Hello! This is my third attempt to write this post - the phone rang each time I tried before! It is a cold and wintry day here, and I miss my flower garden sooo much. But I usually find other ways to enjoy plants and flowers during this gloomy month. One way is to stitch some - I have made so many garden samplers over the years - too many to count! The one I'm showing here is called Kind Hearts Are The Gardens - I love the verse and have stitched several versions of it. This sampler uses hand dyed threads from The Gentle Arts, and the chart was published in Cross Stitch Collection magazine a couple of years ago.
Like everyone who has a garden, another thing I enjoy is garden planning for spring and summer - getting out the flower books and looking at magazines and catalogues. Every year I plan to make my garden even more flowery than it was the previous year....Below is a picture of the Garden Journal I designed for Crafts Beautiful last year. I'd love to keep a proper garden journal and am saving this one to do just that...one day soon.
The front of this book is collaged, as you can see, with decorative papers and paper embellishments, little cross stitch motifs and adhesive ribbon, plus a bit of rubber stamping. The sprial binding is great for tying on little charms, rustic string, twists of ribbon or whatever else you have in your stash.
These hyacinths look so bright and their scent is so wonderful - they almost make up for the lack of colour outside the window today! These were a present, and the little trug they're planted in can be used for garden things afterwards. The flowers are a lovely mix of pink, blue and purple. (One of the blue ones was sadly broken off the other day which is why there is one in the little glass vase above....)
There are paperwhites planted in this pink pot - and they're growing fast so we should have their flowers blooming very soon. I am looking forward to enjoying them and all the other bulbs I planted in the autumn.
Thank you so much for visiting me here, and for those who comment - thank you thank you, I love to hear your thoughts. I hope there are some flowers of some sort in your life at the moment too, and that you have a happy weekend whatever the weather brings ( and to those of you in warmer places filled with flowers - enjoy and think of us!) Back soon xxx
