Sunday, February 15, 2015

And the hearts go to.........

Oh yes, the hearts. Those prettily embellished, lavender fragrant hearts which are a giveaway for my GYB party post.....remember them?? Here is a photo to help jolt your memory. Today is the day when my significant other, randomly draws out from a very big hat, two lovely ladies' names.

Drum roll please...........Peggy Reed and Ljubinka.......two hearts will soon be winging their way over land and sea, to your li'l corner of the world. Congratulations ladies...but...you are both naughty as you couldn't make up your minds as to which ones tickled your fancy. It seems both of you lovely ladies are enamoured with all of these pretties. Mmmm...decisions....decisions!!


I fear, I cannot choose, so my significant other has chosen his two favourites.......

For the lovely Peggy, he has chosen No. 2......


And...for the lovely Ljubinka, he has chosen No. 8.....


Now of course,  Peggy and Ljubinka, if perchance you prefer any of the other hearts instead of these two, please do let me know.

Peggy......you will need to let me know your address as I am afraid I cannot contact you, as you seem to be a No Reply Blogger.

Thank you to everyone who visited my blog over these last couple of weeks and left such lovely comments. It was a pleasure to 'meet' you and in turn visit your li'l corner of the world and drink in your own imaginative creativity! I look forward to visiting your lovely blogs over and over again and delight in all the goings on in your delightful posts.

AND....thank you to Vicki of '2Bags Full' for all your hard work in hosting this fun party, it was so much fun!

NOW.....besides trying to make life changing decisions as to which lovely lady gets which pretty heart sachet....what else have I been up to this week??

Well..........the 'Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence' started again with a flurry of activity and excitement. I had four new students. Yes indeedy, they just keep coming!! It seems I now have a waiting list!! Incredible!!

I have been working on this gorgeous yo-yo quilt that a lady asked me to finish for her grandmother. She wanted me to back it but of course that meant hand stitching it up and down the length of it, through the back, in the middl'e of each yo-yo. As this quilt is approx. 3 metres x 2.5 metres, it took a while.


I find row after row of monotonous hand quilting a wee bit tedious. Also, this quilt was stitched by an older lady, so over time  a lot of the yo-yos have unravelled, which meant  I had to do a lot of extra fixer-uppering before I could send it on home. As much as I love all these gorgeous yo-yos, I must admit I am so, so happy to see the end of this lovely as it had been sitting on my 'to do' pile for a very, very long time. So, so happy.....in fact, deliriously happy.....that my 'Quasimodo', hunch back, bent-like body is doing a happy dance!!




As February is the month of  all things LOVE, I decided to stitch a quick, free hand machine, sketched cushion.



I cut out a simple shape of a house from some pink fabric, stitched it to the hessian and then stitched the words and flowers free hand. No drawings, no tracing, just free hand sketching. So, so easy; so, so quick; and so, so very pink!! But......that suits me perfectly fine as it goes perfectly with my bright pink front door!



It sits alongside my pretty heart, hessian cushion; both resting on a rather antiquated oak settee on the front porch; welcoming all and sundry who enter through our front gate.



I love to sit on the front porch and enjoy a cuppa. It is the prettiest spot, drinking in the Zinnias, Dahlias, Gladioli, Cosmos, Salvias, Anemones and all the other pretty Summer flowers. And of course peeping over the front fence the glorious Hydrangeas. This year these beautiful mop-head, prima donnas,  are bigger and better than ever before! They are quite stunning.....AND.....they live in vases for weeks. Summer in Tassie is burgeoning with floral delight!






Each morning has found me wandering around the garden, picking bounteous bouquets of floralicious delight to spread throughout our home. When it comes to blossoms....'tis my unwavering opinion, more is never enough! I know I have said it before......when I grow up I really, really want to be a florist!!

Colourful and happy Dahlias.






Pretty in Pink, Cosmos.


Beautiful blue, blue Hydrangeas. These flowers really do make my heart sing! Oh, and of course, pretty tea cups and even prettier teapots, have also been known to make my heart go pit-a-pat!!











There is just something about the hue blue, is there not?? Yes indeedy, blue is my favourite hue! What's yours??


So...there you have it; a week filled with teaching, a little stitching and oodles of walks in our lovely garden, gathering bounteous bouquets of blossomy delight.

Sending you all oodles of LOVE and a bouquet of  'pretty as a picture' Hydrangeas to brighten your day!






Until the next time you visit my li'l corner of the world; have the most wonderful weekend, filled with a little LOVE.........'tis toodles from me!




27 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful post today Kim ... thanks so much for the opportunity to enter your beautiful heart giveaway. I am sure those lucky ladies will be delighted with their choices. That yo yo quilt ... Oh be still my beating heart !!!!! The hours & hours of work in that piece, I have a yo yo runner & that took me long enough !!! I dream of a tablecloth one day maybe. Your garden is so beautiful & still looks gorgeous, have you had some rain this summer I wonder? Do you get the long hot dry summers that we get where it all just turns to faded glory? I enjoyed your colourful post so much today & wish I could sit awhile on that very pretty porch of yours. Julie x0x0

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  2. The yo-yo's are simply stunning! The flowers are amazing. I loved this post so, so much. The hexie under the flowers is beautiful! The front porch is amazing with the beautiful new cushion...darling combined with the ribbon heart. I don't have room to say everything that I'm thinking right now. Thanks so very much for sharing!!

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  3. Congratulations to the lucky winners! A very special heart to treasure indeed. That yo-yo quilt is definitely a labour of love. I have plans to make one (not so many yo-yos) but every time I pull the fabrics out of the cupboard it seems like an awfully ambitious project. You garden is a paradise. If only folks realised just how fabulous Tasmania is - especially in full bloom! Kim's not kidding folks - it really is that marvellous. Love that great big hydrangea hedge. You are such a tease!

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    1. I too, would love to one day stitch a yo-yo quilt.....perhaps! Tassie is a big, colourful garden, isn't it. So, so sorry to be such a tease!! ;)

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  4. Congratulations to the winners what a lovely surprise. Your post is full to the brim of beautiful and inspiring pictures. I love yo yo quilts but they always seem soo delicate to me? I like the idea of backing them but dont fancy all that extra work! Mmm perhaps Iam too fussy. Your cushions are simple yet highly effective and look stunning on your porch and set against your gorgeous garden... Ah Iam soo envious! Thank you for sharing today. X

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  5. Congrats to the lucky ladies. The quilt really does look a lot of work but I am sure it was well appreciated. x

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  6. I Love all the pretty hearts and the yo yo quilt is beautiful such a lot of work love the free motion embroidery and your garden of blooms is such a treat to see and your pretty porch too.

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  7. Congratulations to the winners. They are so lucky to receive one of your beautiful hearts. I love seeing all your beautiful flowers. I cannot wait for winter to be over here. We are going through snow and singe digit temperatures right now.

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  8. I LOVE YOUR HOME AND GARDEN!! I bet the owner of the yo-yo quilt is very grateful for your hours of labour. The quilt is beautiful (I hope your back is enjoying a well earned break!).

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  9. You won t believe this is the third time I have written this comment. Here goes again.
    I am drooling over your garden once again and wish that you would adopt me so I could come and sit in the garden whenever I wanted. Congratulate your other half on his wonderful efforts in the garden....swoon
    Your cushions are a vibrant and lovely way of celebrating Valentines. sweet
    the yo-yo quilt reminds me of cake, you know where you use a star cake decorating tool to apply cream to a cake- like that, yumm.

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  10. Thank you <3!!
    Fantastic, wonderful yo-yo quilt!
    Beautiful photos, Your home and garden is magical!!
    Have a great week.:*

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  11. Your garden is looking stunning. It's inspiring me to start some seeds...And the cushions are lovely too, as is everything in your pictures. Well done with those yoyos - they look wonderful but that sounds like a LOT of work! And, lastly, congrats to the lucky winners of those lovely sachets :)

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  12. I am SO jealous about your beautiful flowers!! Here it is bitterly cold and snowy and there's no hope of flowers for several months yet. I can appreciate how much work went into that yo yo quilt, but what a work of art. Lastly, but not leastly, congratulations to the winners!!

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  13. Ohmigosh I just had to comment and say how much I enjoyed my visit to your lovely home and garden today. Congratulations to the winners too!

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  14. New students are always fun. And a wait list!! You're famous now and I can see why. Your flowers are so lovely. I have never flown, but I might just risk my life to be able to sit on that bench and stitch away an afternoon in that gorgeous garden of yours.......

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  15. another wondrous post. Those hydrangeas have made my day. I surely do miss seeing them in our drab winter scene. They are among three or four of my absolute favorite flowers. Because of our soil most of mine are the "pink" color. But either way they are gorgeous! And that pillow.... so cute.... What a lot of work on the yo-yo quilt. Both for you and the lady who did the yo-yos. I have made a few yo-yos but always give up soon after I start.

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  16. Your garden is amazing! And those hessian cushions are such darlings, really like them.
    Amalia
    xo

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  17. yo-yo quilt is fantastic - so soft and sweet!

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  18. Beautiful hearts congratulations to the winners. Your garden is beautiful. :)

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  19. Wow! So many lovely things to look at on your blog this time. I adore the outside settings, especially the tea and book moment :)
    That iron LOVE garden piece is divine, and all of the bright flowers. Aaaahhhh. Thank you for sharing!!!
    God bless you and a cup of tea,
    Heather Elizabeth

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  20. Kim, it's easy to see why the gals had a hard time choosing a heart. Each and everyone is gorgeous!! I delighted in each and every photo. Gardening is my first love, next to hubby and family, of course. Your garden is simply delightful! I'm with you, the more the merrier. Can't wait until I have a garden full of blooms! Can't grow gorgeous Hydrangeas like that here, but my Limelight and Annabelle give me some pretties!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  21. Congrats to your giveaway winners, they sure are going to be delighted at such lovely pretties. Love the yo yo quilt, looks like a lot of work went into that but so beautiful finished. Do you think you could manage to send us a bit of Spring weather, sunshine and flowers etc?? Today we actually have a bit of sun but it has been raining since Christmas, so depressing. At least we get cheered up looking at your lovely colourful blog and garden.

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  22. Congratulations to Peggy and Ljubinka! The yo yo quilt looks amazing, but wow! what a lot of work! I can imagine how happy you are to be finished with repairing and quilting through the yo yo's! What a cute little cushion for your front porch. Now why am I not surprised that you have a fuchsia pink door to your lovely home? Your gardens are beautiful ... lots of pink and blue. I love any blue flower since it's one of the rarer colours in blooms. But when I go to the nursery I always seem to come home with pink and purple. Cosmos are a favourite of mine on their delicate stems :) Thank you for sharing all your blooms. Wendy

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  23. Oh my gosh, I LOVE your Hydrangeas!! Yes blue is definitely my favourite. I did a post on my very humble tiny blue one last summer. Or was it autumn... can't remember. But I'd love to stroll through your beautiful garden. Such a welcoming place! As is the front porch. And so many beautiful flowers... sigh... I'm happy to hear the school goes so well. And lucky girls to win your beautiful hearts, congrats to them! Your stitching projects are beautiful, I love the little house, so welcoming! Wishing you a happy day!

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  24. There is always so much to enjoy about your post. Congratulations on the new students. We seem to be having somewhat of a blizzard here and all I see is white. So wonderful to look at your post and see so many beautiful colors of flowers and all your pillows and decor. I can imagine that working on the yo yo quilt took quite a bit of time. You do such wonderful work. Happy day my friend.

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  25. Oh my, the more I look around your blog, the more I love it! Someone else who loves teacups and teapots as well! And your flower garden is exactly what I would love. Our paddocks are also a pile of junk at the moment, so lots of hard work ahead. You are making me dream of living in Tassie again!

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  26. ...when I grow up I really, really want to be a florist!! Truly? You know that you and Pete can be called florists right now. Your yummy flower photos are ALWAYS just gorgeous. Blue...well, I do like blue but pink is my favorite color except...I don't like pink cars or pink houses. Yes, yes, I do like the bright pink door you have but it's not splashed everywhere!!

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