Monday, June 18, 2012

IHSW Report & Other Stuff

Happy Monday morning one & all   : )   I will start this post with a photo of one of my most prized daylilies which I found at Willie's last week.  It's called Snow White Dove. Apparently it is very difficult to find.  Willie has always kept it as a display plant (not for sale) but we had it on our list & she said she would let us buy one.  I'm guessing this was extreme kindness on her part since we had bought so many others & she saw how excited we were about them all.  Isn't it gorgeous?  You know me ... I'm a sucker for anything that even remotely references snow   : )

Here's another one that just bloomed.  The color reminds me of the yellow orange crayon in the Crayola box.  I vividly remember sitting in my first grade classroom behind a girl named Rita Long.  We were coloring & I saw her picture & asked her about this beautiful color she was using.  She said it was yellow orange & she passed it back to me so I could use it.  It thought it was gorgeous!  I didn't want to give it back ... lol!  Anyway, this daylily is called Mary's Gold.  It's not a rare or hard to find one ... just a beautiful one   : )
A while back I did a post regarding how I decided I am not a gardener.  I determined that the oppressive heat & humidity & the never-ending fight with weeds & bugs of various kinds, among other things, were not for me.  However, I had to get out & clean up the beds a bit when we were planning to list the house for sale.  I didn't want people vomiting at the look of things while they walked around the yard.  As I weeded (& weeded & weeded & weeded & weeded) things started to look kind of nice.  Then I started trimming & rearranging.  Suddenly it was like uh-oh!  There's an empty spot! Gotta fill that up!  Then I noticed that the plants we planted last year, which looked to be near death's door from the time we put them into the ground, took off & grew like, well, weeds!  I can't believe how huge & full some of these plants are now!  It's nice to look outside & see something pretty.  I won't go so far as to say that I am a gardener or that I love gardening but I am getting some sort of satisfaction from it despite all the drawbacks.  A thought came to me a few days ago.  I think I am enjoying (& enjoying sounds like a strong word to me but for lack of a better one I'll use it) ... I think I am enjoying being out there in the gardens with the flowers because I hate being inside the house with all the chaos & things trapped inside moving boxes & closets packed from floor to ceiling & all the stuff that is wrong in here & all the never-ending insurance paperwork that keeps going from me to the insurance company & then back to me & then back to the insurance company ad infinitum.  Getting out in the gardens, despite all the hellishness it brings, gets me out of here & it's like being set free or something ... at least for a little while.  A bit of time spent in the prison courtyard rather than inside the cell.  Perhaps this is the answer to why I'm doing all this.  

I was checking posts on the knitting group Ravelry yesterday morning & Sophie decided she wanted some attention.  I picked her up & put her on the table & she snuggled down next to my laptop.  I think she likes the warm air that shoots out the one side of it.  As you can see she looks pretty bored with the Ravelry screen.  I think she can't understand why I'd want to knit or stitch or be on the computer or do anything else rather than pay attention to her.  
I had a rather successful IHSW weekend although it was a bit iffy there for a while. In my last post I stated that I had finished stitching my Nash project (4 Joy Pinkeeps) & the next day I would look for a new project to begin ... something with a flower/gardening theme.  I didn't have a lot of confidence that I would find something because although I have a good sized stash the main focus of it is winter & Christmas things.  I have some fall stuff, some samplers, some primitive designs, & a few Americana as well but flowers or gardening?  I didn't have much hope.  After going through my stash twice my fears were confirmed ... not even one flower or garden related chart.  I then decided to search for freebies online.  I came up empty.  I went back to my stash & revisited my freebies folder there & found a small motto piece which had a big bird on it with a few flowers alongside.  I convinced myself that this would work.  The design requires just one color.  I chose a variegated thread thinking how pretty that would look.  I wasn't happy with the fabrics I had to choose from but decided on a 32 count antique white linen.  I wanted to stitch the design over 1 which would've made the stitching area measure 4" x 3" which I thought was a good size. However, the design was looking way too tiny stitching it over 1 & the variegated thread just got lost.  I then started stitching it over 2.  This would make the finished stitching area measure 8" x 5".  A bit too big, I thought, but I'd give it a try.  It turned out that not only was the design looking too big but the variegated thread just didn't look nice on the antique white linen.  I spent the rest of the night frogging.  Yesterday morning I searched for freebies online again & found something I thought I could use but after looking at it for a while I decided otherwise.  Then I noticed a post on my reading list by Niky at Nikyscreations.  I remembered that I had several of her patterns which I hadn't seen in my stash checks.  I went back to my stash & there they were hiding in an unmarked file.  Sigh!  I then found a pattern with some flowers on it ... a very pretty pattern I might add ... & got it ready to stitch.  I worked hard on it all of yesterday & finished it a little after midnight last night.  I will share a photo after it is received by the giftee   : )

Today I will begin a new stitching project.  I had one picked out ... another Nash design x4 ... but I'm going to shelve that in order to make 2 other gift/exchange pieces.  I think the recipients will enjoy them & I'm going to make one for me as well   : ) 

I hope you all enjoy this new week!  Last week was, with the exception of finding Willie's daylily farm, horrible for me & John. Bad things happened every day.  I am hoping that things will turn around this week although it's starting out with a return visit to the dentist (more bridge woes). Tomorrow we are going to Lexington to once again run a few errands & then Wednesday it's back to the hospital for continuing blood tests. Pretty exciting stuff, huh   : )   But there will also be stitching & other fun things ... maybe I'll even get started on some knitting ... so things are looking up in this arena anyway ... fingers crossed   : )                

9 comments:

Vickie said...

Well Shirley, I am glad you found what worked finally. I hope this week is much much better for you. I will be looking for those pictures to come. I am glad to see Sophie. She is pretty.♥ http://astitchersstory.blogspot.com/

Cathy B said...

Hope you have a great week Shirlee!

marly said...

I've never seen a white daylily. What a beauty. Dig that up and take it with you when you move! I don't weed anymore since our cement resembling soil breaks off the roots. I have a cardboard tube that I made, put it over the weed to protect the surrounding plants, and blast it with the death juice. Boom.

Jenny said...

Oh, the lilies are dso pretty! I have one in my back-garden that is doing really well, considering that "someone" (=me) has not weeded back there the entire year...
I am so sorry to hear that last week was rough. I hope that this week will bring nothing but great stuff your way!

Chris said...

It looks like Sophie definitely has an opinion on how you are spending your time. Cats are so funny!
The daylillies are stunning. I am glad to hear that your plantings from last year are doing great.
I can't wait to see those new projects.
Have a great week!

Michelle said...

Wow your daylilies are beautiful. Never been any good at growing those. Hope this week is filled with better days for you xx

Bea said...

The daylillies are sooo beautiful - that yellow is gorgeous. I hope you have a good week.

Yana Hanim said...

Hi Shirley, are you moving out from the house pictured on the header or you are going to move in there? the house looks so lovely... its a dream house!
and your cat is soooo adorable!

xoxo yuana

TheCrankyCrow said...

Now even I am loving that white daylilly....gee, wonder if that will turn yellow too in my garden?? And your Sophie girl is a charmer....I would get nothing done all day with her around - but she'd get plenty of attention. Oh wait, I don't get anything done all day anyways! :o

Hope this week has fared better for you - and hope things, healthwise, are ok....You have me worried with all those blood testings....

Hugs & Smiles ~ Robin