Eveline MacLeod, 1925-2016
We are saddened to learn that Eveline MacLeod, South Haven, has passed away.
Eveline is of course the author (with Dan MacInnes) of Celtic Threads: A Journey in Cape Breton Crafts (CBU Press 2014). More importantly, Eveline was a lifelong teacher and student of crafts – in 2014, the Colaisde na Gàidhlig / The Gaelic College named its weaving teaching and demonstration centre after Eveline, in recognition of her expertise and dedication.
For more than sixty years, MacLeod’s life has been inextricably woven into the art and the craft of weaving in Cape Breton. An avid weaver herself, Eveline became an ardent student of the art and a teacher of the craft, tracing its roots from the glens of Cape Breton to the Highlands of Scotland and beyond. In Celtic Threads, she shares her lifetime of research and collecting the history, methods, patterns and people of Cape Breton’s considerable tapestry of practical and ornamental weaving and other fibre art and crafts.
Eveline (Dunbar) Macleod was a retired school teacher and respected member of the Cape Breton Gaelic and Scottish communities. She was a focal point in her community for decades and made a significant impact on Cape Breton culture. She founded the first Junior Girls Pipe Band in North America under the direction of Pipe Major Fraser Holmes (the Band is still in existence). She was involved with Girl Guides, taught Highland Dancing, sewing and weaving, in addition to instructing at the Gaelic College and Cape Breton School of Crafts. MacLeod has also been involved with the Ephraim Scott Presbyterian Church, Centre Bras d’Or for the Performing Arts, was a member of the Alexander Graham Bell Ladies Club, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Gaelic College. She founded the South Haven Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, instituted the Baddeck Handcraft Festival, and wrote three weaving instruction books. In 2012, she was conferred an honorary degree by Cape Breton University.
Our condolences to Kevin, Mary, Emily and David.