Native Iris

I bought these Iris plants at a home and garden show. They are of the native variety that grew wild in the area where I grew up. They would grow along side the road and bloom so pretty, also you would find them in some of the fields. The white ones with the purple veining were rare, most were of a purple blue color. I love to pick them and take them home and put them in a jar and add them to the kitchen table. I don't see them growing like that anymore, so I was so happy to find them at the market.

Isn't the purple veining pretty. They are a very small plant probably not 8" high, but very lovely.

I am going to plant them and hope they like it and multiply, and even change color as they do. I love the native flowers here in the P.N.W. we have some beauties, foxglove, lupin, a form of bachelor button, just to name a few. I do have the foxglove naturalised in my garden and they just pop up everywhere, what a treat.

Tea at the garden

I have posted this picture before but it is getting close to time for tea in the garden again. We try to do it every year, at Ferguson's Fragrant Gardens, they are beautiful, and this year I will try to remember to take some pictures of the beauty. This is usual a day trip, we have a lovely drive into the country, sometimes we follow a river and sometimes it's just fields and country houses. First we visit the Heirloom Rose garden and ooh and ahh over the most beautiful rose in the world, the garden is world famous. After we have our fill of the beauty of roses and shop in the little cottage, we head to Ferguson's.
I set up the tea table while everyone tours the garden, I like it to be all done and a surprise. Every year I try to make it different and special. The year shown here I put their tea lunch in the fabric covered box you see at the bottom of the picture. Well this year I have yet to be inspired and time is running out.
I will post the pictures from this years event next month. TTFN

things I have made

I have been in a creative mood for a while now, and have tried to get somethings I have had in mind into being. Here are a few of the things I have finished. I made this pincushion from a cream pitcher, the poof is made from recycled velvet and the lace is a garage sale find, very nice. I made the ribbon flowers and leaves. And the velvet strawberry is one of my favorite things to make, they all turn out so cute.

This is a brooch, you can wear it on your lapel, add it to a hat or handbag, really you could put it on anything a pin would go through. It is a handcrafted ribbon pansy, backed by organdy ribbon, I made the fuchsias from satin ribbon and stamens, I pick up the stamens at garage sales they are now quite expensive to buy new.

Another brooch, this one had been in my sewing box for probably 10 years, and I Finlay finished it. The center flower is a cabochon rose, a bit of a challenge to get stated but it finishes easy. Again the fuchsias make an attractive addition.

I have been thinking about a heart like this off and on for years, this is just one version I came up with. It seems like things take on a life of their own when I start them, I might have an idea of the completed item but it rarely comes out as planned. As you add things it just seems it has to go the way it wants, I know that is crazy but it seem that way. :)

All of these items are for sale on my new Bonanzel site.

Vintage pictures collage

This is a collage of vintage pictures I have found on the web.

I did it in Picasa. I am not sure how I did it but this is what came out.

Marie Antionette

Marie Antionette!

I found these painting of Marie Antionette on a museum web page. She is a fascinating woman in literature, I have read a few books of fiction about her and often wonder if they are even close to the real thing.

It has been said that the famous phrase " let them eat cake" was not said by her. And it is reported that the last words she uttered as she was to be guillotined, were " please excuse me" as she was to have stepped on the executioners foot. If so how very sad.
I wonder how she would feel if she knew she still was a subject of admiration and much art work by the famous as well as the humble home crafter.

Spring flowers

I am sorry this is out of focus, but the colors are so pretty, and it is a survivor from last year, so I tried to get a good picture of it. Maybe next time. :)

My Asian Pear is so beautiful in blossom, I hope it does as well this year as it did last year. But I am worried because I saw ZERO bees, that is a big concern you don't get pollination without bees or some kind of bug.

Blueberries blossoms I have 5 plants, last year only 2 produced any fair amount, I have great hopes for this year, but again the bee thing.

As you can see my picket fence isn't the typical white, but I like the look of the faded paint on the weathered wood, a nice contrast for the tulips.

I love this picture, these little violets just pop up every where, and they are so pretty. I do have to pull a lot as weeds otherwise they would take over, but I love them when they are in bloom. When I have the inclination and the time I pick some and sugar them, they are such a delight at a tea party. They are totally eatable, both blossoms and leaves with a high vitamin C content.

Flowers for Memorial

Hi everyone, I am sorry to be gone so long but I am not a multi-tasker and can only handle a couple of things at once. So having more than that to do I had to let the blogging slide for a while. I hope I haven't lost you all. I have here to share with you some flower arrangements I made for the Memorial that my religious group celebrate once a year. It was such an honor to be asked to do the arrangements as I have no formal training.

This one shows the different flowers I used stock, roses, babys breath, larkspur, snapdragons, gladiolas, and some I don't know how to spell.

Sorry this one got in here twice but this is a better look at that lovely metal pot.

As it turns out this was an all time favorite with the women. They loved the ceramic pot with the roses on it. The arrangement was about 3 times as high as the pot and gave it a tall overstated look for the size of the pot.

I love the Lilly's and this is a close up of one in the larger bouquet.

This close-up of the roses really shows it's true color it was just this wonderful shade of pinkie lavender. Oh yes, the stock and the Lillie's made these arrangements smell heavenly.
These flowers are getting double duty as they are now at the celebration of my dear friends 50th wedding anniversary, I tease her and tell her she must have been just 2 when she got married.

Well take care hope to see you all soon. TTFN