Thursday 7 January 2010

Midwinter Magic

Regular readers will have seen this picture before on my blog but bear with me ..


Just LOOK what happened between myself and Emma of Silverpebble!
We had arranged to meet but rain stopped play...well actually snow..deep deep snow so we posted each other the gifts we made for our meeting......



Both seedheads.
I had been experimenting with the shape in embroidery and thought I'd try a brooch.
We hadn't discussed it, and hadn't even said we would be sending them but both received them today. In fact as I was e mailing to thank her the postman knocked on my door with her parcel.
Emma has made me an exquisite silver seedhead brooch.
SILVER!
Its gorgeously delicate and the silver is so white and somehow soft. I sent her a felt and velvet brooch on the same theme.
I used her pictures for this and couldn't get them the right way up until I pinned them together in a collage. To see her original photos and her much better version look at her blog.
I feel so lucky. Thank you so much Emma.

I thought I'd share this photograph..its a lamp post outside a house in the woods.
Covered in snow like that reminded me of Narnia and I expected to see Peter Susan Edmund and Lucy in their furs coming towards me.
Maybe I did.


If you click on the next picture and look very closely, you might see little pinpoints of light...

they are the eyes of the poor sheep in the snowy fields.

I am getting a bit fed up of the bleak midwinter now, enough of the prettiness, too much cancelling of the felt group, but at least when I've been out walking in sub zero temperatures I can justify eating leek and potato soup and crumpets with melted Stilton cheese.

Yum.

41 comments:

silverpebble said...

Hurray hurray! I'm still wearing it. You know I love it. This kind of spookiness doesn't happen often.

Your wintry snack looks delicious - love the colours.

Thanks again x

Sue said...

Oh now you have made me want crumpets with stilton on them and soup. It was -14 here this morning, brrrrrrr.

Max the Lobster said...

we broke into the crumpets with cheese on this week too! and now we have snow down here also!

Whitney-Anne Baker said...

how absolutely beautiful both pieces are, you must make more of those. We too had leek and potato soup tonight!!

menopausalmusing said...

I have never had crumpets with cheese.......... The thought of it is VERY enticing. Have just commented on how beautiful the brooch is on Emma's blog. Absolutely lovely, Jackie. I feel sorry for the sheep. We havent had post for two days... I feel sorry forthe them because our local news is implying that they may lose pay or have to take it as holiday. Ours is such a lovely young man and has a very young family to support...........

Sharne Gregory said...

Both brooches are lovely. I must try stilton on my crumpets next time I buy some.

Heather said...

Yum indeed!! What an amazing and lovely coincidence with the seed head brooches. Both are beautiful. Your snowy nighttime pics are lovely - the lamp post one is magical. I've had enough of snow too now, but I fear we may have more to come and I want to get to my group meeting next Tuesday.

Maggi said...

Both pieces are gorgeous. Glad I have just eaten otherwise you would have made me feel hungry - very tasty.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Lovely seed head photos and beautiful creations by two clever ladies. The soup looks delicious, too!

Lyn said...

The seed head brooches are BOTH gorgeous! I love how yours is so different to the felt one's you have been doing recently. I love them, how strange you both picked seed heads!
Love
Lyn
xxx

kristina said...

Both are so gorgeous. And what an amazing connection! K x

Julie said...

Great minds think alike :o) and they are both beautiful. I love the shape of these seedheads too.

Those poor sheep! Awwww!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

mmmmm....makes me hungry looking at that picture! I think potato & leek soup is pretty much my favourite. Anything connected with cheese of any sort has to be delish! The brooches are both lovely and it has to be ordained that you both used the same theme.

hens teeth said...

Both seedhead creations are stunning...a wonderful and happy coincidence.
Wish could join you for that gorgeous lunch.
Did you see the Hairy Bikers make crumpets on the tele the other night? Drool.

Cat said...

Such beautiful pieces and Queen Anne's Lace is so delicate. The soup looks so yummy. I made potato, cabbage and keilbasa soup this evening. Soup hits the spot when it's cold and snowy. No crumpets here though.

Dolores said...

Love the food. Wish I was there. Those artsy seed head brooches are wonderful.

Annie said...

The original photos of those seed heads were so inspiring it's not really surprising that you both used them as a design but it's really spooky that you chose that design to send to each other. My sister Twiglet and I are always doing things like that but then we ARE related :-)

Anonymous said...

Life is full of such coincidences I find. They are both so beautiful. There is something about seedheads. I like working with them too. If I lived nearer, I would be round for a bowl of soup! Keep snug and warm.

Gina said...

What a coincidence and both brooches are exquisite! Liking the look of your lunch.

vintagerockchick said...

Wow - there must be some kind of telepathy thing going on! (I love it when that happens - makes me think maybe we don't know it all)
Love both the brooches - so different yet so similar.
And I'm with you on the snow - bored now.

Deb Lacativa said...

Your felted seed head looks like the moon is rising behind it - wonderful!

Rosie said...

Now there's a coincidence - except that I don't believe in them! Your embroidery is divine, and is your silver brooch made with silver clay - I fancy a go with that stuff. As for crumpets with stilton .... that sounds utterly fab. Wonder how many Weightwatchers points?????

linda ianson said...

I dont know which impressed me more the gifts or the lunch.... both delicious!

Unknown said...

just found your blog via Silverpebble... oh my your work is amazing!!

I'll be back soon.

(and seedheads are my favourite thing too!)

Jude said...

Golly, spooky!!
Very very lovely brooches...
I'm not going to mention that lunch...(slurp,slurp!!)

jennyflowerblue said...

Really interesting how two different mediums can capture the same subject so well! What a lovely surprise fr you both. xx

JP said...

I'd forgotton how much I liked crumpets until I saw your blog and watched the Hairy Bikers on Tuesday! - love both brooches

LOVE STITCHING RED said...

ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE SEEDHEAD BROOCHES! I LOVE SEEDHEADS TOO AND ALL UMBEL SHAPES! Typing in captal letters to emphasize LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Also like the look of your lunch, I can smell it right down here ... enjoy!

Claire said...

Hi Jackie, it's too hot here for soup but it does look delicious as are the brooches, both gorgeous in their own way.How often does something like that happen?! Makes it that little bit extra special because now there is a story to go with it. Best wishes for 2010 and more happy coincidences

Maureen said...

Now that soup and crumpets really made my mouth water. And fancy both sending seed head gifts - they are really lovely!

Chris Daly said...

What amazing serendipity. Beautiful gifts and photographs.

Middle Cottage Diary said...

Stilton on crumpets, why oh why have I never thought if that before??? The silver looks lovely, as does your brooch.

lilylovekin said...

You leek and potato soup sounds wonderful maybe I'll try it at my next event.

Friko said...

gorgeous presents from both of you!

I agree with you about the winter wonderland; enough already. We are still stuck without a car and today we have not only snow and ice but a very biting wind too.

The dog will still want to go out, of course, and i'll still have to take him.

We had a lovely thick yellow split pea soup with a German sausage last night; funny how many people love soup in winter.

urban craft said...

I saw these over at silverpebble, they are beautiful! Lucky.

Kitty said...

What beautiful gifts you and Emma exchanged - I have one of her necklaces, and count it as a favourite.

That picture that you say is outside the woods - are you sure it's not out the back of your wardrobe?! ;-)

Happy New Year Jackie - I hope it's a good one for you.

x

Fiona said...

How gorgeous - what a fabulous gift to treasure. I love your snow pictures - I've just made some yummy cleriac soup - help keep the snow at bay!

Linda Vincent said...

Well I usually find art inspiration on your blog...but today after reading it I went away and made homemade soup and wrote 'stilton and crumpets' on my shopping list!
Thank you Jackie :-)
As for those beautiful brooches....I like Chris's word - serendipity.

Woo Gilchrist said...

Crikey! Crumpets and Stilton - that sounds absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

Jacky said...

Well its so hot here in Australia 42degrees Sunday and Monday bit cooler today 39. Thought the best thing to do was look at favourite blogs that are likely to have snow, oh I am so envious. At least you can rug up and go walking here its totally out of question.

Karin said...

Your seedhead (and the hearts, etc I saw in the other posts) is (are) exquisite!!! I've been looking into finding out more about freehand embroidering with my sewing machine and then, unrelatedly, I come by your blog here and see such wonderful examples.

And what a fun fun story with the two pieces crossing it the mail.

I'll be showing the lamppost picture to my girls this morning -- they're currently enamored with the Narnia Chronicles and will be mesmerized, I'm sure.



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