A Finish......of sorts

Remember way back when......last year (has it really been a year?)  when my li'l streetscape filled with cute as cute Victorian terraces oozing with architectural delights, a melodic carousel, beautiful park gardens, intricate wrought iron fences, groovy gals walking their doggity dawgs, vintage cars etc etc, made an appearance on the world scene?? You don't....well let me refresh your memory. If your memory needs a li'l jolting, here's the story of my li'l streetscape.

I happened upon some spiffy house fabric, which way back when inspired me to free hand machine sketch my li'l streetscape and add it to a quilt. But.....the town planner, his civic cohorts, and his band of merry construction men, decided to put down their tools for a while; to find some new inspiration before continuing on.

A year down the yellow brick road of creativity, I have decided I am not enthused with the idea of incorporating this panel into a quilt. So my li'l streetscape has sat on my 'to do' pile, while the cogs in my brainpan have ever so slowly turned, round and round and round! Yes indeedy, the cogs in my grey matter can get stuck in gear these days.

Oooooh.....have a bo peep at the glorious suffolk puff (yo yos) quilt. Alas, 'tis not mine....more's the pity. One of my stitching girl's mum has asked me to back this pretty which her grandmother has so lovingly stitched. Perhaps she will forget that she has left this pretty with me! But, I digress. That story is for another time.

I have unearthed my happy li'l scene from the pile and decided to put it on display in my kitchen as a valance for the kitchen window; for all to see.

The panel is shorter in width than my window. I did consider joining more fabric and free hand machine sketch some more whimsical details; but to be honest I just wanted it up and for once in my life to "keep it simple stupid". So with this thought uppermost in my brainpan, and with a feeling that it was a bit too black and white, I felt that a li'l colour was needed to showcase my panel.

I pulled out fabrics in blues, pinks, greens and a li'l black. As the panel will hang in the kitchen, some of the fabrics have flowers, strawberries and cherries.

I stitched random strips of fabric to both ends and bordered the top and bottom, also with random strips of fabric. I then stitched a lovely length of crochet trim (that was attached to a very old curtain piece) along the bottom. You will never believe it, but the crochet trim is the exact length of the window! How providential.....it seems it was just meant to be.

Now, I love my kitchen curtain that I stitched ages ago, but in Summer when the windows don't have to wear snug curtains to keep the warm air inside, I usually take this pretty down and hang some other embroidered lovely as a valance, to let the sunshine in. And ......of course, nothing ever stays the same in our li'l ole humble abode. My husband constantly comes home and after stepping through the bright pink front door wonders indeed, if this is his home. Thank goodness for the bright pink front door....sometimes it is the only 'signpost'!

The town planner, only too conscious of his time restraints, is ecstatic that he can sign off on his beautiful streetscape and as for those builders......well, they are singing the happiest of tunes. They might even gleefully gallop atop the carousel horses, spinning around and around  on the revolving merry-go-round and throw their hard hats high into the air with jubilation. They are all relieved that they can leave the occupants to live their everyday lives behind their pretty Victorian facades and get on with their lives. To be quite frank, the builders were a li'l weary of all the intricate details that make up this happy town. Yes indeedy, it's onward and upward (and out of there) for them; with their tool kits attached to their hips!

The 'rustic' tin shed will soon be hidden by the most gorgeous purple Buddleia tree. My good husband decided to give it a prune within an inch of it's life. He reassures me that it will be blooming bigger and better than last year.....and there is no need to file divorce papers over this li'l 'hair cut'!! Mmmm.....but what do I know, he is the gardener, after all! So all will be well within a month or two (my good husband says so) when the vignette from my pretty, valanced kitchen window will be a winding country road, distant blue mountains, a HUGE Buddleia tree amassed with pretty purple flowers and pretty butterflies enjoying all the pretty flowers.

Ooooh.....love, love, LURVE!!

So 'tis toodles from me. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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