For quite a few years I thought that the name 'Raginnis' might refer Regina, as in 'Elizabeth I'. The English are very fond of saying that no-one has invaded the country since William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. This is not strictly true because after the sea battle with the Spanish Armada in 1588 some Spanish did land and 'invade' at Mousehole in Cornwall. The local populace fought back, there were significant deaths and the Spanish were sent packing. I had wondered if the farm was so named to celebrate this fact.
Reading through a Cornish dictionary of placenames recently I discovered that 'Raginnis' meant 'facing the island' - which refers to the St. Clements Isle which is just off the coast at Mousehole and was once the refuge of a hermit, St. Clement.
I mention this as proof that we are never too old to learn, and that my vivid imagination has been proven 'WRONG'- yet again.

Lots of tiny stitches!!

With the cold and wind and rain and snow outside

it's been a perfect time to stitch and stitch and stitch...

This map is worked on merino wool tweed- 'English' tweed I'm pleased to say!

Using large scale OS maps and Google Earth to trace the field patterns.

These are a farm called Raginnis, close to the village of Mousehole (pronounced "Mowzel") in Cornwall.

It's part of a very special coastal walk you can take between the villages of Mousehole and Lamorna.

I like to take the Coastal Path then back through the fields along paths.

Using a simple running stitch, backstitch, stem stitch, eyelet stitch and a few French knots.

Carving Out Space at Ruthin Craft Centre

After all the snow of recent weeks

North Wales looked NUDE

Yesterday was cold grey and windy

But Ruthin Craft Centre was beautifully warm and inviting

I wanted to return to make some text drawings of Gary Breeze's work

Field View, 2013 on reclaimed slate

Fed straight into my 'field scapes'

Breeze carves deep into the slate creating shadows that shift and slide over the surface

Breeze uses dialect as a posting of place

Norfolk Ornithology, 2004 on Welsh slate

lists eight rows of text with Norfolk native and visitor birds

The shape of the lettering and the spaces between

are what give these pieces the status of Artwork

Anne's Diary II, 2009 also reclaimed slate

used another typeface

Breeze contorts the letters to fill the space

conjoining and inserting by turns

Anyone fascinated with how things fit into boxes would appreciate why these works hold such a fascination!

(David Nash and Guy Taplin to follow!)

  After spending several weeks working on these maps I have been trying to work out what to do next?!!

pojagi landmaps

detail of the wrapping cloth

                     
                        the full cloth