Sharron Hatelt (left) and her special Heriot Bay Local tartan using its registered colours (right).

Weaver recreates home on cloth

Heriot Bay is one of the very few places outside of Scotland to have its very own tartan – thanks to the imagination and determination of Quadra Island weaver Sharron Hatelt.

Sharron’s inspiration came from looking out the windows of her home on Drew Harbour across to the coast mountains. the colours of nature that she sees every day are perfectly reflected in her tartan design – medium blue represents the ocean, tan is the beach, dark green for the forest, gray for distant mountains, a little white to represent snowy caps and light blue for sky.

But it took two years of research, design and intense weaving to turn inspiration into reality, with a certificate from the Scottish Registrar of tartans finally confirming her success. That treasured certificate is now framed and on her wall. Sharron said: “I had been weaving for several years and got interested in tartan. I found out that it was possible to design a tartan for an area, so decided to do one for Heriot Bay.”  She needed a letter of authority from Strathcona Regional District to name her pattern for Heriot Bay. She also had to submit her thread count, colours, and a sample woven in twill to an exact size.

“It’s complicated weaving and I was interested, for weaving purposes, to do it,” said Sharron, who uses a four-shaft counterbalance floor loom, which is 45 inches wide, at her Adalia studio of fibre arts located in the basement of her home.

But, soon after completing her tartan registration, Sharron got caught up in quilting and knitting and was a regular at the Quadra Island Quilters’ Guild. That stopped when the COV ID-19 pandemic-hampered group activities, so she turned her attention back to weaving.

She now plans to focus on weaving her tartan, experimenting with different colours for spring and winter, with all proceeds from her work going to charity. “I am hoping to raise one or two thousand dollars a year to channel through
the Quadra Island Foundation to different charities,” she said.

For Sharron, creating a tartan was all about testing her abilities, she’s unaware of any Scottish ancestry. Sharron has experimented with different materials and will do some of her tartan in a plain weave to make it more accessible
for people to buy as gifts. She said a twill weave takes much longer and using silk and cashmere yarns for a scarf or shawl can result in an expensive item. She hopes that residents and tourists alike might enjoy picking up a Heriot Bay
tartan fingertip towel or tea towel. Watch for her creations to pop up at gift shops.

This Bird’s Eye article can be seen at this site: www.thebirdseye.ca/archives/2022-08-31.pdf