Stitch & Spin take on St Conan's Kirk Christmas Tree Festival.

For the last six weeks, our volunteer group Stitch and Spin has been working with joyful determination on our entry for the St Conan’s Kirk Christmas Tree Festival, taking place from Thursday 27th to Sunday 30th November at St Conan’s Kirk, Loch Awe. This much-loved local festival invites groups, organisations, clubs and businesses to create a tree that reflects who they are, with visitors then invited to vote for the tree that most speaks to them.

When we began thinking up our design, we realised that, as a fibre arts group, it would be easy simply to cover a tree with our handmade ornaments. But Christmas, for us, is richer than that. It carries with it the spirit of community - the same sense of belonging we’ve found together during our time at Dunollie Museum, Castle and Grounds. We were thrilled to be asked to represent Dunollie at the festival this year, so we wanted to dig deep and think up something special.

This film was made by local videographer Beth Chalmers.

For just over a year, Stitch and Spin has met once a week, and in that time, we’ve become more than a craft group. We’ve formed friendships, shared stories, celebrated birthdays, leaned on one another through harder days, enjoyed countless biscuits, and created beautiful things side by side. That spirit of togetherness became the heart of our Christmas tree.

Stitch and Spin is a place to share and learn traditional fibre skills.

What emerged from our conversations is something we think of as a “giving tree.” Every decoration is handmade, celebrating the varied skills within our group - knitting, crochet, felting, embroidery and cross stitch. But we wanted our crafting to reach beyond the festival, so we also made hats, scarves, shawls and gloves to be donated once the festival ends. Home Start Lorn has kindly agreed to distribute the children’s items to families who may need a little extra warmth this winter. The remaining items, along with hand-wrapped balls of yarn and needles for new projects, will be donated to Re-Store to be gifted to anyone in need.

A closer look at our tree reveals the love poured into every stitch. Crocheted ornaments rest beside felt Christmas fairies. Knitted scarves wind through the branches, where Howie the Castle Cat peeks out in a festive game of hide-and-seek. Tiny gloves ready to warm little hands hang alongside a beautiful tartan present, and hand-crafted baubles spell the name of the place that brings us all together: Dunollie.

The cold weather hasn't stopped us preparing our Christmas tree!

We hope our tree brings joy - whether through a decoration that catches someone’s eye or a craft technique that sparks a memory. Most of all, we hope the many hours of shared work will carry warmth to those who need it most this festive season. We think you would be hard pressed to find another tree at St Conan's Kirk this year who's branches hold the evidence of so many days work, or shared skills, as ours.

If you find yourself at St Conan’s Kirk this weekend, we would be delighted if you paused for a moment to admire our tree. And if the spirit of community calls to you, please know that you would be warmly welcomed at Stitch and Spin any time. Just email shannen@dunollie.org .

Stitch & Spin was started as part of Dunollie's Sophy & White project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.