Rope No.100

Plant - Purple moor-grass
Location - Mixed heather, peat moor
Notes - This is the last rope for this piece where all these ropes will be displayed
together as one wall piece. I chose the Purple moor-grass as this was the first rope
and it is good to see it all green now. over the next few weeks I will put up rope
facts and anecdotes and some overall pictures.

Rope No.99

Plant - Deer grass
Location - On the land going down to the shore, rough moorland
Notes - This is tough grass, very fine and I enjoy the delicate line
it forms with the flower heads showing.

Rope No.98

Plant - Another rush yet to be identified
Location - Edges of the pond, very distinctive flower heads on the tips
Notes - I am beginning to notice much smaller differences between these
plants and realise how many different rushes, sedges and grasses there are
and they are different to work with too. This particular one was hollow with
very delicate stalks which are surprisingly strong.

Rope No.97

Plant - Heath rush
Location - Above the shore on rough grazing ground
Notes - The black fruiting bodies show up against the greens of the
different grasses as they grow up. This is tough so less nibbled than
others.

Rope No.96

Plant - Purple moor grass
Location - Heather moorland
Notes - This is the summer version of this rope, green, with the winter one
being white. So interesting to see the different greens that they all dry out as.

Rope No.95

Plant - Bottle sedge
Location - Around the edges of the Old Mill pond
Notes - I am now noticing small differences in rushes, sedges and grasses.
The more you look the more there is variety both within the same species
and with the rich variety of different species.

Rope No.94

Plant - Plantain
Location - Lots to be found around the garden edges!
Notes - Makes a lovely smooth rope. I am not sure how this will dry out
and how flexible it will stay.

Rope No.93

Plant - Dock
Location - Garden edges
Notes - I have often noticed the stems once they dry, as dark brown
stalks that are very easily broken. Twisted when fresh they seem to
be very strong.

Rope No.92

Plant - Thrift / Sea pink
Location - On the rocks at the sea shore
Notes - Always a sign of this particular time of year, lovely clumps
of pink along the shore. They are very brittle and snapped a lot
when making the rope...

Rope No.91

Plant - Buttercup
Location - Wilder parts of the garden
Notes - This has such long stems where it is growing amongst the plantain
that I thought I would try it too. It is still amazing to me how stems like these,
which are so fragile and brittle when alive become strong and pliable when
dry. This was very fiddly to make with all the fine flower heads getting
entangled with the stems as I twisted them round.

Rope No.90

Plant - Grass - trying to identify each one think this is Crested Dog's-tail
Location - Sheep grazing moor
Notes - The slender stalks catch the sun above the overall cropped grass.

Rope No.89

Plant - Dock
Location - The edge land in the garden
Notes - Would not have thought of using this but came across mention
of it in a gaelic song so thought that I would try it. It seems really strong
will need to see how it dries.

Rope No. 88

Plant - Grass (Common Bent)
Location - Rough bit between bog and garden
Notes - This was pretty tough and spiky, interesting the different feel
that fresh grass is to when it is dried.

Rope No.87

Plant - Deer grass
Location - Above the shore on boggy ground
Notes - This is pretty tough, in a clump and bright green, again not
very big maybe 10 cm tall with lovely black heads.

Rope No.86

Plant - Small sedge
Location - Just above the seashore amongst the rocks, below the reeds
Notes - This is pretty small 15 cm high in clumps, pretty
tough and a bright, strong green. Delicate and nice to work with.

Rope No.85

Plant - Reed
Location - Growing just above the rocky shoreline
Notes - Reeds don't grow too big here, get blasted by the wind
but they do make a lovely sound in the wind

Rope No.84

Plant - Plantain
Location - Amongst the long grass in the verge
Notes - This makes strong rope, I have let it dry a couple of days to
make for lees shrinkage once the rope is made.

Rope No.83

Plant - Dandelion
Location - Right outside my studio door!
Notes - Really taken with this material, it makes strong rope, it is lovely and soft
to work with and is a subtle range of beautiful colours from purple to green.

Rope No.82

Plant - Bog-cotton
Location - Moorland
Notes - This is the distinctive one with only one flower head, the stems are surprisingly
strong. I have made this a more decorative one with the flower heads on display.

Rope No.81

Plant - Bog cotton
Location - Wet, boggy ground - moorland
Notes - These are so distinctive at this time of year, good to discover the
different sorts of bog-cotton. This was made with just the stalks and the last
two strands I kept the flowers.

Rope No.80

Plant - Couch grass at least I think so
Location - Some wilder bits of the garden
Notes - It is interesting to feel the difference when making this with new grass as
opposed to the dry white grass. It has a very different feel and smell.