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Silverpebble

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October 25, 2015 By silverpebble 30 Comments

Making Winter

Youngest in a wood last week

That slight feeling of foreboding as we move towards November is simmering, as ever, at the back of my consciousness. The ‘w’ word is looming -the time when I tend to feel at best rather flat and at worst like a hedgehog with a hangover who was just rudely awoken by a Roman candle. The dahlias have drooped, the roses are on their last gasp and even my sedum’s looking seedy. Weeks of slate grey skies lie ahead. Winter is approaching.

Then I remembered the joy of the project I ran with Mrs Thrifty four years ago. During Making Winter we shared ways to embrace the colder months. It was a joyous combination of dense, comforting puddings, beautiful, soothing yarncraft, hedgerow liqueurs, cosying up round open fires, winter walks and gathering trips that led to nature tables and beautiful wreaths. There may also have been the odd hand stitched hedgehog.
A soothing, meditative wip
It seemed to provide a sort of online cosy crafting bee with added gratuitous pictures of cake. I felt rather sad when March 2012 arrived. It was over. The hundreds of people who joined in went their separate ways and travelled on happily into Spring. I missed them. I missed the cake-based camaraderie and the innumerable truly gorgeous ideas, recipes and patterns that made what can be the months of gloom immeasurably cheerier.
Many people asked me if I’d run it again.
Tiny spot of treasure
So I am.
A week today, on the 1st of November, Making Winter ’15-’16 shall begin. It shall be a creative survival guide to the colder months. A place to come when dinginess creeps in in February, when the lead up to the ‘c’ word is making you want to build a raft out of wooden crochet hooks and set sail for uncharted waters where there is absolutely no tinsel, accompanied by a seagull called Dave.
I hope to rebuild that gorgeous, handknitted, homebaked, slightly twinkly, supportive, encouraging ‘we CAN keep chipper (ish) till March’ precious yet transient group of both lovers and haters of winter who for a few short months got together to make our way to Spring.
Made in one of my workshops recently
I’ve invented a hashtag for the Instagram: #making_winter if you fancy sharing the ways in which you’re celebrating or cheering yourself through the coming months.
Do you find winter tricky? Perhaps this can help. If you adore the weeks between November and March then it would be wonderful if you could share your favourite homemade recipes, patterns or tips to help others (including me) enjoy what they usually just about endure.
The joy of Namolio’s stall at Yarndale
I’ll be hosting a bloghop during the first few days of every month until March 2016 starting next Sunday, 1st November. If you fancy posting during that week with:
what’s on your needles,
your baked triumphs,
treasures you may have found in a hedgerow,
the beanie you knitted for Bernard
the afternoon you simply had to scoff your body weight in cake because it was so blimmin” dreary outside
and linking up it would be WONDERFUL-others can then leg it over to yours to see the heartening joy. I have some lovely guest bloggers lined up with seasonal loveliness and I had so many requests to exchange handwritten letters with me during the summer that I plan to link people up with one another for the new wintry version of handwritten project. Snailmail to cheer a dreich January day? Oh yes.
Dedication eh? But needs must when the skies are the colour of last Sunday’s dishwater.
Let me know below if you fancy joining in…

Filed Under: Crochet, Makers, Making Winter, Nature Tagged With: British makers, craft as therapy, crochet, making winter, seasonal craft, winter craft

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jane says

    October 25, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    What a wonderful idea….I'm a crafter rather than a knitter but am a real Mrs Christmas. .if you think I can contribute I'd love to. Hugs xx

    Reply
  2. Rachel Jolley says

    October 25, 2015 at 11:34 pm

    Oh you have come to my rescue, I find the colder, gloomy months of what seems never ending winter days, jolly difficult to hack! So do please count me in, this sounds an amazingly brilliant plan of yours and I so enjoy coming on over to your fabulous site anyway! Hot, homemade soup, warming cold hands round a steaming mug of cocoa, twinkling fairy lights, a roasty, toasty real fire, just a few of my favourite things for winter!

    Reply
  3. Cheryl says

    October 25, 2015 at 11:41 pm

    I am so in on this!! There ate parts of winter I love, but it does seem to drag on for-ev-er!!

    Reply
  4. threads 'n' shreds says

    October 25, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    Oh ill definitely be joining in. I struggle with winter and the grey gloom working long days I feel i don't see enough daylight and working in gift retail has made me dread the C word. I look forward to being part of a cosy community x

    Reply
  5. threads 'n' shreds says

    October 25, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    Oh ill definitely be joining in. I struggle with winter and the grey gloom working long days I feel i don't see enough daylight and working in gift retail has made me dread the C word. I look forward to being part of a cosy community x

    Reply
  6. Frances says

    October 26, 2015 at 12:58 am

    Emma, it's fun for me to see this lovely post of yours this Sunday evening, after having worked a full eight hours. Getting to take this dip into your own wintry viewpoints, and memories of some wonderful prior year's explorations of how we redirect our creative inspiration and projects as daily sunlight lessens its glow…well, I would love to take part in what you've suggested.

    I'd also like to tell you that those silvery holly leaves and berries really caught my eye.

    Emma, every time I see one of your posts, and start to leave you a message, what I do wish is that I'd spent more time chatting with you at the Selvedge Fair. Gosh…what year was that?

    xo

    Reply
  7. Karen Cunningham says

    October 26, 2015 at 5:35 am

    Would love to join in. Over the past couple of years I think I have made my peace with winter and now love it for what it is. Can't wait to celebrate the winter months!

    Reply
  8. Jo Hoddinott-Ruffmann says

    October 26, 2015 at 5:50 am

    I'm in! I'm already on the knitting for c…; but I love the baking and sweetie-making too. I set myself a project last year to prove that the sky isn't *always* grey here in winter, might have to kick that into gear again.

    Reply
  9. annjennyg says

    October 26, 2015 at 7:14 am

    What a lovely idea.I quite like winter.I'm a winter baby, my birthday is in January, so maybe that's why. I'm already looking forward to seeing all the wonderful cheery makes and bakes 🙂

    Reply
  10. Marigold Jam says

    October 26, 2015 at 7:41 am

    Sounds like just my cup of tea and your idea of making a raft and setting sail for somewhere without tinsel made me smile – now where are the crochet hooks? I'm off and will take with me the computer so I can see what the rest of you are up to and maybe join in too.

    Reply
  11. CJ says

    October 26, 2015 at 8:33 am

    What a lovely idea. The winter is made for making things and being cosy isn't it. CJ xx

    Reply
  12. Jane Duke says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:05 am

    I'm in. x

    Reply
  13. Amy H says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:09 am

    Count me in! I love winter, and knitting, and cake, and am looking forward to seeing what other people get up to.

    Reply
  14. Penny says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:15 am

    Love your blog but I am not on instagram and here in Oz we are going into summer not winter.Shame but there it is.

    Reply
  15. greenrabbitdesigns says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:26 am

    The Green Rabbit calendar refuses to allocate winter with any more than one month and that's December, November is still Autumn and January and February are pre Spring, that's just how it is around here.
    I'm quite sure I'll be using your hashtag on IG in the months to come, I did enjoy #makingjuly !

    Reply
  16. driftwood says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:31 am

    hurray for making winter. I so loved it last time, and may just have to recreate my gingerbread pinecones in celebration! xxxx

    Reply
  17. Laura says

    October 26, 2015 at 9:35 am

    As someone whose brain shuts down from mid-November until mid-February, this sounds like a wonderful idea 🙂 I'll definitely be joining in!

    Reply
  18. vicki johnson says

    October 26, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    i think i already came here to say i would love to share handwritten letters. Well, at least handwritten notes. Given that i've abused them in the garden and on the computer and the carpal tunnel thing raises its ugly head from time to time, i can promise handwritten letters sometimes, but notes any time. :^)

    Reply
  19. jacqui says

    October 26, 2015 at 1:26 pm

    I would love to join in with this as I'm not a fan of winter, Christmas being the only highlight for me. I'll enjoy digging out recipes for cake!

    Reply
  20. The Creative Academic says

    October 26, 2015 at 1:50 pm

    I'd love to join in!!

    Reply
  21. mirta says

    October 26, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    I'm in xx

    Reply
  22. Johanne Winwood says

    October 26, 2015 at 3:57 pm

    I'd love to join in. I'm not on Instagram at the moment but am very active on Twitter so hope you will be tweeting about this. So count me in and lets give winter a run for it's money!

    Reply
  23. Lilbitbrit says

    October 26, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    Would love to join in and share winter warmth. Just Instagram or Blog Link too?

    Christy
    Lilbitbrit

    Reply
  24. Anne says

    October 26, 2015 at 6:05 pm

    Sounds like fun and one to join in with.

    Reply
  25. Rachel says

    October 26, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    I will certainly be following along, although given all the other things I'm trying to get done before Christmas, it might be hard to actually join in. I'll try!

    Reply
  26. Bee says

    October 27, 2015 at 5:08 pm

    Oh yes please, I'd really like to join in. Not a very techy person though!

    Reply
  27. lp_ lisa says

    October 27, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    Count me in for IG and snail mail. LOVE a handwritten note. No blog just yet though, not enough hours in the day 🙁

    Reply
  28. Su Bishop says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    I would love to join in, I find winter difficult its so dark and damp Yuck. I'm trying to be more positive this year though, lots of crochet, quilting and snug evenings in front of the wood burner.

    Reply
  29. Elizabeth Musgrave says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:11 pm

    What a good idea. You say just what I feel about winter. Spring is my time. Winter up here so often involves wind, rain and endless mud. I have been reading and thinking about the Danish concept of hygge which sounds really appealing. I am going to blog about it so that might be my first contribution. So pleased to be part of this! Thank you!

    Reply
  30. Esther Aliu says

    October 31, 2015 at 4:22 am

    Oh yes, I'd love to. I actually made an edible loaf that passes for cake and I'd like a good reason to show off about it

    Reply

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My name’s Emma Mitchell: designer-maker, naturalist, illustrator, mum and now author. I’m an ardent fan of cake, yarn and hedgerows. I’ll pop a brew on if you’re staying… Read More…

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  • • Snowdrop elation •

The floral year has begun. These small humble flowers are beginning to emerge across the country, pushing up through damp claggy earth and adding a drop of light to dark days. The snowdrop emerges in winter but draws our minds towards spring. 
The snowdrop has a gorgeous set of colloquial names: Fair maids of February, dingle-dangle, snow-piercer, Mary’s tapers and Candlemas bells. These little blooms are steeped in folklore and are a symbol of hope. 
I painted snowdrop shoots (bottom LH part of this picture) for the January chapter of #thewildremedy (link in profile). The sight of their shoots pushing up through grass brought me elation, a burst of joy and watching them open helped me through the early weeks of 2018. Have you spotted any yet? I’d love to hear about it. Oh and if you see, gather or photograph some do tag your photos with #thewildremedy this week. I’d so love to see them...
Thankyou again for the gorgeous response to my book here on Instagram. I’m blown away by the kind words and am so thrilled that you’re enjoying it xx
  • • Wander,collect & heal •

In my book (link above) I gently encourage readers to get outside for brief walks. Within 10-15 minutes our biochemistry responds in several ways to the oils we inhale from the grass, wild plants and trees we are walking on and among. These responses lift mood, alter stress hormone levels significantly and shift the dials on our circulatory system. We feel more relaxed, uplifted, less ‘wired’ and the effects last for several hours. 
These physiological pathways linking us to wild places and in particular the plants within them will have been laid down thousands of years ago. Our bodies and minds respond to woodland, gardens and the recreation ground/park up the road because we evolved in green landscapes and found food, building/crafting materials and medicine there. Most of us are now disconnected from nature for most of our lives but if we re-introduce it by getting outside, even once or twice a week, we have the potential to alleviate anxiety and depression. Scottish doctors are now ‘prescribing’ nature walks alongside anti-depressants and counselling for these diagnoses. 
While you’re walking seek out small nature finds like the ones shown here in my collection: a sprig of hawthorn berries, an empty shell, a lichen-covered twig, a snowdrop. You will tap into foraging pathways which help to boost mood, you’ll immerse yourself more deeply in your environs, helping to muffle input from daily stresses and you’ll learn more about the wildlife in your patch. If you go on a walk, spot catkins or gather nature finds do tag your images with #TheWildRemedy. I’ll be selecting my favourites and posting on my stories.

Meanwhile THANKYOU for all your kind words and posts about my book. A reprint was ordered after 10 days of being published which blew me away entirely. I’ll be talking about it on @bbcradio4 soon... Note: this is an antique French printers’ tray full of some of my finds from last year, inspired by displays at the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge & Victorian cabinets of curiosity.
  • • Craving colour •

I photographed some snowdrops today, I did. I adore them and I will post my picture of the Fair Maids of February in a day or two but I confess the slate grey skies made me crave brights for this evening’s post.

This is a snapshot of flowers picked from my cutting patch and topped up from the honesty farm shop last July. It was the first time I had given over an area of the garden to growing flowers for bringing indoors. As I was recovering throughout the warmer months the bouquets I was able to make were incredibly uplifting. Watering, dead-heading and weeding these few square metres of floral jumble brought me into contact with the beneficial bacterium Mycobacteium vaccae. This non-pathogenic soil bacterium triggers the release of serotonin in the human brain. Gardening is itself a form of antidepressant and cultivating these cutting flowers was such an important part of my recovery. 
If your eyes were longing for jewel-like colour too I hope this answered their need... EDITED TO ADD: please to follow my pal Benjamin @higgledygarden because most of these cut flower seeds came from his small but beautifully formed shop. Plus he lives on a narrow boat (in summer it is festooned with flowers) with his pal Flash the Visla and all seed orders are accompanied by a letter hand-written by Ben in an antique fountain pen.  Heaven 🌿
  • • Collection 1: mid January •

Thankyou *so* much for all your kind and understanding words about my absence and the things I spoke about in my last post. Thankyou also for your incredible encouragement about my new book. If you order a copy (link in profile) I so hope it helps on tricky days. 
One of the ways in which I find the natural world incredibly soothing and helpful for my mental health is to make collections. I have been sharing groups of small seasonal nature finds on Instagram for four years now and far longer than that on my blog. The process of seeking and gathering a small sprig of blossom, a cluster of catkins, an empty snail shell and a tiny cage of dry lichen can quieten your mind, dial down signals from your fight or flight response and taps into our ancient foraging pathways. We gain a mental reward, a natural ‘harvest high’ in our brains when we gather nature finds. We can harness and nurture these pathways and responses to help boost our mood.

You may think that January in the northern hemisphere holds a bleak prospect for a naturalist seeking collections. In fact there is more to find than you might think: birch catkins, a kestrel feather, Viburnum bodnantense blossom (more on this wonderful shrub in a future post), a brave early native primrose and the very first snowdrops. It is a subtle collection with a fragile beauty but reflects January perfectly: a very little painterly colour and the prospect of a greener season to come. What have you found recently? I love to hear of signs of spring or unexpected treasures if you’ve been out on nature walks...
  • I have been away from Instagram for some weeks due to, I confess, stress. While I was away my book #TheWildRemedy (link in profile) was published. It has been a very tough year for my mental health but the main thing that has helped me through on my darkest days has been contact with nature. 
This diary I have written is full of my nature walks, tiny details of the plants I find, encounters with goldcrests and the enchanted day I sat among wild bluebells in an ancient wood. It is full of my illustrations, of the nature collections I make on my walks and photographs of the places that have given me solace.

I trained as a molecular cell biologist so I have explained how and why green places really can help our mental health. The recent academic research is compelling: our biochemistry responds to the presence of trees and plants within 15 minutes. Stress hormone (cortisol) levels drop, pulse rate slows, we feel calmer. Scottish GPs have begun to ‘prescribe’ time spent in wild landscapes alongside antidepressants and counselling for those diagnosed with anxiety and low mood. 
I have written candidly about my depression in my book, as my hope is that others might find this helpful: perhaps you have low days too, perhaps a friend does, or a relative. I feel
strongly that honesty about these things can help to quash stigma and bring more understanding. 
The illustrations and photographs are there not just to show you what I saw but also in the hope that if you are having a stressful day, a difficult time, you can curl up with a copy of The Wild Remedy and simply look at the pictures. 
My main hope though is that nature walks become more common, that spending a few minutes in your garden, watching birds visit your feeders, examining that little wildflower you spotted by the bus stop become a more regular occurrence. These things can help us through the incessant stress of modern life. They really do have the potential to help stem the epidemic of metal illness alongside standard treatments.

Very excitingly an extract of my book was in The Sunday Times two days ago. 
Finally I want to be here more, to share my drawings and finds. Thankyou for sticking around xxx
  • • Silver workshops •

All my spring workshop dates have sold out so I have listed a few dates in June & July 2019 (link in profile). You’ll learn to cast your nature finds in fine silver and capture their intricate detail to make truly beautiful pieces. My Cambridgeshire workshops are held at our 300 year old cottage in an idyllic Fenland village and I bake cake for everyone attending. All the pieces shown in these 4 images were made by complete beginners.

It’s been quite a year for my workshops. I taught @itsanitarani to make a silver yarrow pendant on the Countryfile winter special on BBC1 in February, I taught a class at the Victoria & Albert museum @vamuseum to cast fossils from @natural_history_museum next door, I’ve been running regular classes in the market garden at the wonderful @daylesfordfarm and next year I’ll be teaching folk to cast nature finds in silver @highgrovegarden, home of his Royal Highness Prince Charles.
  • • Pressed •

My herbarium is growing slowly with each season. Every few weeks I’ll press several seasonal flowers from our garden and the hedgerow and it’s hard to express how uplifting it is to peep back at them when the weather is dingy. They are tiny delicate windows onto warmer days. The colours fade a little, giving a gorgeous subtle palette and the process of laying these specimens out to form a gentle ombré was so soothing. I plan to post on stories tomorrow about making a herbarium of winter flowers. Do tune in if you fancy a spot of gently uplifting floral craft.
  • • Wreath collection •

I went gathering again today in the small patch of woodland behind our cottage. I brought home a branch or two of Viburnum lantana, also called the Wayfaring tree or guelder rose. I learned today that it is super flexible and is a new addition to my list of wild plants that are brilliant for making wreaths. I added a few stems of hazel studded with next season’s embryonic catkins, some hawthorn, an acorn I found in September, a sprig of ivy, some heather from the garden and a very few dried hydrangea florets. My illustration still needs a little work but this hour or two of gentle making and quiet drawing enhanced the feeling of calm and rightness that my woodland walk brought on...
  • • Winter-flowering •

When I first started gardening in my late 20s I thought that seasonal gardening joy ended in October and started again in March. 
I was wrong. The other day I felt the first hints of SAD-the seasonal sadness that can descend in winter due to lower light levels. I had an urge to see floral colour so I took myself to the garden centre as I’d spotted a beautiful little tree there a few days previously. It’s a winter-flowering cherry, (Prunus subhirtella) and has the most gorgeous delicate blossom, like tiny roses, that is opening right now.

Bulbs bring garden cheer in Spring but if you’re missing summer colour terribly as I am I have a list of plants to look out for and perhaps treat yourself to if the grey skies of November are gnawing at your joie de vivre. They are (see my illustrations above)

Hellebores:some varieties are in bud now
Heathers: some types begin flowering in October & November
Snowberry (Symphoricarpos): the delicate pink-berried variety grows in a hedge near here but there are varieties with white berries too
Viburnum tinus (top right): I just bought a tiny shrub of this brilliant plant. Like my little cherry tree the blossom is opening now.
Viburnum bodnantense (not shown): exquisite pink clusters of blossom, again opening  now and with a delicious scent.
Autumn flowering violas and miniature cyclamen are also brilliant for adding colour back to a winter garden and are so lovely to peepat through a window .
I hope this small splash of delicate wintry pinks and plant buying tips makes your eyes happy...winter doesn’t have to be brown and grey xx
  • • Nature rendered in silver •

Recently I used the tutorial in my book #makingwinter to imprint a collection of nature finds in silver. I tried using a jay feather and it worked so well (see 3rd image) that I might have done a handmade dance*. For anyone who has longed to come to my silver workshops but has encountered tricky geography, this full step-by-step allows you to make intricate silver casts of leaves and fennel flowers at your kitchen table. 
#makingwinter is just £6.75 just now (link in profile, search Amazon.com for the US version) &  includes 23 other handmade and tasty projects that boost mood through making and  contact with nature during the colder months. 
I was thrilled that one of our most noted nature writers, Robert Macfarlane, offered some very kind words for the cover of the third imprint. 
I wrote this book to bring handmade bosky cheer to the sometimes gloomy days of winter. It makes rather a lovely present for *you-know-when*. *I did
  • • Preserving hydrangeas •

The hydrangea season is over. There are a few faded flowerheads here but the colour has drained from these exquisite flowers in most gardens. 
Back in the summer I was given several flower heads of Hydrangea macrophylla and treated myself to a few others in exquisite colours from a florist: mauves, aquas, acid greens and deep raspberry pinks. As tempting as it was to put them in water, I remembered how beautiful dried hydrangeas are and made myself a washing line of twine on our chimney piece and pegged them upside down to dry. Now that our garden is rather muddy and drab I’m SO glad I preserved these gorgeous clusters of florets. The colours are sumptuous and simply *looking* at this ombré of muted shades brings cheer on a grey day. So, next summer, if you get hold of one of Instagram’s much-loved flowers, maybe dry some for the cold months ahead...PS they make gorgeous additions to seasonal wreaths.
  • • Floral flashback •

During my illness, on days when I felt especially low, I sought solace in our smallish back garden. It was a wasteland for most of the Spring, as we had building work done, but I sowed a whole collection of cutting  flower seeds and in July they began to produce a joyful riot of floral colour. Marigolds, violas, mallows, nicotiana, cornflowers, nasturtium, poppy, fennel, larkspur, cosmos....the few minutes I spent every day deadheading, watering, adding compost and the ultimate joy, bringing bouquets of my homegrown flowers into the cottage was truly medicinal. I highly recommend a cutting patch if you suffer from stress, anxiety or if you have low days. There is nothing like seeing a rainbow of flowers through the living room window and knowing you coaxed them into bloom. It’s botanical self care....

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