The Crown Stitchers
The iconic Inverness skyline delicately stitched and bordered by local wildlife.Image provided by The Crown Stitchers
Some felted stones at the bottom of our cairn.Image provided by The Crown Stitchers
Stitcher, Carole Hopkins, had a special experience crafting the panel with her granddaughter, Ella.
I encouraged my granddaughter Ella, age 10 to complete a stone, which she did and she is now a keen embroidery and tapestry stitcher!
We’ve tried lots of crafts together in the past but knitting was definitely not her forte and so we tried stitching. She absolutely loved freehand embroidery and was happy to stitch a little stone. We now stitch together after school and it’s an absolute joy. I hope when she’s grown up, she will remember how much we loved to stitch together and how much it’s meant to both of us.
She’s a very good stitcher and I hope we’ll do lots of stitching in the future. I have loved meeting new people through the group and making new friends, that’s been an absolute bonus which I feel very privileged to have had.
Read Carole's journey stone story below!
Eagle Eyes!
Lochinver and ArdvrekImage provided by Airborne Lens
Eagle Eyes Journey StoneImage provided by Carole Hopkins
WITH THANKS TO THE CROWN STITCHERS
This panel was stitched by Morven Maciver, Carole Hopkins, Janet Watson, Ella Ingram, Florrie Steele, Shauna Rennie and Catherine Johnstone who gave their time, skill and energy to completing a fantastic artwork for their area.
If you would like to see the panel up close and admire the detail of their work, please look out for the panel at an exhibition near you soon. To find out more, follow Inverness Castle Experience on Facebook for all the latest updates on the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands and the new visitor experience in Inverness, open 2025.
