Showy, Flirty Dahlias

A lovely welcome to all you lovely, lovelies♥

This week there has been a flush of Dahlias blooming in the garden. It is as if they have en masse, banded together to bring the last carnival of vivid, intense colour and delight to those who gaze upon them. It is the Dahlias' last hurrah for the year.  Dahlias are extroverts.  They are flamboyant and indeed, shrinking violets they are not. Dahlias are showy, flirty  pretties with  petals of frilly concoctions which rather remind me of a ballerina's tutu.

Gazing upon Dahlias, in my mind's eye I can see the dressing rooms of a theatre, where tutus hang on special hangers waiting to be worn for the final ballet performance. I can almost hear the buzzing excitement and nervous chatter of the principal dancers, the ballerinas, the danseurs; all applying the final touches to their makeup, perhaps catching those wispy strands of hair and tucking them into their coiffured buns. There are dressers tut tutting as they help each dancer quickly change into their costumes between each act. There is not a minute to spare! Aah yes.....I can catch a glimpse of the corps de ballet dressed in frilly, multi-layered, dahlia-like tutus twirling and twirling....and pirouetting across the stage.

And....as these pretties will soon be nipped by Jack Frost's icy fingers, I had to....just had to play and have some fun with these pretties, and a pretty fabric or two.

Yellows to peachy apricots to bright oranges.

Vibrant reds ranging from single flowers to magnificent full blown, dinner plate size, pretties.

Bright pinks.....pastel pinks.....glorious in between pinks.

Would you believe there are sixteen types of Dahlias. There are decorative singles or cactus types with pointy petals. Ones with peony-shaped flowers, spherical ball and pompoms to anemones, fimbriated ones with split ends to the petals and large flat collarettes. It seems to me that I will need to go in search of some of the Dahlias that we do not have growing in our garden. Me thinks a little flower catalogue browsing and shopping is going to be enjoyed throughout the coming winter.

Sending all you lovelies a little Dahlia LOVE from my little autumnal place. As always it is a delight to have you visit...thank you. Perhaps next time when you pop in there will be some stitching to show you. =) But for now, I am thinking I just might go in search of my dahlia-like tutu, slip on my pointe shoes and pirouette tippy toed, through my weekend.

May you all enjoy a most beautiful weekend♥ Until the next time......

Splendorous Autumn!

A lovely welcome to my gloriously hued, autumnal world! Autumn has stepped onto the stage with great aplomb. The countryside is lit with a blaze of  gold, russet, deep purple, ochre yellow and magenta. Autumn is singing a rhapsody of colour which Summer and Spring, though resplendent in their own uniquely brilliant way, never can achieve. I allegorise autumnal trees as being dressed in taffeta-like dresses with the leaves pirouetting gracefully to the ground forming a messy, tapestry-like carpet, as the canopy of the trees release their grip. Patterns and hues that no carpet maker, no matter how prodigious a weaver he or she is, could ever replicate. I love the sound of the rustling leaves as the wind pushes and gusts through the trees; a softly playing orchestra. I love the crunching and scrunching of the leaves under my San Franciscan boots. =)

Autumn in Tasmania is a beautiful season. With a pronounced chilliness in the air, most mornings Maisie and I set out for our walk before Old Man sun awakes.

As you know early morning is my favourite time of the day. I love the solitude. I love the quietness. I love to be a witness of the grandeur of Old Man Sun peeking from behind the opalescent mountains. I love the radiating sunbeams inching their way over the landscape into the darkest hidey holes penetrating the shadows with light. I love how the sun dances across the countryside. I never tire of Old Man Sun's rays shining on my face and warming my being. To me, early mornings are a most glorious benediction.

Those mornings when the sky is a canvas of clouds, Old Man Sun's brushstrokes are awash with glorious tints.

Do you get a sense of why I wax lyrical about early mornings and sunrises; and the painterly landscape in which I live.......just a little?? =)

Country drives through this magical place, drinking in the beautiful autumnal views, have been a joy of late. The glorious hues of the trees are breathtaking, astonishing, heart-stopping...........oh, how I love autumnal trees!

My gardener is rather enamoured with them too. Me thinks he covets a few of these beauties for his own little plot of land.

I have been enjoying quilting my Spring Blossoms quilt. Moments have been savored hand quilting my hexie flower pretty with the warmth of the sun permeating my sewing room. The autumnal vignette of the weeping cherry tree outside, delights me.

There has been a little knitting enjoyed as well. On my knitting pins this time is a cabled yoke cardie for me. Unlike my aqua aran woolly this pattern is knitting up rather easily. I am enjoying knitting this pretty. This wool was acquired about ten years ago for another project, so instead of languishing in the cupboard for another ten years, I thought I would knit it up. It is a lovely 8 ply, purple wool from Signatur.

One has to be comfy when one is knitting and what better place for me to sit than on my needlepoint pretty. Love, love, love sitting in this chair, knitting, whilst Old Man Sun embraces me with a warm and sunny hug.

The garden has slipped into a rather lethargic state....comatose actually. The Cosmos, Roses and Dahlias are all but gone......but.....the Hydrangeas still delight with their soft and fading autumnal hues. The Hydrangeas seem to be the last bastion of what is left of Summer.

I am a little sad (actually very sad) that Summer has departed for northern shores but I will enjoy the spectacular dance of colour that Autumn gifts me for a little while.

Each gloriously coloured leaf in its own unique pattern is an autumnal flower.....a second Spring so to speak.

Of course there are always Orchids which flower for months on end at this time of the year. For a little while I will enjoy the autumnal vignettes which dance outside my window......all is not lost. =) 

Once again, there is probably a few too many happy snaps of my splendorous, little autumnal world.....it's just that my little world delights me so. I hope in a small way, I have delighted you too. =)

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

Linking up to Soma's Wandering Camera Linky party.