Tuesday, September 1, 2015

I'm A Better Stitcher Than A Gardener!

Prior to seeing this plant bloom I thought for certain that this was a weed. Had I not called upon Melissa, who is quite the gardener, I would have yanked the "weedy" looking thing from the garden.  Melissa took a look at the picture I sent and told me that it was indeed a flowering plant and not a weed.  She was right, it bloomed!  This year it is even larger and more beautiful. I don't remember planting this, nor do I remember the name. Who knows what this is?




Thank you again, Melissa. I cannot look at it without thinking of you.

Each year I plant a small herb garden, which grows quite well.  Last year I tried to grow a sunflower but had no luck.  I see sunflowers everywhere, masses of them dotting the landscape. They are not difficult to grow…for other people.  Now if I were trying to grow one from seed maybe I could understand, but I am not.  This year I planted the sunflower in a different location within my small garden and…

Voila ~ IT GREW

First this little bud…



Which transformed into this…



And has continued to blossom into this…




Ohhh, so very tall ~ and finally a…

SUCCESSFUL SUNFLOWER!

Look at this huge blossom…





Beautiful!

Again, I am not a gardener so I have no idea what this is.  It's pretty and the size of flower is quite impressive.

Now for some stitching ~

Grace and Virtue was finished using a vintage pie plate, which my DH spray painted matte black. I am always on the lookout for items to repurpose. This was quick, easy, and inexpensive…the pie plate was .50 cents at a tag sale.



Design: Grace and Virtue
Designer: The Sampler Company
Fiber: 32ct Linen over 2
Floss: DMC


I completed the stitching on yet another small for the 2015 Smalls SAL


This is part of a kit that I purchased at Celebration of Needlework in NH.  I was hoping to have it finished to share with you but I had surgery on the 20th, which slowed me down to a crawl!

My younger son, who moved to Colorado a year ago, is coming home with his GF for the Labor Day weekend. They are arriving tomorrow and will visit with us for a week. My oldest son and DIL (so happy her status has changed from GF to DIL) are also coming for the weekend. They arrive Friday night and head back to NYC on Monday.  It's so nice that they will all be here together.



Thanks for stopping by…
Until next time…

11 comments:

Robin in Virginia said...

Wow, Marie! Your gardening efforts are beautiful. I love how you finished Grace and Virtue. Is it permanently attached to the pie tin or are you able to switch out to another stitched piece if you chose? Congratulations on your small finish!

Robin in Virginia

Olivia said...

Hello, hello! I am happy to tell you the first flower is an asiatic lily. The second is a hibiscus. The specific varieties of each, I do not know, however.

Vickie said...

Well I see Olivia told you what I was going to say. ;)
The pie plate finish is awesome!'
Have a spectacular weekend with your family.

Kaisievic said...

Gorgeous flowers, Marie, the first one is some type of Lilium, I think and the third one,hmm! Not sure! Pretty, though. Lovely stitching and how wonderful to have your family home with you for a visit.

Carol said...

You really ARE becoming quite the gardener, Marie :) I would love to be one, but our soil here in western PA is horrid and the deer just don't allow us to grow anything that isn't fenced in. At the moment we are in a drought and everything is brown and dead looking...

Your pie plate finish is brilliant--such a great idea to paint it black.

Enjoy your sons visits this weekend. It's always a treat to have the whole family together... Our oldest is actually bringing a new girlfriend over to meet us for the first time on Labor Day--gulp!! Hope it goes well :)

Sheryl said...

Beautiful Grace and Virtue and Smalls design. Wonderful blooms,

Irmeli said...

Thanks for visiting and comment on my blog.
Your Grace and Virtue finishing is really wonderful, I love it and nice small finishing too.

Brigitte said...

All your flowers are so beautiful, particularly the lilies. Such a wonderful colour. Our lilies didn't grow this year although we didn't have many snails who had eaten them during the last years. But we have two hibiscus bushes that are still having lots and lots of flowers. My husband always does the weeding himself because he fears that I weed out all the flowers that aren't blooming yet, lol.

Very nice stitching and finishing, Marie.

Margo said...

Hi, Your flowers are beautiful. Your lily is an Oriental Lily - it looks like it's probably a Stargazer. After the flower fades, leave the stalk until it turns brown - it stores food for the bulb so that it will bloom next year.

Your big pink flowers are hardy hibiscus - they love sun and water and fertilizer.

Your stitching is gorgeous as always!

Hugs, Margaret

Maggee said...

Love Grace and Virtue, and the pie plate finish is super!! Great idea!! Love the garden... even if you didn't know what was growing there! Hugs!

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Gorgeous lily and sunflower!
And a very creative way of displaying your circular stitching. Inspired because circular frames are so hard to get and the wooden hoop idea is a little overdone now! This is new and different.