2016 Garden

I spent a lovey morning in the garden (aka balcony) sorting out my plants. everything is growing very well so far this year, including the tomatoes (below). The new addition this year is squash. I have not grown squash before and am trying some dwarf plants meant for containers. They have grown very strongly, very quickly and are…

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Eco friendly chalet

For a few days last weekend, I stayed in one of the Ocean View Chalets, in Ballycastle. It was described as eco friendly. Intrigued by this sales patter on Trip Advisor, (and informed by a doctorate in sustainability) I wondered – what’s eco about it? The website doesn’t explain but a talk with the agent Causeway Coast Rentals revealed that there was…

Tour of Turner

Yesterday we went to see the Turner Collection at Tate Britain. This was my first visit and it is certainly impressive. I came away with lots of new ‘favourite paintings’. One of the friends we went with, Themis, is a London Blue Badge Guide and she was practicing her “Turner Tour” which she has been…

Glass & the Environment

I’ve just signed up for my next session of glass fusing classes and was having a look at supplementing my stash for all the forthcoming projects. Glass Studio Supplies (who sell Bullseye glass) are now discontinuing the production of glass with cadmium and arsenic, for environmental reasons. The Bullseye company say: “We just learned of…

How to make a Twiddlemuff

Last time, I suggested a list of sites for information and instructions on how to make a Twiddlemuff. When I started, these were invaluable, but I quickly developed my own style. For example, in the instructions here and here it suggests knitting an ‘inside’ as well as an outside. I knit only one thickness. In…

Twiddlemuffs

Twiddlemuffs? What now? Until recently, I had never heard of such a thing. They are being knitted for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. People find them calming because they often suffer from restless fingers. Now hospitals across the country are asking knitters to make and donate them. A twiddelmuff is a reinvention of the muff…

The Knitting & Stitching Show

Today, I spent the day at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia. Magical! As well as all the stands selling everything from sewing machines and material, to yarns and accessories, I always love the exhibitions. A favorite this year was Material World, an exhibition of yarn art by Jessica Dance. Not just perfectly executed…

An Indigenous Feminist’s take on the Ontological Turn: ‘ontology’ is just another word for colonialism

Originally posted on speculative fish-ctions (Dr. Zoe Todd):
Personal paradigm shifts have a way of sneaking up on you. It started, innocently enough, with a trip to Edinburgh to see the great Latour discuss his latest work in February 2013. I was giddy with excitement: a talk by the Great Latour. Live and in colour!…

Cake Pops

I’ve seen cake pops rise in popularity in magazines and online and decided to try them out.The silicone mould, bought online was just over £3 (they can be as much as £12) and used a ginger cake mix for the first batch. Tip number one: Grease the mould just right. Not enough and the pops…

Giro d’Italia comes to Northern Ireland

Normally, everyone ignores Northern Ireland (unless there is something Troubles-related). But for the last few years, people have begun to take an interest. First it was the promotion of the Giant’s Causeway as a World Heritage site which has brought more tourists here and the Olympic torch sprinted through in 2012. Game of Thrones is…