AbbyShot Blog

While Claire in her 1940s life used laundry soap and a basic washing machine, her time traveling life did not have such a luxury. Instead, wash day consisted of lots of drinks, hand washing, and urine production. 

One of the great pleasures of watching Outlander includes admiring all of the gorgeous costumes and accessories that adorn all of the characters. The knitted wool items have featured heavily, and have definitely caught my eye. As I am devoid of the skill of knitting, I have a great admiration for the talent. I seem to recall hearing once, on a tour of a croft house in the Scottish Highlands, that traditionally all family members in the household would have learned to knit. Because they did not have the luxury of idle time, knitting was a task that was accomplished during times of limiting physical circumstances, i.e. winter, while shepherding, or by those who were infirm. It has caused me to wonder recently; could Jamie have knit Claire’s cowl?

The importance of the plaid as it is known in North America became evident when Jamie and Murtagh were in Ardsmuir Prison. At that time, Scots were not allowed to wear their tartans, speak Gaelic or own weapons such as guns. This is represented by the clothing that the prisoners are wearing and how they are allowed to hunt while at the prison.

For me, this is a bit of an understatement, as I have found myself getting way off the main trunk of my family tree and involved with following so many teeny, tiny “branches.” It is very time consuming, but also so much fun! The one piece of advice that always holds true while searching for your ancestors is to start with yourself, then work back through your “proven” relationships. If someone in your family told you that you are of Scottish descent, or are related to Bonnie Prince Charlie or even William Wallace, you must start with yourself and work your way back to prove the connection. Or, in my case, while hiking the West Highland Way in my youth, I phoned home and my great-grandmother told me “did you know that your 3rd great-grandmother was born in Scotland?” That was news to me, but years later as my affinity for Scotland grew, I researched my GGG-grandmother and her family, along with many other ancestors with diverse origins and very interesting stories.

In Outlander, season 1, episode 1 “Sassenach”, we see an apparition of a Highlander who is looking intently at Claire through the window of Mrs. Baird’s Bed & Breakfast in Inverness while she is brushing her hair.

Frank comes upon the scene and notices the Highlander watching Claire. As Frank approaches the Highlander to ask if he can help him with something, the Highlander brushes past him and vanishes into thin air. We later surmise that this was an apparition of Jamie who was staring at Claire, but how, or why, did he come to be there?