Diva Challenge 247 - UMT: African Artist by Tina-Akua Hunziker

Ooh, I'm so very busy at the moment and Tina's tangle is new for me. If I'd more time, I'd have another go and make the smaller sections alternate. As you can see, mine ended up at the same level as each other and I don't think that's quite how it's intended. Never mind. I really enjoyed the Diva's Challenge - as always - and I rather like the 'strangeness' of how mine turned out, like some undersea creature not clearly visible....

White on black with a little shading using what looks like a piece of my son's chalk...needs must sometimes! Is anyone else rather concerned how quickly the Christmas holiday seems to be approaching?

Diva Challenge 246 - Plant a Tree with Dilip!

This week, the Diva - shivering a little in the snow and, with her family, beginning to look a lot like Christmas - has invited the lovely Dilip Patel, whose story was hugely inspiring. He and his wife have - Indian CZTs no less-  a number of websites which are definitely worth a visit.

Z-inspiration, Things Often Speak to Me, Xplore & Xpress

And I heartily approve of his urge for us to plant trees - indeed, we have planted many, many trees in our garden here in the south of Spain. We have the ubiquitous olives, of course, plus almonds and cherries which proliferate round here, along with fig, walnut, apricot and plum. Plus we are growing a little mini orchard of apple trees which my husband has grown from seed. I am not sure they'll survive our incredibly hot and dry summers but we're doing our best to keep them going.

The challenge is to make a tree-like string and then fill it with just one favourite tangle. I thought about Pokeleaf, obviously...and Dilip showed us some lovely trees he did and I was particularly taken with the Catkin one.* (See below!) Sigh...what to do?

It's heading rapidly for winter. The leaves have fallen from the trees here and many are looking bare and shivery in the morning light. Apart from the huggings of birds. Not on a wire - though they do that here too - but on the naked branches.

Birds on a Wire tangle on a simple tree string with - couldn't resist - a Wud trunk.
Thank you Dilip - thank you Laura. As always, a pleasure to take part.

Thanks for passing by. Axxx

* I went back and had another look at Dilip's trees and found that the one I though had Catkins, didn't! So I did one!