Today I made a quick knitting needle roll for my ebay haul needles previously mentioned. It was a bit of a "sew as you go" as despite all good intentions, i didn't look at any tutorials before i cut the fabric, then looked at Jo's crochet needle tutorial for inspiration and guidance, and realised I had started (wrong) so I had to finish with my own "creation". It's very basic but it does the job, and it's pretty too. Infact, it looks as if it should smell nice. It doesn't!
I got to use the first button from the ebay button haul. It's gorgeous and just right for this fabric as it is mother of pearl and has shades of both pink and green running through it in the light.
This fabric reminded me of my summer project. I want to create a cut flower garden. Because I love cut flowers - especially of the smelly variety, and I prefer the "English country garden" type which are ridiculously expensive in the shops - especially for real English and smelly ones.
I watched a programme which for the life of me, I can't remember the name of now, with Sarah Raven, about the demise of the British flower industry. It seems that supermarket demand and mass produced 'standard' flowers from Holland and Africa are so cheap because of the slave like wages that overseas flower workers are paid, that they have forced most of the British producers out of business. Foreign flowers not only depend on this near slave labour to be produced but also on preservatives, pesticides and inorganic fertilizers to ensure maximum standard output for most profit. In addition, there is the air freight to consider. All of these things contribute to our so called carbon footprint. Last summer, I heard wind of a proposed film called "Blood of the Rose" by a filmaker called Henry Singer (apologies to Lisa for commenting with the wrong info on one of her postings), I don't think it was financed in the end, but it was about the rose trade in Kenya and how because of greed, it has turned into a bit of a murder trail. Rose farms in places of outstanding beauty are ruining the landscape, destroying the enviroment and people who have opposed this desicration of the land have been murdered.
I am using this as my starting guide:
Winter to spring: Daffodils
Late spring and summer: Tulips, Agapanthus, Poppies, Lillies, Delphiniums, Sweet Peas, sunflowers
Summer to autumn: Dalias and Roses
Autumn to Winter: Chrysanthemums
Just as home grown vegetables are more vibrant and tasty than anything in a wrapper, so too are flowers grown on our own land, fed by our soil and our rain, and containing (albeit infrequent!) our own sunshine.
I watched a programme which for the life of me, I can't remember the name of now, with Sarah Raven, about the demise of the British flower industry. It seems that supermarket demand and mass produced 'standard' flowers from Holland and Africa are so cheap because of the slave like wages that overseas flower workers are paid, that they have forced most of the British producers out of business. Foreign flowers not only depend on this near slave labour to be produced but also on preservatives, pesticides and inorganic fertilizers to ensure maximum standard output for most profit. In addition, there is the air freight to consider. All of these things contribute to our so called carbon footprint. Last summer, I heard wind of a proposed film called "Blood of the Rose" by a filmaker called Henry Singer (apologies to Lisa for commenting with the wrong info on one of her postings), I don't think it was financed in the end, but it was about the rose trade in Kenya and how because of greed, it has turned into a bit of a murder trail. Rose farms in places of outstanding beauty are ruining the landscape, destroying the enviroment and people who have opposed this desicration of the land have been murdered.
I am using this as my starting guide:
Winter to spring: Daffodils
Late spring and summer: Tulips, Agapanthus, Poppies, Lillies, Delphiniums, Sweet Peas, sunflowers
Summer to autumn: Dalias and Roses
Autumn to Winter: Chrysanthemums
Just as home grown vegetables are more vibrant and tasty than anything in a wrapper, so too are flowers grown on our own land, fed by our soil and our rain, and containing (albeit infrequent!) our own sunshine.
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