Crochet for Babies

Baby Clothing of the 1970s

Shawls

I really like to crochet for babies. When my first child was born, I crochet a large circular white shawl. In those days, shawls were the thing. Then came bunny rugs. This shawl was so special, I wrapped my precious baby up in it and kept her warm. I still have it today. 

Crocheted Dresses

When my son came along, I made a special crocheted white dress for him for his Baptism. In those days, jumpsuits  were only just starting and were certainly not seen as clothing to wear for such a special occasion as a Baptism. He was only a few weeks old, so I'm sure I did not traumatise him by putting him in a dress. 

Jackets or Cardigans for Babies

We all know the difference between a jumper and a cardigan, right? In the mid 20th century, a cardigan for a baby was called a jacket. I don't know why, but that is just the way it was. By the time the baby got to about two years old, it was called a cardigan. I suppose today, we will still call out to a little one as we hurry out to the car, 'Have you got your jacket?'

Here is a little baby jacket. These are lovely crocheted out of 5 ply yarn. When you crochet, the resulting material becomes quite thick, much thicker than if it was knitted. They can get too thick and therefore too hot if made out of 8 ply wool. They come up beautifully with lacy designs.

A lacy design of crochet for a baby jacket

A short-sleeved jacket for a precious baby girl

A plainer design of crochet is often used for boy babies

Baby cardigans or jackets can be made in plainer designs for little boys. 

Colour

You can also introduce colour. Pastel shades are a good choice for little ones. Colour has a strong influence on our psyche. You may notice that little ones will soon show a preference for their favourite colour. In our society, pink is generally accepted for girls and blue for boys.

A baby girl's jacket in progress

Baby booties in bright colours

I do love bright colours and sometimes just have to give myself a dose of colour. I really enjoy using brightly coloured yarn, but tend to keep this for children at least one-year-old. 

More crochet yarns next time. Cheers

Art on Instagram

Lately I have been having lots of fun displaying some of my art on Instagram. I find it is seen by a lot of different people. Whenever I upload a painting, people show their appreciation more so than for other subjects. Interesting. 

This tells me that people appreciate art.

Watercolour Rose

I guess that somewhere in their inner self they appreciate the creative skill.

A collection of watercolour paintings

The next step to show the artist your appreciation is to purchase paintings that you like. This helps the artist enormously by showing them they are appreciated in a physical way. It allows them to buy more art materials and create something else. 

Instagram
Instagram is a great way to see a lot of an artists creative pieces. 
Please check out more of my paintings @tossyv

Colour
Colour speaks to the soul. Colour and the subject matter of a painting speaks to individuals. People's like and dislikes are specific. This is why a painting can speak to one person and have no effect on another. 

Using Instagram can help you decide which colours and subject matter you prefer. It is an interesting exercise to g
flick through an artist's paintings, then those of another until you find the style that suits you.   

Vintage Renault car

 Art by Therese Vahland.

Start Painting Folk Art

Do you long to paint but think you can't? I understand the feeling because once that was me too. Now I delight in having a paintbrush in my hand.

All my life I had been crafty, doing lots of knitting, sewing and crocheting, plus lots of other crafts. As a child I loved to paint.  Each Christmas and birthday I hoped for a new set of paints. 

Time passes. I spent it having children, doing gardening, and raising lots of animals like goats, donkeys, sheep and smaller livestock like rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.

When the time was right I took my first 'grown-up' painting class. The style I opted for was just making its first tippy-toe steps into Australia in 1989. Well, the first class came and went and I eagerly looked forward to the next week, then the next. I had withdrawal symptoms when I was not there and wanted to learn more and more.

By the next year I was teaching this new, simple way of painting to a class of eager students in a smaller country town. They were just as eager as I was. 

My life was changed by 

a paintbrush and paint. 

I discovered a love of colour. Colour meant nothing to my mother. She always said it didn't matter. She grew up in a different era where there was no room to be choosey. To me, colour was and still is, VERY important. 

For years I taught many classes a week to eager students who stimulated me to learn more. I longed to write a book to help others learn to paint - people who could not get to my classes. Eventually it became a reality.

'Getting started in Bavarian Folk Art' by Therese Vahland

A second book followed.

'Companion to Getting started in Bavarian Folk Art' by Therese Vahland

Painting, paint and all its paraphernalia took over my life. Over the years my painting style improved and changed. I began to experiment. First I used acrylic paints as watercolours, then I used watercolour paints themselves. Well, all my dreams came true when I used watercolour paints. Here was colour that dould be reworked - just add a little water. Acrylics give vivid colour and dry quickly, but once they are dry, they cannot be reworked. There are benefits to both types of paints. Now I move between the two as the mood takes me and depending on what the subject matter is. 

Come join me in my love of painting the simple style of folk art. The beauty of folk art is that you are guided through every step along the way. It is perfect for beginners. You do not need to know how to draw or paint to begin this. My books walk you through every step of the way.

You can find more information about the books on my webpage. 

Join me on Istagram to see some of my colourful work. Don't get a shock now. 

Remember, I love colour. 

@tossyv

Backyard Gardening

I love the old fashioned flowers for my garden. 

They have stood the test of time. 

Old fashioned plants are often drought tolerant, needing little water. They are good at keeping the weeds down. 

They are good at flowering, often repeat flowering.

Flowers are good colour therapy. We plant the flowers that we are attracted to in shape and colour. 

Colour is very important in our lives. 

 Australian hibiscus - Alogoyne, flowers in the summer months.

 Beautiful golden rose.

 

Belladonna lily flowers in summer before the leaves come.

Echiums grow into a big bush. 

They have lovely blue, stately flowers. 

They look just as lovely when the blue flowers fade and the large head is all green. 

I never need to water these flowers. 

This hot pink pelargonium is bright and stunning.

 It flowers for many months. 

It is very drought tolerant.

The Magic of Colour

An Angel in Byzantine art

Colour is Magic

Today we are surrounded by colour, all the colours of the rainbow and all tints and shades of these colours. Primary colours of red, blue and yellow, as well as secondary colours of purple, green and orange are available to us. 

Artists use these colours with joy. I love making my paintings very bright. Others use pastel colours, and still others delete colour and go for black and white. It saddens me that architectural colours for modern houses are charcoal grey. For decades, the insides of houses have been painted cream, but the current colour in Australia is a grey. I find it so boring and lacking in feeling.

The Beginning of Red, Blue and Purple

About 3000 years ago it was not so easy to get colours. People used natural colours of the earth or those they could get from plants or ground rock. 

Only royalty or the very rich were able to use the colours of red, blue or purple because of the expense and difficulty of making the dyes. 

In the book 'Secrets of the Knights Templar, the hidden history of the world's most powerful order' by SJ Hodge, he explains how these colours were made:

'The dyes used in the veil in the Temple (of Solomon) were red, blue and purple. The red was extracted from the blood of beetles and the blue and purple dyes were extracted from sea snails. The dye is believed to have originally have been produced by the ancient Phoenicians (the Phoenicians were a race who lived at the eastern end of the Mediterranean and who became an important society between 900 and 700BCE)

The red, blue and purple dyes were highly valued and Tyrian purple in particular was prized as it did not fade but grew more intense over time, even if exposed to sunlight. Extracted from the glands of particular sea snails that are found in the eastern Mediterranean, it was extremely costly to produce. This meant that few 'ordinary'
people had seen such colours on fabrics, so when they were used in Solomon's temple they were talked about with wonder, as if they were substances acquired by magic or from God.'

(Tyre was an ancient city in Lebanon on the Mediterranean coast.)

Modern Colours

 We are so lucky today that all colours are readily available to us. Fifty years ago, silver and gold were not readily available in paints or pens. Today the new inks have made pens of silver, gold and copper colours available. They are also readily accessible in acrylic paints. 

Irridescent colours adorn birds and beetles. We can add irridescence to our paintings made with acrylics. Paints, pencils, colour and availablity have changes the artworld so that our children and grandchildren cannot even imagine a time without 

RED

BLUE 

&

PURPLE

The Power of Red

Red Energy

Red is a very powerful colour. It has the lowest vibration in the visible colour spectrum of light. When you look at a coloured picture or painting, the first colour our eyes pick up is the colour red. 

Artist's Red

There are three primary colours from which all other colours can be made from. These are 

• red
• blue
• yellow

Secondary colours which are made from a mixture of these colours are

• red + blue = purple
  blue + yellow = green
  yellow + red = orange

Complementary colours are opposites on the colour wheel. The opposite of red is green. So when you put red and green together, they sparkle and they make each other stand out. 
  

Advertising

Red is used as an advertising colour to make things jump out at you. Think McDonald's fast food chain. Red gets you moving through quickly. 

Red attracts, but you don't want to hang around it very long.

GrumbleTumms food van

 Energy

If you are feeling down and tired, put on some red clothes. This will cheer you up and get you energized. 

When little children get agitated and irritable, if they have red clothing on, change it to blue and it will help them to calm down. 

Red in the Garden

Red flowers are very strong. Red hibiscus and red roses will grow very well in hot sunshine. Other red flowers are nasturtiums, dahlias and poppies, tulips and salvias. They bring strong colour into a garden. Generally, bees are not as attracted to red flowers. So, it you are allergic to bee stings, add some red flowers into your garden. 

Chakras

Chakras are energy centres of the body. There are 7 main energy centres and numerous minor centres. Each of these main energy centres are assigned one of the seven colours of the rainbow. The Base chakra is located at the base of the spine inside the body. The colour associated with this is red. 

Red Crystals

Red crystals are used on the red Base chakra for healing. These red crystals are a reddish brown to black colour. They are red jasper, red calcite, garnet and ruby. They balance the energy of the ares and help the blood inside our body.

Red Food

Red food is important for our body. The bright red colour has special nutrients which help us to stay healthy. Some of these foods are tomatoes, red peppers, red capsicum, beetroot, strawberries, raspberries, apples, rhubarb and cherries. 

 Graphics and designs by Therese Vahland

The Power of Orange

 

The Sacral Chakra

The chakra are energy centres in our body. There are seven major energy centres located inside the body along the spine.

The Sacral chakra is the second chakra. The colour orange is attributed to this centre.

The Sacral centre affects the reproductive area of the body. It is centred in from the navel and about five centimetres (two inches) below the navel.

Crystals

Orange crystals aid this area. Carnelian is a lovely deep orange crystal that benefits this area.

Carnelian, worn in the navel can have a beneficial effect on women if they are having period pain.

Orange Food

Orange can be found in some flowers, in the sunset, in bushfires and also in some food like oranges, carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato. To strengthen this area, eat these orange foods. Apricots and peaches and mango are fruits that can be eaten in this colour range. All these foods are gluten free foods.

Colour

Orange is a warm colour. It is made up of red and yellow. In art it is known as a complementary colour. The colour it compliments is blue. Blue is the colour of the Throat chakra. The throat chakra and the Sacral chakra are connected.

Burnt orange or terracotta is sometimes worn by women in winter. This makes sense as it is a warming colour. Apricot is the pastel shade of orange.

Orange Flowers

This colour flower can also be found in the garden. An old fashioned flower is the nasturtium. Its bright orange flowers bring life to the garden bed. Other orange flowers are strelitzia, Iceland poppies, knifophia, arctosis and geum. Having these in your garden is a great way to introduce the colour into your life. Plants with orange flowers are usually very hardy and do well in the heat.

Think about where this colour fits into your life.

Other post you may enjoy

Colour Healing, Chakras

Chakra Areas of the Legs

Amethyst Crystal for Healing

Let's Talk Health

Have you seen my other blog, 'Let's Talk Health'?

As the name of it tells you, it is a collection of articles I have written about many aspects of health. 

Let's Talk Health Blog

 It can be found at  http://allergiesandcfs.blogspot.com.au/

I am a trained Natural Therapist. I have studied Homeopathy for many years. I am also a official Flower Essence Practitioner with Australian Bush Flowers. I have also studied Colourpuncture, Kinergetics, Massage, Sound Therapy, Tachyon Energy, Aromatherapy, Colour Therapy including Aura Soma, and Crystal Healing. I'm sure there are some other modalities I have studied. 

I like to touch the inner person and feel it is important to address the inner emotions, bringing them into balance, rather than stick a bandaid on their ills and hoping they will go away. As you can see, I am especially attracted to Vibrational Therapies.

I do like to learn new things. I have also run many classes, teaching others how to incorporate these things into their lives. 

I hope you can come across to my other blog to read the many articles there.

Let's Talk Health Blog   http://allergiesandcfs.blogspot.com.au/

Chakras of the Body

 

Different colours are assigned to areas of the body

Chakras are Centres of Energy in the Body
The knowledge of these energy centres comes from the Sanskrit or old Indian way of life. In many parts of India people, particularly men, devoted their life to prayer and meditation. They become very sensitive to the the unseen things of our world.

They have passed on to us this knowledge and gradually it became known in the West.

What is a Chakra?
These energy centres are like a swirling vortex where energy from the outside passes in and out of the body. It is a collection centre.

From here it spreads along our spine and from there affects  our body. We could think of this as our senses being on high alert. We are continually picking up things from our world as we go about our daily business. We sense that someone we know is across a crowded room or that the phone is about to ring. We may sense another person's emotions. We 'feel' for our loved ones.

These energy centres are called Chakras. They have also been assigned certain colours that resonate with them. These colours are the colours of the rainbow and arranged in reverse order of it.

Chakras and Their Colours
The Base chakra is at the base of the spine. It is affected by the colour red.
The Sacral chakra is in from the navel and has an orange colour.
The Solar Plexus is associated with the waist line area and is assigned the colour yellow.
The Heart chakra is the green area and of course, as the name tells us is associated with the heart.
The Throat chakra affects the throat area and is assigned the colour blue.
The head has the centre of energy in the Brow chakra, just between and slightly above the centre of the eye brows. We also know it as the Third Eye. The colour for this centre is indigo.
The Crown chakra is situated at the top of the head and the colour is violet.

 

Reference: www.allergiesandcfs.com  

The Power of Yellow

Chakras

Chakras are energy centres in the body. They cannot be detected by medical machinery of Western medicine. They cannot be seen by the naked eye. They cannot be felt physically. But millions of people around the world believe that our body has these energy centres.

There are seven major energy centres in the body. Everybody has them. There is no getting away with not having them even if you don't believe in them. They are just there. You need somewhere in your energetic body to send energy around your physical body just to keep it going. Just think of it as the electricity of your body.

Now, these energy centres have been attributed with the colours of the rainbow, an upside down rainbow. Seven major energy centres, seven colours of the rainbow.

The Colours of the Rainbow

At the top of the arc of a rainbow the colour is red, blending into orange, then yellow. These are the warm colours of the rainbow. Next we get into the cooler colours of the rainbow - green, blue, indigo and violet.

When these colours are attributed to the chakras you can see, in the picture below, that red is now on the bottom and violet at the top.

Here's how the colours of the rainbow are generally applied to the body. The energy centres are situated along the length of the spine but in the body along the spine. The colours on the body show the areas affected by each energy centre.

Yellow

The chakra influencing the stomach area is called the solar plexus. You have probably heard of it even if you know nothing about the chakras. Yellow influences the bile - which is yellow, the stomach, liver and the other major organs in this area.

When something is wrong with your liver or gall bladder your urine turns bright yellow.

The solar plexus is the area of the Will. You can determine to do something and be strong or you can be weak and spineless.

Today I am posting some yellow images. Taking in the energy of the colour you are low in through your eyes can help strengthen your energy centre.

Jonquils

 

Yellow rose

 

Day Lily

Free Wallpaper for your Laptop

I have just added two more photos you may like to download to use as wallpaper on your laptop. These are free.

Red Geranium

Red zonal geranium. Wallpaper for a laptop. 1920 x 1080 pixels


It is difficult to get a camera to take true red photos. Red is a very dominant colour and is the first colour the eye can see. It has the lowest frequency. Violet, on the other hand is the highest frequency.

My Dad liked these red flowers. So try it on your laptop. Here's the link. so you can download it.

 

Australian Country Road at Dusk

Here is another piece of wallpaper that you may like.

Australian country road at dusk. Wallpaper for a laptop. 1920 x 1080 pixels

Here is the link for this sunset. We were driving along the Australian country road at dusk with a car coming towards us. Follow the link to Flickr to download it.

I like taking photos from the car window. Speed does different things to the photos. This one came out looking like a pastel painting, all fuzzy. I quite liked it.

Enjoy these Stunning Echiums

In my garden I have a couple of bushes of Echiums. When not in flower they sport large, dull grey-green leaves. But when they add their most beautiful flowers they are real eye-catchers. You cannot but stop and stare.

Bees are another species that also appreciates these stunning spires of blue. Bees love blue flowers. They love Lavender and they love Borage.

Echiums have large spires of blue but when you look closely you can see that they are made up of dozens of smaller blue flowers.

Spires of Blue Echium in my Garden

Blue is the colour associated with the Throat Chakra. Think of this colour when you have a sore throat.

 

Place a blue scarf around your neck and it will strengthen your voice. Do this if you have to give a speech and are a little nervous. Men wear a blue tie. Recently in Parliament it has become a thing for the politicians to wear blue ties. It helps them to talk more confidently and fluently.

 

There are not as many blue flowers as other colours so enjoy a blue flower when you see one.

 

Cheers