Y Tylwyth Teg (The Fair Family)

Anglesey is steeped in history, myth and magic. Keen to find out more, I have been reading 'Rumours and Oddities from North Wales' a selection of folklore, myths and ghost stories by Meirion and Wayne Evans.

In Wales, the Fae Folk are known as Y Tylwyth Teg (The Fair Family) and can appear as small as a rose petal, large as an adult or anywhere in between. According to Anglesey legend, a woman living in the Holy Land (Holyhead) during the time of Jesus Christ was ashamed that she had twenty children. One day, when Christ approached her house she decided to pretend she only had ten children and hid half of her children away. The hidden children disappeared and are said to have become the ancestors of the Tylwyth Teg.

Reading this folklore, you can imagine how happy I was to find the above picture sitting on my door step this morning. A house warming gift from the lovely Ruthie.

Thank you Ruthie xx

And the Beauty Flows

Yesterday when the post arrived I was delighted to see a package from Spirithelpers' Tammie Lee. Tammie is a friend that I have come to know and admire over these past months of sharing my adventures with felt and dyes and reading Tammie's inspiring poetry accompanied by the most beautiful reflections of nature.

We had agreed to do a little exchange between friends and Tammie generously let me pick a couple of prints. I chose orchids. Aren't they exquisite!

To my surprise Tammie has also included some greeting cards with two additional pictures of orchids, dancing harebells and a wonderful leaf resting on rocks.

Many of you will know Tammie, and that she has used this picture for her profile in the past. What you may not know is just how wonderful the picture is close up. I had not realised that the leaf in Tammie's picture was covered with droplets of rain that shine like jewels on a bed of the golden leaf. A heartwarming vision evoking images of my favourite season, Autumn.

Please visit Tammie at Spirithelpers, her new art blog Beauty Flows and Etsy.

Thank you Tammie xx

I have also been wanting to post a big THANK YOU to Suzi of Spirit Whispers. Last month I received this wonderful calligraphy canvas in the post. I have really enjoyed getting to know Suzi these past months and reading her tender observations of nature and love for trees. I have also just discovered that Suzi has another blog and a website in which she showcases her work that is for sale. I know I am going to enjoy exploring them as much as I have enjoyed Spirit Whispers. Please visit Suzi at Healing Whispers and Suzi's Scribbles.

Today, as Spring illuminates our lives, like the ever changing of seasons. I find that not only are the flowers and trees of the gardens and wayside beginning to blossom. So are the friendships we make with those across the land and over the seas. The connections we make that enrich and bless our lives. For this, I thank you all x

My Magic Carpet Ride (part 1)

Today I posted off the felt necklaces to my two One World One Heart give away winners. I have been very lucky on this magic carpet ride. I have had some wins, but most importantly I have discovered some inspirational blogs and made new friends. Too many to list here in one post so I have decided to do a sequence of posts introducing different types of blogs that I have met, such as textiles, fibre art, fine art, art dolls, jewelry, lamp work and more.

The beautiful Lapis Lazuli and Turquoise (my favourite stones) earrings that you can see in the picture above are a gift from Fiona of Tizduster whom you can see dressed as a pantomime baddie in the form of Beatrix the Sorceress in this stage picture. Click on the image to visit Fiona's blog.

I have also won one of the most desirable necklaces that I have seen in a very long time from Jackie of Silvelodge Gems (click on the picture to visit Jackie's blog).

Isn't it stunning! It is made from pink opal, onyx and a fossil pendant. Jackie's jewelry is so beautiful and she is also having a gigantic sale in her Internet shop right now so if you have any birthdays or anniversary presents to pick up Silverlodge Gems may be a good place to look.

I have also won a mystery prize that travel writer Carol of 'Where will you Journey to?', will buy for me on her next trip to Cambodia, I am so excited. When I was in Thailand I desperately wanted to cross the borders and visit Anka Wat but just did not have the time.

You can imagine how lucky I am feeling right now! I won some other delightful gifts too so I started to feel a little guilty for having all of this good fortune and not sharing it. I asked some of the blogs how they would feel about donating the items to Made4Aid? A couple of blogs agreed to this, aren't they wonderful!

Beth of Three trees Art makes lovely jewelry with words of affirmation and positive sentiments. She has agreed to donate this felt jewelry pouch that she made to made4aid. I am a huge fan of the Silver Birch, and I don't need to tell you my feelings for felt :) This wonderful pouch (or one like it) will be up for auction at Made4Aid in the next few weeks. I love it! Thank you Beth x

Amanda of Maygreen Fairies has also agreed to send her give away item to Made4Aid. It is a gorgeous Vintage Shabby Scented Sachet to line a lingerie draw. Such Luxury! I love the whimsical feel of the Victorian lady on the trapeze swing. This item will also be listed for auction at Made4Aid in the next couple of weeks.

It has been lovely getting to know Amanda over the past few days. I feel like I have met a kindred spirit. Amanda's art is full of magic that leaves you with a light heart. Amanda volunteers in her local Oxfam shop and organised a craft fair at her Oxfam shop with donated arts and crafts to raise money for Haiti.

One of the blogs that I have discovered on the carpet ride is the very inspiring Annette of 'The Hare Preservation Trust' in Scotland and 'Dragon House of Yuen'. Annette is very creative and her passion for wildlife and domestic animals shines through her art making it sparkle.

Another new friend that I am so glad to have met is Jules of 'Adventures in Thread'. Jules shares a love for the great outdoors, textiles and TREES. Jule's nature photography is wonderful and her knit work and embroidery is beautiful. Look at her hare below, isn't it stunning!

To finish this post I want to introduce you to a friend that I met before the OWOH carpet ride. Elizabeth Rimmer has a passion for poetry and the environment. Elizabeth has set up a new project called 'Luchair' where she hopes to bring artists, poets, and photographers together to celebrate nature and discuss how they each tackle environmental issues in their daily lives and in their creativity.

Elizabeth first noticed that the human race was living beyond its ecological means back in the Energy Crisis of the seventies and learned how not to handle the situation. Today, the mission of Luchair is to to find a new way of tackling the environmental issues we face, that won't involve playing off jobs against environment, the human against the wild, the rich against the poor. She hopes to find joy, community, insight as she goes and hopes that others will too.

Please visit Elizabeth at her Luchair Website, blog or at Burned Thumb. If you think you have something to contribute, please email Elizabeth. She will be happy to hear from you. You can find a link to Luchair on my sidebar.

The Angel of the North

Nuno in snow

Nuno close up

Making the detail

The laying of wool on silk

Silk side up, in snow

For the winter Solstice I had a blog give away. Caio Fernandes of Mien Welt was one of the winners. I was pretty stumped as to what to make Caio that would suit his tastes and also his climate. I'm guessing there is not much need for a felted hat or scarf in Brazil during summertime!

Eventually I decided upon the iconic landmark 'The Angel of the North' by Antony Gormley. I am from the North East so it is a representation of modern art from my home land. It is a sculpture. I often see a sculpture waiting to be made when I look at Caio's work. Angels are symbolic of Christianity which is very important to Caio. To me, the Angel of the North feels like a different type of angel. An Angel devoid of any specific faith, instead, representing hope. This is reinforced by the sapling trees growing around the hillside. The Angel reminds me of Daedalus and Icarus from the Greek mythology.

Its funny how public modern art is received. When this was first erected, I hated it. I think many people perceived it as tasteless and a waste of money. In my minds eye, the angel was originally silver and rusted with time, which made it beautiful. Now I love it. The Angel of the North has become an institution. Happy couples get married at its feet. You can even download oragami or knitting patterns of the angel for free.

Another reason for choosing to make a nuno felt representation of one of Antony Gormley's pieces of work, was that Caio lived in London. Antony Gormley may be better known for 'The Fourth Plinth' project in Trafalgar Square. The project lasted 100 days and invited the public to take to the plinth for an hour each, thus the plinth would be occupied 24 hours a day for 100 days.

Theme Thursday - Friends, & a Give Away...

Its Theme Thursday time again and this week its all about friends. Earlier today I visited Lettuce and was moved by her post explaining what blogging has come to mean to her. It mirrors so many of my own feelings about the circle of friends I have come to know and love within the blogging community. I have found friends here where I never expected to find any. I have been blessed with support, words of kindness and wisdom, inspiration and free tuition. I am so thankful for the things I have been able to learn from you all and the chain reaction of creativity that has been borne between the pages of your blogs.

I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to do a blog give away to thank you ll and by way of showing my appreciation to all of you. There are no rules to this give away. You don't have to follow my blog. You don't need to visit again. If this is your first visit here, don't let that prevent you from leaving a comment to enter this give away. All are welcome! I do have a cheeky (optional) incentive however :)) let me explain:

• Each person that leaves a comment will have one entry to the give away
• Each person that is a follower of made4aid, has a made4aid button on your blog or writes a post signposting your readers to made4aid will get an extra entry
• To clarify, if you leave a comment and are a follower of made4aid you have 2 entries, if you leave a comment, follow made4aid and have a made4aid link button on your side bar then you have 3 entries. If you have left a comment, follow made4aid, have a made4aid button and write a post, well then, you are super and I'll go right ahead and give you 5 entries!
• Remember, these are just incentives and not conditions. Leaving a comment alone will give you an entry

I will make the draw on 21/12/09 in celebration of the winter solstice. I will be giving away a felted scarf, scarfette or piece of jewelry (please state your preference and favourite colour). I will make the felt for the winner using the preferred colour scheme of the winner that can be tailored for gender too. I will post out the felt during the first days of January.

Ok, now thats enough of my shameless promotions. Its safe to keep reading future posts, I won't be bigging up any more charities for a while. There have been so many of late because I have a real bee in my bonnet about ethical spending at Christmas time. I hate to see people getting into debt, maxing the plastic and stressing over expensive presents that are often unwanted, unused and unloved. But we love our family an friends and love giving presents don't we?


The picture above was taken at Stonehenge this year during the Gorsedd of Bards of Cor Gawr midsummer gathering.

Parys Mountain - Copper Mines

Parys Mountain is probably my favourite mountain of all time. The colours are magnificently autumnal. Its strange that I should love this mountain so much, after all, it is a mountain that has been raped and pillaged by mankind, excavated like a hard boiled egg leaving only the outer shell. This mountain has been mined since the Bronze Age 3500 years ago.

Parys mountain once offered a wealth of copper, sulphates, welsh gold, silver and tin. There were acidic pools in her cavities that the miners would throw cast iron into to the pools and the chemical erosion would turn the metal into copper. The copper was used to line the bottom of the English fleets giving the fleets an advantage over the armada's.

New industry on the Island - Sustainable energy...

I was amazed by the nature surrounding this harsh environment, gorse, hawthorn, fern, heather, yarrow, herb bay willow. I loved that the natural growth here mimics the colours of the mountain. The literature on this mountain tells that :-

This extreme, harsh, acidic setting has resulted in a unique environment supporting unusual forms of life. Special bacteria derive their energy from the oxidation of sulphides, and rich flora of special lichens can be found coating rock surfaces, whilst heather survives over most of the mountain. Bats, including the rare lesser horse-shoe bat, have colonised the mine workings, and amongst the birds to be soaring with the jackdaws over the opencasts are the red-legged/billed choughs.

This picture doesn't pick it up, but from here i could see the Ilse of Mann. A friend once told me that the Isle of Mann was very similar to New Zealand. I have not been to either but would love to visit both.

The mountain is no longer mined. A new shaft was built in the late 1980's but the price of metals dropped so mining ceased. It is expected that when the price of metals are more favourable the mountain will be mined again. I'm hoping the rare wildlife flora and lichens will prevent that from happening.

The mountain range you see in the distance is Snowdonia.

Spectacular colours. I'd love to capture the beauty of this mountain by felt painting using only natural coloured wools or wool dyed with natural plant, bark and berry dyes.

The locals often dug their own mines off the beaten tracks and hid the entrances with foliage. Some of the shafts were 20ft deep or more so you wouldn't want to stumble into them!

Part of this mountain is owned by Australian companies. The rest of the mountain is owned by various investors and is sought after.

I am dedicating this post to Tammie Lee of Spirithelpers. I have always admired her mountain and lake photographs and the gentle sentiments that accompany them :)

I have taken almost 100 pictures of Parys Mountain. If you are interested in seeing more I am happy to email a few.

Aleph

Aleph has posted some wonderful photography recently about the moon and use of light.

I thought of Aleph earlier today at Beaumaris Castle ( Castell Biwmares).

You can see the Snowdonia mountain range in the background.

Swans for Caio

Swans make me think of Caio and his wonderful art.
You paint nature so well :)

Its just a shame the swans were not willing to pose for me!

Autumn Song - Lady Beech

Like Fall, like deciduous doubloons, I watched scarf, blouse, skirt slip quietly from shoulder and limb. Not like rain, not all at once like lightning, but like autumn, like those weeks on stage, the preening of leaf, proud in the blush of sugary death. And I knew, in that moment, I was dead to all I had known before, her breath fluttering the pages of my knowledge to the wind of her southern educated lips.

Written by Tree George at Decadent Tranquility.

CJ Stitching & Blooms

The very generous Judy of CJ Stitching and Blooms had a 3rd blogoversary giveaway and I was a winner. This is a week of smiles for me :)

The prize is a polymer clay face and a dragonfly pendant. What a thoughtful giveaway, something that can be used to make something else. A creative prompt. Thank you Judy x

If I could have chosen which of the 3 giveaways I would most like to receive, this would have been the one I would choose. This win also coincides with my first Etsy purchase. I bought one of Sara Lechner's tutorials "Watercoloring" on felt. For those of you who are no familiar with Sara Lechner's work all I can say is that she is a creative genius. Her work is kind to the eyes and leaves you wanting to see so much more. Sara Lechner creates the most beautiful textile art which often tells a tale and has figures stitched onto it with the most mesmorising faces. I hope to learn some techniques from the tutorial which I can then in turn use to incorporate Judy's beautiful polymer clay face into a piece of felt art. Wish me luck!

If you are interested in seeing more of Judy's wonderful creations please visit her at CJ Stitching & Blooms'.

If you would like to see Sara Lechner's work please visit 'The Fabric of Meditation', 'Whatiffing Around' and her most current blog 'Tales from beyond the glimpse'.

Thank you Judy xx

Many Smiles and Blessings :)

Today I feel very blessed indeed.
I received some wonderful gifts from a beautiful friend who intended to make me smile.
I'm grinning from ear to ear.

Ruthie your thoughtfulness, your tender gestures and beautiful presentation are so touching. I know that no matter what life deals us, there is always magic, wonder, and surprise.
There is no better way to begin a week!

Thank you x x x

Please visit Ruthie's wonderful blogs 'A fairytale of Inspiration' and '5 precious things'.

Awen

This is a draft necklace that I have been thinking about making for some time. A while ago, Sharon of Wildflower House gave me a circle of friends award. I chose not to pass the award on in the traditional sense but instead I would dedicate posts to my sources of creative inspiration. My biggest felting inspiration has to be Yvette of Felting Your Soul. Her work is beautiful and her creative advice has been invaluable. I made this necklace with Yvette in mind. Thank you Yvette :)

The theme is magical accessories. Amulets, shamanic head dresses, wands and staffs. I'm playing with the idea of jewelry fit for a priestess, a hedge witch, a muse... The oak symbolises natural magic, fae, protection and good health. The berries represent juniper. Folklore tells that "if you carry three juniper berries in your pocket you can travel the forest without fear, drink from the springs without harm, and ride the wind." The idea of tusks was borrowed from shamanic witch doctor necklaces. Felt tusks are kinder than the real deal! I incorporated the tusks to represent the horn of plenty. I used three to symbolise Awen, inspiration.

I am still developing this idea and will felt more on this theme. How do you imagine the jewelry of a pagan hedge witch, a druid priestess, a muse?