Snapshots of Summer ❣

The loveliest of welcomes to you❣ It is a delight to have you visit my little place where the dance of summer has slowed noticeably. The garden is still awash with flowers, but the buds are less inclined to open. They are less willing to greet the early chilly mornings. The flowers seem to need warm, summery sunbeams to warm up the cells inside the petals to perk them up; as do I. The sun's happy beams are still warming the cockles of my li'l ol' heart, but very soon it will be thick, aran knitted woollies, piles of quilts and the crackling of open fires that will warm dem ol' bones of mine.

The seasons they are a-changing. There are signs that autumn is just around the bend of our winding country road. The leaves are ever so slightly beginning to think about transforming into those glorious hues that only autumn can gift. There is a crispness to the mornings and early evenings. The light too, is different, and the daylight hours are lessening. The sun's happy rays have begun to once again peek around the curtains, of the family room and creep across the room causing everything they touch to shine.

Summer was beautiful. Why, this summer the garden flowered more gloriously than in other years. It is as if Mother Nature sprinkled  happy dust over our little garden, causing the sweet peas to reach for the sky, the dahlias to flower in multitudinous blooms.....the hydrangeas to grow taller, and with the biggest of blooms, these mop-headed beauties have blossomed splendidly for months on end. Truly, the garden this summer has been astonishing. 

I have stitched more of my applique, flower garden quilt this week. More wisteria flowers have blossomed, more leaves have wound their way across the vine, and a little yellow birdie flew in to nestle among the leaves. Again, preparing the wisteria flower elements was a tad trying but I was determined to fashion a lot so I could then play with the placement of them. Gosh, some of the parts are itty bitty! The calyces of the wisteria buds are about half the size of my little finger nail.....impossible. I coloured parts of the wisteria petals with Inktense pencils. I must say I am more than happy with what has 'growed' on my quilt this week.

Soon, summer days will be but a memory down here but I am warmed by the thought that  they will knock on my door once more, later on in the year. For now I will but drink in the glorious hues of autumn as it slowly paints dazzling and magical hues everywhere. Thank you, lovely lovelies, for stopping by my little place. You have delighted my day. I am going to make myself a cup of tea, settle down for the evening and enjoy a little slow hand stitching with the band of merry hand stitchers over at Kathy's place. I hope all is well in your little corner of the world. Sprinkling a little summery, flowery love into your day❣

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

Home Sweet Home💙

A lovely welcome to my little place♥ It is Sunday afternoon here, and as it seems is the rest of the world; I am spending it in my Home Sweet Home. Home, the very word makes me smile. A most wonderful place to be in these troubled times. Our homes are a safe place, a place of refuge, a sanctuary;  the place where one feels at rest. Sitting here in my humble abode, looking out at the serene, bucolic vignettes outside my picture windows, it's hard to believe the drama that is playing out on the world stage.

As I am a gal who loves her own company and am not really a social butterfly, I rather relish being home. Oh, I love people and I love the conversations and sharing beautiful visits with my friends, but if I have to stay home, then I will enjoy it and appreciate all those pleasurable pursuits that I adore; to while away my day. To be honest, boredom never takes residence here at my little place, nor indeed in me. Boredom and me have never been acquainted, really. There are so many everyday pastimes I take delight in. Though, I am sad that it is the bizarre state of the world that is causing me to stay close to home. I feel sadness for those whose lives have been turned upside down in so many ways by the events that have eventuated over the last month.

On a lighter note, my good husband and I were laughing the other day and decided that if we were never to venture out our front gate ever, ever again, he would happily stay in his garden with spade in hand and me in any number of the pretty rooms in our humble abode, with sewing needle in mine. =) 

It is late Sunday afternoon here. A glorious autumn day. Autumn has sprinkled my day with happy beams of sunshine. In the garden the hydrangeas' frocks have been sprinkled with muted autumnal hues; all so very different. Pretty, soft colours are beginning to peek through the layers of petals. Truly, for long flowering beauty through summer till late autumn, there is no more beautiful shrub than the heavenly hydrangeas; but that's just my very humble opinion 

I have enjoyed a little Sweet Sunday hand stitching today and intend to do a little more this evening. More hexies of my Sweet Sunday quilt have been stitched. It has been a lovely afternoon, playing with my sweet Liberty fabrics and embroidered linens. I suppose I should have waited longer to begin to stitch these pretty hexies together, but truth be told, I wanted to see them playing nicely together. And, play nicely together they certainly do. Love how all these sweet Liberty fabrics bring out the beauty of the sweet print it is sitting next to. But, Liberty prints always seem to do that, don't they.

I know not what tomorrow will bring; but then, we never know, do we. With each new day it seems there is a new development in all corners of the globe. I can only take one day at a time; the day that I have been given. I choose to see a little beauty in my every day. Difficult sometimes, but it is the essence of my being. I am a gal who loves God. I am a gal who has a simple but deep faith, trying to trust God each day. Does this faith mean that nothing ever bad happens to me?? Most certainly not. I have been a christian since I was fourteen years old. Through the years, the Lord and me have walked through many dark and disturbing times together. Why, more often than not my Heavenly Father has picked me up and carried me, because I could not walk another step. In these bizarre days where there is so much uncertainty  and worry of the unknown, I choose faith over fear. Today, I choose to appreciate the beauty of my little place and enjoy it. I choose to be thankful for the blessing of my Home Sweet Home.

It struck me this week that the virtual world we share, you and I need not experience social isolation in our homes. You and I can visit each other and see what we have been up to or how we are going; how we are travelling (not that we are travelling anywhere soon). We can build one another up, support each other, show random acts of kindness....encourage each other. Once again, this little place called blogland is the sweetest of blessings. May you, as you spend your days in your sweet home, find a little beauty. May you take care and keep well. Bless you, lovely lovelies♥

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

Linking this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

"Ah! Well away! Seasons flower and fade." Alfred Tennyson

A lovely welcome to my little autumnal little place♥ I would like to say thank you for each lovely comment you gifted me last time you visited. Each one of you truly blessed me with your kindness. May I say at this juncture that my little basket of beribboned flowers will soon be flying over land and sea to the lovely Marilyn. I think I will have to fashion more pretties to give away throughout this year as it is such fun.

Down here at the bottom of the world, Autumn has arrived on the wings of force gale winds, whooshing most of the flowers into oblivion with great gusto. I have no doubt the seeds will appear in the strangest of places next Spring. It is always a delight to see where Mother Nature has dropped her bounty each year. She sows her seeds wherever she will. Some flowers in the garden are still standing, but they are past their best. In one accord the flowers are leaving the stage. The remaining flowers, the Dahlias, Buddlieas, Cosmos..........the Hydrangeas....have strut their stuff on the Summer stage for months now and will soon vanish to the land of repose. I always feel a little sad with the passing of Summer. I love everything about Summer....the warm sunshine, the early rising and late going down of Ol' Man Sun, the vibrant colours of the garden, long, lazy days of activities spent outside; long Summer days that go on forever. But...Autumn and Winter do bring months of cosying up in front of the fire and early morning walks drinking in the joyous sunrises that only Winter can deliver. Then, there is Ol' Man Sun whose rays reach deeper into my home basking everyone in his warm embrace.......so perhaps Winter ain't too bad after all.

The trees' canopy is ever so slightly beginning to change from the verdant brightness to leaves that are dotted here and there in yellow, orange and red tones. In a little while the  dry, crackling leaves will tumble to the ground covering the ground with an autumnal hued carpet.

There hasn't been a lot of stitching happening since I last chatted. I have put aside my flower quilt these last couple of  weeks as there are some design decisions I need to think about. I also wanted a break from stitching petal after tiny petal. The Wisteria is next on my to do list and as we all know the Wisteria flower is abundant in petals; many of them itty bitty in size. I suppose I probably should have worked on my 'Buds in the Basket' quilt but a new tarting up project has been gaining some momentum in my imagination.

My attention has been diverted to a chaise lounge I purchased about fifteen years ago. I loved the shape (and still do) and the thought has always been in my mind that I would recover it one day.  Believe it or not it is the comfiest of chairs. No wonder those medical professionals in the know have like-shaped chairs (though I suppose theirs are covered in red leather, in a more modern aesthetic than mine)  in their office for a spot of psychoanalysis......I can imagine they make a patient feel very relaxed and more prone to reveal their deep and hidden thoughts.

As is always the way with me, I was looking at my reclined pretty for the millionth time the other day and I decided to start playing with the covering and see what I come up with. Now is the time to pull out my upholstery tools yet again. For all these years my chaise lounge has been hidden under quilts and crochet blankets which has been fine thus far, but I am tired of it so a little tarting up is required.

The 'parlour' is a restful room where shades of soft blue and white are seen everywhere. This colour combination is and has always been my favourite. It is a room which will be undergoing a little sprucing up throughout this year. The faux wood walls have to, have to go. I mean really, if one is going to put wood on one's walls, please, please cover them with real, ridgy didge, run-your-hand-along-the-grain-and-knots-and-in-the-process-get-a-splinter.....type wood. Oh, and  I will be giving the wooden floor boards a lick or two of white floor paint. I know, I know.....who paints wood floors....well......I do. Yep....I am a, cover-wood-with-a lick-of-paint, kinda girl. =)

There are many pretties that I have fashioned over the years, to be seen in this room. This room evokes cosiness, an aesthetic of a bygone era. It is a room where I spend a lot of time in the winter months, stitching or knitting, reading.....and just dreaming. Especially those chilly, sunless days where the blazing open fire lulls me with its warm embrace. And then there is the view. It is a view that always quietens my soul. I am in no need of a psychotherapist session when I sit in this room.....though of course, those who are privy to the inner workings of my muddly mind may beg to differ.

I want the chaise lounge to have a smattering of fabrics, along the same aesthetics of the chair I tarted up a couple of years ago.

I  have gathered together fabrics in different blue hues and patterns left over from other pretties I have fashioned. As is my style, I will play for a while with no set design in my head and go with the flow.

I am going to incorporate some hexie love somewhere on the chaise lounge. I am  hand stitching hexies in shades of blue and white, with the thought of wrapping the arm in these pretties.

I will play with these fabrics, hoping to work on the chaise lounge in the Easter holidays which are coming up in a few weeks.

May I say, that nobody's back (mainly my husband's) was put out of kilter  during this photo shoot. He is a good man, is my husband. =0

On the flower front I have been filling vases with cut Hydrangeas as very soon Jack Frost will be visiting, touching these pretties with his icy fingers, causing these gifts from Mother Nature to flee. The days here are still warm and sunny BUT the nights and early mornings are becoming chilly. I sense Jack Frost's imminent arrival. The wonderful thing about vases of Hydrangeas is that they fade into the prettiest autumnal shades. All other cut flowers metamorphose into a pongy mass of organic matter after a week, but not the Hydrangeas, they provide pretty colour for months on end.

Aah yes......Happiness with a capital H =  Hydrangeas!

For the next little while I am going to play with fabrics and see if I can transform my chaise lounge into a tarted up pretty.  I am supposing there will be a few problem solving challenges along the way.

As my once summery little place fades into autumnal glory and you up there shine with the expectation of all the bright, happy colour that Spring brings, may I say thank you for your sweet visit today♥ It is a blue sky, sunny kinda day down here at the bottom of the world. I think I might enjoy a little Sunday afternoon hand stitching some sweet little hexies.

Sending each one of you lovelies a little, blue Hydrangea LOVE.

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

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