Hello all

A little while ago I was out walking with Sophia in a rather scrubby coastal area when I came across some beautiful little yellow and mauve flowers.  I couldn’t resist the temptation of picking a few.  This brought to mind a hobby that I put aside some years ago of pressing flowers and ferns.  There are many ways to press flowers including a kit with accessories made for the job, in the microwave or oven or between the pages of a large book.  I favoured the latter and have to say I still come across flowers that I pressed in the past and forgot all about.

It’s a lovely idea to press a flower from a special occasion, a holiday or for no other reason than you just want the joy of preserving the moment.   Many years ago I found a spray in an old Bible of my mother’s from her wedding bouquet, still perfect from 1934.  I had a few attempts at mounting dried flowers on  satin cushions and then framing them, the effect was good though these did fade over time.  One long lasting idea I came up with was to make paper weights.  I would find a suitable rock or large stone, position the flowers or ferns and then varnish over with clear nail polish.  Another idea was a double photo frame in which I placed a photo on the left and pressed flowers on the right.

Now, like any hobby, you have to be careful you don’t overdo it, otherwise all your friends and family will be the recipients of pressed flower cards, pictures, calendars etc. etc.  Anyway, it’s worth having a go and can be very rewarding and provide constant memories of a day out or, as I said, that special occasion.  When I visited my dear friend Olive, who lives in Perth, WA (we have been friends since we started school together at the age of 5),  I was thrilled when she showed to me framed Bluebells that I had sent to her many moons ago.  We both love Bluebells as they bring back happy times of walking through the woods in Spring back home in the UK.

Here are some of my offerings.

UPDATE ON MY HAT MAKING

I have  to admit to very slow progress on my hat knitting for my grandson Nicholas;  I have only managed a few rows.   Hopefully I will have a couple knitted by autumn/winter which still gives me plenty of leeway.

All for now

Janice