Winter surprisingly came a-calling a little early this week; off went my fall jacket, on came the long wool coat. What a great excuse though to buy some new booties. Alas, not the fancy high ones; these are the "off to work we go, walking through the snow" boots. There's drifts of snow on the ground and a North wind sighing through the trees - time to try them out. By the way, they're funky boots with stripy laces - love 'em.
Found one more name "tag" pin amongst my Christmas brooches that should have been worn with the bunch of name tags last week, so I'm pairing it with a brooch that resides on a spring coat (better late than never) - another Paris vacance brooch and my favourite of these.
My Father gave this pin to my Mom during WWII. It's a pin made out of a bullet. When I left home, I got to take with me some dishes from the trunk, and this bullet brooch that I had coveted for years. Thanks Mom. I still treasure it.
As soon as I saw this button at the Woodstock Fleece Festival I knew it was meant to be a brooch. It has a very retro "Beam me up Scotty" type of design. It just took a metal smith friend to saw off the bump at the back, some flexible glue and a brooch back, and voila, c'est magnifique. Don't you wonder what clothing this lovely button graced?
I adore this pin. It's worn often during a normal year when I'm not wearing every brooch I own. It sits just right on any piece of clothing, and that beautiful blue with the "pearls", the dancing leaves - fab!
Thank you Botticelli for doing justice to a fellow redhead. Although my hair no longer radiates with that redhead gleam, inside I'm still a rootin, tootin, redhead.
An iconic structure - Big Ben in London, England. Go if you've never been there. It's bustling to the brim, a wide-awake city.
Bought this button brooch recently. Like the simplicity of it. Doesn't it make you wonder what you can find in your old button jar? Do people still have those jars? When I have clothing that I've turned into rags, I always cut the buttons off and put them in an old tin. I see a winter project on the horizon.
Ahhhhhhhhh, Christmas in Paris (a sale of art and crafts by Kindred Spirits) is over with for another year. It's something that I've been a part of for many years, selling my rug hooking and sometimes some handmade brooches on a November weekend. Always fun but yikers it poops you out.
Look - 7 more brooches.
This is a WWII Victory pin. It was made by Birks (so named on the back) - a well known Canadian company. This would have been worn during the war. Although it's a little pin, it resonates of that time and I always find myself touching it when I'm wearing it.
This is my "poppy" pin. I've made a few of these poppy pins; held on to this one. And of course, wore it on Remembrance Day.
Three of my friends went off on a toot to the Northern states last spring and brought me back a few trinkets. The following 2 brooches are from their forays into a second hand store there.
A golden oak leaf. Reminds me of pressing leaves and flowers in books. I still come across some when I revisit one of my old books.
Quite the stylish elephant with the tummy "gems". Just imagine the rumblings.
An old high school music pin from the late sixties. Riverdale Collegiate in Toronto had the best vocal music teacher, Mr. Ford, who kept us on our toes, and made those times happily memorable. And this pin was also made by Birks in Toronto.
This brooch reminds me of an Edward Gorey drawing. Check out his work. It's not everyone's cup of tea but in my household we adore him. And I adore this pin - I love presents!
Here's the other ceramic brooch that I picked up at The Candy Cane Bazaar a few weeks back. Such an unusual one with that swirling centre flower surrounded by forget-me-nots. Lovely in every way.
It's been raining leaves this week. Shortly after the sun comes up, the leaves start their dance, spinning down to the ground, round and round - a swirl of yellow and gold, joining the ruby leaves already around my feet. Shock of shocks, it even makes walking to work a pleasure.
Here's 7 more brooches.
Who doesn't love Church Bazaars. I picked up this brooch, plus the next one at The Candy Cane Bazaar at the United Church in Paris on Saturday. It was a feeding frenzy at the jewellery table - better luck next time Jenn. My Mom loved these china bowls with flowers made in England, and this lovely brooch is from one of those British companies.
This brooch weighs next to nothing, in comparison to the brooch I wore yesterday. Mother of pearl is so beautiful - I like the contrast between its soft colours and the strong graphic border.
A funky rug hooked brooch from the wilds of Dwight.
This had started out as a fridge magnet, but it was crying out to be a brooch. And hey, I love to exercise those vocal cords so .....
Most every year I go to a Kindred Spirits Retreat in February where we bring in teachers and we make stuff - stuff like floor cloths, cards, twig furniture, painted scarves, tea cozies, jewellery, baskets etc. I would have had to wear chain mail in order to support these name "tags", so I wore 3 one day and 4 the next. My full name tag was painted by a lovely woman from Kindred Spirits (a Arts and Crafts group) who painted bowls and plates with lovely flowers; a lost art.
And here's 4 more. I did have more name tags but they were of the more one-weekend's-worth of wearing type.
Another brooch from a friend's recent Scottish vac. This wee birdie is made on the Isle of Skye from Scottish tweed. Cute as a button.
I'm doubling up this weekend with a second posting. I am now finally up-to-date again. As my jewellery boxes are emptying, I realized it's time to be current once again.
I love Hallowe'en - from the little tykelets to the teenagers, love the costumes, love the parents dressed up on the sidewalk. Once dins is over, my husband holds down the fort and I meander through the neighbourhood, checking out the pumpkins and Hallowe'en displays, saying howdy to friends and getting a bit of chocolate now and again. There were a lot of soggy costumes out there this rainy Hallowe'en but it didn't dim those intrepid treat-or-treaters - hurray!
I debated whether to polish this old brooch or not years ago, but I have yet to polish it. I love it just the way it is. A miniature tambourine (no, it doesn't jingle) and a beautiful piece of mother of pearl. A favourite.
A friend recently came back from a toot in Scotland, her camera brimming over with photos of that beautiful country. She brought this back for me. I do love the sound of bagpipes. As a kid, watching the Toronto Santa Claus Parade roll by, bundled up from the cold, it always stirred me when the pipers marched by in their kilts, playing that wonderful soulful music.
Another childhood pin. I don't recall whether it had been a Sunday School pin or a school one. The company who made it - David C. Cook Publishing made a lot of different pins back then; they're now classed as vintage - yikers!
Muriel was a funny, charming lady, with button brown eyes and a long smile. A good friend gave me her beautiful cameo brooch. I love cameos and I loved his Mom, Muriel.
This brooch garners a lot of praise when I wear it. It has life to it, the bird caught in a split second of movement. It's another one of these - I've had the brooch for a long time and I think you really should have it instead - type of gift. A lovely gift.
When I left BGM, my old work place in Toronto, a friend gave me 2 brooches - the scary mask one that I wore months ago and this one that he made for me that has 2 of my favourite things - the Eiffel Tower and a bird. A one-of-a-kind brooch. Like, like, like it lots.
This is my other cat brooch that I bought in England from a store "Katz" back in the early eighties. There is a quality that a black and white cat has that is unique to that colour combo. This one looks pretty dapper and has that je ne sais pas quality.
It's a sing-a-long:
I love Paris in the springtime,
I love Paris in the fall,
I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles.
I love Paris every moment,
Every moment of the year,
I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris,
Because my love is near.
This week's brooches are all tourist Eiffel Tower brooches. Two of them came from our trips there, and the rest are from friends who know of my penchant for them. My first sighting of these brooches occurred on the Broadview bus in Toronto when I was a teenager - a student had one on her kilt. And I immediately knew I had to find this brooch. Years later, I now have seven, a few look identical except for teeny differences. I love them all.
My bedside lamp was my Mom's last lamp. It's not my style but it was her's, but I've Heatherized it by attaching these brooches on the shade. Here they are in situ. Please note, there's still lots of room for more of them. Hint, hint.
And of course, here's the seven Eiffels. And yes, I've walked up it - twice.
