Goldfinches by the dozen...

We are blessed with the number of birds we see in our garden and never tire of looking at them. There are five feeders near the house and although bird seed has become quite expensive, the cost pales into insignificance when we are able to look out onto a flurry of goldfinches all squabbling and jostling for space on the niger seed feeder. They are such argumentative little souls, always sniping at each other. They fight with the siskins and the greenfinches as if to say 'Clear Off - this is ours!' Lucky for them that the woodpecker isn't interested in the niger seed. This is one of three woodpeckers we see at any one time but once they move on.....

.... it's time for the squirrel to have a go. Not my favourite animal but there is only one this year and once he's had his daily fill and knocked the fat ball feeder to the ground he scarpers off....

.... leaving the field open for the yellowhammers. Here is one camoflagued in the hedge.... whereas lots of others gather beneath the feeders and grab the seed that falls there. These lovely birds are a declining species but the farmer who works the fields surrounding us uses old methods and so they thrive.....

... as do the local rabbit population! Although, both yesterday and today we have seen Mr Fox patrolling the field next door sniffing around the entrance to their warren. Oh oh chaps, keep your heads down!

Laura Thomas

Last night I went to a talk by locally born, Cardiff based weaver Laura Thomas which was organised by the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers that I am a member of. It was the precursor to a workshop that Laura is facilitating today called 'White on White Weaving'.
Now, I am no weaver - it is too mathematical and time consuming for me, but I am always fascinated to hear about the work and creative processes of any artist and Laura's story was a very interesting one. Laura is pushing boundaries all the time and experimentng with weave structures again and again, always looking for another way to do something. Her latest work has been to encapsulate her weaving within clear acrylic blocks and move her weaving towards 3D. Now she is taking the acrylic theme further by enclosing intricate laser cut leather and thread structures in the blocks. She acknowledges that selling textiles is hard work so she is striving to find another way to make people see the potential. I hope she succeeds. More of her work can be seen here.

Angelika Werth

In the latest edition of Fiberarts magazine there is an article about the work of Angelika Werth, an artist living in Canada. These dresses are from a series called 'Madeleines' and are inspired by pieces of sports memorabilia and thoughts of the women who may have used them. They are couture based hand made felt outfits. Some of them have used up to 14 metres of hand made felt and, as a feltmaker, I can only imagine the effort involved in creating such large pieces of yardage. These are stunning pieces and I am inspired by the vision and creativity of this wonderful artist. Look at more pictures here and just marvel at her skills.

Work in progress... well, sort of

In the past couple of weeks I have been sewing like a maniac, using up all those remnants. I set myself a challenge to use them effectively and I have definitely been a woman 'on a mission'. This little bag was made from a pattern found here It is made from a small piece of silk sourced in a charity shop for a couple of pounds.



It went together really well but was a lot smaller than I initially thought it was going to be. I used a chartreuse green silk lining and magnetic fasteners and it will make a sweet gift for someone with more style than I can carry off. It is called a Buttercup Bag and there is a Flickr group from others who have made it. Elsewhere, I've been cracking on with the tote bags and have now made fourteen. I've still got a few remnants to use so will continue to sew them in readiness for next week when I will be selling them to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care.

I also found this pattern for a Morning Snack Scarf. People are so generous on line with their talent and I just wanted to do some knitting to get me in the mood for a larger project I have found using a Rowan pattern. I am in the process of spinning a Bluefaced Leicester and Silk mix for a jacket but had this very small skein of Black Wensleydale that I spun last year. It was a little bit of fibre left over from a workshop that a friend and I ran for the Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, felting and spinning rare breeds fleece. It is very fine and the bamboo needles are a trifle long but never mind. Needs must. It is a simple but effective pattern and great fun to do.

Just messing about with the photos and came up with this negative version of one I took. It gives me an idea for a print.........so many ideas and not enough time......

Can't stop buying remnants.....

I don't know where this urge to keep sewing is coming from! After ignoring my sewing machine for so long I can't believe how much I love using it at the moment. Yesterday, I bought a couple of 'Bags of Bits' for £1 each in our local department store in Tenby as well as a couple of metres of glazed cotton remnants for a similar amount. When I got them home and had a good look I found the 'bits' were bigger than I expected and in my two bags I had enough of certain patterns and fabrics to conjure up a couple of tote bags.
I cut them out last night and have just sewn the two together this afternoon after popping down the local market this morning to get some cotton. I may be doing things 'on the cheap' but I cannot bear it if the cotton does not match the finished product. I had to do some joining but I am really pleased to get two bags for less than a £1 each and I still have loads of fabric in the 'bag of bits' to do something else with. Admittedly, I have used the best patterns in the bags but I shall try and be equally as creative with the rest of it.

Now I'm itching to get on with a few more bag ideas I have in mind. So many ideas and not enough hours in the day to make them reality. My etching press will arrive soon and then I'll probably abandon the sewing for the seduction of printmaking, my first love... so I'd better get on with sorting those remnants.....

March Moths

At this time of year the number of moths coming to light begin to increase. As it was a sharp, clear night last night we put out our trap but only caught about a dozen. These two are very commonly found now and have wonderful patterns when looked at closely. My camera seems to be giving up the ghost and I'm not getting the clear pictures I used to but it has still caught the subltleties and shading that I find so wonderful. I love pattern and symmetry and these two beauties are even more evidence for me of the inspiration that textile designers could get from moths.


I am as fascinated by their names as I am by their markings. A lot were apparently named by the Victorian clergy as they used to trap,catch and display them but I cannot find any written evidence to support this. The names might be a clue though - above is the Common Quaker and below, the Hebrew Character. Both sound like they were named by a God fearing man. I wonder. I really would love to know.

Time to get baking

These little books are part of a collection I have picked up in my usual trawl around the charity shops and small second hand book stores. I don't know what appeals to me about this particular period. Maybe it's the graphics and colours. My favourite is the Entertaining with Stork booklet - just love that hat she is wearing.

All of these were published, probably in the 60's by the Stork Cookery Service. It must have been a time when there was more home baking done than today. Being a bit of a domestic goddess myself (..in my dreams) I enjoy making cakes but my husband is cutting down on sweet things so my tins will shortly become rusty. Perhaps I can find a recipe in the above to tempt him - Honey Orange Cake perhaps - or Meringue Pyramid Pudding.... or Honey Chocolate Buns.... or Hot Apple Tea Bread.....

Trial Bag No 2

I have given my sister-in-law the first bag I made from this pattern. There were shaping issues and I thought the handles too narrow and too long. So, I have adpated the pattern pieces and made the top slightly higher and the handles wider and shorter - but - I made them too short and it made them difficult to put in. So, now I am back to the drawing board for effort No 3. I am happy with the bag length and shape but need to refine those accursed handles!

I am determined to only make bags with remnants, scraps or recycled materials. I have vowed not to buy material specifically for the task as that defeats the object, which is to rid the world of the plastic bag (over ambitious I suspect). The material for this bag came from an old pair of Sanderson curtains which will probably make at least another 4 bags of some description and the lining was an old tablecloth - very serviceable and fit for purpose.

The Pale Brindled Beauty

We started moth trapping about five years after attending an event at a local National Trust property. We bought our own trap and whenever we put it out we send our records the following morning to our County Lepidoptera Recorder . He has been a very patient man and has helped me identify many moths in the last few years .

Some years we have been dedicated to the task and others, like the wet summer of last year, saw us hardly trap at all. (I should explain that 'trap' is a misnomer - all the moths live and fly away during the following day). Anyway, we thought we'd try an early start this year and put out a trap last night, only catching one moth in the trap and sighting two others on the house. It is early in the season but the weather was mild and we decided it was worth a try.

This is the Pale Brindled Beauty which rested on our cottage wall. Our County Moth Recorder has just told me that not only was this the first record for our map reference area, it was also the first in a 10km square area. When you hear this, it is what makes it worthwhile.

I know he looks an unassuming kind of chap but some of them are absolutely stunning. The variety in scale, shape and colour is unbelieveable. I'll try and record some of the more 'photogenic' ones as we do more traps this year but every moth record is a valuable one. We need to know what species are declining or getting a foothold somewhere. It's a small thing to do, but fascinating nonetheless.