And now....back to regular programming.....=)

Yes indeed, lovely lovelies, here at my little place, on this stormy Sunday, it's back to normal programming, where flowery blossoms and a little slow stitching is the order of my day. And though,  egomaniacal leaders whose fragile personalities are  nefariously plotting dark intrigues in their bunkers with like-minded henchman, for today at least, I'm not going to give dastardly villains nary a thought. 

I wonder, are all your comments after you've published a post landing in your emails?? Comments from last week's  post didn't come through to my email and if I didn't reply to you I do apologise. Some replies I sent off to reach the intended person through cyberspace, returned back to me. Mmm.....perhaps dark forces are playing havoc with my blog. I wouldn't be at all surprised. =) We'll see what transpires this week. 

Yesterday, my good husband and my 'good' self went to the annual garden festival in the little town of Longford. It was a pleasant day strolling around people's gardens drinking in the flowery blossoms and heady  scents. The roses, ahh the roses. Each delicious perfume combining together forming a potpourri of intoxicating perfumes wafting through the air. It was a delight to meander through cottage gardens where  lupins, granny bonnets, clematis, peonies...the size of dinner plates, lavender, poppies, foxgloves, sweet peas flourished.

I've been playing florists, too. Bundles and bundles of wisteria, irises, diosma, mock orange, rhododendrons and roses begged to be picked. So snippety snip, I did. The soft entreaty of the garden and the wisteria-laden fernery beckoned me as well. Who am I to resist.

A little designing and stitching for my sweet Riley has been enjoyed this week. Christmas is nudging at my creative door reminding me there are sweet pretties to be imagined for gifts. Ideas are spinning around my muddly head, ricocheting everywhere in the frontal lobes, tinkering with a myriad of possibilities. So, so excited. My favourite kind of play is imagining, designing and then turning  these imaginations into finished pretties.  I'm thinking I'll be locked away in my sewing room from dawn to dusk over the next little while, with Pete leaving food at the door at feed times to sustain the inner woman. 

The first pretty on my list is a little fabric dollhouse which folds down to the size of a large book; complete with an attic bedroom, a bathroom, a loungeroom and kitchen, where a little dolly will hang out. The bedroom is the first room I'm imagining. There's a sweet little quilt resting on the bed which I hand stitched using 1/2" hexies. Why, if I was a little dolly I would love to slip off to dreamland snuggled under this pretty. Oh, there's a soft as soft pillow, too, for dolly to rest her weary head. Of course there has to be a wardrobe for dolly's clothes, so I whipped up one to store all the attire that a dolly could ever need. The dolly and clothes will be designed and stitched later on. I'll be continuing  to work on the bedroom for Slow Sunday Stitching. Me thinks a window with curtains to let the sunbeams in is definitely needed and some other pretties to decorate, but what, I don't really know. I have a concept of a plan. =)  I'll just continue playing.

Sweet Riley's Granny sometimes loves to play dollies, too. =)

Take care lovely lovelies, and don't forget, in these uneasy times, keep shining your little light in your little corner of the world♡ Take care♡

Until the next time......

One Is Nearer Gods' Heart In A Garden ♡

 

Hello, lovely lovelies♡ 'Tis Sunday here and the sun is shining. All should be well with my little, flowery world. But. It. Is. Not. I should be delighting in the warm, sunshiny rays. But. I. Am. Not. I'm sitting here feeling sad with the results of the US election. I feel sad for those of you who voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to move your country forward in a more inclusive, forward thinking way. I will miss seeing these two people exuding joy and decency as they traversed the land, talking and relating to people in their inimitable way. I will miss seeing the joyfulness of these two. And now the alternative......it's enough to drive a woman to drink (just joking..... thankfully, I didn't inherit my father's alcoholic DNA). I had no idea who Tim Walz was three months ago. What a genuine, humble and kind man he is. His innate ability to interact with everyone in a normal way was refreshing. Indeed, he was a breath of fresh air.

But here we are. A country going backwards......yet again. Instead of a felon dressed in an orange jumpsuit sitting in jail, we have him soon to be sitting in the oval office. Democracy functioning as democracy intended. The people have voted. The majority wanted a flamboyantly convicted felon, an incessant liar......(who, if my darling mum was alive would've washed his mouth out with soap until there were no soap bubbles left).....a rapist, a racist, a misogynist, ("I will look after women even if they don't want me to!! YIKES!! Mmm.....thanks...but NO THANKS!!) an insurrectionist, a wannabe dictator, a climate change naysayer.......oh my goodness, the list just goes on and on. They want a president with all these seemingly irrelevant characteristics for the top job of the land. They don't want an intelligent, black woman; an astoundingly, qualified woman. Many of his cult have classified her as dumb. Mmm....one candidate is dumb and lacking intelligence, but in my very humble opinion, it ain't the black lady.

There are many reasons why people vote for the candidate they want to serve them, and indeed you are entitled to your opinion and cast your vote. But now those who have rubber stamped Trump's, and his sidekick JD Vance's promises and odious 'to do' list, all his/their crap will be coming at you, too. You faithful supporters of his, will not be immune from his idiocracy. He doesn't give a fig about you. He really doesn't. It is interesting how millions are disengaged from politics in America and don't vote. Citizens in other countries die for the privilege of voting; a privilege many in the world do not have. Amazing too, how many don't research the facts and sift the truth from disinformation, from varied sources and draw upon critical thinking skills to ascertain 'what's what'. As Noam Chomsky once said....... 'No-one can put a truth in your mind, you have to discover it yourself'.

Now, sadly for those of you who are with me finding it difficult coming to terms with how your country has voted, I feel devastated for you. I know many of you are feeling grief over what your country has become and what may be thrown at you in the future. It is fear of the unknown, isn't it?? There are no trite comments or cliches from me that all will be okay, as one would have to ignore all he has promised he intends to do. And, we all have suspicions of what he will do, as he has repeatedly told the world; and of course 'they' have their Project 25 manifesto set in place just ready to go. AND, of course, his Supreme Court plants have granted him carte blanche, BUT, after listening to many podcasts and much reading these last couple of days there are many who are 'mobilising' to counter punch his plans.......legally of course. Perhaps, just perhaps not all the legal guard rails have disappeared. Time will only tell.  

But.....as it's Sunday, I suppose I should chat about some stitching. It feels irrelevant, even futile but that is what I do here; mostly crap on about totally frivolous things.

Last year, at my favourite bric-a-brac market I happened upon a sweet cross stitch. As this verse in a poem penned by Dorothy Frances Gurney has always resonated with me, this pretty went home with me.

The perfect cross stitch verse to have in my home for it is in a garden where I find peace and tranquility like no other place. It is in my garden where God hears the whispers of my heart. For it is in a garden I feel God's heart, I hear God's joy with the birdsong of the various birds which frequently visit my garden. The willy Wagtails who build nests from indiscriminate things, to the tiny wrens who live in the bushes near the pond. Though, truth be told, a walk in my garden is not working for me today. 

I always wonder why these lovely pretties so beautifully and lovingly stitched by someone end up as cast off treasures in flea markets. Did someone's loved one pass and these beautifully and lovingly stitched treasures are not wanted by a family member?? Is someone purging their 'stuff' and a pretty finds its way on the to-get-rid-of-pile?? A  myriad of reasons, I suppose. When my untimely demise happens, I suppose my girls will come in and clear out all my pretties. Treasures to me.....but to them.... not so. Gosh, there's a lot of stuff here.....poor darlings. A note to myself. Purge. NOW. =) And, I must say the unenviable task of purging has already started here at my little place.

Such a pretty cross stitch. And,  each little cross stitch is perfect. So much love and time went was poured into this pretty.

I stitched fabric as a border around the verse. A pretty Hoffman fabric dancing in pendulous wisteria called 'When In Wisteria'. I wanted to add a vase of embroidered flowers to sit alongside the verse. Many years ago I bought a baked dough urn which would be perfect, and though I love this, it could only be used if I decided to frame the finished pretty. The shape of the urn and the sweet figures sheltering under the umbrella would fit quite nicely. But, of course, I haven't made up my mind how I'm going to finish this and have it displayed. As a framed piece, or as a quilted wall hanging that will need to be, at times, laundered?? So I decided to make a vase from a fabric reminiscent of those lovely porcelain antiquities in days gone by.

I intended to embroider a bouquet of flowers in the vase, but, another thought crossed my mind. I have a beautiful embroidered doily flourishing with irises which I have used over the years and I thought, what if I cut (GASP) into the doily and carefully snippety snip the irises and stitch them flourishing from the vase??!! Heresy, I know, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Plucking up a small vestige of courage, some would say daring, I intrepidly began cutting into my prized doily. I did wonder if a bolt of lightning would flash from the heavens and strike me dead, but as I became pluckier and audacity overcame me, I cut more and more. All was well.......and I live to tell another tale. I live to cut into another exquisitely embroidered doily. AND, I live another day, where sadly, I will hear Trump speak in that incoherent, rambling and monotone voice of his with the accordion hands in full motion.

I still haven't made up my mind as to whether I want to frame this pretty, or fashion it into a quilted wall hanging.....though a quilted wall hanging is beginning to resonate more.

In closing, I woke up at 1am Saturday morning and felt the need to slip out of the house and stand under the inky black sky with a billion stars twinkling above me. I wanted to be engulfed by the creation that is God's sky. I watched Kamala Harris' concession speech, her oh-so-presidential speech graciously conceding that America has voted and she would respect the people's decision. Something Trump could and would never do. His narcissistic and deeply flawed character could and would never do this; as he is a small man. But I digress. As I stood in the darkness I was reminded of her words about the billion of brilliant stars shining in the darkest of night skies. I felt sad. I even cried for those of you who are shattered that your country has become so divided. Take care dear friends, and look after you. Hopefully, there are loved ones, like minded neighbours, people in your community who can support you, and you, them. And, as the days progress, and after a while may you find, within the vortex of your emotions, a smidgen of hope, that regardless of the decisions of others, you may find your courage and kindness as you interact with your loved ones, neighbours and your community; because you are one of those bright, brilliant, shining stars making a difference in your little corner of the world♡ Please take care♡

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

P.S. Now......all those Trump-bible-buying-folk, who feel the urge to comment here and 'put me right' wondering how could I possibly be a christian and love Jesus writing these words, these thoughts..........please don't bother. I am what I am. A girl of faith, who loves Jesus AND feels everyone on the fringes of society has a right to be seen and heard; and accepted. There is a place at my embroidered, tablecloth covered table for those folk who just don't fit into those very confined boxes of yours. If after watching the disgusting rally at Madison Square Garden and Trump emulating a sex act with a microphone at another rally, and other bizarre antics during the last week of the campaign; and you think he is the president for you, then there is nothing else to say, really. You have voted. I accept your vote. BUT, I do not have to affirm that vote. Enough said. Normal programming will continue from hereon..........but then knowing me as you do, one just never knows.