Belper Parks Wood

It doesn’t seem possible that it is already a week since we had to take down all the lovely woolly things in Belper Parks Wood. They had been in the woods for the Woollen Woods 2015. When you are busy time passes quickly!

The Woollen Woods in Belper Parks wood was part of Corridor Arts, ‘Here and There’ Art Walk. It was also part of Belper’s Art Festival in May 2015. There were so many amazing things going on in the town suitable for all sorts of tastes and age groups. Continue reading Belper Parks Wood

Pom Pom Ladybirds

I have written the instructions for pom pom ladybirds. At the moment life is really busy with getting everything ready for the woollen woods and ‘Here and There’.  My grandchildren wanted to join in. We decided to make as many pom pom ladybirds as we could, so that we can make a ladybird tree. Continue reading Pom Pom Ladybirds

Woollen Woods

Woollen Woods in Belper starts on Saturday May 23rd at 3.00pm and continues until the evening of Monday may 25th.  Come down to the Belper Parks Woods to discover so many animals ad other things hidden among the trees. Things are displayed in the woods in the area called Great Park Wood. The ‘Woollen Woods’ is an event happening all over the country. Woollen woods was started by Eden Arts in 2013 when they asked people to make items from wool to be displayed in the woods of Acorn Bank NT House. I visited this house in June 2013 and loved all the things I saw. Continue reading Woollen Woods

TED Talks

I love listening to TED talks and also watching them on You Tube. TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. Here is the definition from Wiki Answers ‘TED is a small nonprofit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design. TED talks are motivational ways to improve your life, while learning a variety of new “life tricks” and many self improvement techniques.’ Continue reading TED Talks

Sustainable Luxury, Social Entrepreneurship

I have just finished reading an interesting book, ‘Sustainable Luxury and Social Entrepreneurship, stories from the pioneers’.

It is a book written by entrepreneurs who have started businesses making beautiful things while at the same time thinking about their effect on our planet and the lives of the people who produce the items.book Continue reading Sustainable Luxury, Social Entrepreneurship

Here and There

The ‘Here and There’ art walk is to take place in the Belper Parks wood during the weekend of May 23rd to May 25th. Artists who would like to take part can find out how to apply on the Corridor Arts website. I am writing this blog to encourage knitters, crocheters and textile artists to make pieces of work inspired by nature. These will be exhibited as part of the ‘Here and There’ art walk.

May 15-24th 2015 is Voluntary Arts week. During this week woods all over the country will be decorated with woollen creatures and vegetation as part of the Woollen Woods.  The part of the art walk weekend that I am involved with is ‘Here and There’, inspired by the Woollen Woods. The plan is to get as many people as possible to make items to decorate the woods.

Continue reading Here and There

Hazelnut and Raspberry cakes

Yesterday I made some hazelnut and raspberry cakes. My starting point was a Nigel Slater recipe for blackberry and hazelnut friands. I had made these cakes last Autumn and they were delicious. This time I decided to use raspberries as I didn’t have any blackberries. Unfortunately I didn’t check my cupboards before starting to cook. I discovered that I did not have all the necessary ingredients.  I also got distracted half way through and completely forgot one of the ingredients. Luckily the cakes I produced looked good and tasted good.

Continue reading Hazelnut and Raspberry cakes

Visit to Hathersage, Derbyshire

Saturday  was a lovely sunny but cold day, the perfect time for a relaxing day out and a visit to the Peak District. The plan was to visit Hathersage for coffee and then visit David Mellor Cutlery for lunch. However things did change along the way. Driving through Chatsworth Park we decided to stop at the farm shop and have our coffee in their restaurant. The farm shop is being extended and it was very busy.  You can see why an extension is needed. There is so much amazing food to buy its difficult to choose. I bought some English apples and a loaf of Pumpernickel bread. The bread felt heavy but I have just eaten some for tea and it was delicious spread with honey.

Continue reading Visit to Hathersage, Derbyshire

What If Machine Derby

I am sitting enjoying a cup of tea after an enjoyable, exhausting weekend making part of a ‘What if Machine ‘ at Derby Silk Mill Museum. It was such a fun experience that I wanted to record it straight away. To explain,  a What If Machine is based on the idea of creating a very complicated machine to cause something very simple to happen. These type of machines were drawn by Heath Robinson in England and  Rube Goldberg in America. Neither illustrator made their machines but have inspired many to try.  Wallis and Grommet films have some fantastically complicated ideas for achieving simple tasks.

Continue reading What If Machine Derby

A Nice Cup of Tea

There is one drink I can’t live without and that is, a nice cup of tea. I enjoy tea of all varieties and as I write this I am enjoying a cup of red bush or rooibos tea. This variety of tea is naturally caffeine free so is good to drink in the evening . The  underground health website details ten reasons that this tea is good for you. I have recently purchased a glass teapot which is perfect for brewing more unusual teas.

Continue reading A Nice Cup of Tea