Family Fun – Page 4 – Anne Clark Handmade

Belper Arts Festival

Belper Arts Festival is now in its fourth year and promises to be the best yet. There are so many exciting things planned for the town. The Festival which includes Belper Music Festival lasts for the whole month of May 2016. The Woollen Woods is part of Belper Arts Festival and will be installed in The Parks woodland on May 6-7th and taken down on May 15th.

It is fantastic that this year Woollen Woods will be up for longer and has even more people joining in to make things. There is still time for more knitters, crocheters and felters to take part and details can be found HERE or contact me on Facebook Anne Clark Handmade. Today I have been in the woods with some of the animals taking photographs and being filmed for the Belper Arts Festival trailer. Here is a good map of the area and the Woollen Woods will be in the area of Ladywell Park and Great Parks Wood. The map shows walks through the woods and tells you about the bluebells. Once again we will have a three foot bluebell as part of the Woollen Woods. Continue reading Belper Arts Festival

What If Machine

This year I was once again part of a team making one section of a ‘What If Machine’ in Derby Silk Mill Museum. To explain, a ‘What If Machine’ is a machine along the lines of Rube Goldberg or Heath Robinson. Its the sort of machine that finds a long and complicated way to achieve a simple task. The task we had to achieve last Saturday was to unroll a banner saying ‘WE MADE IT HAPPEN Continue reading What If Machine

Woollen Woods 2016

Calling all Yarn Bombers, knitters, crocheters and those who work with felt, you are needed to help with the Woollen Woods 2016. Once again the magic will return to the Belper Parks Wood during Voluntary Arts Week and Belper Arts Festival. The woods will be inhabited by woollen creatures and vegetation created by knitters, crocheters and felt artists both local and from further afield. Red squirrels will return and be joined by foxes, hedgehogs, owls, moles, toads and insects of all varieties. Part of the woods will be transformed into the seaside and I am looking for fish, octopuses, shells, seagulls, seaweed, pebbles etc. Some trees will be decorated to tell a story and individuals or groups are very welcome to adopt a tree. Flowers of all varieties will fill the woods and amongst the bluebells there will be one that is three feet high. Woollen Woods 2016 are springing up all over the British Isles and this year Belper Parks Wood has been chosen by Voluntary Arts to be their flagship event for the Midlands. We are looking for people who would like to be part of this event.

You do not need to be an expert knitter or crocheter. Squares can be used to wrap around trees or be turned into flying birds with the addition of felt wings.

The important thing is to enjoy making. The size of the finished pieces is not important. The event starts on Friday May 6th (Craft Bomb Day) when a couple of the trees will be craft bombed as a taster for what is to come.

The main event will start on Saturday May 7th with the installation of the rest of the pieces which will remain in the woods until May 15th. The woods can be accessed from the Coppice Car Park off the Market Place, from halfway up Mill Lane, The Fleet or the end of Alder Road.

Many items can be seen around the area of the Poetry stone not far from the Mill Lane entrance. I would like to have things for Woollen Woods 2016 by April 23rd. Please contact me for details either by leaving a comment on this blog or messaging me on my Facebook page. Last year was a great success and a lot of fun so I am hoping more people will become part of this years event.

Family Games

Family games are something we enjoy over the Christmas and New Year period. However it can be difficult to find suitable family games that can be played by all family members ranging from 7 to 90. I have found a few successful ones so I thought I would share them here. Although Christmas is over we always play games at Birthdays and often on a Sunday afternoon after lunch. Most of these games only need some paper and pencils so are easy to transport for holidays as well. Continue reading Family Games

Signs of Autumn Fruits and Seeds.

I know it is still Summer and this year we are enjoying the weather and at last we can talk about the Summer of 2013. Recently I started to look for signs of Autumn fruits and seeds while walking along an old railway track at Hassop in Derbyshire. After a quick stop to eat some delicious Raspberry Pavlova Hope Valley Ice Cream, which was so good I forgot to photograph! On my walk I found lots fruits and seeds to take photos of and here they are.

Continue reading Signs of Autumn Fruits and Seeds.

High Peak Trail, Derbyshire

The High Peak Trail is one of my favourite places to walk in Derbyshire. Today is looking lovely and so the question is, where to go? Possibly to the High Peak Trail, Derbyshire!

Here are a few pictures I took on my last visit. The first is of Leawood Pump House which is the pumping station which can still pump water from the River Derwent up into the Cromford Canal just beyond High Peak Junction. This is not actually on the High Peak Trail but the trail meets the Cromford Canal at High Peak Junction, very near to the Pump House.

Continue reading High Peak Trail, Derbyshire

An Afternoon in Silloth Cumbria

Sunday was a bright blustery day and I was lucky to be visiting Silloth in Cumbria. Its a small Victorian seaside resort which still seemed very popular. Apparently it is famous for its sea views and sunsets, although I was not there long enough to witness the second. Both Turner and Lowry pained here. The sea views however are spectacular although it is difficult to capture this with a small camera.

Continue reading An Afternoon in Silloth Cumbria