To be honest I don’t do the SSIW lessons anymore, but I can knit in Cymraeg.
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I dabble in all sorts of craft stuff, very often ‘props’ for my tv work, but this one of the most special things I’ve made.
This is the birthday card I made for my grandmother on her 100th birthday a couple of years ago. She was never able to visit Snowdonia so I sent a bit of Snowdonia to her in the form of flowers I picked and pressed and made them into a card. I took this pic before I posted it. She took ill only a couple of weeks later and we lost her. This Sunday just gone would have been her 102nd birthday.
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Thank you @MarilynHames. I was at the Quilt Canada exhibition in Vancouver in May; you have some beauties over there aswell. Wish I’d realised there were SSiW opportunities to be had too!
Brilliant! 
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Brilliant Margaret—when some folk are tearing out their hair or going grey—look at you, a role model for us all 
Do you dye your own wool? And knitting in Cymraeg… love it!
I was lucky enough to be on Shetland back in May and I knew the colours my friend liked. The photo is me, but the hat is now with my friend in Scotland. I am a member of a spinners, weavers and dyers group and do, sometimes, dye wool.
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That is so beautiful, so creative, thoughful and touching—what a lovely way to send a bit of Snowdonia to your gran on such a special occasion. She must have treasured it and enjoyed the love it demonstrated during those precious few weeks. I do hope this is being kept, maybe framed by someone in your family.
When you press flowers, is there some secret to helping them keep their colours? Do you sprinkle something on them or soak them in anything, and do you use blotting paper to press them? They must be quite delicate to handle afterwards. It is quite an art to arrange and mount them.
Thank you for letting us see that card—lucky you took a photo. Maybe others will want to capture a little of Snowdonia this way at the 10th anniversary party.
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Thank you Mari. Yes, I couldn’t be with her on her birthday, but my dad took some photos of her as she opened the card, and of her with it. We don’t really ‘do’ birthdays much in our family so apparently at the end of the day she asked my dad to take down all the cards except for “Shan’s card, the Queen’s card and the one from That Welsh Bloke” - by which she meant the official one from the Welsh Assembly signed by Carwyn Jones! 
Dad has got my card safe at his house now, and when I eventually get down there again I’ll bring it back with me.
To be honest, I don’t really have any tricks to pressing flowers and it was years since I’d done it, so I was just hoping for the best! I picked a fairly wide range and a couple of each, as I didn’t know which ones would come out best. I did this about 8 or 9 weeks in advance. I laid them flat between sheets of kitchen roll and then put them under loads of the heaviest books I could find, and just left them for 6 or 7 weeks. They are very delicate afterwards, so the top layer of tissue has to be removed very carefully, and then I lifted them off the bottom layer with tweezers. It took a few goes at arranging them on the card before I was happy, but really their shapes kind of dictated where they needed to go anyway. Once I was happy, I brushed a little glue carefully onto the backs of the flowers one at a time to hold them in place, then I sprayed craft varnish over them to anchor and preserve them. Once all that was set and dry, I made the insert and the border and put the whole thing together.
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I dont seem to be able to do anything else that requires much concentration, but walking, pruning and weeding seem to work well for me. Just sitting, i get strangely bored!
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You are definitely not alone Howard, and maybe this will inspire some folk who have never tried weeding of walking while immersed in Welsh to give it a go.
Do you take downloads on an MP3 player, or play from a smartphone? I tell you why I ask—if you use a smartphone capable of taking photos, is there any chance you (and anyone else reading this) could try to capture images from your walks or weeding that would suggest something about the ‘journey’ of learning Welsh please eg the ups and downs, crossroads, boggy bits, tangles, sudden shaft of light? I have an idea for a communal project that would describe our journey together in a way that would be beautiful, maybe ring true for most learners, be a conversation piece, and a tribute to our teachers, mentors and friends here.
Here is one I took in our local woods:
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How lovely to know that your card meant so much Siaron, and that you will have it back one day to cherish along with wonderful memories or your gran.
It is wild flower season here—probably in Wales too, so with some tissue, kitchen towels and heavy books, it is time to begin pressing some in the way you described.
Diolch yn fawr iawn,
Mari
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Marilyn, i download the challenges onto my smartphone and play them back, most commonly when i am walking from tube station to work in London which is about 12 minutes walk. There are some definite images that remind me of certain tangles i get into and could take some snaps!
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That would be brilliant Howard—thank you!
Really cool
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Diolch yn fawr iwan!
Do you have some ‘crafty projects’ completed, on the go or planned?
Hwyl,
Marilyn
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Made some home related DIY projects.