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So second up after our Eyemouth Quote Tote ”Chuck it in the Herbur” – signifying disgust at something which has gone wrong – is our Chirnside edition. I am personally much amused and grinning like a loony as I type. This adage isn’t steeped in the same history as our Eyemouth Quote, but is more about the character and humour of the locals, and its origins are from the 1970s rather than the 1840s. Our favourite Chirnsidism is “GIE BRAINY!” Aye, twas the wild boys from the Class of ’77 – aka the worst behaved P7s in the history of Chirnside...

Our second group of students graduated from the ReTweed course on November 9th, so we thought we’d share a few photos of them receiving their certificates from Calum Kerr MP. All of the women have designed and created a range of furnishings, accessories and crafts which will be sold to raise money in order to take ReTweed forward. Now the course has finished, the students have been busy working away making Christmas crafts and decorations for upcoming festive fayres. Most students are now looking to move on to work, undertake further training, and volunteering, and they have all now got...

Johnny Johnston – former Eyemouth Harbour Master, Local Civic Champion and all round good guy – came by TEDDA yesterday and was asking how RETWEED was doing. We got chatting about Men’s Sheds in Eyemouth and about the success of RETWEED’s first course. In amongst the quality blether I asked him, as I’d asked many others, if he knew how Harris Tweed had got its name? He did, and he was the first! A learned man in social history to boot. Back in the day, when Roxburgh was the textiles and industrial capital of Scotland, a buyer had come up from...

Our first group of students graduating from the RETWEED course and receiving their certificates from Annie Watt (Social Enterprise Advisor) Business Gateway. All of the women designed and created a range of furnishings, accessories and crafts which are being sold to raise money and take RETWEED forward. Some of the students have moved into work, training and volunteering and most have now got sewing machines of their own! We’re all pretty chuffed!   Many thanks to the wonderful Kathleen Travers (Face PR) for taking these photos for us!   This blog post was written by Hazel Smith – ReTweed Founding Director

Link – the magazine about the Scottish Borders third sector – published a special feature about ReTweed in their May 2016 edition:   The Scottish Borders has been at the heart of the textile industry in the UK for hundreds of years, but has gone into decline in recent times. Now, an initiative in Berwickshire is planning to maintain the area’s historical legacy and train women in traditional textile skills, to try to help them move into learning, volunteering and employment.   Social enterprise ReTweed is encouraging women to think about a future in the creative sector. It kicks off...