May 26th, 2017

Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children

Number 119

Lucky Talismans

 

 
Hello Everyone

 

 

Are you superstitious? A lot of people are – especially they say sailors and actors. They do certain things as a habit or carry about their person certain objects called charms or talismans that are supposed to bring them good luck.

 

The original meaning for the word talisman means an object that has a magic spell cast on it which can be carried around with you to give protection and good luck.

 

People from different countries and religions have different good luck charms that they favour if they are at all superstitious.

 

Some people believe that stones and crystals can hold properties of good luck and carry them around, often set in jewellery.

 

Some jewellery can contain symbols; the eye of Horus is the symbol of protection (shown at the top of the blog), the Egyptian ankh is a symbol of life and a Turkish evil eye is created to look outwards and deflect bad luck away from you.

 

A lot of people carry a picture of St Christopher in their cars because he is the patron saint of travellers and so they hope as he travels with them he will protect them.

 

Did you know that if a black cat crosses your path in Britain it is considered lucky, but in the rest of the world it is the opposite?

 

A lucky charm from nature is the four leaf clover – do you make a wish when you find one?

 

And another symbol of good luck and protection is the horseshoe. People like to nail them up over their front doors. They are made of iron and the strength of this kind of metal is thought to protect you from harm. The position of the shoe is important; it must point upwards like a cup to keep the good luck in. Brides often carry silver-coloured horseshoes with them on their wedding day.

 

Some people have their own personal superstitions – like always putting one football boot on before the other one to play a match. Or always doing things in the same order before they go to bed (this should always include washing your teeth).

 

Do you have a lucky charm?

 

l used to have a black cat that had been a ship’s cat on a boat l was a sailor on. But he fell in love with a pussy cat on the mainland and went off to live with her. Then Barney my parrot came to live with me.

 

lt is probably a good thing when you consider how many mice there are living in my lighthouse!

 

 

Bye bye everyone – don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

 

lf you like my blog, please support it by telling all your friends and followers about it.

 

Thank you!

 

And see you again next Fun Friday!

 

Love and kisses

 

 

Salty Sam

www.christina-sinclair.com

 

 

 

Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week

 

Bill: Where do football players go to dance

 

Bob: l don’t know. Where do footballers go to dance?

 

Bill: They go to a foot ball!

 

 

Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.

Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com

 

Picture Gallery

 

An ankh

 

 A Turkish ‘Evil Eye’ 

 Scandinavian Runes

 These symbols represent letters from ancient languages

and are used by the elves inThe Hobbit

 

 Crystals are found all over the world (these are polished)

 

 

      THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK

 

I have some brilliant news to tell you about my website on my news desk this week.

From now on you will be able to roll from one blog post to another from the bottom of the page.

You won’t have to go back to the main menu to go to another post anymore!

It will be just like reading the pages of a book.

You will see the big red rectangles at the bottom of each blog post.  Just click on them to go forwards or even backwards.

This should make reading my blog much easier and more enjoyable for you. 

 

The index of projects will still be on the first blog post for you to refer to.

 

The number of people reading my blog has just about doubled recently.

Please keep telling your friends about it.

 

Thank you!

 

 

Meanwhile, Bill and Bob have come up with some more questions to use for the owl game from Blog Post 115. It is played like noughts and crosses (tic-tac-toe). They were eager for me to tell you.

 

 

 

You can make up your own questions to ask each other as well of course. Write each word on a card and shuffle the cards up.

(If the other person can’t answer your question, and neither can you, then you have to ask another question!)

 

Give me a kind of:

 

1. talisman
2. herb
3. boat
4. continent
5. bear
6. crustacean
7. mollusc
8. cereal
9. fabric
10. snake
11. pink
12. arachnid
13. crop
14. house
15. precious stone
16. pasta
17. sea fish
18. sea mammal
19. horse
20. utensil
21. flower grown for food
22. deciduous tree
23. evergreen tree
24. dinosaur
25. nut

 

 

 

 
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PLEASE CONTACT:

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Quick Quiz 

 

A proverb is a wise saying to teach you something about life often hoping to make it better for you.

 
Do you know what these proverbs mean?

 

1. A stitch in time saves nine
2. A miss is as good as a mile
3. After a storm comes a calm
4. Knowledge is power
5. Many hands make light work
6. Nothing succeeds like success
7. The best revenge is personal success

 

 

 

 

BLOW MY FOGHORN!!! 

 

 PLUS

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Sign me up at the side bar

 

 

 

lt’s the Weekend!

 

HOW TO MAKE A SEMlNOLE PATCHWORK CUSHlON 

Maybe you have a lucky colour or maybe you can’t decide which one you like best. This cushion cover is so colourful you can put all your favourite colours into it. 

The cushion with its zinging bright colours looks great on a beach chair or a garden chair.

 

 

Seminole patchwork is easy to do but has an interesting effect. (Seminoles are natives of Florida but their clothes would have been appliquéd originally.) 

You can use it to make long strips to make things like braces or wider bands to make clothes, cushions or covers. It can also be use for decoration on items like dresses or aprons. 

The most important thing to remember is that everything must be measured accurately; work with a ruler by your side so that you can keep checking that your sewing is right.

By using squares or different shaped rectangles you can achieve different effects. 

The usual way to created Seminole patchwork is to cut strips in fabric and sew them together.

Then cut across these strips vertically and sew back together at 30° angles to each other or cut them at 30° angles and then sew them together vertically.

This pattern is quite simple; it uses 25 squares to create a panel that can be used to decorate a cushion or bag. If you made a smaller version, it could be used to decorate a doll’s quilt. 

If you are hand-sewing, the stitching will pull apart at the edges of the squares when you cut your vertical strips, so it might be better to just cut squares in the first place.

You will need five 8cm squares cut out of five colours – so twenty five altogether. 

Use ½cm seams throughout. 

Sew the squares into strips of five using one square of each colour and then sew the strips together staggered by 2cm.

Fold over the outside edges by ½cm and tack. 

Then sew onto a backing fabric which in this case will be the front of the cushion laying the squares down at an angle and using tiny stitches around the edges of your panel.

 

 

Remove the tacking threads from around the outer edges. 

Construct the cushion by laying the back onto the front, sew around the edge leaving a gap and turn inside out through this gap. 

The cushion is a 50cm/20 inch square of fabric.

Stuff and seal the gap. 

Google ‘seminole patchwork images’ and see how many different sorts of patterns you can make using this technique.

 

 

 

Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.

It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.

Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.

©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015

 

 

Answers to the News Desk Quiz –

(Suggestions if you can’t think of an answer yourself)

 

1. talisman – any of the above
2. herb – parsley 
3. boat – schooner 
4. continent – Asia 
5. bear – grizzly 
6. crustacean – crab 
7. mollusc – snail 
8. cereal – oats 
9. fabric – tweed 
10. snake – cobra 
11. pink – cerise
12. arachnid – tick 
13. crop – apples 
14. house – villa 
15. precious stone – ruby 
16. pasta – spaghetti
17. sea fish – cod
18. sea mammal – dolphin
19. horse – Dartmoor pony
20. utensil – whisk
21. flower grown for food – sunflower
22. deciduous tree – oak
23. evergreen tree – spruce
24. dinosaur – velociraptor
25. nut – cashew

 

 

A schooner 

 

 

Quick Quiz Answers 

 

1. A stitch in time saves nine – when a small repair is necessary do it before wear over time makes the damage become greater.
2. A miss is as good as a mile – if an accident is avoided it doesn’t matter how near the miss was – the important thing was that the accident didn’t happen.
3. After a storm comes a calm – bad situations in life will come to an end.
4. Knowledge is power – you make more progress in life if you are educated. lf you want to deal with a situation well, arm yourself with information that you will need.
5. Many hands make light work – a lot of people helping with a project can help to make it a success.
6. Nothing succeeds like success – when you are successful it gives you confidence and when you realize you are capable, you are likely to find more success.
7. The best revenge is personal success – if someone has hurt you, the best way to get revenge is to show them that you can become successful and happy in spite of what they have done to you.

 

 

 

Look on the Internet for more ideas for Seminole patchwork