February 2026 Newsletter

Spring is coming….

Well outside it might be raining but inside the Cherry blossom is blooming thanks to all of you lovely folks who have sent back your completed mandu kits. Please keep them coming. I always enjoy receiving your excellent work. You have returned around 160 so far which is great. Let’s beat these grey days and turn our attentions to making up those kits. (See below for sending back you finished mandus)

Welcome to everyone who has recently joined the project. If you would like to catch up on previous newsletters you will find the previous newsletters in this blog.

I would like to thank new group coordinator, Susan Vogel, in Switzerland for joining the project this month with her group, Birdie Bees. I am looking forward to photos of finished mandus against a snowy backdrop.

Cherry Plum blossom on silk fabric dyed with Surprise web cap (Cortiniarus semi sanguineus)

Would you like to make a second kit?

There are now 575 registrations, with sixteen other countries joining the project. If you would like to help the project reach its target and are missing making mandus why not sign up for a second kit. That is what Jenny Donohoe and her fabulous team from the Irish Guild of Embroiderers have been doing helping to push the project to its target of 900. Just follow this link to my kits page.

Next month I will be sharing other ways that you can help stitch our way to success.

 Community outreach

This month I started my community programme of workshops. At these workshops all the participants are making the same size of mandu to create strings that contrast with the graduated versions of the kits.

I worked with the talented textile degree students at Northbrook College in Worthing who learnt a little bit about Korean textiles and how my research inspired me to create this project.

At the Hangleton and Knoll Youth Arts Group I met a great group of young people who made a fabulous string of mandus at their afterschool session.

At the workshops at Sew Fabulous, a community interest company in Brighton market, everyone was very productive producing 8 strings of nine mandus by the end of the day.

I am looking forward to running a series of workshops for Esteem a charity working with young adults to build lasting self-esteem, next month.

 Time to start returning your mandus

Return your mandus in a small box that protects them from being crushed. No flat pack packaging please!

Remember to add your name to your numbered label and attach the string to the completed mandu mobile.

Send them back to Sara Cook, 43 Hamilton Road, Brighton, BN1 5DL

Please let me know if you'd like to share the message inside one of your mandus—whether it's a personal goal, a note of gratitude, a hope for change, or a piece of wisdom.

Email me at saracook7777@gmail.com

 Online tutorials

Don’t forget my two tutorials on YouTube about how to make and how to thread your mandus together.

Cherry Blossom Project: How to make a mandu mobile

Cherry Blossom project: How to thread your mandus into a mobile

Installation venues

Garden Museum,

5 Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7LB

28th April – 21st May 2026

Phoenix Arts Space

10-14 Waterloo Pl, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 9NB

27th May -7th June 2026

Oriental Museum

Elvet Hill Rd, South Rd, Durham DH1 3TH

April -May 2027 (Final dates TBC)

Please tell your friends about this exciting project.

Best wishes

Sara

Cherry Blossom project January 2026 Newsletter

Happy New Year

I hope you all enjoyed some festivities over the holiday period. A new year has arrived, and I have welcomed lots of new Cherry Blossom registrations. Since I last wrote to you, we have added a fabulous new venue for the installation.

NEW venue

I am excited to announce that the Cherry Blossom project will be launched at the prestigious Garden Museum in London from 28th April – 21st May 2026.

The Garden Museum is housed in the former St. Mary at Lambeth church next to Lambeth Palace just along the river Thames from the Houses of Parliament. The installation will be installed over the former baptistry with views from above and below. This has a special poignancy for me as it was the church I was christened in when my family lived in London. A big thank you to Emma House, Curator at the Garden Museum, for making this happen.

A full list of venues and dates is at the end of this newsletter.

Garden Musuem, Babtistry.

Current number of participants

The project now has 456 participants and a total of 473 people involved in the project with more coming in each day which is fantastic. Everyone’s contribution is valuable.

I would like to thank the following new group coordinators for supporting the project since I last wrote to you in October 2025.

• Seams Right, Anne Haughs UK

• Irish Guild of Embroiderers, Jenny Donohoe, Ireland

• Purple Heather Patchwork and Quilting group, Rachel Likiss, UK

• Norwegian Quilt Association, Nina Fosse, Norway

• Asian Pacific Island club, Anne Claifin, US,

• Singapore Stitchers, Autumn Brown, Singapore

Workshops

I will be offering free workshops for the following organisations this spring.

TiN, Trust in Nature run by the National Trust that provides opportunities to engage with mindful activities by engaging with the natural environment.

Esteem a charity working with young adults to build lasting self-esteem and stronger communities.

Youth Arts based in Brighton.

I will also be offering low-cost workshops at Sew Fabulous a community Interest Company (CIC) whose aims are to increase sewing skills, and knowledge of sustainability and textile waste through creative, affordable and accessible classes and events for children, adults and communities. See their website for more details.

Time to start returning your mandus

 Thank you to everyone who has sent back their kits. I always enjoy receiving your excellent work.

Return your mandus in a small box that protects them from being crushed. No flat pack packaging please!

Remember to add your name to your numbered label and attach the string to the completed mandu mobile.

Please email me at saracook7777@gmail.com if you would like to share the message inside one of your mandus - whether it's a personal goal, a note of gratitude, a hope for change, or a piece of wisdom.

Send them back to:

Sara Cook

43 Hamilton

Road

Brighton

BN1 5D

Installation: Dates and Venues

Garden Musuem

5 Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7LB

28th April – 21st May 2026

Phoenix Arts Space

10-14 Waterloo Pl, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 9NB

27th May -7th June 2026

Oriental Musuem

Elvet Hill Rd, South Rd, Durham DH1 3TH

April -May 2027 (Final dates TBC)

Please spread the word about this exciting project. Not regsitered yet then follow the link to the Cherry Blossom page now.

Cherry Blossom project November 2025 Newsletter

Hello  everyone

I would like to send a warm welcome to everyone who has registered for the project so far.

Thank you for being part of this exciting installation which seeks to celebrate the arrival of spring and connect to a wider cultural tradition. I would like to extend a special thank you to those of you who have volunteered to be Cherry Blossom co-ordinators for their stitch groups. Your help at encouraging others to take part and co-ordinate the delivery of the kits has been a great support.

Since launching the project in July I have had 260 registrations and with those who took part in the pilot group way back in January 2025 that makes a total of 280 people involved. It was everyone’s enthusiasm at the pilot workshop day that spurred me on to make the project happen. We now have makers from 9 other different countries taking part, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Netherlands, Spain and from the USA.

The British Korean Society have supported the project with a grant towards the cost of purchasing the fabric.

I am grateful to Heehwa Joh who kindly sourced and brought back the, Nobang , Korean silk organza in her suitcase for me from Korea. I chose this fabric as it is especially springy even after dyeing and it is that quality that holds the shape of the mandus.

When I planned the project, I booked the Colonnade House Gallery in Worthing for May 2026. Very sadly due to the withdrawal of funding for the Adur and Worthing Trust they cannot guarantee to still be operating after March 2026. I have, however booked a new venue, the Phoenix Arts Space in Brighton. The dates are slightly different so do please up date your diaries to 27th May – 7th June 2026, 12- 5pm Wednesday – Sunday each week. It is a lovely space that I am sure will showcase all your beautiful work perfectly.

So if you haven’t completed your Mandu kit yet please get stitching and send it back to me in a small box. I love opening these small boxes of delight with completed mobiles waiting to join their fellow mandu mobiles in my studio.

So if you haven’t completed your Mandu kit yet please get stitching and send it back to me in a small box. I love opening these small boxes of delight with completed mobiles waiting to join their fellow mandu mobiles in my studio.

And if you have not yet registered for the project click on the button below and lets get you started.