Only one quilt shop so far!

Scotland is noted for woolens. There are many shops with everything from basic yarns to finished cashmere, but I've only spotted one show with quilting cotton. They didn't have much of a selection, so I left my money in my handbag (they call wallets purses here). Instead, I spotted this yarn in a sale bin and thought it might be good for embellishment on landscape quilts. The shop owner told me that some shops are just starting to have quilting classes.

We did see several pottery shops. The one that caught my eye most quickly was this one in Dunkelden (sp?). Since we cannot take pottery home without some risk, we didn't go inside.

Except for Friday, the weather has been excellent. On Friday all the clouds over Great Britain emptied their load. It was very wet. The other days have been sunny, so much so that I got a sunburn on Saturday.

My husband is golfing. He did Gleneagles Thursday and is at a city course in Edinburgh today. There are 500+ golf courses here!

Our time here for the Homecoming/Gathering of the Clans has been fabulous. On Saturday night we joined my clan (Leslie) and nearly 200 other clans, 6000 of us, for a march from Holyrod Palace up the Royal Mile on cobblestones to Edinburgh Castle. The streets were absolutely packed with people cheering as their own clan went by. In some places we could only walk three abreast, as there were so many people. Only in Scotland do people of all sizes and ages show up by the thousands to celebrate their families!

It was emotional too. I felt so proud to have Scottish blood in my veins. At the castle we were treated to an historical presentation showing the tenacity and inventive spirit of the Scots. One who represented a recent generation born elsewhere said that even though he was born an Aussie, he was Scottish through and through. My father was not born here, nor me, but I feel the same way.

Tomorrow we go north where my family roots are, and we might look for a gravestone or two. I'd love to find some living relatives but the chances are very slim. I don't have enough information and my great aunt married a Reid, one of the most common names in this Psalm 23 country.

We were at Crief Friday morning (no rain there) and it is so beautiful. I didn't take enough pictures but hope to post some after we go back through there at the end of next week. And I will keep looking for quilt shops!