Recycled Fabric Brooches

I have been looking for some quick and easy fund raising ideas for the community vineyard where I volunteer.  I saw some fabric brooches in 'Homemade Gifts Vintage Style' and thought I would try something similar.

I used a selection of new and recycled fabrics.  I recycled a pair of denim jeans and an old pair of Cath Kidston pyjama bottoms!  To keep the costs down I will probably just sew safety pins to the back rather than buy brooch pins.

They have a rustic, homespun look about them which I hope will appeal to the market I have tailored them to.  I think they would look great attached to a denim jacket or spring coat to add a splash of colour on a gloomy day.

I now have to think about ways in which they could be displayed once I have made several dozen more!  I am thinking of a shallow willow basket where they will be displayed loose rather than in packaging.  What do you think?  Any ideas?

Walking Poetry

Another long walk today.  I came home and wrote a poem about unrequited love.

I wish I had never set eyes on your beautiful face

Your knowing eyes

Your enigmatic smile

I wish I could forget you

I wish I could release my caged heart

And breathe again

I wish the tears would stop flowing

I wish I could stop the yearning

And live again

I wish I had never set eyes on your beautiful face

I wish your beautiful face

Was on mine

Simone Whipp 27 January 2012

Feeling Moody

I like the moodiness of this photo.  The darkness of the clouds in the foreground and the white cloud above drawing your eye towards it.  My moods swing like a pendulum lately.   I always seem so tired like a dog constantly chasing its tail.  Scenes like this give me a moment of calm.

Going for a walk also gives me a sense of calm. It is funny because when I am out and about walking, random words and sentences come into my head.  It is almost as though an older and wiser version of myself comes to give me a message or words of comfort.

Today these words came to me 'keep a twinkle in your eye and a song in your heart and you wont go far wrong'. I had a spring in my step all the way back home.

Looking to the Horizon

I was in a reflective mood as I walked around a local park today.  Looking out to the horizon I felt that this was a metaphor for my life.  Always looking out to the horizon but never quite been able to reach it, for when one reaches the horizon......................it has gone.

Bloggers Beads Reminder

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent me beads so far.  I have even received a bead all the way from Australia!  On receipt of the beads I will send you an email to let you know that I have received it and put your name under my 'Bead Donors' in the side bar.

I will keep this open for another couple of weeks and then I will draw a name from all the people that have sent me a bead and send the winner a little something I have made.  I do hope that I receive enough beads to make my 'Bloggers Beads Necklace'!

Apart from my goal of making 'the' necklace with the help of my blogging friends I have another goal that I wish to achieve this year.  I want to improve my level of fitness.  I decided that I will do this by walking more.

After reading about the merits of using a pedometer (counts the number of steps walked each day) I decided to buy one.  I read that the average person does between 3,000-4,000 steps each day.  Health professionals advise to walk 10,000 steps each day to maintain fitness and 12,000 steps to lose weight.

I walked to the vineyard and back today and this evening my pedometer reads 15,687 steps.  No wonder I am tired!

Chasing Rainbows

I seem to have spent most of my life chasing rainbows.  Today it was as though my mind and body had enough.  Physically and mentally exhausted, always having to be doing something and planning the next move.  Keeping one step ahead.

Yesterday I completed chores that I normally reserve for a Monday so that I could have the day free.  I had planned to get out my watercolour paints again.  I had planned to spend a relaxing few hours with paints, paper and a bit of imagination.

My eyes were so sore and watery I couldn't focus, my mind was jumping all over the place.  I got out a big cover and lay down and fell asleep.  I am so angry at myself for giving in to sleep on such a beautiful day when the sun is shining.

As I woke from sleep and started thinking about my life of chasing rainbows, setting myself up with unattainable goals and dreams I realised I didn't have to go down that route any more.  There on my blanket a rainbow had come and found me.

Instinctive Cooking

Just recently I have been doing a lot more instinctive cooking and been very pleased with the results.  For years, I have been a slave to the cookery book carefully measuring out and buying the exact ingredients.  I think when it comes to baking a special cake then it is wise to follow accurate measurements but in everyday cooking I don't think it is necessary.

Over the last couple of weeks I have 'instinctively' made a shepherds pie, roast dinner, chicken curry, pizza, bolognese and chilli without referring to a recipe book.  I have just looked up cooking temperatures and timings.

Pizza is getting to be a bit of a speciality.  I just put a quantity of bread flour into a bowl with a packet of dried yeast that has been added to a cup of warm water.  I add a splash of olive oil to the flour and then mix together and knead for about 5 minutes.  I put the dough into a greased bowl, cover and leave for about half an hour or until ready to use.  Meanwhile I prepare the toppings.  I like to pre-cook some of my toppings such as the onions and  sweet peppers which I fry in a little olive oil.

Spread the dough out onto one or two greased baking sheets by pressing down and out with your fingers.  Add a can of chopped (drained) tomatoes on to the base.  Tear up some mozzarella cheese or cheese of your choice and sprinkle over the tomato.  Add any other toppings that you like.  Bake in a hot oven at about 220 degrees C for about 20 minutes.  You will smell the pizza when it is ready!

Have a lovely weekend.  I am off to experiment some more!

Amazing Nature

I awoke to this stunning sunrise on Wednesday morning.  I grabbed my camera and rushed out on to the porch to capture the clouds before they dispersed.  The sky looked as though it was on fire and the skeletal  trees could make one think that the leaves had been burnt away.  The scene set before me was as though Monet had painted the sky just for me that morning.  Nature and its beauty continues to lift and inspire me each day.

I am also inspired and lifted by the amount of people that want to be part of my Bloggers Beads Necklace (see previous post). Thank you to those of you that have sent beads to me so far and for all of the thought you have put into choosing them for me.  Don't worry if you haven't sent beads to me yet.  There is still time.  I am going to leave this open for about a month to give my friends from overseas time to send them to me.  Don't forget that I will draw a name from all the participants and send the winner something I have made.

It has just gone 3.30 in the afternoon.  A watery sun is shining.  Birds are singing.  Spring IS on its way.

Bloggers Beads

I have been thinking about my word for the year which is create.  I have also been thinking about Clare's word for the year which is connect.

Linking these two words together I have a proposal that I would like to submit to you. (That sounds very formal doesn't it?)  My goal is to make a necklace using a bead from each blogger that has previously contributed to this blog.  The purpose of this necklace is that I can create it knowing that it is made with good intent and a connection to each and every one of you that leave me such kind and encouraging comments.

If you would like to play a part in the creation of my necklace, which I intend to wear every day, then please send me an email at simone.lindengrove@gmail.com so that I can let you have my address details.

I request just one bead from each of you, although you can send more if you wish.  The bead can be made of glass, plastic, ceramic, wood, metal etc, new or old and of any shape you desire.

When I have received an adequate amount of beads I will set to making a necklace.  I know that this will be a necklace that I will cherish as there would have been so much thought that has gone into its creation.

As an incentive for doing this, I will draw a name from all the participants and make the winner a little something, yet to be decided. I will keep this open for about a month to give people the time to send their beads to me.

I do hope that you will join me in this venture.  I can't wait to see what the finished product will look like!

Edited:  If you are unsure of what type of bead to send, I would request something that represents 'you' and your taste.  As long as it has a hole in it for threading then it is fine!

Comfort

Looking back to my childhood I can see that caring for others was in my nature.  When a close relation was poorly I would cover them with a blanket and tuck it in tightly around them to give them a sense of security.  I wanted to be able to take away pain and suffering and heal people.As I grew older I progressed to giving head and neck massages and even foot baths!  In the back of my mind I thought that I would make a good nurse some day.

Somehow I got lost and never did pursue a career in nursing.  I guess my phobia of blood was too great so I purposefully pushed the idea of nursing out of the way.

Decades on I realise that I still want to make people feel better when they are ill or feeling down.  I like to 'touch' people through my words nowadays though rather than with a 'hands on' approach.

I was unable to sleep for a while last night.  I started to think about people who are on their own or in need of comfort or peace or just wanting a hug.  I eventually drifted off to sleep whilst envisaging being swaddled in a soft, warm blanket, feeling protected and cocooned with love. 

If you are feeling in need of a 'comfort blanket' then try to visualise one as I did and imagine its warmth and softness enveloping you.  I found this technique very calming and it helped to slow down my anxious mind.

Books

I have many books to read.  I have much to learn.  There is so much that I want to cram into my life.  I want to make, bake, create, sing, dance, laugh and run barefoot across a meadow!  I am going to seize the day!

Two days ago I attended a friends funeral.  She was 54.  She has left behind a husband, 3 children under the age of 14 and a menagerie of animals.  She fought against ovarian cancer until her dying breath.  She was not going to give in without a fight.  She lived the last five years of her life to the full.  She spent many days out with her family capturing memories in photos, she decorated her house regularly, spent weekends away, joined the National Trust, put a fishpond in her garden and started to grow vegetables.

I am going to live by her example.  I am going to live my life to the full and just 'get on with it' as she did. 

My word for 2012 is 'create'.  I am going to make time for all kinds of creative pursuits and hopefully show them here on the blog.  Do you have a word to focus on in 2012?