Love Is Something If You Give It Away

There is an old song that goes, "Love is something if you give it away… you'll end up having more." This blog post is about "love" given away on Valentine's Day in Wrangell, Alaska.

Here's the story: Suzie B., head cook at Wrangell Medical Center, saw a photo of my Valentine brooches and an idea came to mind. She thought it would be a cheery surprise for the 18 longer term care patients at the center to receive heart pins for Valentine's Day. She went to Jane B., who heads up the center's support services, with her idea. Jane embraced it and they went in together on the purchase of the brooches. 

Once contacted, I selected the brooches and attached them on individual cards which I mounted on a covered piece of cardboard made to fit perfectly into a special box. The other two brooches were wrapped in tissue and placed loosely in the box with the others. Off the box went to Wrangell in plenty of time for the intended Valentine surprise. Above: This is the photo of 16 of the brooches as they appeared mounted on the display cardboard. Strips of gauze-type ribbon kept the cards and pins in place.


The day before Valentine's Day, Suzie and Jane took the pins to the center's day room and handed them out. Suzie says, "They were so happy and thrilled to receive them and wanted them pinned on." Sixteen of the recipients were women and two were men. One of the men opted to look at his rather than have it pinned on but everyone else proudly and happily wore and displayed their special Valentine brooches. 


Suzie shares, "It was a wonderful feeling to give these seniors little gifts that brought them joy." 


Now we have come full circle, back to the song, "Love Is Something If You Give It Away." Referring to love, another part of the song goes: It's just like a magic penny—hold it tight and you won't have any but lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many, they'll roll all over the floor. So, while Suzie and Jane were giving love away on this Valentine's Day, they got back so much more. In return they received back grateful expressions of thanks and big smiles, which are apparent in the first photo of four of the wonderful ladies wearing their pins and whose happy faces say it all.


Thanks Suzie and Jane for sharing your story but mostly for sharing your love to 18 seniors you care about. The Wrangell Medical Center must be a wonderful place with happy residents who are fortunate to have such a caring staff. Now you've spread the love and joy to the rest of us. Thanks!


And here's a little extra note from Suzie, "We girls in the kitchen just loved the pins and wish we had ordered ones for ourselves, too!" 


Ed note: You can see more photos of Valentine brooches and a little about them in the post below this one. 

Valentine Brooches, 2012

Introduction:

This is my second year creating heart-shaped brooches for my favorite holiday, Valentine's Day. After making hundreds of pairs of mittens from felted wool sweaters in the fall of 2010, I was left with a big bin of wool scraps and wondered what I could create with these wonderful bits and pieces. With Valentine's approaching, I thought of little brooches to sell in my second etsy shop, fabriq. I made about 30 Valentine brooches in 2011 and between 40 and 50 this season. Above is a recent photo I took of just some of the brooches.

The Invitation:

In addition to completed brooches, this year I also made up some "do-it-yourself" kits. I sent 10 kits to creative women friends, eight of whom are ravelry.com members. Each kit contained basic die cut layers of hearts in various color combinations—enough to make two brooches. Also included were bar clasps, a general how-to and a photo of six completed brooches to get those creative juices going. However, something was missing: embellishments. Next came a gentle nudge and invitation for each gal to complete the brooches in her own unique style using whatever final touches she desired. Finally, I asked each of the ten to take photos for sharing in this Valentine Brooch Art Gallery for everyone to enjoy.

Welcome to the 2012

Valentine Brooch Art Gallery

Here are the creations, in the order photos were received:

	"Victorian Love"  by Myriahann (ravelry name) Myriah says, "Romantic! Filligree, shiny paper applied to the base red heart. All materials are from my stash. I love the offset hearts." Along with chocolates, this brooch is for her mother-in-law who sustained a bad fall a week before Valentine's Day.
	"Happy Daisy" by braydenbugsmom  (ravelry name) She says, "This brooch is for my three-year-old buddy, Keelie. It was created from items on hand." The focal point is a daisy button with crocheted leaves. The outer heart edge is crocheted, too.
	"My Fair Lday"  by braydenbugsmom  (ravelry name) Christina says, "This is for my good friend and neighbor, Pat." Ed note: Christina is a master of miniature crocheting. She crocheted the lacy edges with a fine steel hook and cotton SEWING THREAD!
	"Timeless Love"  by Myriahann (ravelry name) Myriah says, "A little lace and satin ribbon, silver bead flowers, a few faux pearls on wire and small chrysanthemums in yellow and blue give this heart an old world look. Elegant for any lady."
	"Valentine Gem of a Decoration"  by minervas-hand (ravelry name) Kim says, "Instead of making a brooch or hair clip, I decided to make a hanging decoration. My little girl loves DECORATIONS. I glued on some heart jewels (some sent to me last year by a ravelry friend, spookycuddles). Using 50 lb wt fishing line and jewelry clamps, I made intervals of beads. Then I glued the hearts into pace between the intervals. This decoration is hanging from the light fixture in the dining room."
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