It's Spring! The daffodils are blooming.

It's Ash Wednesday, which is a very solemn day in the church calendar. So it seems odd that it's such a bright, sunny day. We had the most glorious rosy pink sunrise this morning, but I couldn't capture the colour on camera. It washed out the pink, but my trying to take the picture was accompanied by a beautiful dawn chorus of birdsong. I'm going into Leeds today, for this month's Stitch Art meeting at the gallery. I'll also attend Mass at the Cathedral. Then I'll spend the afternoon having people tell me I've a black smudge on my forehead. Or I'll feel guilty as I've rubbed the ashes off to avoid people telling me I've a black smudge on my forehead.... Oh well, on to other matters. I'm making progress with this page of my Ann Wood fabric book. It's sashiko / boro insipred, and I'm liking the simplicity of it. I think we're on day 48 now, so nearing halfway through the challenge.

I finished reading the book about female agents/spies during the second world war - oh my! they were brave women - and am enjoying Philippa Gregory's 'A Respectable Trade'. It's set in Bristol, where I used to live, which means a lot of the streets and buildings referred to are familiar to me. The story centres around Britain's role in buying and selling enslaved African people, and is a reminder of how much wealth this country - and others, of course - made from that evil trade. Gregory really makes the central character face up the reality of slavery.

To explain the plot, Frances's husband, Josiah Cole, brings a handful of captives to their Bristol home where she's expected to teach them to speak English and to become used to a life of servitude. It's shocking to hear how people routinely viewed slaves as 'livestock', on parr with cattle or sheep, but interesting to see characters attitudes changing as they're faced with the physical, immediate reality of the theory they spout.

I'll finish with something less grim. A little silliness to brighten the mood. As part of the Abstractuary art challenge, run by Tori Chatfield, there was a prompt 'Basquiat'. I know very little about Jean-Michel Basquiat, but was attracted by his art featuring cats. So this is my 'Basquicat'. Fabric scraps, felt and a fair amount of running stitch. Hope you like it.

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Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day. It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice. Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle. Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it? I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning. I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point. Time will tell. This is a link to the listing, if you're interested. This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs. It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday. I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax. The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes. I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made. It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer. (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern. For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.) WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER: Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures. Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns. You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas. By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are. You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with. So, here's something to take your mind off all that. I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool. Interesting fact. Well, I found it interesting. About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool. Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton. That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up. Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture. Anyway, back to woolly wonders. My firs...

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