An anniversary......and a giveaway

A lovely welcome to all you lovelies. A lovely welcome to what seems to be my three year anniversary of my foray into the Land of Blog. I cannot believe it has been three years since I began this fun-filled journey; that it has been three years since I began to skip down my lovely bloggy path.

A path where some of you have walked with me from the very beginning and others whom at different junctures, have happened upon my quirky, little corner of the world. You have paused at our beautiful, blue Hydrangeas at the front, opened my front gate and walked along my flower-filled, garden path to say a cheery hello.

Upon stepping on our little front porch, you stopped at our bright pink door and probably have quizzically questioned........"a bright pink, door.....really????" Yes really!! It's okay....you are not alone. In this far rural outpost, many have come aknocking, scratched their craniums and wondered about that bright pink, front door.....but somehow it just works.

Now here's something your beady li'l eyes haven't spotted before. Just recently I painted the concrete, porch floor and stencilled doilies here and there. What better way to celebrate an anniversary than to reveal a pretty new floor.

Love it!!

And of course, a bucket of pink, darling Dahlias goes perfectly with the pretty new floor.....oh and of course....that bright pink, front door! =)

Opening that questionable, bright pink door. you have ventured inside many times, walked along the bright, botanically themed hallway (which I pasted a couple of botanical books,  page by page to the walls) to stop at the doorway of my sewing room, to have a little bo peep as to the goings on in my happy place.

Time after time, you have peeked into my sewing room to see what pretties were being concocted; where pretty ribbons, lovely laces, rainbow-filled fabrics, buttons, vintage fripperies and a little bit of this and a little bit of that, twirl round and round in the merriest of dances.

You have seen me jump off the precipice of  'safe' stitching down, down, down to the valley of free hand machine stitching where there is no unpicking, no rubbing out of one's 'sketches', no eradication of one's boo boos.

You have espied me add to my real estate portfolio. You have seen me design, knit and stitch cute houses, adding many a whimsical touch to a  pretty streetscape.

You have glimpsed me tart up many an op shop treasure......many a jacket which needed a little Kim Sharman touch, a little embellishing......oh how I love embellishing!!

...........oh.....and upcycle kiddos' jeans and jackets.

You have noticed that I have stitched a few bags. Bags that I can sling over my shoulder, enabling my hands to be free whilst diving head first into cavernous containers and fossicking for treasure at markets, op shops......wherever my travels may lead me.

You have glimpsed a few lampshades, using all those lovely doilies from my dowry of cloth....oh... and a machine sketched pretty.

You have marvelled at my clever prodigies who visit 'The Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence' in the afternoons and dream up magical creations. Yes all these pretties were fashioned by one of my clever gals. She is sooooo clever.....don't you agree??

You have spotted many a basket..........

Baskets of flowers.



And......baskets overspilling with pretty laces and oh-so-fancy fripperies.

You have had a peek-a-boo at some lovelies that are not quite finished. "Mmmm.....I wonder when she will finish that Cathedral quilt?" I've heard you questioningly whisper, many a time. It's okay.......I too often have wondered when this Cathedral pretty will sit atop my bed with a heavenly chorus above, jubilantly carolling....."IT IS FINISHED......HALLELUJAH....HALLELUJAH!!!!!". Perhaps this year.....perhaps.....perhaps????

You discovered that I love to stitch the odd hexie or two or three or............!

You have occasionally (very, very occasionally) peeked at a woolly or two that I have knitted. I must, must, MUST get those pins clickety clacketing more in the coming years.

You have caught a glimpse of  many a teapot.......both for the enjoyment of a spot of tea......

and....as a receptacle for flowers.......both the........look beautiful, and then metamorphose into a pongy bunch of organic matter within a week, kind........

and.....the bedazzling, ribbon kind!

After ambling through our quirky abode, you have opened yet another door and found yourself strolling through a glorious patch of earth, where flowers at different times of the year,   sashay in beauteous unanimity, in the most gleeful of dances.

Since we arrived here in our little patch of paradise, my husband has been slowly transforming, in what can only be described as an eyesore,  a rather unremarkable patch of earth, into the most glorious garden. He has been weaving his magic into the most stupendous of tapestries, with colours interweaving into a vibrantly hued palette.

Each season brings it's own beauty. It is my husband's most favourite place to be. Our garden is a place where the soul is refreshed; where the body, mind, and spirit slowly heals.

After wandering around the garden you have stopped at our pond; sat for a while in our garden swing, drinking in the beauty of the pond. Indeed, this little oasis soothes the soul and has the power to calm a fearful and worried mind. It is a place where many a cup of tea has been enjoyed. It is a tranquil place. A place where I often sit and reflect on the majesty of God's handiwork that surrounds me. A place where I am reminded of God's goodness and His love for me......and my thankfulness to Him.

You have often seen Maisie make an appearance. She is always ever so willing to be the subject of many a photo. It seems she loves being a model!

You have had a little look at pretty cushions I have fashioned using oodles and oodles of ribbons and a pretty doily or two.

Which brings me to the most important part of this rather lengthy celebration. Are you still there?? Good!! To celebrate my anniversary I thought I might play with some pretty ribbons once more, fashioning ribbon flowers to create a cushion with overspilling, floral abundance. Yes indeedy, I have made this pretty to  gift to one of you lovelies; to thank you for your lovely thoughts and your many kindnesses throughout these past 3 years......oh.....and to thank you for strolling along with me, down this path of memory lane.

Now....if you are a no reply blogger, could you please leave your email in your comment so that if perchance your lovely name is drawn out, I will know where this pretty can travel to.

As I wind-up, it strikes me what a wonderful place this blogging caper is. Some of you whom, though I have never met in person, I feel as if I have known you all my life. I feel as if I could just pop over to your place for a cup of tea served in a fine bone china tea cup and luxuriate in a chat about all things pertaining to this life we live. Indeed I feel that you and I are kindred spirits. I have visited your lovely blogs and am continually inspired by your uniqueness,  your beautiful imaginations and your amazing creativity. 

This bogging community is one of encouragement and friendship. This blogging community is filled with beauty, inspiration, affection and love. There have been many times when your kind thoughts have wrapped around me in the warmest of hugs.....thank you. Thank you, to you lovelies who have taken precious time out of your day to pay me a visit, all the way down here, and have been so kind as to leave a lovely comment or two. They always bring a smile to my heart.

So here's to more posts as I skip along the fun-filled road of blogland. Here's to more skipping along the bendy path penning my thoughts; a few more posts waxing lyrical about the next pretty I have fashioned; a few more posts oohing and aahing over some gorgeous blossom I have picked from the garden......or some other funny story to bore you make you giggle. This blogging caper is really rather akin to keeping a visual journal, after all.

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

Linking up to this week's parties at Stephanie's, Roses of Inspiration
Jann's, Share Your Cup Thursday
Bernideen's, BTTCG

Of Cushions, Flowers and Friendship

Good Morning to you. Another week passes by ever so quickly. Another week of lovely sunny Spring days tempting pretty flowers to burst joyously from their garden beds, weaving blushes of iridescent colour throughout our garden.

As my husband is still unable to do any work in the garden for a little while yet, I have picked up the trowel and shovel and attended to the weeds. Oh my goodness, there are sooooooo many weeds, so many, I fear I will become a little garden gnome. I really am too old for this caper!! I am much, much too venerable to yank and heave and jerk for hours on end at these tenacious and pesky varmints!! But.....persistence is paying off. I am determined not to be overwhelmed by these abominable interlopers, these pesky pains in the proverbial, that persist in trying to overthrow the reign of my kingdom of pretty flowers. With dogged resolve I am determined to banish them to the next world!!

So.....as I have taken residence in the garden, not a lot has been happening in my sunny sewing room; though I did stitch a cushion for a friend whose birthday is just around the corner.

Once again, I buried myself in ribbons and doilies. Yet again, I fashioned another basket of French ribbon work flowers. I never tire of fashioning an overabundance of flowers of the ribbon variety and though I have chatted about making a few of these flower-filled baskets before, one more can't hurt, can it??? And......of course each one is a little different. Besides, one of my dearest friends, for whom this cushion is intended, doesn't have one of these lovelies sitting in her home. With her birthday just a few weeks away, I needed to make something rather quickly. We have been friends since kindergarten and surprisingly enough, although I have stitched her many, many 'Kim Sharman' originals throughout the years of our friendship, I have never stitched her a basket of floralicious delight.

This time the basket of ribbon flowers sit prettily on a background of snippets of doilies randomly placed where they fell. I had a yearning to yet again, rummage through my embroidered pretties. I wanted pretty embroideries with flowers, the odd basket of flowers and butterflies. The fabric I chose for the basket is the prettiest silk fabric of interweaving pastel hues. I brought this lovely fabric a few years ago with the thought it would be an excellent choice somewhere down the yellow brick road of my stitching.

I never, never tire of fashioning these baskets of floral delights! Mmmm....now let me see......which friend can I next stitch a basket of  blossoms for??

One by one, the addition of a pansy here and a pansy there, a fuchsia or two, and blousey roses with leaves peeking from behind, assembling another blooming basket of floral delight.

I chose a fabric with weaving vines of flowers with the odd butterfly fluttering by. A doily with a birthday sentiment is free hand machine stitched on a favourite doily. Aah....bluebirds of happiness casting a little magic on our friendship.

Though one of my joys in life is picking a fresh bouqet of flowers and gifting them to a friend for their birthday, in this case my friend lives two states away, so this cushion of floral delight will just have to do. I don't think my friend will be too unhappy. An over-spilling bouquet of gorgeous french ribbon blossoms which will bloom forevermore.

Although a beautiful bouquet of fragrance-filled flowers will always put a smile in a gal's heart, I fear within a week they always seem to metamorphose into a pongy mass of organic matter. Yes indeedy, me thinks a sweet cushion of an over-spilling bouquet of gorgeous, french ribbon blossoms blooming forevermore, is a more lovely sentiment in celebration of our friendship.

Wishing you all the most wonderful weekend. Take time to perhaps pick a pretty blossom......or two....oh.....and of course drink in their fragrance.

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

Linking up to lovely Stephanie's, The Enchanting Rose.