The Buckholt badger

In my about me page on my website, it talks about how I get lost in snail shells of thoughts sometimes, wandering down rabbit holes, spiralling in more and more on something, to the point of near obsession.

I have fallen into such a thing this past week or two as a spark of an idea lead to another and another and the formation of a character for the next book to be written. The Summer book of the tales of the turning year series.

The Wish Gatherers, Autumn is published in September (you can preorder it from my website here) . It will be here at Llamas and I am thinking of stars and wishes and hopes and dreams to accompany the book, but also my thoughts are turning to the next in the series as I need to plan what and where to photograph for next Summer.

I had been worrying about Summer as I had a 4 book contract and only 3 books in my mind. I had nothing for summer and had thought to leave it till last and hope something came by then!

But, a chance comment from one friend about the 4 elements sparked an idea of a theme and then a chance comment about foxes and squirrels from another friend sparked an idea that led me to realise that as a reflection to the Winter Solstice, the creatures in the Summer book could be many species, not just one as The Lightbringers are. And thus the idea appeared. I am loving how the four books will reflect and weave in and out of each other in subtle ways.

Near my house is a wood. It is called Buckholt. I had walked dear Sherpa there, but never quite worked out the lay of the woods, and found them steep and brambly, a track and dark plantation and sad memories, straight line up and back and not very interesting, so I stopped going.

My friend who sews the mice bags, re- introduced them to me recently, showed me the circles, the paths I didn’t know existed, the way I thought was to a field actually was a route to the beautiful mixed woodlands and felling has opened up views. Bluebells and fox gloves I did not know existed have blossomed and I have fallen in love with these woods. The sadness of Sherpa has healed with new paths and Lupin’s joy of many deer trails. His tail up, sniffing and scampering.

The woods have a sort of magic. The first time I walked there alone after my friend had shown me the paths to the beautiful woods, I found a birch tree blown over in the wind. Just at the time to collect birch bark for weaving baskets. It was a gift, a real gift and I collected huge beautiful sheets just rolling off the tree.

When I told her what I found, she said oh that’s the woods welcoming you, they are polite like that, they must approve of you. The woods have a life that isn’t always polite. Last time I was there, I was thinking of my friend’s dog who is ill and telling the woods of him and to say hi. A pine cone dropped on my head. Smack! Right on my head. It made me laugh. I also saw a swarm of bees and a deer in our path. Gifts from the woods. Today a buzzard feather at my feet.

I’d been telling the Chokliteers in my Sunday Rambles, an idea I had about making a collection of creatures with everything from one place such as the woods. I’ve been collecting dandelions and wild garlic, foxglove flowers that have dropped to make book covers for mice. And I know there are badgers as well as deer and foxes there. There is also a bank where you can hear the mice squeaking to each other.

And then I got a bit lost in a snail shell of spirals of thoughts and magic and here is the result.

I have been watching Sally Pointer’s videos about nettle processing as I wanted to use nettle fibres for cordage for bags and baskets and such. I have also been reading about the Swedish traditions of embroidery. Logging memories and events, lives stitched in blankets. My mind has been wandering.

For the new book I want a background character, a grandmother badger. An elder who is wise and watches and logs all that goes on. You’ll see why and what she logs when the book is done, but I love this idea of the wise elder women, the crones. Although I don’t really identify as a woman myself, I have a love for those elder wise women, the hags and crones, the ones often called witches, the ones who know. Who see.

Here are my great grandmother and grandmother, Celestine and Karin, my namesakes. Sewing.

left: Celestine, my great grandmother and right: Karin, my grandmother

I have a Summer collection coming on the 2nd July. You can see previews of the creatures for sale here.

I wanted to make a big centre piece creature to go alongside the mice with their flower bags, and coracle mice and small things, and so I thought about the Grandmother Badger. About her sewing and decided to make her for this collection. But before she can sew she needs to make her thread.

So, I made the badger. I collected nettles from the woods and split and dried them and processed them and made them into fibre. I filmed her spinning the thread on her drop spindle. I had many ideas and thoughts of what her spindle could be made from. I asked spinning friends and they suggested hag stones, crystals dug up, acorns and such. I wanted to find something at Buckholt woods but so far I have not found the perfect stone, but I did find a tiny poppy seed head, and that links to The Lightbringers, so that is what she has to spin with. I crocheted her a shawl from the nettles I collected.

I hung copper charms from her shawl, and she has a copper wild rose leaf and a hag stone gifted from another friend who used to live next to the woods around her neck. The cord is made from dandelions collected there.

Her basket is made from the birch tree that fell in the woods and dandelion handle.

She has been a labour of love and obsession, I have been walking the woods and gathering nettles as I go, but I love who she is and where she came from. I hoped to find an antler so I could make her a needle, but so far the woods have not gifted one, but maybe another time.

Her walking stick is also from the same fallen tree and has a snail shell cast in copper from one found on the path there.

I hope you like her, I hope you feel her magic.

She will be for sale on 2nd July 7.30pm. If she does not sell that evening, you are welcome to email me if you’d like a monthly payment plan for her, as she won’t be cheap with the hours of work that have gone into her. You can choose up to 10 monthly payments and I will send her out when you have paid half. She is about 18cm high when sitting.

I will be making another for the book, she needs to be a bit bigger for the scale of the other creatures, and I will keep her, but this one I am putting out there for sale. . For someone who needs some magic. Who might need a reminder that growing old is a good thing. That the elder wise women are wonderful, to be a hag or crone is a right of passage and a wonderful thing. Wisdom comes with age.

Watching and noting and collecting small beauties and memories for those she loves, the Buckholt Grandmother watches over all of us as she spins and sews all she sees. Her making will be in the Summer book and the result of her making will be found for those who know and see, in the Spring book, but you will need long memories for that as it will take a few years for all to be written and made.

The summer collection will also feature lots of mice with their little flower bags, stitched by Kathy Anderson, the friend who showed me the paths in the woods. And badgers and coracle mice and shrews and fairy mice and other small things. We are going to offer a few made to order slots for mice with bags if people miss out and would like one.

But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy a little Badger magic and welcome Grandmother Buckholt into being, though she has always been here I think.

Much love to you all from the Shed

Karin