Today is one of those golden September days that make you want to amble round your garden to take a last look at the fading summer blooms. So why, you might wonder, am I showing you a picture of a festive cutie that is snugly wrapped for winter? All will be revealed later!
First I'll take you into the garden and onto our terrace where growth has been prolific during the recent rainy spell. Weeds manage to spring up from all the cracks and crevices on the paving and keeping them in check is a never ending job. However, there seems little point attacking them now as they are nearing the end of their growing season so those that remain will stay there until next spring.
If we turn and look the other way we'll see my little stone rabbits. They can often be found wearing hairy coats of green moss but they were brushed down recently and today are looking quite presentable. They stand on the corner of an old stone wall that edges the terrace.
And here they are on their corner. The gap between each of the stone provides a home for tiny ferns and ivy-leaved toadflax that seeds itself everywhere and is awash with pretty mauve flowers throughout the summer. Now let me show you what is happening to this lovely wall !!!!!!!
Hubby is knocking it down!!
And what a dreadful mess it looks. But fear not, there is method in this madness. We are soon having a window in our breakfast room replaced by a patio door which will look out onto this stone wall. The wall is very pretty and colourful in summer but can be depressingly grey throughout the winter. And so the length of wall in front of the window is being removed and we will be able to look into a small area of garden which will be a nice place to sit once the jungle has been cleared. A low wall will be built on the far side to prevent people falling into the garden below which wouldn't be a fun thing to do. If we walk towards the tree you will see what I mean. . . . . . . . take care crossing the lumps of rock.
Here we are beside the tree and as you can see the garden is many feet below us so a tumble would not be advisable. I'll invite you back once the project is complete but it might take a while!
But that's enough about stone walls and gardens, let's get back to the stitching I've been doing recently. In the last post I showed you three little needles cases with dollies on the front that I'd put in my Etsy shop. When two of the girls were chosen to go and live and Australia I suddenly felt very sorry for the little one that remained as she had no one to chat to!! Being rather soft-hearted where dollies are concerned I knew I'd have to provide her with a few friends and so here they are.
I used linen and a pretty Liberty lawn for the needle case on the left and pink and white candy stripe and blue cotton strewn with summer daisies for the one on the right.
Knowing these little girls would definitely not want to be hidden away in a drawer or cupboard when not in use I have given each needle case a tiny handle which means it can be hung on a hook or knob so that each little girl can smile at anyone passing by.
I'll finish with the little girl in festive colours that I showed you at the start of this post. I hate thinking about Christmas at this time of year but the weeks are quickly slipping by and anyone keeping an eye open for a small, easy to pack gift in festive reds and greens might be wanting a needle case. To add extra sparkle I've attached to the hat a tiny silver charm in the shape of a holly leaf. The needle cases can be found in my
Etsy Flutterby Stitch shop.
Today is Saturday and the weather is lovely but it is due to take a turn for the worse overnight and tomorrow we are promised gales and torrential rain. . . . As we live in a wood a tree will probably fall on the power line (again) and we shall have a power cut. On the positive side this would mean I could get on with my new knitted dolly as the sewing machine won't be working!!!
I hope you are all enjoying your weekends
Eli x
