"Freedom, Books, Flowers, And The Moon, Who Could Not Be Happy?" Oscar Wilde

Hello lovely lovelies♡ A lovely Sunday morning welcome to you♡ It's a peaceful morning here. Far, far from the madness....and madding crowd. I've just come in from the garden for my early morning stroll snippety snipping pretty blooms here and there. I'm ready for the first of many a cup of tea;  and later, a little slow stitching of my flowery baskets.

I acquired a couple of fabrics this week, with lush flowers flourishing all over. A pretty floral fabric will always find a home in my fabric stash. Two fabrics are designed by Anne Maria Horner 'Good Gracious', and the other, a lawn from Moda, Chelsea Garden.

There's a fabulous quote on the selvedge of the Chelsea Garden fabric. A quote by Oscar Wilde.  Gotta love an Oscar Wilde quote. There are many memorable ones.  He was a man of incisive wit.     The quote?? 'I can be perfectly happy by myself. With freedom, flowers, books, and the moon, who could not be perfectly happy?' Oscar Wilde

And that, got me thinking............=)

I love this quote. I am that girl who is perfectly content with my own company. And, if there's a  tower of books waiting to be read, encouraging me to journey along the yellow brick road in search of new adventures, exciting mysteries, knowledge, and truth......well so much the better. And, if I can walk in a garden where beautiful blooms brush me as I pass by; and there's many a room in my humble abode where many a vase of flowers intoxicate the air with a potpourri of redolent fragrances; even better.

As for the moon.  That brilliant globe bathing the earth with a silvery, ethereal glow;  cannot but cause a little happiness, can it?? Though a full moon hanging low in the night sky is magical, full of wonder; I rhapsodise a little more when the moon is indistinguishable in an inky black sky and a host of scintillating stars are twinkling above. I have been known to slip out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to indulge in a little star gazing. Just me, a mere mortal, diminutive, insignificant, humbled, looking at the cosmos above; in awe at the sight of the glimmering constellations vastly stretching above and across. It is theatre at its very best.

I am moved, in the innermost depths of me every time I look at a star-lit night sky. I send thoughts and prayers travelling through the galaxies to the Creator. In these times, I send many a prayer heavenwards for some of you, lovely lovelies. Prayers of strength. Prayers to be able to cope with each day and the continual barrage of idiocy of late.

Then the quote states freedom can but make a person happy?? Freedom?? What a can of worms, freedom, is. I've been thinking about the fragility of freedom of late. A free society?? A respectful society. A society tolerant of diversity. Citizens of different skin colours, faiths, backgrounds, social classes and family structures; having the same freedoms to live, dress, worship and believe as they wish. Unfortunately, there are some who would have us all live by their rules, their confined and bigoted ideals. One must never become complacent when governments across the world assume sweeping powers and impose significant restrictions on their citizens. Generations past, fought and died to uphold freedom.  But hey........what do I know......right?? 

Now......if I was penning this quote I would have to include fabric into my happiness gauge. I never walk out of a shop with a pretty fabric or two in my bag, unhappy. Though, when I arrive home there might be some misgivings, a smidgen of guilt  with the acquisition of yet more fabric....but that is easily pushed down, down, down...... into the depths of my consciousness.

I wonder if sumptuous fabrics caused Oscar Wilde to feel a little happiness?? After all, he was a fellow who tended to dress flamboyantly. His choice of fabrics were richly coloured velvets, silks.........dressed in a manner, thumbing his nose up at the strictures of Victorian fashion. Indeed his clothing choices were a form of self expression. I read he  considered life should be as beautiful and full of style as art.  Why, I'm going to don a pair of black patent leather shoes, complete with silver bows, just as Oscar would've worn back in the day, and do a happy dance in concurrence. Yep, Oscar Wilde is my kinda guy. 

Of course my happiness barometer would include, family, sweet sweet grandbabies, friends, stitching, oodles of quilts, chocolate cake, sweet puppy dogs, tea in pretty fine bone china tea cups...........a myriad blessings which cause me to smile. I wonder what causes the mercury in your happiness barometer to rise?? =) 

When I wasn't having fun falling down the rabbit hole reading about all things Oscar Wilde this week, more pretty baskets filled with pretty blooms were hand stitched. And yes, some of the new fabrics were stitched into the baskets.

Who would've thunk it......that a whole lot of musings could've emanated from one quote. But, that's my muddly mind for you. I'll blame it on the oasis that is my pond. I sit there with a cup of tea in hand and think upon the madness and chaos of another week that has slipped into the annals of history. My little light is shining a little brighter today because this week, the world just became a little darker. Sending many hugs wrapped in many prayers to you♡ Why, on the next star-filled, inky black night I will slip out, look up into the theatre of the night sky and whisper a prayer for you♡ Take, care, lovely lovelies♡

Sending you, lovely lovelies, a little flowery love♡ Until the next time......

A li'l chair recovering

I adore chairs. Indeed our home has probably one too many, but I try to squeeze them in wherever I can fit them. Though I would love to be able to purchase beautiful and expensive chairs, you know, the ones that have three or four zeros behind the dollar sign, alas I cannot. Sooooo.......I am always on the lookout for chairs which perhaps I can  recover, as one can usually buy once-loved chairs for a song. I actually love to  drag these "upholsterer's delights home with me with the purpose of tarting them up; to dress them in a pretty new cover. As long as the padding is in tact and there are hardly any upholstery issues, recovering a chair is usually 'child's play'!! Mmmm.....did I say child's play????

Way, way back when, I revealed a secret how I love to sit my gluteus maximus on a comfy chair. Indeed, a good part of my day is filled with moments of sitting or indeed lounging my well-padded derriere on a squishy, squashy chair; knitting, reading, stitching, participating in a little tea drinking or indeed just day dreaming. Probably too many moments if I am to be truthful!

I bought this rather cheerless looking chair a few years ago. I actually bought two of these chairs. The princely sum of $30 exchanged hands for the both. Yes indeedy, $15......fifteen smackeroos for each one!!! A BARGAIN!!! Did you notice the castor wheels on the legs? When I bought these chairs, I laughingly said to my daughter, that I need never move my gluteus maximus in my aged and infirmed years; everybody can just wheel me around from room to room!! Soooooo much more comfy than a wheelchair!!

Here is the other chair I dressed in a pretty fabric (blue of course) several years ago. It sits in the 'parlour', with my husband (when he sits...that is,) usually sitting upon it. Yes indeedy, I love this 'new' chair!

For a little while now, my rather dejected chair has been hidden under one of my hexie quilts, and though it looks tolerable enough with my pretty hexie sitting atop it, I have decided now is the time to give this chair a tarted up, new look.

I did consider taking the scissors to my hexie and cutting it to cover the chair, but I decided to do the 'Kim Sharman' thing and camouflage it with a selection of different fabrics, doilies and other treasures that I found. Besides, I don't know if I could cut into my  hexie, as this quilt is one of my all time faves. I love how it has faded with the years and is squishy, squashy. It takes forever for a quilt to become this 'loved'.

Me being me, I had to, had to, cover the wood with a lick of paint. Not white this time but a grey with the lovely name of Marina Pearl.

I wanted this chair to be funky. I used this pretty fabric with butterflies flitting here and there and then proceeded to stitch doilies and patches of fabric to the base fabric.

I found this applique flower in my stash and thought it would look wonderful on the chair. This was a leftover flower from a quilt I stitched years ago. Another much loved quilt as it was my first one I stitched. I am rather partial to old quilts. I can't wait until new quilts acquire that oft used and soft look.

I added some more doilies and thought this fabric with words would give a lovely touch. Happiness...hug....laugh....relax....life....home.....all words which in essence, maketh a home.

To keep with the funkiness of this chair, I wanted to add trims to the bottom that were different. A strip of an old crochet tablecloth, some fringing from an old Italian coverlet, a piece of lace with two love birds and some more crochet edging. I love the higgledy piggledy-ness of this look. I find this muddly look rather pleasing.

I covered the arms with a cream, blue and brown fabric that I found in my stash.

So there you have it, a once rather shabby looking chair, with a less than to be desired cover, now looking rather perky in it's pretty, new cover. Not too shabby at all; even if I do say so myself. I just love how my 'new' chair has come together.

Aah yes......blue and white.....just gorgeous together.

Oooh.... my pretty, new chair looks rather spiffy with my ottoman that I recovered a li'l while ago, sitting next to it.

I must say I had a lot of fun stitching this cover and yes......it really was rather like child's play. =) I can see in my crystal ball, many mornings with me and my gluteus maximus, sitting on my funky chair, with the sun streaming in through the window, perhaps enjoying a little knitting or reading a good book and of course enjoying a cup of tea.

I love my 'new' tarted up chair. And....the best thing is that I didn't have to put two or three or indeed four zeros after the dollar sign. My tarted up lovely cost me the grand sum of  fifteen dollars. The fabrics and doilies and trims came from my dowry of cloth. Now....that makes me a very happy gal!

Speaking about sitting one's gluteus maximus on a comfy chair......I think I might just go and do a bit of that right now and enjoy a spot of afternoon tea. Hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend.

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


Linking up this week to
The Charm of Home - Home Sweet Home
Bernideen's, BTTCG party
Jann's Share your cup
Mimi's Five Star Frou Frou
Sweet Inspiration Link Party

Absolutely Beautiful Things

Hello there! Remember me?? My good husband and I have returned from our little holiday. I must say our friends, who kidnapped us, certainly know how to pick the most glorious spots in which to relax and forget about the rest of the world. This amazing house is in a little place called Four Mile Creek. The house is called Watercolours and is about 50 metres from the ocean.......heaven!!

Our friends insisted we have the best bedroom, so.....not wanting to break the ties of our friendship, of course we accepted! =) Beautiful blues.....the most amazing bath......bubbles.....candles......just heaven!!

Each morning my good husband and my good self woke up to glorious sunrises such as this. Yes this was the view from our bedroom!! One could not sleep through this glorious show, now could one.

My good husband and I are both early risers and each morning we would lay in bed, enjoy a cuppa and drink in the beauty of God's wondrous creation!

BUT......we are home again. Back to 'normality'! 'Tis a pity as I could have happily stayed at Watercolours forever. I haven't been creating at my usual maniacal speed of late. I have been sewing curtains for several people (BORING) but other than that, the creative magnitude on the Richter scale has been zilch!! No earth-shaking creative pursuits happening here. =(

BUT......the purpose of this post is to show you what pretties, the royal representative of Her Majesty's mail service has so sweetly delivered to me in the last couple of weeks.

Janine, of the beautiful blog Rainbow Hare sent me these absolutely beautiful, pretties......(I was the lucky winner of her giveaway). A gloriously coloured, crochet blanket and the most divine little purse!!!

Now how on earth did Janine fashion this beautiful purse??? 'Tis beautiful, isn't it!!!

Just stunning!!

Thank you, Janine, for my ..........

A b s o l u t e l y   B e a u t i f u  l   T h i n g s !!

BUT......the friendly post lady didn't only present me with Janine's "absolutely beautiful things".......she also presented these absolutely beautiful pretties from Sandy, who lives in New York. Sandy doesn't have a blog, but one morning I was delighted to receive an email from her. I don't know how Sandy found my drivel of a blog, but she told me she loved reading about my happenings down here at the bottom of the world. Imagine that!!!!! This thing they call blogland is fascinating, isn't it.

Sandy gifted me oodles of squares of pretty fabrics. Fabrics of many, many different colours and patterns. The funny thing is that all the fabrics are ones that are not in my stash. Amazing really because I have quite a fabric stash!

Sandy crocheted gorgeous flowers; some that are brooches. She also knitted this pretty teapot cosy, in the prettiest dusty pink. A teapot is so much the cosier when dressed in a knitted woolly!

Sandy gifted me a cute measuring tape which retracts into it's cover. One can never have too many measuring tapes.....oh....and this sweet, sweet pin cushion. Pin cushions are another pretty which I always seem to lose. I love this one!

Sandy gifted me this lovely notepad together with this sweet pen......soooooo pretty. So, so many beautiful pretties.

Thank you, Sandy, for my .........

A b s o l u t e l y   B e a u t i f u  l   T h i n g s !!

NOW......before I say toodles, I want to show you some more pretties that were gifted to me. No, not via my letterbox but by a friend. One day when my friend, Anne and I enjoyed a sewing day together, my friend's husband, Gary, brought out an over-spilling box of pretties. Gary said, Anne knew a lady who was a milliner, who had long since retired. The Milliner had given Anne oodles and oodles of vintage pretties that she had collected and used over the years, when fashioning her gorgeous concoctions of hats. Gary said, "Kim......you might like these". Like them!!!!! Oh my giddy aunt!!!! When I picked my jaw from off the floor I had a lookity look!!

Anne let me have half, and Trudy, Anne's daughter, took the other half. You might say Trudy and I divvied the pretties up. It was a fun afternoon oohing and aahing over all these treasures.

Sooooooo many gorgeous laces not seen today. Pinks, blues, teals, creams, beiges, taupes, whites, yellows,  oranges, mauves.......the colours go on and on........as do the lacey designs.

Gorgeous heirloom laces wound onto cardboard.

Gorgeous floral motifs mixed amongst all-over floral laces.

Billowy waves of to-die-for lace pretties!

When I cross the threshold of a milliner's shop, although my eyes ricochet from each pretty concoction of a headpiece to another, I have always thought the 'stuff' that makes my heart go pitty pat is at the back of a milliner's store; the workroom where the glorious tangled mess is hidden from the madding crowd. The back room over-spilling with all those fascinating bits and bobs waiting to be whipped up into a pretty hat. I think I could get lost at the back of a milliner's forever, fingering each tantalising pretty, imagining how each one would be used.

Are not all these laces so very pretty?? What a blessed gal I am to be gifted all these pretties.

Thank you, Anne and Gary, for my..........

A b s o l u t e l y   B e a u t i f u  l   T h i n g s !!

Alas, no more pretties to be shown. So it's toodles from me. Me thinks I might just go and ooh and ahh once again, at  my absolutely beautiful pretties! There is nothing quite like a little fabric, a beautiful crochet pretty or a 'smidgen' of pretty, vintage lace to get a gal excited!! Oh...and I just might have a cuppa......the teapot is steaming hot under Sandy's pretty woolly!

Wishing you all a most wonderful weekend. Until the next time........

Linking up this week to Janine's, Rainbow Hare.
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