MAKE: Harvest Knot Commission

I was commissioned by a lovely Bride-to-be, to make a series of harvest love knots for her wedding. She had as a young woman, come across the knots, and always thought them lovely.

She discovered an old blog post about harvest knots, and contacted me to ask if I could make some for her. She was very apologetic about her request, incase I found it odd, but infact she made my day, I love odd requests and unusual commissions. It was a lovely idea to include such a traditional craft, in with a modern wedding. I was only too glad to make them for her!

Blessing of the Boats

I thought I would stick up a little video (very little, only 1:04 mins!), I made today of a beautiful tradition here in my town. The Blessing of the Boats is an old Dingle tradition, and you know I like my traditions!

The Tailor and Ansty, Blue Bags and a little Colour Theory

A book has been following me around for the past month or so. It began with a simple conversation with my mum over Christmas, about a possible workshop I might be doing in the Gougane Barra in Cork. (Will tell more soon!!). She told me a story about a trip she did, years ago, to see a play The Tailor and Ansty. There ensued an amazing conversation (with step-dad and friend joining in) about the Tailor and Ansty and a bag of blue.

Post Lá Le Bríde (and God's Eyes)

 

Despite the terrible weather, a lovely crowd showed up to Murphys Ice-Cream, where there was lots of cross making, ice-cream eating, tea-drinking, and fund-raising for the Irish Seed Savers Association.

Wrens Day in Dingle 2012

A bit belated, but have just posted a few pics of The Wren onto Flickr. 

Our first time taking part in the Wren; a day of music, marching, mischief, and a lot of drinking. 

Update on 'The Story of Lace' at the 2011 Pan Celtic Festival

This is where I double up on The Woolly Way blog, but there I have to try to sound impartial and official... here I get to be a bit more unprofessional and say Woohoo!!

Woohoo!!
16 Lacemakers form The Traditional Lacemakers of Ireland Guild are travelling over for the seminar, including internationally renowned Veronica Stuart. (Who I had a lovely lunch with, last Saturday in the Phoenix Restaurant in Keel)

Woohoo!!
Members of the Shaw-Smith family (makers of the Hands TV series will be personally attending the seminar. I have recieved a copy of the Lace making episode, that we will be viewing, and it is really amazing. (We are amazing, as in Ireland is amazing, as in Lacemakers are amazing. One of the most lively, enthusiastic and most of all encouraging groups I have dealt with, its about time we started appreciating the wealth of our textile history... sorry, stop rant before it goes on....)

WoOHOO!!!!
We are throwing in a book launch too, because, well, why not. Two books Clones Lace, and Youghal Lace have been revised and reprinted recently, so we are going to officially launch them at the event.

Workshops
There still a few places at the workshops, you can download registration forms from here http://panceltic.ie/irishlace.asp

That's enough for now, worn out with the excitement. And I still have to try get something together for Gig sa Tig, more on that later...

More St. Brigits Crosses...

I wanted to use up the reeds, so here's a few more crosses. I divided up the remaining reeds into grades of 4 from thick to thin, keeping the thinnest for tying the knots.

And then made a cross starting with the thin reeds, 3 of each grade. (I swear I'm not obsessive and a perfectionist!!)

There are other versions of St. Brigit's crosses, but they are not as common, and rarely seen. These were taken from the book Irish Folk Ways by E. Estyn Evans

This style of cross, called a God's Eye, is common among several cultures around the world. It is very easy to make out of yarn, and is a great project to do with kids, who might not be able to handle rushes.

Lá le Bríde - Crosóg Bhríde

(I'm editing this post, because I had a revelation! Because I didn't bother cleaning up the mess until the day after, I discovered how to tie the knots....read on....)

It's that time of the year again. There's a great demo on how to make a St. Brigid's Cross, and a some blurb on Brigid Of Faughart and the Celtic Festival of Imbolc the original celebration to mark the coming of spring on http://newgrange.com/imbolc.htm

There is something that always bugged me though, knotting the arms. I just can't bring myself to use an elastic band. And I find making the knots fiddly and annoying if you havent got a great range of supple, knotable, reeds. So, after 24 hours of a messy kitchen table, I discovered the secret... This is probably a very silly revelation to an experienced cross maker, or anyone that has worked with reeds before, but for me, years of annoyance has finally been solved....The trick is to use day old cut reeds!

Here is the difference between a cross made with fresh reeds and day old reeds.

Fresh reeds

Day old Reeds

I prefer the cross made with fresh reeds, I find the day old one a bit flat. So, the choice is yours, you can use fresh or day old. BUT for the knots use day old reeds, the thin tips. Dont use if theres any brown bits, they are too brittle. So, here is how I tied the knots:

If you dont have day old reeds and you want to make your cross, tie up like this, and then the following day, tie your knot.

Then, the night of Lá le Brid, burn your cross from last year, and hang your new one up in the kitchen. And dont forget to leave your red rag out! (More info about the tradition on The Woolly Way here)


New and Old St. Brigids Crosses

and because you know I like patterns, and mess, I had to take a pic of the floor.