Worth a look

This thoughtful paper animation was produced for the YMCA and is entitled 'Where did community go?' Good question.

Workshops

It's been a week of workshops - one that I was lucky enough to attend and another that I was delighted to deliver. The picture above shows the results of a book making day I provided on Wednesday at our local museum in Narberth. The objective was to encourage older members of the community to record their memories for future generations using childhood photographs and photographs taken on the day. I did two sessions and was shattered in the evening but I had great fun. The groups were great. No-one had ever made a book before but they all had a go and produced something that will now be on display for a few weeks alongside bygone photos of the town and some of its famous sons and daughters. Children from the local school visit next week and they will be encouraged to ask their parents and grandparents to share their memories with them. It's a project funded by Age Concern and the Welsh Assembly Government and as I have just read and been inspired by the book of memories that my darling Mum left for us to read, it is an idea I would recommend to all.

The workshop I attended was yesterday, in Bromyard, near Hereford. I was going to make paper shoes! I saw the work of Pippa Meddings a couple of years ago in an exhibition. She had made the most fabulous shoes from paper and I inquired about workshops. Well, Pippa has moved into a new studio in the town recently and has got her workshops off the ground . Any thoughts that this would be easy were quickly dispelled. As a professionally qualified shoe designer , despite the fact that the paper shoes are a sideline , Pippa still makes them in the right way. We used proper wooden shoe lasts and cut templates and patterns and measured everything accurately. Pippa had maps and vintage papers on hand to use as well as fabrics. You can see from my insole (above) that I picked on a piece of sheet music that appealed to me and embellished it accordingly.

Similarly, when I made my straps I chose music that had words that fitted with my walking shoe theme. Slow, steady and cheerfully just about sum me up! The pattern design and cutting took all morning so I did not finish yesterday. I have sat outside enjoying today's sunshine embroidering french knots onto my straps and whip stitching the edges before constructing my sandal. It's not easy to see from my photo but it also has a small platform between the cardboard sole and the fabric covered insole.

I really enjoyed myself yesterday and today. It was a fabulous workshop that was well prepared and thorough. Pippa provided all the materials and even had a ginger cake for us in the afternoon! I think I have another obsession.....

Philip Glass

Found via A Drawing Diary

Out of the Archives

Whilst dashing in the car between A and B this morning I managed to catch Woman's Hour on Radio 4. There was a very interesting piece about two exhibitions at the Women's Library in Whitechapel. One focusses on the use the suffragettes made of the Royal Mail in their fight for the vote. The second, called Out of the Archives is new art inspired by the collections at the Women's Library. It really was a fascinating ten minutes. If you follow the link here to the Women's Library blog there is a subsequent link to the 'listen again' feature for Radio 4. It's worth making a cup of tea and doing just that.

150 years of Sanderson

I had a postcard the other day showing one of the key images from this year's Quilts Exhibition at the V&A. It was a nudge to get on and organise my diary, book my train tickets and go! Well, I know I wanted to go but every experience I've read about the exhibition makes me less and less keen if I'm honest . Even the cheapest train deal from way out west where I am costs more than a flight to Spain, so I'm looking at other exhibitions as well . At the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey there is an exhibition celebrating 150 years of Sanderson and this video*made me want to see this one more - but - and there's always a but - I'm even more excited by the Horrockses exhibition to follow which will show off the peg dresses from the 50's and 60's. Decisions, decisions! Help.....

* I can't get this video to widen so you might want to see it on the Fashion and Textile Museum website for a much better view

Garden ups, garden downs

While I was sat drinking a cuppa yesterday I suddenly noticed something down at the bottom of the laurel over by our cold frame. I realised it was a nest straight away and my husband had found a piece of a nest over there only the night before. A quick inspection revealed that it was empty and I was left to wonder if the brood inside had fledged (which was unlikely) or whether they had been predated (more likely).

This bush has been the centre of much activity in recent weeks and we knew it was being used by a pair of chaffinches. I think I read somewhere, but don't quote me on it, that they have become the most common garden bird. They are abundant that's for sure, although now, perhaps not so abundant here. It's making me concerned for another chaffinch nest that we found the other day in the crown of a weeping sedge that I was encouraging my husband to take the spade to. As the female chaffinch flew out of it and surprised us into looking down into the plant, we saw three or four dark little featherless bodies, hearts pumping like crazy. We beat a hasty retreat and now take long detours around this part of the garden as we don't want to disturb the nest any more than we should do. Neither do we want to draw attention to it - I know those magpies are stalking around and I trust them no further than I can throw them....

Elsewhere there is more life, plant life that is. Lots of aquilegias around this year . I love this pretty little semi-aquilegia that we bought recently but also adore every chance seedling and permutation of the common aquilegia, also known as columbine or granny's bonnet. The next few weeks will see me constantly turning their heads up to see what colours and patterns there are this year. I've no doubt I'll be boring you with those photos in due course. I'm giving you advance warning....

No garden post from here would be complete without some sort of insect in it, preferably a bee of course. When I was looking at the bird's nest I started to look, really look at the flowers on the laurel, all too often something I take for granted. I don't know if it was the loud drone of this huge bumble bee that made me do it but I am in awe of these beautiful flowers. They look like lots of little sea creatures clustered around the stem. I always thought I was good at looking at plants properly but this was a revelation for me.

After the bumble bee on the laurel I found lots of honey bees on the comfrey and the peony lutea that is just coming into flower in our front garden. Under our window there we have this lovely blue plant. Look hard and there is a bumble bee there - honestly! It's a stunning blue but a rampant thug. I forget it's full name but it is a buglissoides - yes, quite.

Finally on the garden front and maybe out of context, but can I recommend, if you've never read it, to read this wonderful book about Derek Jarman's garden in Dungeness. I re-read it every year and hear the words and see the photos afresh every time. The photos were taken by Howard Sooley who writes about Derek Jarman and the garden here : http://bit.ly/koUSK Unbelieveably, Dungeness is officially the UK's only desert but perhaps that explains why the chosen plants thrived like they did. Jarman also kept bees here. He called them 'the bees of infinity, the golden swarm' . It is a gem and so worth reading if you love all types of gardening. Getting off my soapbox now.

Romance in Welshpool

I snapped this in Welshpool the other week. Women losing their heads over men. It was ever thus.

Recycling with daffy down dilly

When we were in the Lake District we noticed how far advanced some plants were in relation to here, where supposedly we have a milder climate. There were some however that were inexplicably 'behind ' us, most notably the daffodils. They were still out in full colour and I was thinking about this yesterday when I was pulping up all the waste paper I had left over from my recycled books. A quick search found the above. On the left is a piece of felt dyed with daffodil flowers and on the right some paper made from the same plant.

The camera has not picked up the colour very well but I can assure you that it is a lovely pale lemon colour and I know that natural dyeing is very popular around lots of blogs at the moment. I dyed this with daffodil flowers heated up in water to extract the dye. Once extracted I put in the felt with no mordant and simmered it for about an hour. I admit it is subtle and I doubt whether it would work on cotton or linen with the same effect but it's interesting to add daffodils to the extensive list of flowers that will offer dyers some beautiful colours. This sample is also about 4 or 5 years old and is colour and light fast. These days I rarely do natural dyeing as I find it anything but given the mordants we have to use.

If your daffodils have gone over perhaps you might think about making paper from the leaves and stalks? They can be used fresh or let to go brown. Either way you'll get some fabulous paper. There are plenty of recipes online but all will tell you to boil the material in an alkali solution. I use soda ash as I buy it in bulk but washing soda would also work. Cook the material until it goes soft and then rinse it to remove the soda. This can take a few rinses to work. I then blitz the material in a blender and place it into a vat of water. Using a mould you can either make sheets and stack them to dry or air dry them in the frame. I find air drying works best as the sheets shrink a little if you couch them down and press them. Of course they are not sized but they will take oil based printing inks and when I make it this year I'm going to experiment with it through the inkjet printer.

Holding it up to the light shows all the fibres and range of colours. I made this batch last year and it still smells like freshly picked material. If you've made paper before but not with plants why not give it a go. Plant papers are great fun. If you have a rhubarb patch that goes over and produces those mammoth stems, use those for paper too. It's beautifully pink and grainy. There's also celery and leeks and pampas grass.... I could go on (yes, I know I do...) but think about it and give it a whirl.

Denizens of the Night

Thanks to Jane at Marigold Jam I've recently found the lovely blog, My Wildlife Sanctuary. The other day Cheryl had some fabulous pictures of a Puss Moth that had been found in her garden. This is a beautiful moth but not one whose company we have had the pleasure of very often in our garden. It made me realise that it's been a couple of weeks since we put out a moth trap so with the weather being dry we put one out last night and I went up about 7.30 this morning to see what was in it. This is the time of year when more species are out and about. The beautiful Muslin Moth (above) regularly comes to light in fair numbers . So too does this Pebble Prominent.

Even more numerous can be the Early Thorn . This was one of 5 we had this morning. The build up of numbers at this time of year will coincide with the 2010 National Moth Night on Saturday 15th May. This year the event, jointly run by Butterfly Conservation and Atropos will be supported by the Bat Conservation Trust because you're being asked to send in reports of both moths and bats. Every scrap of information will help identify the issues facing these nocturnal specialists. Have a look here and read more. We only have a solitary bat who roosts under our fascia board but we will definitely trap moths on the 15th and submit our results.

As I sit here and write this it has begun to rain, something that will have a detrimental effect for sure on our larger cherry tree in the garden. When I was out in the greenhouse yesterday the sun was shining and I noticed how the blossom had suddenly appeared during the four days we were away. When you look around everything seems to have shot up almost overnight! The blossom is so delicate. They look like paper flowers hanging there. I hope the rain doesn't mean they'll be over before they've even begun!

I was slightly worried about leaving my seedlings for a few days despite wet matting under them but this borage is obviously as tough as old boots. Everything survived and is thriving. All the plants we're growing this year have been chosen for the pleasure of our bees. We have a new bed that we're going to dedicate to just vegetables, herbs and a few key annuals and it's sited in the flight path of the hives. Our cold frame is overflowing with nectar rich plants and we're starting the planting this weekend. We're not expecting great things this year but hope to get it started off with gusto. The borage is a voracious self seeder so I'll probably be trying to thin it out next year but bees love it and it is a great companion plant for courgettes , squash and pumpkin.

The rain is a steady drizzle . If it stays like this my cherry tree blossom may be safe and all the other plants will benefit from a gentle watering. The moths are under cover, asleep, and will be released tonight. Whilst I am happy with all of this I have not seen anything of the swallows since our return. That worries me. So does the sight of the magpie hanging around.... and as I write this (truly, truly, truly) the swallows have just flown out of the pig cott! I take it back. All is suddenly all right in my world again.

Home to the Principality

Just home from a few days in the Lake District where we've been to see a printmaking exhibition. I have been the map reader for four days. I love maps as you well know but even I have had enough of staring at the contours of the lakeland fells. Glad to be home in the Principality, which, because it is exactly that, does not qualify for the W in this video by 'They Might Be Giants'. Still, I'd much rather be here than in West Xylophone.