Autumn Wool Felted Purse and Glorious Autumn Colors

Hello Everyone, HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Michigan where at the moment we are soaking in Autumn's most brilliant hues. We've had heaps of rain so the air has been cleansed by the cold and rain. This year it seems like with us getting so much rain and wind the lovely Autumn leaves have been stripped earlier and they now lay like hand prints on the ground.

My sweetie has worked in between rain and wind storms picking them all up with the lawn mower. Even today he has worked for endless hours at this task. But before the wind and rain brought down all our Lovely Autumn Colors I took some pics posted at the end of this post.

The above beautiful hand dyed wool from natural garden dyes I brought home with me from Germany 5 years ago this week. In the last few weeks I have started using it. The above photo you will see three wet felted ball I made from these lovely wools. I have been very busy stitching trying to get some of my Christmas projects done. It seems like this year I am behind in everything.

I took some precious time recently to create a wet wool felted purse. I have been wanting to create one for several years but never seem to know exactly on how to go about it. In September I took a wet felted class and learn so very much. Kelly Brandt taught me how to make wet felted wool slippers which I will post about later when I finish them. I learned the techniques in this class that I needed to create this purse. I used the lovely nature dyed wools I had brought home with me from Germany that the "Wool Lady" dyed. The Autumn leaf I needle felted.

In the above photo you can see I created a wet felted flower and added a wee lovely button to it.

The above photo shows the inside of my Autumn Purse.

Isn't this "Burning Bush" grand colors glorious. Unfortunately, it is not in my garden but when I look out my front picture window I feel very privilege to be able to enjoy it grandeur. It is in the neighbor's back yard across the street from us. It must have been growing for many years to be so huge in size.

This is our Norway Golden Maple. It set off to the right side of our yard and when it is in its full color and the sun is shining on it is incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately all the wind and rain has left the branches looking like skeletons. Maybe that is appropriate for this day is Halloween.

The next season will soon be upon us. It has already snowed in the upper part of Michigan. I read a wee lovely poem I thought I would share with you all. It reflects exactly how I feel about my friends.

Every FRIEND is like a "Snowflake" unique in beauty and design. Each sparkles in a different way, some are playful, some refined. But, unlike fragile snowflakes that fade when the sun appears, friends grow yet more beautiful with every passing year!!!

I wish you all a lovely Autumn. I also want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who always leaves me wonderful and kind messages to read.

Hugs,

Earth Loom And A Beautiful Deck, Gazebo

My Sweetie and I both loves nature and wildlife and we feed our birds year around. This past summer I discovered a book called, "Zati, The Art of Weaving A Life" by Susan Barrett Merrill. In this book Susan helps her readers understand the centuries-old metaphor, entertains us with beautifully written archetypal stories, and guides us to a more fully understood life of love, awareness, and healing. This book has stunning photos coupled with eloquently written text help open doors to our inner thoughts and coax our inner and outer lives into synch, and show us that peace is possible. I showed "My Sweetie" a photo of the "Earth Loom" and he told me he could create one for me. It is 10 foot high and 5 foot wide and he made this in two hours. Isn't it wonderful?

In this book there was many different kinds of "Looms" shown. I fell in love with the "Earth Loom". It is a living symbol, planted into the ground and the weaving are a gift of friendship. Earth Looms may be made with indigenous materials and my husband and I chose Sunflowers, Cornstalks, Cattails, Autumn Leaves in which the birds and squirrels can feel off of during the winter months. This afternoon my sweetie and I both weaved in our findings from nature and truly enjoyed this art of weaving.

This is an up close photos of the bounty of nature we weaved into our Earth Loom.

My Sweetie is a very kind, caring and giving person and a very talented wood artist too. Last summer he renovated our screen-in sun room and created it into a living space that we can now used 7 to 8 months of the year. The next two photos are of the finished deck and gazebo. Then the rest are the photos shows the process of how he created this wonderful project for us.

This Spring we decided to add on a small porch off the sun room which turned out to be a lovely deck instead. I mentioned in passing that I always dreamed of having a Gazebo so I could sit outside even when it was raining and listen to the sounds of nature and not get wet. "My Sweetie" said, if you would like a Gazebo and then we will add a Gazebo too. I could hardly believe he was serious but he truly meant it. "My Sweetie" started this project the middle of May and finished it the middle of September. He created this lovely Deck and Gazebo all by himself working on it after work for an hour or two and on weekends when we were not busy with family commitments.

While "My Sweetie" worked on the Deck and Gazebo I decided to add a couple more flower gardens around it. Then with the help from my Mom we created the patio block sidewalk along the front and side. Now this was really hard work but we did it together. I will never forget how wonderful it was to work with my mother on this project. We actually finished it while there was a misty rain coming down.

This is a photo of "My Sweetie" hard at work. How he ever did all this work by himself is beyond me. He is such a very talented wood crafter.

We only had a couple of weeks in September to really enjoy our new deck and gazebo but plan to have lots of family BBQ next summer.

I give thanks everyday for my wonderful husband. I feel very blessed that our lives came together. WE will be married 5 years this coming November and I hope we have many more wonderful years to spend being together.

Hugs,

Natural Dying and Having Great Fun at International Day of Felt

The past couple of weeks I have been very busy doing some experimenting with Natural dying with Black Berries on several different kinds of material. I used some lovely Icelandic wool and curls which turned out a pinkish lavender color. The curls did not seem to take the Black Berry very well. I also used plain muslin and cheese cloth and some laces which turned out to be a very pretty muted lavender color which I really liked allot. The process I used to dye my fibers is called "Making Natural Dyes from Plants-Pioneer Thinking" and is explained below. My friend Jasmine in the UK at "Nature Whispers" shared this site with me.

In the left pot I prepared my fibers by simmering them in hot water for one hours in 1/2 cup of salt to 8 cups of water. To make the dye solution double the amount of water to berries. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about an hour. After the fabrics and wool was simmered in the hot salt water bath I rinsed them with warm water.

Simmering!!!

Straining the berries into my rinsed fibers.

This is what my fibers looked like after 24 hours of soaking. I then washed the fibers in my kitchen sink with mild soap and cold water until the water was clear. I then dry the fibers over a small drying line outside. Then I iron the fabrics and lace. A few weeks ago I also dyed some muslin with Blue Berries which turn out to be a muted shade of Lavender too.

I really enjoy creating wet wool felted balls. Above is a photo of the Blue Berry dyed muslin and my wee wet felted wool ball from Merino Wool.

October 3rd was "International Day Of Felt". 2009 was designated by The United Nations as the International Year of Natural Fibers. Felt Makers around the world celebrated by joining together and displaying their lovely felt. I was very fortunate to celebrate this wonderful day with many lovely ladies. The above photo is a pic of two more felt balls I made with my friends on this wonderful day with instructions by Suzanne Higgs.

I traveled to visit "Barbara at Marr Haven Wool Farm" in Allegan Michigan who was hosting an event to celebrate The International Day of Felt. Above is a photo of Barbara in front of her shop standing beside a lovely wet wool felted banner in beautiful shades of Orange. Barbara also created the lovely wool hat she was wearing along with the knitted vest. Thanks Barbara for hosting this wonderful day for us.

Above is a photo of Barbara and Suzanne Higgs from "Hooked On Felt"!! Suzanne is a very talented felt maker artist known for her truly very creative lovely hats. To see the "Finished Purple Hat" we worked on Oct. 3rd go to Suzanne's blog!! I love it and it now has a lovely "Pink Flower"! vbg It was really great to meet Barb and Suzanne.

At the door of Barbara shop were corn stocks with very colorful Autumn Leaves wet felted by Barbara. I thought they were pretty neat looking.

I also met Connie who was very kind showed off the wet felted wool hat Suzanne especially made in colors of Red, Yellow and Orange this years theme colors. Another very creative happy hat. Thanks Connie.

Above is some fibers I bought from Barbara Fiber Shop. I also bought the book called
"Water Color Felt Workbook by Pat Sparks". The other two books I bought at the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival a couple of weeks ago.

More lovely wool roving in Barbara's Shop!

Here is a display of more of Suzanne Higgs very creative and lovely hats.

Suzanne started this lovely purple wet felted hat at home and allowed us to work on finishing it. I spent some time felting and fulling it. Fun, Fun, Fun!!! I will have to get Suzanne to send me a photo of the finished hat to show you all.

Connie and I both worked on creating this wet felted wool piece of fabric. Isn't it very pretty.

The above photo was taken inside of Barbara's shop. Lots of very lovely fibers.

Here is a display of very beautiful wet wool felted jackets created by Sue Pufpaff. Sue owns "Pufpaff's Fiber Processing Mill".

This display of very colorfully and lovely scarfs were created by Barbara. I truly enjoyed my day of felting and shopping. It was really great spending time with very creative felted maker who willingly shared their felt making talents with us all. Thanks to all.

I am feeling a bit sad that I have been so busy I have not had time to visit my blogging friends site or even stitch. We are going away again this whole weekend to visit with my family on the East side of Michigan. Long drive!! I hope to get back with my blogging friends next week. I have missed chatting with you all.

Hugs,

Northern Michigan Wool Festival: Sites and Sounds

My Sweetie and I went our annual Up North Get Away weekend, and we had such a great time. This year we decided to take in the "Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival" in West Branch Michigan. Unfortunately, I did not have any time to take classes but I hope to next year. This was the 10th year for the wool festival and the location at the Ogemaw Fair Grounds was wonderful. Above is a photo of some of the lovely wool roving's and threads I bought. I have plans to wet felt some Christmas pressie from it. The white glittery ball of wool is not really wool at all but it is called "Firestar" which is similar to angelina fibers. The bag of light beige and white wool is 50% Baby Camel and 50% Bleached Tussah Silk Top and Oh, it is so very soft to touch. I bought it from "River Edge Weaving Studio". The purple, blue and mixed pink wool rovings all have "Firestar Glitter" in it. I bought the white wool roving at "Woolderness Fiber Arts Studio!

The above photo is of Elizabeth and her business called "Vibrant"!! Elizabeth dyes her wool from natural plant dyes. The wool rovings I bought were dyed from "Black Eye Susan", and Beets. They are truly beautiful vibrant colors. The wool is from Blue Faced Leicester sheep.Elizabeth is in the red top. I really enjoyed chatting with her about dying with plants.

The above photo was taken at the booth of "Zeilinger Wool Co." from Frankenmuth Michigan. This purse was made from a old wool sweater that was felted in a washing machine and the motifs were needled felted on. I thought it was a very neat looking purse.

This photo is of some very lovely hand dyed wool roving.

"The Flower Lady's Farm and Woolery" is located in Levering, Michigan. Kim had numerous lovely needle felted items to buy along with hand dyed wools and hooked rug kits.

I thought the use of wool roving to weave small wall hanging was a great idea.

The photo above is an over view of the vendor mall in Building Number 2.

The Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival was celebrating their 10th year. I thought their cake was very artistic.

They also had a demonstration area that showed us all how to do weaving, spinning and dying which I really enjoyed allot.

Outside this wonderful Folk Music band was playing lovely music for us all to listen too.

I have never seen a pumpkin that had such a unique skin. Loved it.

On the Fair Ground they had restored an old "Log Cabin Church". I thought it to be very beautiful.

They also had a "Weaver's Cabin"!!

This is a photo of the outside area of the festival.

This Alpaca is looking very grand and proud with a wee sweet baby goat roaming around pestering him.

A beautiful Autumn scene to make you all smile. It was a glorious weekend and the best part was spenting quality time with my sweetie.

Hugs,

Shepherd's Rug Class

I did not have a photo of me braiding my three stripes of roving in the class but Letty the teacher sent me one from her collections of photos. You have three pieces of roving, which could be three different colors or any combination you would and they should all be a different length from one yard long to shorter. You take the three stripes of roving and by using a clamp attach the three pieces all different length to a table and start braiding like you would your own hair. When you get to the end of the first short stripe of roving take another long piece of roving approximately one yard long and add it to the short piece of roving and then continue to braid until you get your desired length of braid. Hope this helps a bit for you all that would like to give this a try.

On August 13th, I attended the "Michigan Fiber Festival" in Allegan and took a class called "The Shepherd's Rug"! Letty Klein and Ann Brown both co-authored the book called "The Shepherd's Rug" which they used in their classes. This wonderful book can be found by clicking on the hyperlink Letty Klein and Ann Brown above. There were 19 in our class and learning how to use wool roving and braid it into a rug was so much fun. After I braided 10 yards of wool roving using two shades of pink and a natural brown color our teacher put them into a laundry bag and took them to the local laundry mat where she washed them in hot soapy water and then dry them in a hot dryer. What you see above is what 10 yards of braiding looks like after my long braid was felted. We then started stitching the felted braids together by using waxed linen thread. You can see I still need to finish my project.

These are the beautiful colors I decided to use for my Shepherd's Rug which I bought from Letty. These are one pound balls of roving.

This is a photo of my teacher Letty Klein with the white jeans and her assistant Jan in the pink top. They both were wonderful teachers.

This is a photo of some of the hundreds of rugs Letty has created from wool braided roving. They are all truly beautiful.

While at a flea market in Germany I came upon this lovely very old spinning wheel. The lady that previously owned this spinning wheel was going into a nursing home at the age of 95 and her son was selling some of her things. He told me that this spinning wheel was bought for his mother when she was a young bride and that his dad bought it from South Africa. All those white wee specks you see are Ivory. Isn't it truly beautiful. I will always treasure this spinning wheel even thought I have no idea how to spin. I just love looking at it and knowing the history behind it warms my heart. Can you imagine how much wool this dear lady spun on this spinning wheel over the years. I also bought the wool rug the spinning wheel is setting on from a weaver at a Christmas Market in Germany who told me she used 100% New Zealand wool to create it. It is so nice and warm to walk on. They are also very easy to clean. Letty told us in the winter when the snow is deep and dry she takes her wool rugs outside and lays them in the snow. Letty then pounds both sides of the rug and then shakes the snow off. They are now nice and clean. She told us these wool rugs will last forever.

This photo is an up close photo of this lovely antique spinning wheel. When I bought it I paid 90Euro for it. I have no idea what its worth would be. If anyone has any idea what its value may be I would love to hear from you.

This photo was taken at a Easter Market in Germany which was located in a Castle not far from where I lived. It was the first time I ever discovered a lady teaching needle felting wool. "The Wool Lady" had heaps of lovely things she was selling and she gave me my first needle felting spot right there at the Easter Market. I instantly fell in love with felting that day. The Wool Lady told me she dyed all her wool with things from nature, like onions, flowers, berries, and roots from plants too. I bought some beautiful wool from her in lovely blues, yellow, green, and orange.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Shepherd's Rugs class and the wee story about my cherished spinning wheel and The Wool Lady.

I wish you all a wonderful week. Here in Michigan we have been experience a lovely Indian Summer with very nice sunny days and very mild temperatures in the 70F. The Autumn leaves are now just turning a wee bit. More photos of them to come in future posts.
Hugs,

Blogaversary Give Away "Winners"

Hello Everyone, Today I had a bit of trouble uploading photos to bloggers, hence my late posting for the winners of my " 3rd Blogaversary. The very first thing I would like to say is a Huge Thank You to "Everyone" who was kind enough to visit my blog and leave their lovely messages for me to read. They "ALL" were greatly appreciated, and I wish I had a gift to give to everyone.

Today My Sweetie pulled out of the hat the following names. The first winner is "Miss 376" and Jane lives in the UK. Congratulation Jane you have won the DMC Linen Thread, I hope you will like your pressie and that you will have many hours of stitching with this lovely floss. Jane's lovely blog is called, Loopy Lou's Adventures Into Handicrafts. Please email with your snail mail address and I will send them off to you soon.

The second winner is "RagoJo" and Rags lives in Iceland. Congratulations Rags, you have won Miss Sunshine. I hope you will enjoy looking at her and know she will have a good home with you. Rags has a lovely website called, "Friendship Tapestry" which is very unique and I sure you all would enjoy a visit there. Please email me your snail mail address and I will send Miss Sunshine off to you soon.

The third winner is Jasmine, also from the UK. Congratulation Jasmine you have won the Two Polymer Clay Creations. They can be used to embellish any of your creations or used to make a brooch or pendant. Jasmine also has a lovely blog called, Nature's Wispers. Jasmine is new to wool felting and I think everyone will find her blog very informative. Please email me your snail mail address and I will send off your pressie soon. My email address is cjquilter00@verizon.net

Above is another photo of one of my 8 Sedums. They are so beautiful to look at in the late summer months with their glorious colors.

You know it is getting close to Autumn when you find "Turkeys" wondering about in your back yard gardens. I am sure you can guess what they were wanting to nipple on, yup, my lovely blooms. My Sweetie took their photos and told all 12 of them that I did not appreciate them in my gardens. They understood and they wondered off. LOL

I have spent most of my summer working in my gardens this year and I am truly looking forward to Autumn and the slower pace of life. I have missed so much my stitching. I have taken a couple of classes this summer and I will share with you all what I have created soon.

Please remember their is "Always, Always, Always Something To Be Grateful For"! And one of the many things I am "Truly Grateful for are all my "Blogging Friends.
Hugs,

3rd Blogaversary Pressie Giveaway!

August is the month I celebrate my "3rd Blogaversary" and 240 post. Blogging has been a wonderful experience that has enriched my life in so many ways. Besides the confidence to try new things with my camera and on my computer, I have made "connections with others around the world". They have taken the time to contact me with encouraging and kind comments and I have learnt a little about their world too, wherever they may be. I truly enjoy reading the feedback from my fellow bloggers. The most "Cherished Opportunities", though, have been simply, gaining wonderful friendships that will last a lifetime.

To me it is very rewarding and soul-filling to be able to relate to others with similar passions. To know that I am not the only one who has a love for Stitching, Wool Felting, Crazy Quilting, and on and on makes me happy. vbg

The above photos are gifts for my readers. I created "Miss Sunshine" a Dotee Doll from Silk Ribbon Embroidery and lots of beads. I also made "Two Polymer Clay Projects" for you all too. The face can be used as an embellishment on a crazy quilt project or beaded for a necklace or brooch. The other piece with roses and dragonfly can also be used in the same way. I painted them with PearlEx powder and then bake them so they sparkle. The last gift is "100% Linen Flosses in 12 Pastel Colors" that might appeal to my stitching friends out there.

So there is "Three Gifts to Giveaway". All you need to do is leave me a message and your name will go in the hat for My Sweetie to draw in two weeks on September 9th. I will send the three gifts anywhere in the world. So please all leave me a message and will look forward to reading them all.

I greatly treasure all the friendships I have made over the last 3 years of blogging and these wee gifts are a small token of my appreciation. I truly look forward to another year of blogging and chatting with you all.

A Beautiful Gift from Mother Nature. Please have a look at My August Booms, I think you will enjoy looking at them. I think I write from my heart of feelings in connection with my quiet life surrounded by my beautiful gardens. I think the "Everyday Beauty" finds me more often than I find it. I walk out into my garden and find myself in awe of what Mother Nature has left me... a flower that bloomed overnight. Such a beautiful gift!! And it just appears there; I wasn't even looking for it. I grab my camera and snap a photo. I've always taken pictures of my gardens, but now I also think of sharing the pictures with my readers. I know they would enjoy seeing the beauty too. There is beauty everywhere. The above photo is of a Sedum "Autumn Joy" which I have several of.

This is a close-up of my sweeties favorite bush, the Hibiscus.

This plant is another lovely one which keeps my garden with lovely color, the beautiful Estilbe.

This lovely bush I just planted this summer. It is a Limelight Hydrangea and I can hardly wait for it to get very grand in size. It blooms change color and gives interest to the garden the whole winter.

Wish, Hope and Dream........................ Then Make it Happen!!!

Hugs,

Chrissie Lovely Wool Felt Art, Blogaversary Postpone Until End of August

A month or so ago I discovered Chrissie lovely blog called, "Niminy Fingers" and her very lovely wool felted art. I fell in love with a lovely wee wool felted bag and had to have it. My gift was all wrapped up in the most lovely way with wee felted hearts attached to twine that gathered the pretty bag that Chrissie made to send out her art. It was all so beautifully done.

This is my very lovely wool felted bag with gauze handles.It is approximately 7 inches by 5 inches in size. Inside my lovely bag there was a wool felted ball in a lovely deep purple color with hand dyed gold wool winding through it. I love it. I am a very passionate stitcher so I think I will embroidery some sprigs of Lavender on it and place a Lavender Sachet Heart inside. I think it will smell and look very lovely placed on my bathroom shelve. Thank you Chrissie. I love all your wool felted art. I will treasure it always.

Tomorrow starts our holiday. The first day I will be attending the "Michigan Fiber Festival". I will be taking an all day class by Letty Klein on how to create a wool roving braided rug, called "The Shephard Rug". I am so looking forward to this class. So I plan to take heaps of photos from my class project and will post them in September. After my all day class my sweetie and me are off for the next couple of weeks.

So my 3rd Blogaversary Celebration pressies will not be posted now until the end of August. Sorry for the delay. I hope everyone is having a super great summer or winter. I will be back soon to chat with you all.

Hugs,

My First Watercolor Painting, Buttons, and Gardens

This lovely Summer is pasting way to quickly. I have spent endless hours in my gardens this year. Creating new ones and adding lovely plants to the old ones. I am also in the process of creating my first patio block walk way. It has been a bit of a challenge but it is coming along nicely. I had blood vessel break in my right middle finger from lifting all the heavy patio blocks which has delayed me a bit.Oh, it was so swollen, black and blue and so very painful. But hopefully I will be back at it this coming weekend.


Along with all the gardening I have found some time for stitching too. Sometime ago, I fell in love with Karen Raune from "Contemporary Embroidery" lovely work which she is so well known for around the world. Karen creates the most beautiful unique embroidery creations I have ever seen. Please have a look at her lovely blog, "Comtemporary Embroidery"! I bought some lovely things from here awhile back. I wanted to create something special for my Dear Friend Lyn whose birthday was at the end of July. Because Lyn also loves to do stitching too, I decided to try and create some embroidery buttons for her pressie. I have been stitching for a very long time but it took 4 attempts to create these buttons for Lyn. One is supposed to be a Hydrangea Flower and other a BE Daisy. Not as pretty as Karen's work but Lyn loved them.

After watching the movie Miss Potter, and admiring Laurie from "Laurie's Charming Designs", lovely watercolor hearts and roses and other wonderful creations, I decided I would like to try and learn how to do watercolor paintings. Well, this is much harder than it looks. After 4 classes this was the result. It is suppose to represent the Lake Michigan Beach with its lovely beach grasses not far from my home. Of course it is not done yet, and hopefully I will get back to it oneday and finish it. But I truly think I will stick to stitching. LOL

My August Gardens this year are truly lovely. I never saw my Asiatic Lilies bloom last year because the deer ate all their buds. But NOT this year thanks to my wonderful Sweetie who has been the protector of the gardens this year. Thanks sweetie for all your endless efforts they have results in endless lovely blooms to admire this year. This photo is an up close look at them. Aren't they truly gorgeous? Click on the photo and it will get much bigger.

Another photo of my Asiatic Lilies and in the background my new Limelight Hydrangea.

A couple of weeks ago our local quilt shop at a small quilt show. I love stitching and this was the only quilt that had lovely Twilling added to it. I do not know how to do Twilling but it is on my list of things to learn.

A lovely American Robin searching for food in our lawn.

A Black-capped Chickadee searching for food at our bird feeder.

I planted this Summersweet Clethra just a few weeks ago and it is already blooming. It loves the shade and I could never get anything to grow and bloom in this spot until now. Love it.

I have several places in my garden where I have Lavender Blazing Star blooming. They are so beautiful.

My Butterfly Bush is now blooming in all its glory.

More Lillie's along side a Red Butterfly Nesting Box that my Sweetie build for me.

In a couple of weeks I will be celebrating my Third Year of Blogging. It is amazing how quickly the time has passed. I had no idea what a wonderful experience I would have blogging or how many lovely and kind friends I would meet along the way. I have made some special things to give away so I hope you all will come back and see what I have created for this event. I will be posting some photos by the middle of August and the drawing will be at the end of August.

I hope everyone is have a lovely summer or winter. Have a great weekend everyone.

Hugs,

Spirit Of Friendship Doll: Miss Shamrock & Rose Garden Art

This past March my long time friend Sherry from Texas and I was chatting about garden art and I ask if she would create for me a pottery globe with carved roses, butterfly and dragonfly to display in my garden. Sherry recently started a great blog called, "Clay, Cloth and Clover "and she also has an etsy shop where she sells her lovely creations. Sherry will post on her blog detail steps on how she created this "Rose Garden Clay Globe" for me. I just received my Truly Lovely Rose Garden Clay Globe today. Please have a look at this incredibly beautiful piece of art. I Love it and will Cherish this Rose Garden Clay Globe forever. It will always have a place of honor in my garden. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sherry asked, me to create a "Spirit of Friendship Doll" for her. I posted several photos below on how I created "Miss Shamrock" for Sherry.

The shutters of our home are painted in "Provence Blue"! I selected this color because it reminds me of the lovely Lavender Fields of Provence France. The dragonfly and two butterflies were painted in "Provence Blue" for this reason.

Roses, Rosebuds and Butterfly. Sherry painted the roses in three shades of pink. Sherry's expertise in carving all the motifs was truly exquisite

This photos show the theme saying on my blog. Friends are Flowers In Life's Garden!! This makes this Rose Garden Clay Globe even more special.

This photo is of Sherry's artist siggy along with my favorite word, "Hugs"!!

The following photos are of the "Spirit Of Friendship Doll: Miss Shamrock" that I created for Sherry. The first photo is of the polymer clay face I created and painted with PearlEx Powder to make it sparkle. I beaded around the face with two different kinds of beads using the Oglala beading stitch which gives the effect of having a ruffled lace look.

Then I crazy patchwork pieced the angel doll.

In the above photo I have beaded her wings using two different kinds of beads. I used "Boucle" Brazilian Embroidery floss on the seam treatment of her skirt. I also embroidery wee clovers in her skirt too.

I also used three shades of green "Boucle" floss to create a lace effect around her waist. I am very new with working with BE threads and also in creating BE flowers so my dear BE friend Sherry from Minnesota suggested I used the"Dazzler" flower pattern in the book called "Sunshine Treasures" by Cheryl Schuler Book 1. I modified the flower from 5 petals to 3 and used all shades of green BE threads. I also decided to place some beads in the center to add some more sparkle to the flower. I really love the 3 dimensional flowers patterns of Brazilian Embroidery.

Next I stuffed her with Soft Touch Poly-fil and stitched on her face.

The next step I used the Oglala Beading Stitch around her skirt using the same beads as in her wings. I love this ruffled lace look. My friend Leslie Ehrlich taught me how to do this stitch sometime ago. Leslie has a lovely blog called, Pinyon Creek Stitching. Leslie also wrote a tutorial on how to do this Oglala Beading stitch on Crazy Quilt Mag Online Vol 8 Issue #2 April 2009. If you are interested in learning this beading stitch please have a look, it is an excellent tutorial.

I always sign and date my creations and I to do this I also used the Boucle BE floss.

In this photo the "Spirit Of Friendship Doll: Miss Shamrock", is now finished. I made her with lots of love for my dear long time friend Sherry in Texas. Sherry received "Miss Shamrock"on Monday and she called and told me how much she also loved her. It truly makes me very happy when something I created for someone else make them smile and happy too.

Of all Happiness, the most Charming is that of a Firm and Gentle Friendship. It Sweetens all Our Cares, Dispels Our Sorrows, and Counsels Us in all Extremities.

I hope everyone is have a Wonderful Sunny Summer. Happy Stitching.

Hugs,

Brandel Perennial Gardens

This past Thursdays a couple of stitching friends invited me to come along with them shopping at "Brandel Perennial Gardens" in Hart Michigan. Unfortunately, she has no website and she is only open on Thursday and Fridays from 1000 to 3PM and Saturdays in July only. They told me I would be in awe of these gardens and I would not be able to resist buying something before I left. Well they were very right. vbg Janet gardens are exquisite and very grand in every way. I have never seen a personal garden so truly lovely. I was searching for a bush called "Summersweet Clethra" ( Sweet Pepper Bush) that was recommended to me by Char of the Plant and Flower yahoo group for being a bush that loves lots of shades with little sun. I was so surprise to discovered that Janet had one growing in her gardens. Summersweet Clethra is the middle bush above the wee lovely roses. It is not blooming at the moment but there was heaps of buds on it. Janet told me it has lots of blooms and it is in a very shady area as you can see. I have ordered one and I will pick it up next week.

Look at the incredibly beautiful Asiatic Day Lily in the background.

Lots of beautiful Hosta and isn't her garden shed neat.

The Lily Pond.

Look at that huge beautiful Lime Green Hosta. Unfortunately, I do not know its name.

I bought this Midnight Rose Cora Belle. I loved the burgundy and pink leaves.

My friends and I was stopped in our tracks when we saw this flower. We had never seen this lily before. Janet told us it was a Fringed Enchantment Japanese Lily. Isn't it gorgeous. Janet took her spade and dug up from her large patch of these lilies and gave each of us a bunch of these lovely lilies and only charged us $2.00. Fringed Enchantment is now growing in my sunny front garden. I love it.

Look at this Nine Bark, I never saw one so big. Janet the owner was showing one of my friends another plant just when I was taking this photos. Janet is a very kind person and incredible knowledge of gardening. I learn so much from her. I also ordered a Nine Bark for my garden too. I love the foliage and it has lovely pinkish flowers. You all know how much I love Pink.. LOL

Janet uses this very big pond to water all her gardens.

Another overview of Janet's garden from up the hill a bit. Isn't it beautiful? I also bought a bush called Cotton Candy. It is another big bush with lovely pink flowers that look like cotton candy. Not sure of its real name. Well next week I will be going back to pick up my order and hopefully more of her numerous day lilies will be blooming so I can some more pictures to share with you all. I hope you all enjoyed the tour of Janet's gardens. Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Hugs,

Heather's Art, Michala's Wool Art. More Glorious Flowers

My Dear Friend, Heather from SK Canada is an graphic artist and she is the person who created my truly beautiful Header for my blog. Heather also has a lovely blog called, "A Cherished Life". Please visit and see some more of Heather's wonderful creations. Heather and I have chatted allot over the last year and her messages always brighten my days. I greatly appreciated all the wee gadgets she has created for my blog to make it look the way I have always imagine it to be. Today Heather created this wee rose flower so I could place it in between some of my blog headings. It is truly beautiful and I love it. Thank you Heather.

A few weeks ago I was looking at the "Sew Somerset Magazine" and discovered within the first few pages an articled called, "Tree Tales" By Michala Gyetvai. I immediately recognized Michala wool art from her blog called "Kayla Coo". Michala wool art is truly beautiful and her article was a pleasure to read. I sent a message to Michala asking her if she would create a "Heart, Roses and Lavender" brooch for me and of course she kindly said, yes. Above is an up close photo of Michala magical work. I love it and thank you Michala for creating it just for me.

Michala also included a lovely landscape note card of her beautiful felting. The white wool in the sky looks like the Northern Lights to me. To me I imagine the fields look like they are in full bloom with Lavender and Roses. The photo is taken on a wool felted piece I made last summer. I still have not decided what to do with it. Any ideas???

The above photo is an up close of the lovely wool felted note card. Isn't it truly gorgeous.

I hope you all do not get bored seeing photos of my lovely blooms. This is the forth summer for my flower gardens and they truly are the best I have seen them yet. Infact, my gardens here are the best I have ever had in my life. I walked around today smiling thinking to myself how very pleased and proud I am of my gardens this year. The above is a "Siloam Double Classic Day Lily. It is a delicate apricot color that is so pretty.

This lovely Day Lily is called, "Spiritual Corridor"! I love Day Lilies and I still have 8 more different ones ready to bloom in the near future. Last year the only ones I saw bloom was the ones planted next to the house. The rest of them in my other gardens was eaten by the disgusting deer. But NOT this year, I am pleased to say. vbg

This photo is an up close photo of my beautiful New Dawn Rose. I do not think I have ever seen any rose more beautiful.

My New Dawn Roses are continuing to bloom in all their glory. The postman came to the door with a parcel today and told me he always looks forward to seeing my flowers bloom. He reckon I have the most beautiful garden in our wee town. I was so surprised to hear that he enjoys my flowers as much as I do that I am sure I cheeks were blushing a very bright red. I do believe he was a bit to generous with his kind compliment, because there are many beautiful gardens in our wee town but I thanked him for his lovely compliment anyways.

This is the first year my Graham Thomas rose has really bloom this nicely. I transplanted it in the Spring because it was not getting enough sun in the back garden. I am happy to say that I think it is now happy with its new home.

This wee rose is called, Bill Grant. I ordered it from a nursery in Oregon a few years back. It blooms are tiny and white. I bought this rose because it has the same name as my sweetie. It is a very unique just like my wonderful husband.

This is the first bloom on my hydrangeas bush. Most years they have been blue but for some reason this year they are looking pink which I do not mind because "Pink" is my favorite color.

Another photo of my lovely purple clematis still blooming since June.

I really love this clematis because of its pale lavender colors.

My Prairie Princess is also still blooming. I really love this rose and its color.

I hope you all enjoy your visit today with another tour of my gardens and my lovely gifts from my friends. Thanks for stopping by.

This weekend we American will be celebrating our 4th of July Holiday. Our wonderful way of life and all the great freedoms we all enjoy eveyday is due to all our service men and woman past and present around the world. We are very proud of you all. Please stay safe and I hope some day you all can come home.
Hugs,