Splendorous Autumn!

A lovely welcome to my gloriously hued, autumnal world! Autumn has stepped onto the stage with great aplomb. The countryside is lit with a blaze of  gold, russet, deep purple, ochre yellow and magenta. Autumn is singing a rhapsody of colour which Summer and Spring, though resplendent in their own uniquely brilliant way, never can achieve. I allegorise autumnal trees as being dressed in taffeta-like dresses with the leaves pirouetting gracefully to the ground forming a messy, tapestry-like carpet, as the canopy of the trees release their grip. Patterns and hues that no carpet maker, no matter how prodigious a weaver he or she is, could ever replicate. I love the sound of the rustling leaves as the wind pushes and gusts through the trees; a softly playing orchestra. I love the crunching and scrunching of the leaves under my San Franciscan boots. =)

Autumn in Tasmania is a beautiful season. With a pronounced chilliness in the air, most mornings Maisie and I set out for our walk before Old Man sun awakes.

As you know early morning is my favourite time of the day. I love the solitude. I love the quietness. I love to be a witness of the grandeur of Old Man Sun peeking from behind the opalescent mountains. I love the radiating sunbeams inching their way over the landscape into the darkest hidey holes penetrating the shadows with light. I love how the sun dances across the countryside. I never tire of Old Man Sun's rays shining on my face and warming my being. To me, early mornings are a most glorious benediction.

Those mornings when the sky is a canvas of clouds, Old Man Sun's brushstrokes are awash with glorious tints.

Do you get a sense of why I wax lyrical about early mornings and sunrises; and the painterly landscape in which I live.......just a little?? =)

Country drives through this magical place, drinking in the beautiful autumnal views, have been a joy of late. The glorious hues of the trees are breathtaking, astonishing, heart-stopping...........oh, how I love autumnal trees!

My gardener is rather enamoured with them too. Me thinks he covets a few of these beauties for his own little plot of land.

I have been enjoying quilting my Spring Blossoms quilt. Moments have been savored hand quilting my hexie flower pretty with the warmth of the sun permeating my sewing room. The autumnal vignette of the weeping cherry tree outside, delights me.

There has been a little knitting enjoyed as well. On my knitting pins this time is a cabled yoke cardie for me. Unlike my aqua aran woolly this pattern is knitting up rather easily. I am enjoying knitting this pretty. This wool was acquired about ten years ago for another project, so instead of languishing in the cupboard for another ten years, I thought I would knit it up. It is a lovely 8 ply, purple wool from Signatur.

One has to be comfy when one is knitting and what better place for me to sit than on my needlepoint pretty. Love, love, love sitting in this chair, knitting, whilst Old Man Sun embraces me with a warm and sunny hug.

The garden has slipped into a rather lethargic state....comatose actually. The Cosmos, Roses and Dahlias are all but gone......but.....the Hydrangeas still delight with their soft and fading autumnal hues. The Hydrangeas seem to be the last bastion of what is left of Summer.

I am a little sad (actually very sad) that Summer has departed for northern shores but I will enjoy the spectacular dance of colour that Autumn gifts me for a little while.

Each gloriously coloured leaf in its own unique pattern is an autumnal flower.....a second Spring so to speak.

Of course there are always Orchids which flower for months on end at this time of the year. For a little while I will enjoy the autumnal vignettes which dance outside my window......all is not lost. =) 

Once again, there is probably a few too many happy snaps of my splendorous, little autumnal world.....it's just that my little world delights me so. I hope in a small way, I have delighted you too. =)

Until the next time..........

Linking up to Soma's Wandering Camera Linky party.

A Patchwork of Lovely Needlepoints

Hello there Lovelies. Thank you so much all of you whom visited and left such sweet comments; again you all made me smile! A few weeks have passed since jet setting on my dream holiday and I must say it has taken a little while for me to get back into the swing of things. I found for the first week I was just so, so tired. By the middle of the afternoon I needed a nanny nap and when evening descended I fell into bed at the earliest of hours. So unusual for me as I am a bit of a night owl. 

Anyway, between yawns and a sense of being in a drugged state, I thought I would accomplish a quick project (haha.....famous last words)!! A chair which I had recovered about 4 years ago was looking a little sad and dirty and was in need of a little pick-me-up. I decided to really add some pizazz and thought it would be fun to recover it with a jumble of patchwork needlepoints. My penchant for needlepoints has surfaced yet again.

This is a photo of the chair reminiscent of better days, which is a 'twin' to the funky chair I tarted up a little over a year ago.

Remember this one.......I am still loving it, though, it now lives in the parlour as a little revamp will soon be happening in there...all blues and lovely creams/whites.  Hence my 'new' needlepoint lovely is going to while away it's days in the family room, to replace my pretty blue, funky one. Are you a little confused?? I know I am!! So sorry, but you knew more often than not my brain is a muddly mess.

I gave the chair a lick of grey paint with the name of Marina Pearl and sanded it back a little as I rather like furniture to look a bit distressed. I am that gal who loves peely paint, rusty iron and oodles of scuffs. I am not a fan of brand sparkling new. The hue Marina Pearl is my new go to paint replacing Antique White USA which I have used for furniture for what seems forever. Somehow, I fancy the subtlety of this shade of grey these days.

Gathering a miscellany of needlepoints from my collection that sing a beautiful medley, I set about playing with them till I was happy with a pleasing arrangement. I thought I might border each needlepoint with these pretty ribbons that I purchased at Moods Fabrics whilst in New York. Believe it or not, these ribbons are the inspiration behind my 'new' chair. Who would've thought that a couple of lengths of pretty ribbon trims would inspire me to completely recover a chair. I know it is strange gal that I am. Besides I am always up for a creative challenge, always delighting in giving something new a burl. Who knows......it might just work out.....one never knows. =)

Let the stitching begin. As always, when I stitch a pretty such as this, there is always a dreadful shambles all around me! I seem to work best in disarray and mayhem! Who cares about the tidying up afterwards.........not I!!

I pinned each needlepoint to it's neighbouring piece stitching them together, covering the seams with the ribbon trim and fitting it to the chair. As I wanted the cover to be very tight, I found fitting the cover to the chair was a bit tedious because a lot of manipulation by the fingers was needed. Coaxing the needlepoints where I wanted them in some places, was a little trickier than covering with fabric, as needlepoints are thicker and a little harder to tease into their final resting position. I must say my fingers are carrying the battle scars of this tedious process but in the end, all well worth it regardless of the discomfit. When I was happy with the cover I both hot glued and stapled the cover to the chair. It always amazes me what one can do with a staple gun and hot glue. From playing with the needlepoints to stapling the last staple into the chair, the transformation took about three days. Easy peasy.....it really, really was.

A melody of needlepoints; English cottages, grape vines, roses, ribbons and bows, bouquets of flowers, Japanese ladies, sweet birdies, horses and riders and a little fox hunting......all playing very  nicely together.

I am loving how the chair looks. I didn't want a perfectly upholstered aesthetic so I affixed a frayed needlepoint of sweet birdies to the chair, leaving it to hang haphazardly. There are two oval needlepoints of roses which I also left frayed. I am loving this relaxed look. I then added some pretty faded pink crochet edging which I cut from a vintage bedspread, to the front and sides of the chair.

Love, love, love all the needlepoint busy-ness of this chair.

The sad thing about covering a chair with a smattering of needlepoints is that one doesn't have so many needlepoints any more. Oh well, I will just have to go back to my favourite bric-a-brac shop and see if I can unearth some more to replenish my stockpile.

Needlepoint chairs, needlepoint tarted up jackets, needelpoint bags (I stitched this pretty for my little overseas holiday)......my needlepoint pretties just will not be confined in a  common, hang-on-the-wall frame!

I have been stepping out in my tarted up jacket a lot lately. =)

Until the next time.............................

PS......Now about these boots......I found them in San Francisco....so, so funky.....so, so  very me!

Linking up this week with the lovely Jann's Share Your Cup  and Sum of Their Stories parties.