Here is a selection of pictures, many sent in by customers, to give you some ideas of the different ways you can use natural-fibre ropes.
I was asked to make some curtain tie-backs from 18mm Manila and these were the result. The reef knot in the lower one is stitched in place so the curtain is released by un-hooking one of the ends which have been eye-splice.
This layout, using 3 runs of 32mm Manila, will create a lovely arbour around the bench as the clematis grow up and along the ropes. The design was created by garden designer Catherine Clancy, visit her website www.catherineclancy.com (This will open a new browser window).
Here Buster the dog plays with his favourite toy – a length of 32mm Manila. If you look carefully you can see that in this photgraph he is spinning round with just his front paws on the ground. Buster’s owner told me he wasn’t allowed to bring his toy into the house as he knocked too many things over when he swung it around!
In her beautiful garden on Jersey, the award winning Judith Quérée has created a boardwalk through a bog garden with 32mm Manila being used to keep visitors on the path. You can see more pictures of Judith’s lovely garden at www.judithqueree.com (This will open a new browser window)
One of my customers wrapped her standard lamp with 8mm Sisal, its very effective isn’t it? Not something to do if you have a cat though as it will look like a great scratching post! You can also wrap vases and even waste paper bins, I’ll have some pictures soon.
Up at the Speyside Heather Centre they are lucky enough to have Red Squirrels visiting the garden outside their café where they entertain the customers by doing what squirrels do best – cutely eating peanuts! Unfortunately there was a problem with a road but now the squirrels have 2 road bridges of their very own, both made from 32mm Manila. The centre is run by the Lambie family and it took Craig ages to manage to capture a squirrel using the bridge – they run across so fast! You can visit the centre either in person or on the web at www.heathercentre.com (This will open a new browser window)
I was asked by a lady potter from the Isle of Man if I could make her something to support a specially commissioned, round bottomed, vase she was making to take to the USA. After a bit of experimenting we came up with a ring or coit. It was made by taking a length of 36mm Manila, carefully un-ravelling the 3 strands then, using just 1 strand, re-weaving the rope as a ring. In the picture you can see 2 of the rings I made being modelled by a nice jug of flowers. It’s a simple technique once you know how and makes a good looking ring which, if you are careful with the finishing, looks as if there is no beginning or end. You can try it with nearly any stranded rope, you’ll need a length of rope that’s 3-4 times as long as the final ring is to be in diameter. Good luck!
