Ahh...Sweet Autumn; Farewell ❣

 

A lovely welcome to my little place❣ Here we are once more. I keep returning like a bad penny, don't I. =) Sunday morning has awoken again. And, I must say it has risen with beaming sunshine to warm the rather chilly air. The ice-sheathed land outside my window is glistening in the sunshine; slowly melting as Old Man Sun sprinkles his warmth everywhere. Tomorrow is the last day of May. Goodness gracious me, how quickly the last month of autumn has flown by. Goodness gracious me, how quickly the season of autumn hurtled by. Down here, we have experienced a continual theatre of glorious hues. Trees dressed in shades that only autumn can create. Hues of burnished golds, russets, yellows, orangey browns; a most spectacular sight. The trees have taken on a bare, sculptural quality. Naked, exposed; but nevertheless beautiful. The silhouettes of the balletic limbs of autumnal/winter trees are statuesque. The flowers in the garden are all but gone. Though the sweet peas are still gifting me with the smallest of posies, they will soon be pulled out and the soil prepared for spring. The hydrangeas which I cut in late summer have dried rather wonderfully. Petals of crisp, taffeta-like petals are scattered here and there throughout my home causing me to smile. Hydrangeas, either the summery, fresh bunches of blue, mauves, pinks, or the dried, mellow tones in autumn and winter, are always a welcome sight to me. The only fresh flowers for the next couple of months will be blooms  from the greengrocer....and occasionally, the florist. During winter, alstroemerias sprinkle a little fresh, flowery prettiness here and there. Thank the Good Lord for alstroemerias.....and greengrocers❣

Late autumn of course, means the enjoyment of cosy fires to warm the nip in the air. Here in my little abode I am blessed to have a slow combustion fire in the kitchen and an open fire in the 'parlour'. Wintry winds outside may try to uproot our little home from it's foundations, but inside one snuggles down under a quilt, stitching away, forgetting for a little while the one-upmanship goings-on, of Old Man Winter and Jack Frost raging outside, trying to outdo each other.

In Australia, Easter and Mother's Day are celebrated in autumn. Autumn found me many, many times enjoying hand quilting. As each autumnal day floated by on a breeze into another, I sat and stitched quilting stitches onto my flower quilt. Quilting to the sound of my sweet Maisie's snores as she snoozed nearby; or sometimes, quilting meditatively with just my thoughts for company. Oftentimes, as I quilted I lost track of time, my mind wandering elsewhere, thinking upon those whom I know are finding life tough, my whispered prayers finding their way to the intended hearts. As I stitched, skies were painted in a Monet fashion with variegated threads skipping across the fabric. Leaves too, grew here, there, everywhere, jostling for space among the applique garden; peeking from behind the foxgloves, daffodils, tulips, cosmos, and all the other flowers sashaying on the quilt. These last couple of weeks I quilted the pond. Ripples softly blown by the gentle breeze giving the sense of water moving. Ripples skimming the surface, while the lily pads float gently upon the water. Again, free-hand lines sketched here and there. Again, variegated threads of shades of blue. As the fabric on which the hydrangeas are stitched is quite expansive,  I quilted invisibly (under each hydrangea leaf) to cause the leaves to pop, giving lovely texture and definition. I also  quilted around the flowers which kiss the water at the pond's edge. Again, the expanse of the fabric was too great not to do this.

The colours of autumn have faded for another year, but they will return. Carpets of  leaves strewn everywhere, a  reminder of the autumn that was. There is something comforting about the seasons returning year in, year out. Winter! The very word makes me shiver. I will snuggle down inside my humble abode and quilt the winter away with the fires belching out warmth keeping the frigid temperatures at bay. I am comforted by the thought of the promise of spring in about three months time. The happy faces of daffodils will pop up and begin the dance of the flower kingdom yet again. Why, some of the bulbs are already pushing their way up in the garden. This sight does cheer my day.  For now, the garden needs to rest, to recuperate, allowing Old Man Winter, and yes, Jack Frost, to do their thing. As much as it pains me to say, I have to admit  the daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, bluebells...so many other bulbs flower all the better  because of the frigid darts Jack Frost flings everywhere.

May this week see you finding joy in the ordinary. May this week find you collecting moments of beauty and holding them close, in these troubled times. May snippets of loveliness bless your day❣ As for me, sometime this beautiful Sunday, as autumn begins to wave me farewell, I am going to enjoy a little quilting by the fire. Some more quilting under the hydrangea leaves, me thinks❣ 

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

PS.......Do you remember Sweet Lucy's quilt which I fashioned  'just because', for my friend's granddaughter, which I waxed lyrical about here?? Well.....my friend sent me this photo of sweet Lucy snuggled in her quilt....isn't she sweet?? 

Linking up this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Frederique's Quilting Patchwork& Applique