Sunday, October 7, 2018

Hydrangeas, Hydrangeas, Hydrangeas.....and a Water Lily or Two

Hello all you lovelies, how delightful to have you visit my little Spring place. It has been a couple of weeks since I last chatted but I can assure you I have not been twiddling my thumbs and doing nothing. Indeed, I have been quietly and ever so slowly fashioning more fabric flowers for my garden quilt. Why, this very afternoon, a sunny Sunday afternoon, I am going to spend a few hours enjoying a little slow hand stitching. I have reserved a spot in the swing seat beside the pond, for this very occasion. =)

Those of  you who have visited me here for a while know that whilst I sing a rhapsody of all things floral, the flowers that sing the sweetest song to my heart are Hydrangeas. Those gorgeous mop head beauties are my favourite flowers. So, because I am in the mood of a little Hydrangea blue, these are the flowers I have been fashioning this last little while. Yes, that magical packet of mixed seeds has sprung petal after petal (120 itty bitty petals to be exact....but hey who's counting) of Hydrangeas. I am rather pleased with my little Hydrangeas and their leaves. They almost look like the real thing. =) I thought they would be near high impossible to fashion, but surprisingly they were not. Once I got into the groove they played happily under the soft touch of my fingers.

If you were to walk through my rickety front gate in early Spring a row of sunny Daffodils would smile at you, welcoming you to my humble abode.


But as these pretty, trumpet-like flowers begin to fade, the Hydrangeas burst forth onto the stage with great aplomb  and perform the most beautifully choreographed dance, month after month after month. From early December until May these beauties gift me with flowers.  That's six months of these ever flowering shrubs......not bad, not bad at all!

In Summer the Hydrangeas truly are the most gorgeous of flowers. They flourish along the front picket fence needing not much attention. Their only requirement is to be kept well watered, as they are thirsty plants. They are a car-stopping spectacular. We have had  tourists stop and capture happy snap after happy snap of these beautiful flowers. En masse, I don't think there is any flower that can outshine Hydrangeas.

In Summertime vase after vase of these mop head beauties can be found everywhere in my home. They last for weeks and after a while fade into glorious soft hues. Of all the flowers that dance in the flower kingdom, the beautiful Hydrangeas in my humble opinion, reign supreme.


Water Lilies sitting on lily pads have popped up from that floral seed packet of enchantment as well. It's astonishing how magical this mixed packet of flower seeds is.




The pond my husband imagined and then slowly created is the heart of the garden. It is a place of peacefulness, of serenity and of healing. It is a place of enchantment; it is balm to the soul. In the warmer months it is a place where you will more often than not find my good husband and my good self sitting in our swing seat being renewed; by the peace and beauty of the pond, the flowers that hug it and the little critters that call the pond home.




So, of course when imagining my quilt the pond had to have pride of place.

With the Hydrangeas and Water Lilies having been fashioned I decided to begin to stitch the flowers onto the the background fabric. There are a lot more flowers to be 'growed' but I am a little impatient for my garden to flourish. I decided now is the time for the flowers to begin to bloom in situ. I stitched blue batik fabric onto the background for the pond and then the Water Lilies, arranging the Hydrangeas to the side of the water. Stitching the Hydrangeas and leaves I feel, will take forever but that's okay, because as I have intimated before I am loving this hand applique caper.



Love, love, love these sweet little Hydrangeas. In reality there are no Hydrangeas growing near 'our' pond, but as this garden is one which grows in my imagination, anything is possible.

When I have finished stitching the Hydrangeas and leaves on this side of the pond I will be stitching the same or very similar on the other side!! That means....120 or thereabouts, itty bitty petals to fashion and then stitch........not to mention many more leaves! Oh my giddy aunt!! I wonder if this big girl will live long enough to see this quilt finished?? The thought has crossed my mind, wondering if I will have exhaled my last breath before my fabric flowers will be blossoming beautifully altogether. Oh well, I guess I will just keep on keeping on.


But.....I won't worry my muddly little head wondering will I or will I not finish, as this week my good husband and I are off on a little jaunt over hill and dale, on a little road trip around the countryside. The final destination is an acre upon acre Tulip farm where a rainbow coloured tapestry astonishes all who gaze upon it. We are going with a dear friend and two of my sewing girls. We will all have the best fun. There probably will be little time for stitching, but that's okay......there will be oodles of opportunities for me and my camera to take lots and lots of happy snaps.

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




Linking up this week to Sunday Slow Stitching at Kathy's Quilts and
Soma's Wandering Camera at Whims and Fancies, at the end of the month.

64 comments:

  1. Oh my!Stunning pictures and great artwork.Your hydrangeas are breathtaking!Have a lovely Sunday.

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    1. Thank you! When Sunday arrives at your beautiful place, you have a lovely one, too. Kim Xx

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  2. Beautiful as always Kim! I have often thought of you this past week & imagined you stitching your beautiful "big girls quilt" & wondered what floral fantasy you were creating. Hydrangeas are one of my favourite flowers ever. I removed 3 woody looking hebes this year & replaced them with some hydrangeas grown from cuttings. Have a lovely jaunt to the tulip farm my friend ... don't forget your camera Xxx

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  3. A delight for the eyes! when finished you will have captured your garden at its best to enjoy all year round.

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  4. What a beautiful entrance to your home....dreamy! I have seen on many of your posts, the lovely creation of the pond made by your very clever husband. Bravo to him, he is so talented. xx

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  5. How beautiful are the hydrangeas and the waterlilies.
    You've made a magical world on fabric.
    Lovely pictures.♥♥

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    1. How very kind of you....thank you so much, lovely Loes. Kim Xx

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  6. What an incredible job you've done with the hydrangea petals! I can only imagine the hours invested in these, but the investment is surely worth every single stitch - for what I see this is going to be a wondrous quilt! And that pond is a pure bliss! Oh... to be able to have a pond like that to feast my soul on and have my eyes tickled by the water lilies !

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  7. Your garden pictures are stunning! I adore hydrangeas too and you are lucky to have blue ones, mine are pink but I still love them. I also have a pure white one in a pot which fades to the most delightful pale green with a blush of pink. Your have captured them beautifully in fabric, just delightful. And so lovely to see stitching started on the quilt, your water lilies look so beautufl. Enjoy your trip to the bulb fields. xx

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  8. I love hydrangeas too, especially the way they fade to such gloriously muted tones. Yours are perfect (the real ones and the appliqued ones). I envy your tulip visit and hope there will be pictures.

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  9. Hi KIm your hydrangeas are amazing. All those tiny pieces, love the water lilies. You have a wonderful garden. Will plant some hydrangeas myself next year. Hope you have a wonderful trip and look forward to seeing the photos
    Best wishes Kay xx

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  10. We have white hydrangeas in our yard...one bush fades to a rosy pink colour late in the summer. Your flowers, both in your garden and your appliqué project are lovely!

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  11. Your hydrangeas, both real and fabric are so pretty. I am amazed at how beautiful and real all those fabric flowers look.

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  12. Hola Kimi. Beautiful hydrangeas and water lilies, my friend.
    I am the hostess of Friendly Challenge 106, theme "Music".
    If you want to enter, please visit my blog and see the post https://craftartista.blogspot.com/2018/10/hostess-of-friendly-challenge-no-106.html
    Kisses, my friend.

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  13. What a fun visit to your blog I have had! Your husband did a wonderful job on your pond... we have frogs in our pond but ours is so big and has so many fish that we don't have lily pads.. we have some white hydrangeas by the river that runs in our yard to feed the pond. Lovely post thanks for sharing at kathy's too <3 Kathi

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  14. Kim it is always delightful visiting your enchanting blog. Your poetic words make my heart smile. My, my your fingers have been busy stitching away at your beautiful quilt. That's a lot of applique but it will be stunning. I would love to enter your rickety gate and see your beautiful garden full of hydrangeas. Even in photos it's a beautiful sight. Have oodles of fun on your adventure road trip. Give those little creative fingers a well deserved rest. ♥
    xx Beca

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  15. I just had to stop by …
    So nice to see your fabulous pictures and lovely artwork.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Thank you so much, Jan. Your sweet visit has delighted my day. Kim Xx

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  16. Your hand created flowers are just beautiful, but the real hydrangeas are just jaw dropping stunning! I would be one of those stopping for a picture too.

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  17. Oh my!! I love love love hydrangeas and yours are incredible! The ones you made and the ones that God made. You have a lovely place!

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  18. This has been a delightful visit. So many real and fabric flowers, ponds, and gardens. Enjoy your tulip jaunt with husband and friends over hill and dale.

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  19. Your garden hydrangeas are stunning - ours are fading now but, as you say, they really do give a show for a very long time. And I love your applique versions. They are extremely realistic. This quilt of yours is really starting to come together now and I'm enjoying seeing it come into bloom. I hope you have a wonderful time visiting the tulips :) x

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  20. The park near my home has a hydrangea festival every summer, and there are so many varieties that it really is a treat. Growing up, what I saw was just the big purple balls... but there are framed ones and climbing ones and very lacy ones and in all different colors. I like you fabric ones too.

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  21. Kim, it's always delightful to see what you are working on. Both your hydrangeas and water lilies are wonderful! I can see that the bushes are really show stoppers. Can't wait to see your finished quilt. Have a happy jaunt!
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. Hello lovely Jann♥ Thank you for your sweet visit. I will do my darndest to have the best time on my "happy jaunt". Somehow, something tells me I will have no problems at all in achieving this happy state. =) Kim Xx

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  22. Spring is a gorgeous season for flowers !
    And you manage to show us beautiful real and fake ones !
    Thanks !
    Have a shinny week !
    Anna

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  23. Oh you are the flower guru!! Hydrangea petals are so translucent. I love them. I don't think I have ever seen any as beautiful as yours, both live and created. We also have a pond, though I think yours is bigger. Mine is about 30 x 40 feet and it is our place for serenity. Every day I go to greet my frogs and feed our fish. We've had to fench a large part of the area around it to keep the pooches out. They want those critters and birds that come to eat, drink and bathe! Enjoy your time away.
    xx, Carol

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  24. Hydrangeas, one of my favourites. Ours always seem to grow pink in our soil, but the blue shades are my favourites. You have so many patients, your quilt is growing beautifully xx

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    1. We have pink ones too, Cheryl, though our Hydrangeas are mostly blue. For you to turn your pink Hydrangeas to blue just add some lime to the soil....but not if they are near Azaleas....Azaleas hate lime. Thank you for visiting my little place. Kim Xx

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  25. ooooh kim, that pond is a work of art. the flowers surrounding it, the beautiful colors and reflections with-in it, it is a work of art!! you and your husband are both artists!!

    your hydrangeas too, they are having a good year!!! have fun and enjoy your quilting, you are a master quilter!!!

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  26. So many beautiful photos to enjoy.... both real life beauty and fabric beauty!
    Thanks for linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching!

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  27. Kim - I can see why you have been gone a little while - 120 itty-bitty petals - WOW! And they do look like real hydrangea petals, my friend. I have never had much luck growing hydrangeas; your road-side display is worth charging for!!! (I know you never would.) And the pond is renewing just from where I sit at my computer - a true labor of love takes time and pays off! I look forward to glorious pix from the Tulip Farm!

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  28. I would love to walk through your garden and see your flowers in person. Beautiful!

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  29. I'm enjoying seeing your progress on this flower quilt. I love Hydrangeas, too, though they don't grow so well here in Iowa, USA. I have a plant that I cut back and bring into the house for the winter and take back outside for the pleasant months. Those blooms are absolutely outstanding! Love how you're interpreting the wonderful Hydrangeas and Water Lilies. Your acreage must be one of the most fragrant places on earth as well as beautiful. I can nearly smell as well as experience the sights - just from your pictures. Thank you, Kim.

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  30. Oh my goodness Kim! What a delight of pure joy for the heart here! I can't even imagine all the work you have gone to, to make those tiny hydrangea flowers! Oh my... my hands hurt just thinking of it! But then I think of the beautiful days of spring and summer ahead of you, and I know your heart will be overjoyed to be spending those days outside in the presence of your gorgeous hydrangeas! Oh be still my heart! How lucky you are to be able to grow hydrangeas where you live. Here, the winters are just too cold for most varieties to grow. I've tried several times to grow them, without luck. I will do some more research this coming year to see if I can find a cold hardy variety to enjoy. So for now... my heart is full of joy to see the gorgeous beauties that you enjoy there! Oh I agree with you, there is no flower so lovely as the hydrangea!!! Joy upon joy! As always love your creative photography with your flowers, love the old window pane with the handmade flowers in it... just a delight! Enjoy your time at the tulip fields, oh I imagine you are just thrilled to be out and enjoy all that spring has to offer! Sweet blessings and hugs to you my friend :)

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  31. Oh, your quilt is just amazing, Kim! So, so, so pretty! And your gardens - oh my, I think it would be paradise to sit by the pond, surrounded by so many flowers, stitching away on a water-color quilt. Lovely photos - enjoy your trip - can't wait to see! Hugs xo Karen

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    1. Thank you, Karen. I am loving stitching this quilt, which is rather odd as it taking such a long time and isn't the easiest stitching I have ever done. Sitting by our pond is rather paradisiacal....I am on my way there now with a cuppa in hand. =) Thank you for gifting me with your sweet visit. Kim Xx

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  32. Oh how I'd love, love, love to sit with you by your pond, Kim! You have beauty both outside to love and enjoy and then you create your own loveliness from your inspiration. the hydrangeas, the pond and water lilies are just so stunning on your background fabric. Your magic always astonishes me, and I am in awe. Enjoy your little getaway with your sweetheart...creating more memories for the both of you. xx

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  33. Oh, my goodness. You live in Monet's Garden----it is so gorgeous...no wonder you are inspired by color and magic, when you live within it!

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  34. O my goodness! A bevy of beauty everyone one looks here. Ah a day by the pind would be lovely.
    Your fabric hydrangeas and water lilies are gorgeous! Water lilies are such magical flowers.
    Have a wonderful trip, Kim.

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    1. Yes, Water Lilies are magical sitting on those green pads in a pond with pretty green frogs smiling from underneath. =) Thank you, lovely Dixie, for your beautiful words. Kim Xx

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  35. Gorgeous spring bursting!! How wonderful that your husband built that lovely pond where you two can sit and relax and look at all the beautiful flowers and enjoy the critters who have made it there home, so special!
    Your stitched flowers are just wonderful as well, wow that is a lot of flower petals to cut out and I love the variation in the fabric so that the petals aren't all the same color, love fabric for the leaves also and I so love that you have added the pond into your quilt that was a wonderful idea. What a special treat this will be for whomever inherits it once you are gone, special piece of handmade creations!!

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  36. I know everyone else has said the same thing, but your hydrangeas are gorgeous! Both the real and the ones created by hand. I love the pond and can really imagine how relaxing and rejuvenating it would be to sit beside it.

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    1. Thank you so much! It seems Hydrangeas makes a lot of people's heart sing. A sunny day here today......looks like a little relaxing by the pond will be the order of my day. Thank you for your sweet visit. Kim Xx

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  37. Hello Sweetums! Oh, I hope your getaway is full of good fun and I am sure it will be full of beauty. I love the way you are gardening along on your masterpiece. Sending heaps of love your way!

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  38. Kim, hydrangeas are some of my favorites. I can't decide if the blue ones or the pink ones are my favorites. I am so excited to see how your "seedlings" are coming along! Thank you for sharing them with us. xo

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  39. Dear Kim, your stitching is as lovely and creative as ever! And your gardens are gorgeous, too! Hydrangeas are my favorites, as well, but I don’t have such huge bushes yet. Your spring is really progressing. Our fall is just beginning. The trees have just started turning and the weather is becoming a bit cooler. I’m not ready to give up my flowers and veggies yet but I fear the end is coming soon, Enjoy your happy jaunt. Hope to see some of your pictures soon. Zenda

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  40. Your garden is truly a showplace and the pond, oh my, it is easy to see how renewing and relaxing it would be to spend time just sitting by it and enjoying. I love that you are bringing that joy into your textile work. Next winter you will still be enjoying it through your lovely stitching :)
    Have a marvelous day.
    Connie :)

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  41. As hydrangeas in my garden are slowly going into their slumber, yours are waking up and I continue to enjoy their beauty. Your seed packet is growing marvellous fabric flowers. If flowers were the jealous sort, they would be very jealous indeed, but of course they are not. They admire each other instead. Monet would have been very impressed. Enjoy your enchanting garden, Kim.

    -Soma

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  42. Your interpretation of water Lily's and hydrangeas is so good. They look beautiful and the garden you are creating is going to be wonderful, I look forward to reading your next instalment.

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  43. Beautiful flowers, real and with fabric! I love the flowers inside the window

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  44. You should be famous...are you and I just don't know it? People would come from miles around to visit your beautiful garden and pond and then off for a peek at all your wonderful creations! But then it wouldn't be your own lovely little slice of heaven on earth would it?? You amaze me...you truly do. Hugs!

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  45. I love everything about this post - the stitching and the incredible floral photos (especially the row of hydrangea's!!!!!). You have created such true-to-life replicas in fabric too. This quilt is going to be absolutely stunning!

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  46. I am so happy I checked my blog sidebar to see this post because I am not getting your posts in my email again! What a lovely post that I almost missed completely. Your stitched flowers are nothing short of AMAZING. Your Hydrangea's along your path are stunning as is your pond. Can't wait to see pictures of your trip to the Tulip farm.

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  47. Gorgeous hydrangeas Kim and wonderful stitching on these intricate flowers and the water lilies, the garden quilt will be so pretty, couldn´t be otherwise considering just where you sit to enjoy the stitching.

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  48. Always a feast for the eyes lovely Kim. I adore Hydrangeas. They remind me of my Nanna who had them growing around the base of her water tank. Alas I have had little success with them, but occasionally I buy one in a pot, and keep it for just a while. Mimi xxx

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  49. Adorei as coisas por aqui. Fotos lindas e colchas muito bonitas.

    :)))

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  50. Where will it all end, Kim? Your work is just becoming more and more beautiful. The Hydrangeas! The Water Lilies! Gorgeous stuff.
    Amalia
    xo

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  51. I have enjoyed my catch up read of your posts of 2018 Kim - always a special treat to see your photos and what you are up to.

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  52. Any excuse to revisit my favourite flowers!! Thank You so much for linking up on Wandering Camera, Kim :)

    -Soma

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  53. Ciao cara amica hai un giardino incantevole! Chissà quante fatine volano tra i tuoi fiori. Le ortensie sono proprio sovrane, bellissime dai colori delicati. Chissà quanto petali dovrai realizzare per la tua trapunta! Bellissima! ! Un abbraccio 😘🌸🌸

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  54. You are so clever. Those hydrangeas! Anna x

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