Tick Tock Alexander Bains Clock

This is the group holding up the panel. We had visitors who kindly took the photo of us all.

 

Tick tock. Shirley has sewn the Electric Clock which was invented by Alexander Bain in 1850. He was born in Watten which is in the middle of Caithness. The old Post Office in Wick now is a Weatherspoons pub which is named after him. A fitting reminder to an item we now take for granted. Shirley used satin stitch for the face and straight stitch for the hands.

 

Dolly has been completed by Celia. Dolly is a handsome beast. A good shaggy coat suitable for a Caithness winter and then the wool would have been turned into clothing or fabrics. These were French knots and straight stitch.

Celia stitched this stone cross which is situated to the west of Wick. Altimarlach was the site of the last battle of the clans in Scotland. It was fought between the Sinclairs of Keiss and the Campbells of Glen Orchy. George Sinclair the 6th Earl of Caithness had run up debt to Sir John Campbell who took over his titles and lands. George Sinclairs heir disputed this and on 13 July 1680 they had a battle at Altimarlach where legend has it so many Sinclairs were killed the Campbells could cross the river without getting their feet wet.  George Sinclair turned to the law and became the Earl of Caithness the following year. (This was abridged from the Wikepedia site)

We had visitors of Lorna and Virginia. Lorna had advised the group at the start of the project and has been encouraging along the way. Louise persuaded her to put a few French knots in the wee sheep she was stitching.

Catherine had been stitching a sea cliff. This one is to show the many headlands around the county. The lighthouse at the top is on Dunnet Head. They are typically 30-60m high and of Old Red Sandstone.  On the east coast there is an inlet called Whaligoe steps where the cliffs had 365 steps carved into the cliff and the fisherwomen would collect the baskets of fish from the boats in the small harbour gut them and then carry the baskets up the cliff to be sent to market. The women would still be working into their seventies.Catherine used long stitch and then continued to pin it down using a variety of short and fly stitches.

  

This was the panel at the start of the day of stitching.