Flower Power - Part 2

I’m named after a flower, well actually, a tree: the Cassia tree.  Here I am with my namesake in Thailand, where it is the national tree:

Now, in English, the tree is sometimes known as the golden shower tree, and its primary uses are either to make laxatives or hallucinogenic drugs…so yeah, as marvelous an ice-breaker as that is, it's usually the bit I save until later! 

But anyway, flowers are a thing with me, and always have been; here I am casting a very suspicious glance at some glorious chrysanthemums in Korea:  

I remember when I saw my first English chrysanthemum I was very confused, why was it so small?  I’m still surprised now that they are such a mistreated flower, confined to petrol station forecourt bunches or dyed terrible colours, who would do such a thing to such a glorious bloom?  It amuses me no end that in the language of flowers (a Victorian trend which I follow closely), Oriental chrysanthemums mean ‘cheerfulness under adversity’, and what could be lovelier than that?

Here I am again a little older, again in the midst of colourful blossoms, aren't those snapdragons just divine?

I even wrote a blog post about flower fairies (read it here) back in my early frockdolly days, and my smallest niece recently dressed as one for World Book Day (she said ‘Fairy!’, I said ‘Flower fairy? Excellent, I have an idea already’, a win win situation!).

Spring is my favourite time of my year, not just because I share the first day of the season with my birthday (hooray!), but because of everything happening in the garden…tiny striped shirt crocuses, tall elegant daffodils and as many varieties of tulip as I can buy and stuff in pots to forget about over the winter – I like the surprise when they pop into bloom, ta dah!  And don’t these red & yellow stripy ones just look like roaring lions?

I spend my free time at the splendid Kew Gardens, their annual  orchid festival is a particular favourite, but I’m just as happy there in November, tucked up in a steamy glasshouse, searching for tropical blossoms.  When I was a wee frockdolly in Thailand, my friends and I used to collect rubbery pink banana flower petals, the ones are Kew are too high up to reach, but I live in hope they’ll drop to the floor so my 8 year old self can tuck one away in her pocket…

I also love the South London Botanical Institute, a hidden gem of South London, where the craft sessions on offer are always pleasingly floral based, which may be why we end up there most school holidays!

In my creative work, flowers are also a theme, as a brooch, on a card, scattered about the place as crochet motifs, or just impossibly huge on a cactus (I’ve seen cactus flowers, they absolutely look like mine, well maybe a little less fluffy…)

Oh so many pictures of flowery things!  I'm sure there'll be more to come as spring gets going - it's making a good effort, would you believe today I even went out without a scarf?  Brave little floral frockdolly, that's me...

Wabbits

For as long as I can remember, we had pets in our family, and usually of the tiny fluffy variety; ruffly squeaky guinea pigs, soft as butter bunny rabbits, all of whom seemed entirely mad, rats with crazy eyes and a hamster that surprised us all with its demise and subsequent resurrection (I have rarely trusted a rodent since)...even the occasional chicken, also fluffy, but much better generally at producing eggs...

I remember reading My Family and Other Animals by the lovely Gerald Durrell and thinking 'yes, I absolutely identify with that', though of course, our menagerie were hopping around being fluffy in the back garden of house in suburban Chester, slightly less dramatic (and possibly a bit more problematic for the neighbours) than Durrell's childhood home of Corfu...

Now I'm bigger, I still talk of my family and other animals, usually during weekend trips to the supermarket (if I can, I leave them in the cafe, at least then I know they won't get lost in the vegetable aisle or purchase a pony by mistake), but after the sad demise of my last rescue cat, the only animals I really keep around are of the crocheted variety.  For example, it's Easter in a few weeks, and I am currently crocheting up a veritable bundle of flopsy bunnies:

Now, if I can only get myself in hand and get my etsy shop opened (perhaps I have been eating too much soporific lettuce, just like the flopsy bunnies!), you might even be able to purchase one of these little beauties to hide a chocolate egg for your nearest and dearest this Easter...or next Easter...Easter 2018?

Until then, I'll just have to find a way to explain to my other half that that 12 pack of creme eggs in the house are for 'size reference only', and are really not for eating...wish me luck!

Colour Me Wild

I've always had a bit of a thing for bright colours, take for example, this pretty picture of me as a wee frockdolly, resplendent in my favourite Hawaiian frock, accessorised with even more colours (because yes, it so needed that) in the form of a floral lei:

Oh, how I loved that frock!  And the bracelet, if I remember right, was made up of teeny tiny green & orange pineapples, there's a definite tropical feel to my styling here...

Of course, as I got older, I was in charge of putting together my own outfits, with predictably colourful results.  Take this picture, of a slighter older frockdolly, off to some occasion or other in her brightest garb:

My older brother looks slightly alarmed by it all, my younger brother...well, he looks like a marionette, not sure what's going on there.  Incidentally, those are purple suede Kickers, and yes, they were awesome!  And also yes, my bag does match my socks, something which I felt was very important at age 12 (and still occasionally do now).

Now I'm all grown up (at least physically), I still love my bright colours, as evidenced by my recent projects; a brightly coloured surround for my nasty cheap clock and a few more rows on the EPIC stripy Kaffe Fassett inspired wrap:

I imagine myself at some point in the future, wrapped in glorious colour, gleefully clashing with the sofa (a rather tame denim blue), but toasty warm in the most vibrant way.  For now, at least, I get to admire my clock on the wall, and no longer have to listen to it ticking away, in a slightly accusatory manner, from the back of the sofa where it had been waiting for its cover for so very long!

I like bright colours in all my crafting, which has left me with a huge amount of scraps of felt,(from last Christmas' layered star baubles) & fabric (from two adorable firework costumes last autumn), and as for the buttons, well I just seem to collect those:

One day, I'll find a project to combine all of these!  Until then, I'll just use them as inspiration to get me through these last grey winter weeks, one tiny rainbow piece at a time.