February has arrived, and with it the first snow of the winter. We’ve missed it so far, so I guess we were due a few flakes. At the moment, it’s enough to look pretty, without causing too many problems. Let’s hope it stays that way.
January has brought with it the first really cold, frosty days of the winter. Sometimes this has meant sunshine, but we’ve also had grey leaden skies. There has been a lot of luminous afternoon light, and a couple of stunning sunrises. It is definitely staying lighter for longer in the evenings now, and despite the … More January Landscape: Frost
I always look forward to the appearance of the first green spears of snowdrops in January. Although the bulk of winter is still to come, they do seem to bring with them the promise that spring will indeed come. In French, they are called perce-neige, literally snow piercer. I think of snowdrops as a quintessential … More Latest Designs: Snowdrops
For me, December has been a month of short days, beautiful low afternoon light, and spectacular sunsets. I find the days of late autumn can be quite gloomy and oppressive, especially here in the north of England, where it starts to go dark in early afternoon on overcast days. This year, however, we’ve been lucky … More December Landscape: Winter Light
Compliments of the season from Bilberry and Birch, and from Glitter Squirrel.
The weather has finally turned cold and bright, and the sky put on a spectacular display both this morning and this evening. We have a weather warning for snow and ice at the weekend, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
The birch is one of my favourite trees, and the inspiration for several of my designs. I love their tall, graceful shape, the bright golden colour of their leaves in autumn, and their distinctive pale bark, which peels back in strips. Known as the goddess tree or lady of the woods, the birch is one … More Silver Birch
A couple of weeks ago, we bought a new book of local walks, Walking the Old Tracks of the Cheviots, published by Coquetdale Community Archaeology. It’s slightly unusual, in that all of the walks take in historic or archaeological sites. We’ve been keen to try some of the routes, but frustratingly the weather has been wet … More A walk from Alnham
I’m still hard at work on some wintry designs, and I’ve just finished these lovely little holly leaf earrings. They’re cut from lightly textured silver sheet, then oxidised until they turn a dark slate grey colour. I’ve chosen to give them a light polish, retaining most of the oxidisation, as I thought it captured the … More Latest Designs: Holly
It’s hard to believe that November is nearly over, and that Christmas is not that far off. Apologies to those of you who prefer not to think about it for a few more weeks, but those of us hoping to provide you with gift ideas have to think ahead! With this in mind, I’ve been … More Latest Designs: Mistletoe
