Take Five

1) Whilst Sari sewing is fresh in my mind (here and here), I dug out a few photos of a 'quilt' I made from old saris a little more than a year ago. It was just pre-blog, and was a present for a new born baby.

I thought it would be good to make a really lightweight quilt - more of a patchwork sheet really. The silk sari fabric is obviously very soft and fine, and I just backed it with a bright pink flannel sheet, no batting of any kind in the middle - so perfect for a baby born at the start of Summer.

The thinness allows the light to shine through beautifully. 

2) You may have noticed I've changed my 'Header' a little. So much of my blog lay out is exactly the same as when I first started out nearly a year ago, and basically I didn't really have a clue what I was doing then (not that I have much more than half a clue now!), so I thought it was maybe about time I updated things a little. And the beautifying your blog tips at Sew Many Ways and Sew at home Mummy definitely encouraged this. Many of the blog posts in the New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop are also including blogging tips which are very useful. I found the tip from Cozy Capatiller really interesting - about making your blog more readable from mobile devices. As someone who never uses mobile devices this really wasn't something that had occurred to me before. And Marcia, from Cozy Capatiller, very kindly checked me out on a mobile device, and apparently my main problem is that now I've changed my background to white, the white 'Wonky Patchwork' title text and description doesn't show up anymore - so apologies to any mobile users out there, I'll try and get round to sorting that out too!

3) I was very interested in this post at Kids Activity Blog the other day, on exploring how incredible our brains are and encouraging them to 'adapt'. The book that's mentioned sounds intriguing too. Definitely worth looking into more with the children.

4) Venetia discovered the first of our hydrangeas had started to flower the other day, and picked me 3 gorgeous blooms, just tinged with pink.

Beautiful - and I felt the urge to go and photograph them after reading this sweet post here.

5) Wild swimming has started in earnest for the year - our river is open for business again! Hurray! The water level in the river near us has finally gone down enough to make proper swimming safe again. And we're all loving it.

The sea always feels like a very spectacular, amazing expanse of water. I love swimming in the sea, and probably find it more exhilarating than the river, especially if there are waves. But there's something very special about swimming in the river. It feels more peaceful and secluded, somehow more personal than the sea. And for me, without fail, a dip in the river works wonders at washing away the stresses and worries of the day. It leaves me feeling refreshed and renewed, and incredibly thankful to be alive and in that moment. I don't know whether the children feel any of that, even unconsciously, but they certainly love it there, and I'm sure it does leave them refreshed. They all love wild swimming and I'm hoping, with a fair amount of confidence, that this is something that will stay with them for life. I came across a lovely, short video clip the other day - about wild swimming and its benefits to mental health, if you have a minute find it here. And if you have a safe river you can get to, then definitely go and jump in it! Even the coldness is part of the attraction! I might happily morph into a 'Making and Wild Swimming' blogger for the next few months!

Sally.