Grant Tartan

I finally got around to framing the last bit of Grant plaid that I brought home with me from Edinburgh. I like the idea of fabric as art - especially heirloom/historical patterns.

Tartan Flower Pin

My sister Beth called yesterday to tell me about these tartan flower pins from Lands' End. They come in three colors, sell for $19.50, and are back-ordered. Beth thought they looked a lot like the one I made last year (see below). My version was made from my family tartan (which cost about $30 for one yard of fabric). For the center I used a gold golfer button that was my great-grandma's. I like the fluffier version - but now you know that they can be made for less!

Flower Pins

When I was home last month, my sisters taught me how to make these cute flower pins. Go here for the instructions. The plaid one is made from the Grant tartan that I bought in Edinburgh and has a gold golfer button that I got from one of my sisters. Isn't it so preppy?

Tartans

Now that I've returned to my bagpipe lessons, I've been thinking about all sorts of Scottish things - like tartans. Tartan is the name given to a specific pattern of plaid. Here are some examples from the Tartans of Scotland web site. The top left is the Royal Stewart that is worn by the royal pipers. The top right is the University of Missouri tartan that was licensed two years ago. The bottom right is the classic tartan of my mother's family - the Grants. And the bottom left is a version of the famous Black Watch that was associated with the Grants.

These days you can find just about anything in plaid from a footstool project on Martha to a little hedgehog on Etsy. What do you think? Do you like plaid?