Thursday, August 31, 2006

Container Garden Photo May 2006

Here is what the back container garden looked like in May. It has grown a TON since then.
It's been a beautiful journey this season, but I haven't been faithful in taking consistent photos every so often to show the progress. Here is a link to what my Container Courtyard looks like right now.
Honey Bee's Bliss: Container Garden Courtyard

I'm going to start posting about our garden journey in the front. That took a lot of work! We had to dig out Georgia clay and bring in top soil.

More Sweet Autumn Clematis


I keep posting photos of this clematis because it just gets more and more pretty everyday! I just love it when the flowers start to spill everywhere and it's beginning to! So I'm sure I'll keep taking photos as it progresses. Our front garden is looking a little sad, from all the heat but in a few weeks it should get that little fall-cooler-weather burst, so I'll take pics then. The little green fruits you see are from the Passion Flower Vine, they are edible but I haven't tried it...I'm not very venturous like that! LOL

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

How you pull the ribbon matters!

Here are some examples of how pulling the ribbon can make a difference in the behaviour of the ribbon when stitching. This is just some observations I've made while stitching that I wish I had known before...makes it a little easier to get the results I want. Click on the photos to see closer.

Pulling up, or in the direction of where the tip will be, as you bring the ribbon to the top for a ribbon stitch helps the stitch to be puffy instead of rolling up into it's self as it usually will if you pull it in the other direction.





For straight stitches pulling the ribbon in the direction it will go as you bring the ribbon to the top, and pulling back towards the bottom of the stitch as you bring the ribbon to the back will help the edges of the ribbon roll under making it look full instead of the edges rolling up.




See how pulling away rolles the edges upward intead of under?


I hope these little tips help! Practice makes perfect! Have fun! I used 7mm silk ribbon in the photos because I thought it might show up better.

Madie!

Isn't she soooooo cute?! This is a photo from a few days ago. Madie is a Mini-Schnauzer who is 1 year and 2 months. Whatever room I'm in doing whatever all her toys seem to migrate! I'll have to take a pic of the mess she makes! LOL When I go to vacuum I put all her toys in a basket and she goes after me and pulls every toy out as I put them in! "No Mom! The toys aren't supposed to be in the basket! They go on the floor!" So I've started giving her something to chew on to keep her busy while I vacuum. She also likes to pretend the vacuum is trying to steal her toys from her...she'll put a toy in the middle of the floor and if the vacuum points to it or goes near it she will swoop in and grab her toy away and put it somewhere else! She is a very entertaining puppy!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I Brake for Delphiniums

I Brake for Delphiniums
Hilarious Garden Cartoons!

Longwood Gardens - Home Page

Longwood Gardens - Home Page
A place I would love to visit!

It's Blooming!

Our Sweet Autumn Clematis is now blooming! I got up this morning and looked out the window and sure enough it was blooming nicely! I grabbed the camera and went outside to take some photos. It's a nice sunny day but step outside and the humidity clings to you...icky! I guess I will be enjoying my garden view from my window inside the air-conditioned house! Which is what I usually have to do since I am in the hot humid south!

Monday, August 28, 2006

Antique China...Silk Ribbon Inspiration









































Here are photos of patterns on some of my Haviland Limoges antique china collection. I just love the beautiful roses and the layouts. Wouldn't they make awesome Silk Ribbon Embroideries? You can click on the photos to see a closer veiw. For anyone wanting to use them for personal embroidery inspiration I give you permission to print out the photos. I have more photos to show but I was having trouble adding more, so I'll add more later for more inspiration. Looking at these patterns help me because I have a tendency to want everything to be an identical repeating pattern but these patterns are different most of the way around which make it look more interesting.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

We love because...

Our 6 year anniversary watercolor photo!
4 September 2005

We love because
God first loved us!
He claimed our lives
with the great love of Calvary.
From that awesome reality
comes a love eternally.

We love because
God first loved us!
He brought us together
to live under His Word
embraced with a passion
to know and serve the Lord.

We love because
God first loved us!
He linked our hearts in love
allowing us to show
abiding, growing devotion
regardless of life's flow.

We love because
God first loved us!
He called us to Himself
gave each to the other
His pleasure to treasure
His grace beyond measure.

That is why we love because
He first loved us.

By R.N. Hawkins

Friday, August 25, 2006

Have A Heart Swap


I wanted to show off a pretty heart I embroidered with silk ribbon for a swap going on at our Hand Embroidery Yahoo Group! I was inspired by some antique china I saw on e-bay and used what I had seen on the china to help me create a pattern. This was my first free hand design completely on my own.
  1. I used a water erasable pen and drew on the fabric an outline of where I wanted the middle flowers and then drew in the vines extending out from it.

  2. I then embroidered the vines in with 2 strands green cotton floss using the back stitch.
  3. After that I embroidered the middle flowers using variegated 7mm Bucilla silk ribbon. I stitched a spider web rose with Japanese ribbon stitches on the sides and tacked loop stitches around one side. Also I made a decorative lazy daisy stitch flower with a colonial knot in the middle, and two colonial knot flowers.
  4. Next I took the water erasable pen again and eyeballed where I thought flowers would look nice on the vines.
  5. I embroidered the little flowers on the vine in 4mm Bucilla silk ribbon using the colonial knot stitch.
  6. Then I took 4mm Bucilla silk ribbon using the Japanese ribbon stitch and placed leaves all around where it felt right.
  7. Can you find my initials "MA"? I hid them on a vine near a flower with green floss. I'm thinking in the future I may start using a signature bee...but first I need to learn how to stitch a bee!
If you would like to see more of my Silk Ribbon Embroidery Click Here

Hidden Clematis


This clematis is only about 3-4 inches and is hidden in with the Fairy roses we have as a hedge along our driveway. We had planted it in with the hedge so it would intertwine and create more intrest. My hubby spotted it just today! I still need to post photo's of our front garden for you all to see. I love to take close-up photo's of flowers! So all these close-ups you see on my blog are all my own.

Tea Time! In Honor of Christina

Since talking about friends, and thinking of Christina, I've wanted to get out the fine china and have Tea! So I decided to have tea in honor of her. Since she can't be with me, and is deployed to Iraq for a year, I filled her cup with some delightful pink english roses. I filled the teapot with some Tazo Chai Tea, a mutual favorite of ours, brought in flowers from the garden and set things up. Now you can take tea in many different ways...but I prefer to pour my tea in my cup first, then add sweetener, and last the milk. Stir it up and enjoy! Repeat until teapot is empty!
In order to get these pictures, since I am right handed, I had to use my left had for tea and the right for photos! *giggle* I'm just glad the tea, sweetener and milk didn't end up all over the table!



















Christina, I love you and I am praying for you! I hope you enjoyed this time of tea!
"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." 1 Corinthians 16:23

Thursday, August 24, 2006

My Lovely Friend Wendy


My lovely friend Wendy, with her youngest baby, Rebekah. This is an old photo and Becca is now 2 years old! Wendy just e-mailed me after looking at my blog and told me that she has a funny little habit of kissing her roses or flowers when she smells them. I did not know this about her, and I think it is very cute! Well she told me that Becca has picked it up too but doesn't understand the smelling part so she just kisses flowers. As she was looking at my blog Becca kept kissing the flowers on the screen! Isn't that sooooo cute! And the best compliment in the world! So the pretty red rose at the top of this post is just for Becca!

My Dear Friend Christina


My dear friend Christina is an officer in the Army. Right now she is in Iraq, and going through some tough situations with those she works with. I would ask that all who read this would pray for her! That God would keep His hand on her and lead and guide her. And that He would place her in a better work environment if need be. She is just starting her 1 year deployment so she has a long tough road ahead.
Christina and I have been friends since the 8th grade. We share a love for the Lord. Both of us enjoy roses, tea, and fine china! And it is a ton of fun when we are able to visit together and have Tea! She is the one who got me started collecting tea cups and using them all the time. I think she gets out her teapot and china on a daily basis! I love that about her! I tend to get out the teapot and china less often, mostly because I don't like having to hand wash the teapot everytime! *giggle* But I don't want to be a case of the "display only" teaware! I know it's hard for her not to be able to have a tea time in Iraq, it's something she really loves to do and is very relaxing for her.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Hummingbird and Passion Flower

Gerard captured this awesome photo of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird sipping happily at one or our bright red petunias. Red is their favorite color, but they will sip at other favorite plants even if they aren't red. Actually getting a decent photo of an elusive but stunning hummingbird is extremely difficult as anyone who's ever tried knows! Making any picture that is clear and in a attractive position very precious.
Passion Flower: This is our first passion flower vine. We had seen one growing wild in a ditch out here in Georgia and so when I saw it on the Jackson & Perkins cataloge I ordered one. They are indigenous to South America. So that means they grow really easy out here! And they smell really, really great!

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Just went outside again this evening and spotted the first few blooms! Yeay! I've never seen the plant in bloom yet and I've been waiting since last winter. I'm excited to see all the blooms open and waifting their scent. It's supposed to have a yummy vanilla fragrance. I hope the blooms will be at their peak for our Anniversary picture on the 4th of September. We have a tradition to take a picture on our anniversary every year and it's usually in our garden. I LOVE last years picture. In fact I put it in Adobe Photoshop and made it into a watercolor painting and then ordered a large size from Walmart.com and have it framed in our foyer. I'll have to post it later for you all to see, it's very romantic!

Container Garden Courtyard


Our Garden! Gerard and I love to garden and this is a little peek at what we've done in the backyard, planting only in pots. We love a free flowing style, like a cottage garden, but anything goes. If it looks gorgeous, smells delicious, or attracts the hummingbirds it has a place in our garden.Sweet Autumn Clematis buds getting ready to bloom like crazy.Closer is the Passion Flower vine and on the top is the Sweet Autumn Clematis.On the trellis we trained a pink climbing rose, a Passion Flower vine, Jasmine, and Sweet Autumn Clematis. The Clematis has really gone crazy and is covering nearly the entire thing as well as the Passion Flower vine.Under the red tree rose is a dark Sweet Potato Vine, and a Salvia next to it that the hummingbirds love. Next to the tree rose on the trellis is the pink climbing rose.Mixture of different annuals and perennials in pots. They have really taken off and grown together, blending beautifully.
"Heavenly Blue" Morning Glory"Blue Star" Morning Glory