Spring is bustin out all over......

....well perhaps not exactly 'bustin'........but ever so slowly, the flowers are awakening from their deep winter sleep, to pop their pretty little heads from their wintry cold and damp beds and greet Old Man Sun (that is of course, when He decides to grace us with his presence and shine his radiant beams on my li'l corner of the world); with their smiley faces. Yes indeedy, the stage production of the flower kingdom, 'The Dance of the Blossoms', has well and truly begun down here at the bottom of the world. Each flower is waiting in the wings, until it is their turn to take centre stage and sway merrily across the stage, act by act, when, with the final crescendo, all of Spring's performers take their cue, burst onto the stage and join in the merry dance of Spring.

In our garden, the 'First Act' of Spring is abloom with daffodils, jonquils and tulips. The long and bitterly cold Tassie winter is just bearable, because there is always the promise of the most brilliant display of these bulbs. The William Wordsworth poem comes to mind, because wherever one goes in Tassie, one sees "a host of golden daffodils" (and every variation of the same theme) everywhere; not only in gardens but also along the roads, in paddocks; indeed in every nook and cranny. Funnily enough, in Tassie, tulips even grow by the seaside.

Oh....pardon me.....let me introduce y'all to Maisie, my ever present, faithful companion.  'Crazy' Maisie loves to 'garden'!! As a matter of fact, Maisie's favourite pastime seems to be digging in the garden....a pastime I might add, that her master, the gardener of the house, does not approve!! Maisie is always planting a new specimen of the plant kingdom.....a doggy, skeletal, animal substance; which try as she might, just doesn't seem to sprout and multiply!!

Sharing the stage simultaneously with these bulbs are the beautiful Camellias.

 

 

 

The 'Second Act'......introduces a wide variety of Irises; Dutch and Bearded; for their moment in the spotlight. The bare wintry branches of the Wisteria transforms into a visual delight of showy, pendulent clusters of blue-violet flowers, sharing the stage with the Irises; forming a spectacular troupe of colour.

 

 

Joining the Irises and Wisteria for the Second Act are the Azaleas, Granny Bonnets (one of my favourites) and the lovely Clematis. The Granny Bonnets (Aquilegias) are abloom in the prettiest of colours, blue, mauve, purple, pink, cream, crimson.....all providing a show of riotous colour.

 

  

 

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Next, it is the Lilacs and Foxgloves time to shine with the Rhododendrons waiting impatiently for their chance to take centre stage.

 

The 'Third Act'  of the Dance of the Blossoms is well and truly under way spiriting along in spectacular fashion. Every flower is contributing to a magnificent show, every one adding their own beauty providing a breathtaking show  of colour explosion and fragrance.

 

I might add that the Forget-me-nots, Peonies, Poppies, Zinnias, Hollyhocks, Asters, Roses, Nigellas, Liliums, Hydrangeas, Cosmos, Canterbury Bells and so many more 'dancers' of the botanical world are all waiting for their turn to amaze with their vibrancy and colour. Yes indeedy, over the next six months gardens here in Tassie are quite simply breathtaking

 

Not only is Spring bustin out all over with colour and pattern in the garden........there is an explosion of colour and pattern of the fabric kind in my bright and cheery sewing room. The School fair is just over a week away and I have been busily whipping up oodles and oodles of fabric flowers, flower fairies and other pretties for my li'l stall. My fabric flowers have taken on a life of their own. It seems that  the folk in this rural outpost are wanting to take an everlasting bouquet of prettiness home with them. Mmmmmm......when I grow up I want to be a florist!

 

 Every colour of the rainbow is represented.

 

Pinks........

 

Blues, Greens.........

 

Purples.......

 

Oranges and yellows........

 

En masse, an overspilling yummy bouquet of floral prettiness.

I have hot glued the fabric flowers to both knitting needles and lengths of wire to make single stem flowers. The flowers look so pretty bunched in overspilling bouquets of floral extravagance!

 

 

Overspilling vases of my fabric flowers in situ, in front of patchwork curtains which I stitched from the Designer Guild sample swatches that my lovely friend, Margaret, bestowed upon me. Yes indeedy.....it is springtime every day in my sewing room!!

 

 

 And last but certainly not least, Li'l Miss Dahlia has been joined by many other flower fairies, all waiting with great excitement to make their appearance at the School Fair. The more the merrier is Miss Dahlia's philosophy.....she just has more friends to play with!

  

So all in all, outside and inside, 'Spring is bustin out all over'. Me thinks that I might just sit in my garden swing, read a book, drink a cup of tea or two (in a fine bone china tea cup of course), chat with my faithful companion, Maisie; and drink in all that Spring loveliness.

 

 

 

Afterall.......as 'Spring is bustin out all over' everywhere in this li'l ole neck of the woods, one should take an hour or two or three and make the most of it....don't you think!!

 

 

The Tale of the Dolly Peg

Far, far away in a land at the bottom of the world lived a dolly peg, whose name was Dahlia. Dahlia's tiny world was a sewing room in which the lady of the house spent her days stitching fanciful creations. Although Dahlia loved sitting in her beautiful tea cup which was delicately placed on a shelf, surrounded by fanciful and dazzling pretties; her dream was to one day be transformed into a beautiful flower fairy.

Dahlia had watched her friends one by one become beautiful flower fairies, under the spell of the magic fingers of the lady of the house. Dahlia had espied one of her friends, Sugar Plum, be transformed into a beauteous dancing flower fairy. Sugar Plum would have a famous ballet named after her, as she glided ever so softly across grand stages all over the world.

Dahlia quietly watched  her friends, Daisy, Blue-Belle, Rosie, Magnolia, Hyacinth, Cleomacaea, Violetta, Rosebud, Pansy, Sunshine, Florentina, Petal, Autumn and Fleur.............fairy after fairy; have stunning outfits created for them.  Couture gowns of diaphanous and delicate flower petals..... daisies, roses, zinnias, orchids, lilies et cetera; gossamer wings made of a smattering of leaves that helped her friends float ethereally into the air and to top it all off; sitting ever so pertly atop their mop of curly hair, oh so elegant and splendiforous millinery concoctions as their crowning glory.

 

The lady of the house gained inspiration for the luscious fairy gowns, from her brightly coloured botanical hallway, as each day she strolled down the passage way to her sewing room. She loved flowers. Her garden was filled with bouquet after bouquet of the most deliciously fragrant and  rainbow-painted flowers.

Dahlia waited ever so patiently for the day when the lady of the house would make her long-held dream of becoming a flower fairy, come true. Day after day Dahlia watched the lady stitch creation after creation. She loved to see what the lady would dream up next. Dahlia particularly loved the chatter and giggles of the children who visited the sewing room every afternoon as they happily stitched away.

One day there was a sense of excitement in the lady's sewing room. The children were excitedly chatting about a school fair that was to take place in  a couple of weeks time. There was an edict from the King (the school principal) that a fair was to be held where there would be lots of stalls, yummy food, fun games and exciting things to see and do.

The lady of the house decided that she would have a stall and fill it with her handmade pretties to sell....(lure the throngs into her creative web and flog her wares to the unsuspecting public). The lady thought what a wonderful idea it would be, if she would make oodles and oodles of  enchantingly, delightful flower fairies so that the children could take them home to live;  playing with them. Dahlia was so excited that she nearly fell out of her tea cup. Perhaps, just perhaps her long held dream would come true.

So.....the lady gathered a slew of pink (Dahlia's favourite colour) petals, leaves and whatever else she needed to make flower fairies. She ever so carefully took Dahlia from her tea cup home and began to make Dahlia's dream a reality.

The lady painted small slippers onto Dahlia's tiny feet; after all, every self-respecting fairy needed pretty little slippers to adorn their tiny feet.

Now for the most beautiful frock ever to have adorned the mythical folk. A frock with a petticoat of layer upon layer of fuchsia pink, dahlia-like wispy thin petals, gradually adding white, mauve and creamy pink petals carefully plucked from an assortment of flowers. The lady snipped petal after petal so that they would fit Dahlia's tiny waist.

A single petal for the bodice was needed to be fastened to the skirt and a string of pearls for Dahlia's elegant neck.

Of course every fairy needs arms so the lady of the house formed some wire into the shape of arms and hands and glued them onto the body.

A mop of curly brown hair was affixed to Dahlia's pretty little head; upon which a pert little concoction of a hat, fashioned from varying petals was placed.

Last of all, what is a fairy to do if she has no wings with which to fly? After all there was much fun to be had fluttering and darting through the trees, playing hide and go seek with her friends. So........some wispy and delicate, fern-like wings were added so that Dahlia could become the fairy that she had always dreamt she would be.

 

Dahlia was ecstatic with her beautiful ensemble. She thought it was the prettiest ever. She couldn't wait until the day of the fair. Although she would miss her pretty little tea cup and of course the toing and froing each day in the lady's sewing room; she wondered who would take her home with them. Would it be Holly, Akasha, Sophie, Pip.....or perhaps Alli??

It didn't matter which little girl would take her home......Dahlia was as happy as could be that her dream of being a flower fairy had come true. She would live happily ever after in some little girl's home, where they would play together forevermore in the land of make believe.

Linking up to Stephanie's gorgeous 'The Enchanting Rose'.

Rome wasn't built in a day.......

....or so the old adage says. Neither, it seems will my little town, my little streetscape where quaint Victorian houses, wrought iron fences, happy children, very chic ladies, the odd beetle car or two, et cetera, are slowly appearing on the horizon.  No, I am afraid that my little town is certainly not going to be 'built' in a day, or even a week, nor perhaps even a month!! Inch by inch, or in the lingo of us Aussies, centimetre by centimetre, my little town is slowly being built, thread by thread.

It seems that there is a covenant put in place designed to protect the character of my little town!! Yes indeedy, a covenant that strictly stipulates and demands wonky buildings......walls that are a tad crooked, cute, cute Victorian-ish houses oozing charm, with pretty facades and gabled roofs, slate tiles, fretwork....the list goes on; all combining to create a happy little community!! It seems that the town planner responsible for the planning of this li'l town has watched far too many movies from "The Golden Years of Hollywood".

So with the plans having been drawn up and after much deliberation, approval given; the building has begun. 

  

Thread by thread the houses are slowly being built, transforming a blank canvas into a charming streetscape.The builders have been working overtime, indeed burning the night oil, building quaint Victorian houses and terraces.

The interior designer has been whipping up a creative storm, stitching pretty lace curtains for all the windows and doors, hanging the odd candelabra to be seen from picture windows and placing pretty window boxes at the windows, filled with pretty flowers spilling out in a profuse fashion.
 

The landscaper is working her magic, creating gardens, building intricate wrought iron fences and gates and arches; laying cobblestone footpaths, creating a water feature or two, planting an abundance of flowers and trees that children can climb and hide in until their mothers call them in for dinner.
 

 Children flying their kites high in the sky.

 

 A little girl swinging ever so high in the sky....mmmm...hope that bough of the tree is mighty strong!

 

An oh so chic lady sitting under the shade of an old tree, on a wrought iron bench seat (mmmm...don't know how comfortable it is) stealing an hour or two from everyday life with her pert little nose in a book.

 

 

 

A couple of oh so chic ladies taking their cute li'l puppy dogs for a walk.

 

 

 

 A sporty miss enjoying the sights on her bicycle.

 

Oh, and the odd beetle car and an oh so cool vintage sports car. Obviously a couple of car enthusiasts checking out this new town.

 

  

 

 AND.....the piece-de-resistance.......a bona fide, horse frolicking carousel........(mmmmm...hang on.... is that the honeyed, mellifluous voice of Gordon McRae, singing "My Boy Bill", that I can hear wafting off in the distance.....surely not)!! I told you that the town planner has watched a few too many Hollywood musicals!!

 

 

All in all, these 'drawings' have taken oodles and oodles of time to stitch. Although the stitching of these whimsical scenes was not without its frustrations it was mostly fun and enjoyable. I had a general idea of how I wanted my little streetscape to look, but I must admit that I kept thinking of new things to add as my little town started to take shape, thus resulting in a densely stitched piece of fabric which is approx. 2 metres x  30cms (80" x 12").

 

Though I am reasonably  happy with my streetscape, I can hear my Year 10 art teacher in my ear, taking me to task about several elements that 'blind Freddy' could see are not quite right! "Perspective Kim.....perspective.....dimension Kim....dimension....blah, blah, blah......", I can hear him say! Oh well....I guess my little town's imperfections (of which there are many) will just have to do. After all, I did want whimsy (the fabric that inspired this stitching is rather whimsical).....not an exact representation as seen by a 'perspective enlightened' trained eye.......(something I remember vaguely from my art classes of old). Obviously my eye is a little dim these days!!

So that's enough doodling with machine and thread for now. The town planner/architect/landscaper/ builder/designer, is going to have a little holiday, a little R&R, away from the frenetic activity of the little town; leaving the stitched panel on the shelf for a li'l while; before the humming and whirring of construction starts again.

Afterall this gal (who seems to wear many hats) has to put on her teaching hat and prepare a plethora of sewing fun for her little kiddos who, without fail, keep appearing on her door step......oh....and start stitching some other fun projects that are forming in her brainpan!!

I might even view a few "golden oldies"  where inspiration for Victorian maisons abounds.....now let me see.....perhaps..... "By the Light of the Silvery Moon".....or even....."On Moonlight Bay"....where Gordon McRae and Doris Day's  declare their undying love for each other through melodic song!!!

Here's to all kinds of pleasant "golden oldies"  viewing and fun stitching!!