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Sunday, February 28, 2021

Once Upon A Little Fernery


A lovely Sunday welcome to you Goodness gracious me, today is the last day of February. Why, it only seems like yesterday I was singing the praises of spring. Was it really six months ago that I was waxing lyrical about all the flowers?? Was it really that long ago that I was raphsodising about the daffodils, blossom trees, irises, granny bonnets, lilacs, foxgloves, forget-me-nots...... which sashayed off the spring stage acquiescing to the roses, buddleias, gladdies, dahlias, zinnias and the hydrangeas, to dance to the beat of the summery song??

Another week has hurtled by and where it went I do not know. This week The Fernery  beckoned me. Do you remember the sweet little glass house (I call it Pete's Folly) my good husband cobbled together, with old windows which he has squirrelled away over the years; and old wood from an ancient, falling down farm cottage?? Well, during the sunny month of February I covered the shelves with paper napkins. I wanted a patched, time-worn effect. It was a simple process but did take some time. I  peeled 3 ply napkins down to 1 ply and then with Mod Podge pasted the 1 ply napkins to the wood shelves. After a couple of weeks I applied a couple of coats of Mod Podge over the top to seal everything. The shelves are bedecked with peacocks, hydrangeas, Monet water lilies, Van Gogh irises, hibiscus, pots of flowers and sweet little, blue birds. I love the colourful shelves. My husband crafted the shelves so that they can be either up or down. As for the wood walls, I don't know if I want to do anything with these as I rather love the cracked and peeling paint. For the time being I will leave them be. Of course there is still a little work to be done to the fernery,  but for now I am enjoying the ambience of it. I am loving the higgeldy piggeldy nature of it.

I love sitting in this quaint, little room, enjoying a cup of tea, while reading a book or participating in a little stitching.....or indeed, taking tea with friends.  I have always hankered after a little room made of glass which catches the sun in those chilly months. A little glass room to savor the views of the garden, the veggie patch....the paddocks, and mountains off in the distance. It is a fabulous place in which to spend many moments of my day. With autumn just around the bend of my country road I can see many moments being enjoyed in there, sitting in the sunshine, protected from the cool winds whistling outside. Yes indeed, Pete's Folly is a magical place filled with whimsy.








This week more leaves were stitched onto my flower garden quilt. AND....... I designed and stitched a wisteria flower. Knowing it would take a while I have been putting off the inevitable. I bit the bullet and decided to just DO IT!! Oh my goodness who would have thought one little wisteria flower would take such an inordinate amount of time; well over 12 hours to be exact. It was so very fiddly.  Just think, there are many more wisteria flowers to stitch along the top of the quilt. OH JOY!!!! Such a pity there is not a morning glory vine rambling amongst the flowers in our garden. That would have been a pushover. =) Not to worry, now that I have a semblance of an idea of what I am doing, with each wisteria it should get easier......shouldn't it??!!

Unfortunately, this week my friend's little blue bag didn't get a look in. The days flew by quicker than quick. With the fernery and the stitching of my flower garden, there just wasn't any time. Maybe this week it will be finished. But then, I may get lost and disappear in my applique flower garden and not find my way out ever again. The wisteria vine may tangle it's way around me, smothering me!







 'Tis very late here. 'Twas a busy Sunday but I did squeeze in an hour or two of enjoyable stitching this afternoon. Well......the word enjoyable is a bit of a stretch.......but I am rather pleased that there is one wisteria growing amongst my applique flowers. Thank you for taking the time out of your day (or is it night) to visit my little place. May your week be filled with many beautiful moments that inspire you, and cause you to smile❣ I hope when next you visit I will be smiling, with many more pretty wisteria flowers blossoming on my quilt. But for now my bed is calling me.....best be off before the bewitching hour strikes.

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



Linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.







46 comments:

  1. Your wisteria is beautiful, well worth all those hours of stitching! I love your little garden house as well. What a great place to stitch and enjoy the flowers and birds.

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  2. I never get tired of seeing your flower garden quilt, it so beautiful! The wisteria will be lovely, perfect for the top of the quilt. The wisteria doesn't need to be done in a day, just a stitch at a time and it will be completed. You will be so happy to have it finished and you'll be proud of yourself you persevered! Pete's cottage looks so cozy, you can be sure if I ever get to NZ, I'll be stopping by tea, happy stitching!

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  3. Pete's Folly is gorgeous. What a wonderful place to take in the sun and garden. Your wisteria vine looks gorgeous. It's a lot of work, but it will be well worth it.

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  4. Such beautiful embroidery and flowers. You must live as close to heaven on earth as possible! So much pretty!

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  5. Oh! Your room is fabulous! I can just imagine having a cuppa with you in it! Your wisteria blooming on your quilt looks great!

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  6. Your wisteria looks amazing! Worth all the time you spent on it.

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  7. What a lovely space. Enjoyed the decopage, the mod podge brings back memoand your family create a unique space. The swing with the crochet blanket as a canopy against the sun is a brilliant idea. Our spring is arriving here in Canada, the birds are arriving back and we just love hearing them sing.

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  8. I just adore your Pete's Folly room. I would love to have one too, although the only place we could put it would be on the back of the house where it gets all the hot, hot, hot afternoon sun. You are so blessed! I love your flower quilt too. I once did wisteria on a crazy quilt, and it was a lots and lots and lots of French Knots! I love what you did with the napkins and Mod Podge! As always I love reading your beautiful prose and looking at your gorgeous pictures! Happy stitching

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  9. Adorable place! I would love to have tea with you there!Just wonderful!Gorgeous artwork and stunning flowers!Happy March!

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    1. And....I would love to have tea with you, Maristella, in my little glass room. Wouldn't that be lovely. KimXx

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  10. Amazing! The Fernery (or Pete’s Folly) is so awesome! Such a lovely space. I love the chandelier. Yes, whimsical. Also your garden appliqué quilt is so pretty. You did a wonderful job with the wisteria. Beautiful!

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  11. I certainly remember it! It is such a delight for one to rest one's eyes upon and it is so YOU! I love everything about it! The napkin kissed shelves, the hanging flower vases, the doily pennants and the chandelier - you transformed it into a magical glass house :) I envy you! xx

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  12. Ooh my goodness, Pete's Folly is gorgeous, and you have a chandelier too! How I would love to come for a visit and sit in there with you, stitching away on our projects.

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  13. Time flies fast, and as soon as a season has begun, it is suddenly over. What a lovely little house you have in the garden. ..- with a window that you can sit and look at the beautiful flowers outside, when it is a little cooler. It looks amazing. And the beautiful shelves you have decorated with napkins. Everything is so beautiful around you! Thank you for sharing your beautiful flower world!

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  14. Oh my!! Do you live in paradise? Seriously. I am astonished with such beautiful place. Love that wonderful crochet afghan and all & every single detail.
    Thanks for sharing all those beauties.

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  15. ¡¡Por favorrrrr yo quiero tener una casita de cristal "Pete's Folly" es encantadora, te imagino allí con una tetera caliente, música agradable y el bonito edredón de glicinias entre las manos.
    Disfrútala mucho y BESICOS.

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  16. Pete's Folly is a beautiful place, you will have many hours of happiness in there. Love the chandelier. Your Garden quilt is beautiful and the wisteria gorgeous, well done persevering with it. The garden swing looks a beautiful place to sit and stitch too. Lovely post.

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  17. You are so good about doing a posting each week. Thank you for that, I look forward to seeing your little place. The Fernery is adorable and now that you've done the 'napkin' thing, it's even more elegant. How can a 'cobbled' thing be a thing of beauty??? Enjoy the Fernery and the stitching; sometimes it's important to take a bit of time off but good, too, to force oneself into 'getting on' with the work.

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  18. Your Fernery looks just delightful! Makes me want to come for a visit! I love seeing your flower applique quilt - so pretty. Are you working from a pattern, or have you designed this one yourself?

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  19. Hi Kim
    So love your sunshine house, you have made it look so pretty. Clever Pete for building it. Your wisteria is amazing, takes a long time but looks wonderful.
    Best wishes Kay cXx

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    1. Hello lovely Kay, 'My' little sunshine house that clever Pete built is rather wonderful and peaceful. It truly is the prettiest little place to 'just be'. I can see in my crystal ball many moments enjoyed in Pete's Folly this week, stitching wisteria, leaves and a little birdie or two. Enjoy a beautiful week, lovely Kay. Kim Xx

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  20. Your little place looks so welcoming, cozy and warm. I love the ceiling lights! Good job with the napkins, the shelves are wonderfuly decorated. Peaceful swing to sew or listen to the birds, well covered with your beautiful quilt! Enjoy your little paradise ;)

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  21. Oh, Kim! Your little place is so gorgeous! You two did an incredible job! I can imagine many happy hours stitching and gardening! I just love seeing all of your little gardens through out your property. They give me such inspiration. The wisteria you created on your garden quilt is another work of art. You are so talented, creating art with fabric. Your wisteria has made me remember a dear lady from my gardening group who passed away recently from the virus. She is the only one I know who had a lovely wisteria growing around her koi pond. She was a wonderful gardener and a lovely lady. She would have loved your rendition of this favorite bloom. Thank you for sharing. It is a lovely way to remember her. I’m wishing you a beautiful and blessed week, dear friend! Zenda

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    1. Lucky the friend who gets to have tea with you in Pete's Folly. And lucky you for having a partner willing and able to create such a wonderful space for you to decorate. If I were to propose something similar to my husband, he would look at me like I was crazy. I am glad to see you return to your garden stitchery as I have loved it from the beginning. It is hard to believe that our spring will start in just 3 weeks, but that's only on the calendar. In real life it will probably be at least 6 weeks before the spring flowers burst into bloom.
      Pat

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  22. It's always fun to read your posts, and I especially enjoyed this one. All the flowers!! I think this is the first time I've seen your flower garden quilt--I've only been following you a very short time--and it is just lovely!

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  23. What an idyll ... your harmonious little glass house in the middle of the colorful garden. A pleasure to see, I can well imagine how nice it must be to work, knit, read, dream in it ... many greetings to you. Viola
    Your flower garden ceiling is already a dream :-)

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  24. Pete's Folly - I think it should be at the very least called Pete's Inspiration! I simply can't imagine having such an incredible place to sit and stitch and while away the hours. You both are brimming with talent! The napkin/shelf idea is brilliant. Have you ever thought of sending pictures to a interior or gardening magazine?

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  25. What a magical folly! Such beauty, when you add your textiles you're working. It's simply dreamy.

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  26. How lovely is that glass house, what a splendid idea to cover the shelves with napkins, sooo beautiful. It fits perfectly with the flowery environment and is ideal to enjoy with a delicious cup of tea !!! We also had a glassroom built nex to our house and we are very happy with that.♥
    Your flower garden quilt is enchanting, so much work you had with the wisteria, but it was worth it. It is a masterpiece.
    Funny that you can get lost in your own garden, or is that just imagery?

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    1. So, you have a glasshouse too, Loes? How fabulous! They are truly one of life's pleasures, aren't they? Me thinks everyone should have a little glass room/house. Getting lost in "my flower applique garden" was just imagery. The wisteria takes so long to design and stitch which causes the time to disappear, and nothing else gets done. =) Mind you, sometimes when I am in the garden and my husband calls out to me, he cannot find me. The flowers this summer have grown taller than Jack's magical beanstalk. Thank you for your sweet visit, lovely Loes. I will sit in my little glass house this week, enjoying some sunshine, tea and stitching, and will think of you, sitting in yours. Kim Xx

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    2. Dear Kim, I always enjoy your flowery language.
      Our glass house is not completely made of glass, but built against our house, with 5 glass sliding doors. Now it is still too cold and we have no heating, but a little while longer (maybe soon) and we can sit down there again. It is a good place to be there and we can be found there until late at night, even if a friend comes we sit there.

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    3. Lovely Loes, spring will soon be beaming warm sunshine in your half glass, glass house....and you and your friends will enjoy whiling away the hours there. Glass windows/doors and sunshine are the very best of combinations. You must post a photo one day. =) Kim Xx

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  27. What a delight to visit your fernery and what a wonderful project to decorate your shelves. It looks like the perfect place to relax and enjoy a bit of quilting Your quilt is beautiful and you are making great progress.

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  28. Pete’s Folly is a magical place!!! What a hot it must be to sit, stitch a d have a cup of tea in there. I love the chandelier and the floral covered shelves. The ambiance both day and night is such a heavenly delight. Your flower garden quilt is just as magical. The wisteria and the little bird add such a beauty to it. What a lovely creation from your hands!

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  29. Love your idea of using napkins to decorate your shelves at Pete´s Folly, what a magical place to sit and sew.

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  30. Such a pretty wisteria flower - ours should be flowering soon! The time passes oh so quickly! Your fernery is just stunning and I want to move in NOW! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. xx

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  31. Your wisteria is beautiful dear Kim & quite perfect. I have one lone flower on mine at present so I can vouch that it is indeed perfect. I am not sure what it thinks it is doing flowering at present but there you go. I can imagine you squirreling away many beautiful packets of flowery serviettes to embellish your shelves. What a wonderful idea & it looks amazing!!! I like the walls left chippy too I think. I would love to sit out there & partake of a cuppa with you my friend. Is your chandelier wired up or have you lit those candles - I cannot tell?? By the way my silly blogger is showing you have posted this post 10 hours ago but I see it is actually Sunday that you posted it. Like the wisteria vine I don't think blogger knows quite what it is doing. xx

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  32. Pete's Folly is awesome. The shelves look great. I can see why that wisteria took so long! Beautiful work.

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  33. Pete's Folly looks fabulous, wow so amazing and such great natural light during the day! Your shelves covered with the napkins is so lovely and a great touch with that space! The chandelier is so lovely!
    I will have to say that the wisteria on your quilt is just amazing, so much work but so fantastic! So enjoying seeing this lovely quilt come together

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  34. What a lovely, welcoming spot Pete's folly looks, and you have made it so very pretty. Would he like to come and build one for me? Also, it's lovely to see your magical flower quilt again.

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  35. Oh, I love the flowers. The ones that come in season and those that will last forever coming from your hands and heart. How nice to have all those windows surrounded by a lovely view. I might be inspired too, in such a place too.

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  36. Kim - "Pete's Folly" is a fabulous little getaway, tucked into your garden. Whether seeking solitude or tea for two, perfection and bliss! Nice addition with the decoration of the shelves ... I can imagine the wisteria took all the time you said .. but then, perfection is not a quick exercise! Enjoy your weekend! Temperatures are rising here!

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  37. Such a beautiful spot, what wonderful times to come!

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  38. I wish my wisteria flower looked so good after years of waiting it turned out to be white WHITE were did that come from your appliqué is stunning and Pete folly is stunning I wish it was in my back yard.

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    1. Elizabeth, how disappointing that after waiting for your wisteria to flower, the flowers are white. Though, I have seen white wisterias and they are beautiful. I have sat in Pete's Folly a lot of late and I must say I love it. Friends came over yesterday and we all enjoyed afternoon tea in it. Everyone should have a little glass room in their backyard. =) Thank you for your lovely visit. Hoping you enjoy a pleasant week. Kim Xx

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  39. pete's folly, cobbled together, NO, i think it is so quaint and beautiful!! what a sweet spot to sit, like you said, for a cup of tea!! the quilts are just gorgeous, displayed with such care!!

    i have a cute little bird like your blue bird!!

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