Saturday, May 24, 2014

Flowers and Cross Stitch

I just realized that my post title is about two of my very favorite things. The yard continues to get prettier and prettier with more things blooming.  Plus, I'm really having fun stitching "Betsy".  All the different designs were just what I needed. Maybe when I finish, I'll be ready to go back to" Liberty Lane" and the three more houses. I had a wonderful surprise in the mail on Friday.  My frame for the antique sampler came from Valley House Primitives.  I ask them to make frames for my most special designs.  The frame is just perfect.  I'll do a special post to show it to you after we get the stretching done and the whole thing together.  My DH is my stretcher and he never does the stretching until we have the frame.  Today we got the glass and other things he will need to complete the framing.  Plus we made trips to local plant nurseries.  Slowly , we are getting the garden in shape.  It is kind of fun being the planner not the planter! All my physical energy still goes to PT.

 I spotted this at the local garden center last year and knew that I wanted to add it to the garden.  I love the unusual color.  Right now it has 7 flowers blooming on it.  Another 8 seem to be coming.  It is called Magical Encounter.



Our Sambucus nigra is full of buds and several are open. This is either a small tree or large shrub.  It will soon be covered with these pretty pink flowers.

 Rosa Mutabilis with a bee in the center!

 I forgot to mention that I have started my summer decorating(a good sign considering my knee).  I love using the wonderful Woolpets that my DD has made for me.


 My wonderful Crane just fits in my antique fish bowl!




 "Betsy", so far.  In fact, I think I have done a bit more than what shows in this picture.


I hope everyone is enjoying the long week-end.  We will be watching the Memorial Day program on PBS tomorrow evening.  We all need to take time to remember the wonderful men and women who have served our nation on this Memorial Day Week-end!

25 comments:

  1. Magical Encounter is a gorgeous flower. Looking forward to seeing more pictures of your garden.

    "Betsy" is looking fabulous. I hope you continue to feel better everyday. :-)

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  2. What a nice weekend you must be having - a little decorating, a little gardening and a little stitching! I hope your PT is still going well and that you are recovering steadily.

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  3. Your flowers are gorgeous! I love the iris! Your stitching is lovely!

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  4. Is Magical Encounter an Iris? It is beautiful. I've never seen a pink one before.

    Your DD is very talented with her woolpet creations.

    Hope you are still on the mend.

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  5. Sounds like you are making good progress with your knee.
    Betsy is looking great.
    Love all of your Woolpets, you must have quite a collection.
    Thanks for the flower pics, the Iris is just breathtaking.
    Iris is my favorite flower, and this one is gorgeous.
    Have a great weekend!
    Marilyn

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  6. Betsy is coming along beautifully! I love the flower photos--especially the iris.

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  7. Beautiful flowers & stitching enjoy the rest of your weekend, blessings to all military people past & present

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  8. Your pictures are beautiful. Irises are my favorite. That one is absolutely gorgeous.

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  9. Beautiful flowers! Your stitching is wonderful, I love it!
    best wishes
    Eva

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  10. Hope your knee is getting stronger and stronger each day, Barb! Gives you a good excuse to just supervise the gardening. And oh, what a lovely flower that iris is--so, so beautiful!

    Your Woolpets are adorable--and I especially like how you have the crane displayed.

    Betsy is looking great--I can see why you enjoy stitching her :)

    Have a relaxing Memorial Day!

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  11. Beautiful flowers in your garden. Your little summer scapes are adorable. Bestsy is coming along very nicely. I need to look her up. ;)

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  12. Hi Barb! That iris is gorgeous! I have one in my garden I planted this year called Before the Storm. I love irises and day lillies! Your stitching is just beautiful and I love looking at the detail of them. Love the mermaid wool pet! The antique fishbowl is very clever! I hope you knee is healing and getting stronger day by day. We have finally reached warm temperatures and even had such heat yesterday that we had about five hours of thunderstorms. I was so happy with that! Have a great long weekend - we had one last weekend!

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  13. What beautiful flowers! And I love the Woolpets - I think I need to check them out. :) Betsy is looking pretty!

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  14. Amazing photos, love the woolpets!

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  15. Magical Encounter is so well named. What a gorgeous color! My friend has a sambucus nights in her front courtyard that she's shaped into a small tree and it's enchanting. I'm trying to figure our where I could put one! :)

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  16. Beautiful flowers! Love your summer display of WoolPets! Your daughter is certainly a very talented artist. And as for our Betsy unknown SAL -- I started on her skirt this morning. :-)

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  17. Hi, Barb, I agree with you about samplers and flowers...beautiful pictures, the iris is especially lovely, I have never seen that color. Enjoy the beginning of summer. We had an intense storm on Wednesday, 5 inches of rain in a couple of hours and flash flooding, and are still drying out.
    Melinda

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  18. Pretty flowers, Barb ! Love your stitching !

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  19. Magical Encounter has the perfect name, it is stunning. Great set how'd with the felt heron in the fishbowl. Stitching looks great and I hope you are seeing and feeling progress with the PT.

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  20. I love just the name of that flower, and what a delicate pink. Great progress on Betsy, I have that chart in my stash just waiting to be started.

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  21. Your woolpets are so pretty. So unique. Wonderful blooms. Your stitching is coming along beautifully.

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  22. Lovely flowers and Betsy is looking good. Yes, do go back to LL - it is a lovely finish when it is done (or nearly done in my case - still waiting on my blue thread to finish "iberty Lane". lol!

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  23. Betsy is already looking very lovely.
    Wow to the wonderful things your daughter is making. I especially love the mermaid.
    Margaret

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  24. Looks like great stitching progress to me! Love the Iris blooming in your garden. My MIL has given me tons of different colored Iris, but none of the unusual colored ones survived the brutal winter we just had.

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  25. Oh Barb, you have already stitched a big part of Betsy. It's such a beautiful design and I can't believe that it's still lying untouched among my old charts. I think I have to move it into my folder of soon-to-be-stitched projects.

    I love your summer decos, the woolpets your daughter is making are so pretty. Such a lovely mermaid!

    I hope your knee has improved more and more and don't feel too much pain any longer. And I hope that you will soon be your old self concerning walking and "running" around, lol.

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