“Well consider the word ‘people’, for example. If I asked someone what the word ‘people’ means they would probably say: “It’s the plural of ‘person’ and a person is a human being.””
“Ok, I’m with you so far …”
“but I think that definition is incomplete.”
“How do you mean?”
“To my mind, the definition of ‘a person’ is anyone with an individual personality. Like you Chiksa, you have your own distinct personality don’t you?”
“Absolutely!”
“And you’re not like every other chicken in the yard?”
“Certainly not! I’m not bossy like Henny-Penny, or painfully shy like Henrietta.”
“So you see my point. You are not human but you have a personality and that makes you a person. That makes all animals people.”
“That’s the logical conclusion to draw, yes.”
“Which brings me to my next thought: why do people think it’s ok to eat people?”
There once was a vegan called Megan
Whose best friend was a fish-shaped alien,
She did love to read,
And to grow things from seed,
She loved animals and never would eat one!
🙂
Go to the Megan & Flos stories to read more about Megan 🙂
Knitting is a very enjoyable hobby as well as being a very useful skill. To be able to make your own clothes, toys and accessories is a brilliant way of being self-reliant and can also be eco-friendly.
As a vegan shopper you won’t want to buy wool or alpaca or silk, but as an eco-minded shopper you won’t want to buy acrylic. The problem is that organic, eco-friendly, natural yarns are very expensive.
So what do you do if you can’t afford the eco-stuff? Simple – you Re-Knit!
Browsing in charity shops and second hand shops you’re bound to find knitwear that is a pretty colour, but unattractive design. If you buy it, wash it and unravel it, you can re-knit that colour into something beautiful. It’s just another way to recycle, or upcycle if you like, and it’s very enjoyable and satisfying. Here are a few things we made with unravelled yarn and oddments:
This matching hat and mittens was made with acrylic yarn unravelled from 2 different machine-knit jumpers. The problem with unravelling mass-produced machine-knits is that the yarn is cut at the end of each row, it’s not continuous like with hand-knits. So the ends of the yarn had to knotted together as each row was unravelled. Quite tedious and time-consuming but it results in interesting balls of yarn which, when knitted together, produce a unique effect. Leaving the dangling ends of each knot untrimmed creates a shabby chic effect .
Blanket made by sewing together little knitted squares
The yarn from these saggy old hats was unravelled and knitted into …
… this gorgeous beret
An enjoyable way to give new life to old knitwear and keep it out of landfill 🙂
Don’t know how to knit? No problem – watch this brilliant video:
And for the left-handed:
UPDATE:
I’ve just finished the hoodie I was knitting in the photo at the top. I wanted a warm chunky knit but didn’t have any thick yarn so this is knitted with 3 strands of unravelled DK acrylic; lots of different colours and oddments. It’s so soft and warm, like wrapping yourself in a blanket before you go outside. Now I’ve just got to find a zip for it 🙂
Further update:
I’ve just finished another one here and if you would like to make one yourself, the pattern is at the bottom of this post 🙂
We had to do some shopping in Brighton today so we indulged ourselves in a visit to the Loving Hut while we were there. Twice actually – once before we started shopping and again when we were finished. On our second visit we were especially lucky because the lovely ladies at The Hut brought out two cupcakes on the house for me and Miranda while my husband waited for the dessert he’d ordered 😀
All you need is some cardboard (maybe from an old cereal box); some paper (I used the back of some sketchbook pages I’d already used); a pencil; some paint or crayons and some scissors (careful with those!)
First draw a picture of Renee in her underwear (include a semi circle at the base which will form part of the stand)
colour her
cut her out (remembering to cut around the semi-circle at the base, not around her feet)
You might find at this point that she flops over a little when you stand her up. If so, you can draw around her on another piece of card, and make her stiffer by sticking that to the back with a little water-based glue
Now draw her some clothes. I chose to draw her Reflecto Girl costume and her dungarees which she wore over her costume in episode 3 – but you can make any clothes you like, and as many as you like. Place the cardboard doll on a piece of paper and draw round her. To draw where the feet and neck are on your clothes, hold the paper over the doll against a window and trace. Once you have the outlines drawn, you can use your imagination in drawing the clothes. NB You must also remember to draw the tabs that will be folded round her body to attach the clothes.
Colour them in and cut them out.
Now you need to get her standing up by herself. To do this you need a strip of cardboard into which you cut 2 slits (half the length of the width of the strip), the same distance from each end. Then cut 2 slits of equal length in the semi-circle base of the doll (close but not too close to the outer edges).
Slot these pieces together like so. And there she is, your own Reflecto Girl!
Now you can dress her …
… and dress her again (and yes I have noticed that her shoes don’t quite line up with her feet, but nobody’s perfect, so let’s not worry about it).
We hope you enjoy making your own Reflecto Girl and if you do we’d love to see photos 🙂
And whenever you feel like it, you can make her more clothes and accessories.
Miranda wanted her to have some pyjamas and a doll to sleep with:
EVE PICKED THESE UP IN 20 MINUTES AT THE LOCAL PARK
It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year. That’s billions of cigarettes flicked, one at a time, on our sidewalks, beaches, nature trails, gardens, and other public places every single day. In fact, cigarettes are the most littered item in the world. Maybe it’s because people think they’re made of harmless biodegradable material,
BUT THEY’RE NOT!!
Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate tow (plastic fibers) and they can take decades to degrade. Not only does cigarette litter ruin even the most picturesque setting, but the toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment and the animals that mistake them for food. The filter is specifically designed to trap toxic chemicals (to stop the smoker sucking them in) and when they’re discarded, these toxins leak into the environment (and the bodies of those who eat them).
Shirley was captured in the wild in 1953 when she was 5 years old. She performed for twenty-four years with the Carson and Barnes Circus, then lived at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo for another twenty-two years.
Her back right leg was broken thirty years ago when she was attacked by a fellow circus elephant. She is missing a large section of her right ear as result of a fire which not only injured her ear but also left several scars on her back, side and feet.
July 6, 1999
Shirley and Tarra liked each other right from the start! Shirley showed Tarra all her injuries that she received when attacked by another elephant at the circus. Tarra sympathetically inspected each injury and the two elephants caressed each other with their trunks. Fruits and vegetables awaited Shirley when she entered the Sanctuary Barn. Cabbages, oranges, watermelon, squash… all sorts of yummy food to show Shirley how much we already loved her! Tarra squashed the watermelon, then helped herself to much of it.
July 22, 2013
Shirley’s 65th birthday party was a BLAST! Shirley has given us every reason to believe to that we will be celebrating her birthday for many years to come.
Reflecto Girl #1 now has it’s own page. We have decided to divide our comic Jasmine into its 3 separate stories so that in future you can go straight to the story (or episode) you want to read. New paint jobs for some of the early stories are under way but as soon as they’re complete they’ll be posted on their own pages. Click on the picture if you want to read Reflecto Girl #1. This is just the beginning 🙂
James Cameron is still a vegan — and he picked a massive celebration to remind the world.
The 58-year-old film-maker and ocean explorer was honored on June 13 during the National Geographic Society’s 125th anniversary gala with “Explorer of the Year” for his successful solo dive last year to the deepest point of the Pacific Ocean. During his speech, Cameron urged the packed house of scientists and explorers to consider dropping animal products and reap the benefits.
“I’ve had an epiphany recently,” Cameron said. “I want to challenge all of you as people of deep conscience, people who are environment stewards of the earth and oceans … By changing what you eat, you will change the entire contract between the human species and the natural world.”
Cameron, who announced he’d gone vegan in October last year, told the crowd that the switch had a huge impact on him. “I felt like I was waking up from a long sleepwalk. I believe we are all sleepwalking off a cliff if we don’t do this.”
7 year-olds Thomas and Elliot model their new Violet’s Vegan Comics T-shirts.
Want to join our exclusive club and get your picture on here? Of course you do! (Cunning disguises provided!)
It’s easy – just download any picture you like from this site and send it to an ethical custom T-shirt company who will put it on a fair trade organic cotton T-shirt for you.
We just found this wonderful video on Youtube. It has subtitles but it’s only 2 and a half minutes long so please watch it. Such a beautiful little boy 🙂
Violet's Vegan Comics 