A few days ago my friend told me that she is pregnant. She is my oldest friend and one of the very best; we've known each other since the age of 4. Every time I've seen her for the last few years she's mentioned how much she's longing to have babies, but what with one thing and another, it wasn't looking very likely. Then: surprise! I felt so joyful and excited.
I decided to make her one of my little collage badges and was inspired by this image of a pomegranate - often used as a symbol of fertility in art thanks to its sticky proliferation of seeds - held gently in feminine hands like a gift. A flower motif sets off the lettering and a little ladybird creeps in over the edge for good luck.
Our garden has reached a deliciously fruitful stage. The glossy pink Victoria plums have cracked a bough on the tree, so heavily massed are the fragrant bunches. Every few moments a dull thud alerts us, Newton-like, to the falling of another ripe apple. And great sprays of brambles have appeared over the shed roof, with juicy blackberries waiting to stain my hands.
It was my brother's birthday recently and I made him this badge, because it's his first birthday as a father. He's an amazing Dad: a real hero.
All these babies and fecundity: it's definitely inspiring me and my husband...
