Stamped by Esme

07/03/2026

28/02/2026

The days are getting longer. Tomorrow is the 1st of March.💛💐🌟🍰🐤🌼🌝🍋🍌 Happy day everyone xx

01/02/2026

Today is Imbolc and here is Brigid and her cross, both handmade by me 🌛🌟🌜

31/01/2026

Here’s a tradition that is done right around the country on St. Brigid’s Eve - leaving out something for St. Brigid to bless.

I know some people leave out a white cloth, more a red one and more a blue one. Some people call it a “Bratach” and many more don’t. No right or wrong - just different practices.

Over the years, I’ve found the scarf to be the most popular item and I found examples of it being used from Donegal to Wexford and Offaly to Tipperary.

The general thinking is that Brigid blesses the scarf as she is passing with the belief that this blessed scarf added an extra layer of protection for your throat against colds in coming months. In the past red flannel was also used with the idea it’d protected the chest. There is a lot of crossover with St Blaises day too in this practice which is centered around the blessing of the throat.,

Coats and jumpers are/were also left out - again with the same belief of protection against colds - especially for children. People also believed this they work for headaches too and I know a woman from Waterford who leaves out one of her husbands ties and she uses it during the year to tie on her head when she gets headaches. She told me she “looks like the Karate kid going around the kitchen” but she doesn’t care less as it does the job and “Brigid blest it”.

So there you have it, a tradition done by some, and all different. By the way the tradition was brought over to Newfoundland by us and I’ll share a few accounts of it in the coming days.

Text: Michael Fortune

27/01/2026

Who went to Whittlesea Straw Bear last weekend? It’s a great weekend with lots of dancing, Molly and Morris.
Sunday also saw the burning of the bear. The Straw Bear is a very old fenland icon which goes back well into the nineteenth century at the very least. Straw Bear parades took place on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany or Twelfth Night; the day when local farm workers were supposed to return to their work, ploughing the land. Follow this link for more history of the Whittlesey Straw Bear https://strawbear.org.uk/history

I make corn husk “dolls” including these Whittlesey straw bears. Go to my Etsy to find them.

01/01/2026

Thank you for all your support my friends 🌛🌟🌜

30/12/2025

These are my corn husk dollies for January and February 2026.
January 4th - Perihelia
January 16th-18th - Whittlesea Straw Bear
February 1st - Bridget

23/12/2025