Oh, Sweet Spring!

Down here in this little part of the world the land is awakening with the sounds and scents of Spring. With each day the Spring sun warms the brown earth. The breath of Spring is fragrant with sweet flowers of the Wattle Trees, Jonquils, Daffodils, Weeping blossom trees, Bluebells and Hyacinths. The first colour of Spring down here at the bottom of the world is a sea of yellow. The landscape is bursting with the cheery, yellow blossoms of the Wattle trees.

The Golden Wattle (Acacia Pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. Each Golden Wattle has many large fluffy, yellow, sweet-smelling flower heads where each flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Each flower has five very small petals and these flowers are arranged in dense rounded or elongated clusters which are almost hidden by the long stamens.

With the garden  beginning to sing a gentle Spring song and the flowers beginning to bloom, my 'florist' fingers have been itching to play once again with the flowers that have begun to smile at me. This past little while has found me walking in the garden, gathering a pretty bloom or two and popping them  in an assortment of pretty vessels. As I have intimated before my kind of floral arrangement is popping a flower here and there in an effortless arrangement that pleases my eye. I use the 'florist' title rather loosely as I certainly am not a florist. I am that gal that quickly throws arrangements together in a rather hurriedly and haphazard fashion.

As you know, I am a little obsessed with fashioning still life arrangements of flowers and pretty tablecloths, quilts, fabrics.......or whatever. AND........as it has been a rather bleak and flowerless Winter, I fear the first flush of Spring blooms has made me a li'l giddy with excitement. The first signs of Spring has resulted in me going a li'l overboard with the generating of the odd floral still life or two. So hope you do not mind the 'few' happy snaps that follow. =) Perhaps make yourself a cuppa in a pretty teacup (it'll help pass the time) and enjoy!

As we all know bright and cheery yellow and blue, blue, blue always play ever so nicely together.

Love, love, LOVE the blue and yellow do-si-doh-ing in a happy dance!

Swirls and twirls of beribboned flowers dancing round and round in an embrace of sheer joyousness!

Red and yellow and pink and green, Orange and purple and blue.
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, I can sing a rainbow too!

Some pretty batik fabric with a sprinkling of Pansies and other sweet pretties.

A watering can of Alstromeria and a quilt or two always makes for a pretty still life. =) Alas the pretty Alstromerias are not from my garden but from the green grocers. What can I say, I could not resist buying a bunch or two.

Oh dear, I did get a little exuberant with my Spring still lifes, didn't I. =) Oh well, such is my life. The arrival of the first flush of Spring flowers is always joyous to me.

If you have gazed upon my happy snaps until the end,  thank you so much. I am quite certain over the next few months me and my little camera will be happily clicking away, trying to capture the beauty of the festival that is sweet Spring. 

Sending you all a little Spring love to your li'l corner of the world. Until the next time...............

Hey, it's good to be back home again, yeah it is............

Hello everyone. After being missing for a wee while, it is lovely to be back amongst all you lovelies. My husband has had his surgery and after 10 days of excellent care by nurses and doctors in hospital, is back home again, convalescing and taking it easy. Before I go any further I must say a heart felt thank you to those of you whom have emailed me, sent positive thoughts all the way down here and of course have sent petitions heavenwards for my husband's surgery and recovery. As always, your generosity of spirit has blessed my heart.

It is a delight to be back ensconced in our humble abode, surrounded by green velvety paddocks where  new-born calves sleepily snuggle close to their mothers and sweet, sweet bandy-legged baby lambs frolic with each other.

It is a joy to behold the expectant air of Spring, where the air is filled with delicious scents of early budding flowers. Wherever one goes, the eyes are delighted by the miracle of the awakening Spring season. The glorious trumpet-shaped Daffodils are slowing arousing, being tempted by the sunshine to raise their pretty faces, making a glorious spectacle and blessing everyone with their cheerful exuberance; as are the Jonquils, Tulips and other Spring blossoms. I am always amazed by the wondrous miracle of Spring and the blossoming of God's sweet earth. Spring truly is a provocative delight to the senses.

As I haven't stitched a stitch for the past three weeks or so, my sunny sewing room has beckoned me to it's sunny warmth; tempting me to enjoy a little stitching. Who am I to refuse?? Though I have several quilts which need to be finished, (my cathedral window and hexie) I am in the mood to stitch a quilt with no plan, no rhyme or reason nor difficult patterns. I am in the mood for a quilt filled with oodles of colour and pattern and yet again, some lovely linens.

Upon seeing this lovely quilt of Dee's of Dees Doodles a couple of years ago and filing it away in my brainpan under the heading "Must Stitch Pretties" now is the time to begin the begin. With the apprehension and worriment of the last month behind me, this past week I have snatched moments to piece strips of fabric bordering pretty linens here and there, into blocks and then joining the blocks together in an arrangement pleasing to my eye.

In this quilt filled with a plethora of pattern and colour, there are baskets of flowers.

There is a vase of Daffodils, sweet birdies and embroidered flowers galore.

There are pretty ladies in pretty dresses.

There are butterflies fluttering by.

There are gracefully elegant swans floating by.

And....of course there has to be at least one cup of tea.

Arranging the different blocks on my design wall. =))

My botanical book wall is the perfect backdrop for my pretty quilt.

Let the pretty birdies joyously sing.....Spring, Spring, Spring!!

Aah yes, what's not to love about pretty fabrics, linen lovelies, splendiforous Spring flowers and the odd birdie or two. It is lovely to be back in the land of bloggy loveliness. I am looking forward to visiting all your lovely blogs this coming week to have a bo peep at the gorgeousness you have all been up to.

Me thinks I will steal more moments in the embrace of  my sunny sewing room over the next week or so and enjoy a little more stitching happiness. I am loving stitching this quilt which is awash with pretty colour and pattern.  This quilt truly makes my heart sing the happiest of Spring tunes. Oh how wonderful it is to be back home again!

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

Once upon a time.............

.........in a little country town, lived a lady and two very clever little girls. Every week the two little girls visited the lady's cottage,  where the lady taught them the art of stitching. They all had such fun playing with fabric, lace, buttons and whatever bits and bobs their creative fingers could find.
 

One day the little girls decided that they each wanted to make a beautiful quilt. So the lady recycled a bundle of cast off jeans and cut them up into big squares. 

 

 

 

The little girls whirred happily away on their sewing machines and joined each patched piece of denim into two magical quilts.
 

 

 

 

But, the little girls decided that they wanted to embellish their quilts with colourful scraps of fabric. So they designed and appliqued  smiling butterflies to their quilts and hand stitched long strips of pretty fabric, magically fashioning these strips into beautiful flowers, to sit cheerfully atop their quilts. 

 

 

Day after day the little girls stitched happily away until, with the very last stitch, sat two enchanting quilts where flowers flourished, weaving their way in and out of jean pockets, with butterflies merrily looking on.
 

The two little girls were so delighted with their beautiful quilts. They couldn't wait to climb into their oh so comfy beds that night, snuggle cosily under their warm and cheery quilts, and excitedly slip into the land of counterpane where magical dreams weave in and out of children's slumber.

 

The tale continues............

 

In the same little country town lived yet another very clever little girl, whose fingers magically fashioned a quilt from old jeans.

 

But, hers was not a quilt of flowers, butterflies or other such whimsical creatures. Hers was a quilt of an equestrian theme, of her beautiful Arab filly, Courage. She sewed and sewed until one day before her very eyes sat a quilt of which she was very proud.

 

 

 

The little girl could not believe that her fingers had stitched such an amazing quilt.

 

 

 

So each night snuggled under her oh so cosy quilt, she drifted off into the Land of Nod, where astride her beautifully elegant Courage, galloped as free as the wind to discover and explore faraway mythical lands.

 

THE END

 

 

PS Yes....I am the lady who lives in the cottage where children visit after school to play with fabric, have oodles of fun and learn some stitching! I might add that the three little girls in the story are only 8 years old!! Amazing really.....I am always blown away by the brilliant ideas their sprightly little imaginations conjure up!! Yes indeedy.......it is a blessed life I lead, skipping along the yellow brick road of creativity with these clever children!