Spring and Stitch

In the gardens, the perennials are coming to life with new green shoots popping through the warmed earth, and leaves unfurling in the sunshine.

 the trilliums are in flower

last year someone trespassed and picked most of the trilliums on the property. I was so upset! Some have reappeared this year, but they are much smaller, and fewer in number

 Pretty 'pink' daffodils


(don't look too closely at those little yellow flowers in the distance, okay?...lol)

 These yellow daffodils stood proud and tall

 until a rainstorm flattened them!

they are now recovering

 more white trilliums

I haven't seen any of the red ones......they were picked, too. I'll take a walkabout tomorrow and see if I can spot any.......













I've added a tatted single frill seam treatment in a variegated pink Watercolours thread and a small beaded row to my May block:

I like how the rose 'silky' has been framed.


There are just a few short seams left, and I'm thinking of adding some climbing roses to the trellis fabric......









 Work on piece #4 of my wrapping cloth continues:

I added more x-stitching, another multi-row tatted frilled edging, more buttonhole lace, and a pleated skirt in the wild fabric to cover a blank bit under the frill


 then I covered the buttonhole stitching with a beaded cascade of  Josephine knot flowers

I added buttonhole stitch to my flat knot, and created three little puffy dangles wearing buttonhole lace trim.

so far, piece #4

There's lots more embellishing to be added to this piece. What fun!

I hope you've had fun this week, too.

Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz













 

Spring and Stitching

Spring has sprung here, finally. Yay!

the tiny crocus are in full bloom, and now the daffodils are bursting forth

 the lake is free from all winter's ice, and has been warming up quickly in the lovely temperatures we've had

 the ducks and blue heron have returned to the bay (but they're too shy for photos yet)

 and turtle island once again has its reflection in the lake water

 down at the beach, the wood is piled for fires in the stone chimney, and the chairs are set in place
(hidden by the trees)

the view from the dock is enticing.......but the water needs to be warmer before there are bodies jumping in to cool off.........

These are the nicest days.....warm enough to work outside without coats, but not too hot...and Before Bugs! The best BB days, ever.....







 I've had lots of nice stitching time this week (hope you have, too) and  made some progress on my  CQJP block:



 this pretty butterfly welcomes May

this beautiful hairpin lace was created by Annet . I've been saving her pieces for something very special, and decided they would be lovely on my CQJP 2013 wall hanging.
Isn't it gorgeous?

a few French knots added below the lace trim

some buttonhole lace made with two different threads.......

and May looks very pretty





















I added another cutwork circle and a bumpy bit to Piece #3 of my wrapping cloth.

 

Then some decorations for the large pocket
















rows of edging, and here's a collage of piece # 3completed!

Piece #4 is a WIP

this is how it looked pinned together

I made a little puff, and added a skirt and some beads

and placed it

added some buttonhole lace, x-stitches and multiple tatted frilly rows to make a frilled edging

hmm, sorry the picture is looking blue here....it's really white

well, that's my stitching this week.

I love to get your feedback, so please do comment. Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz







 

Water and Ice

The lake ice was breaking up, and DH brought a chunk into the house......

holding it up to the window, I could see the crystal perforations...... looking like glass rods fused together.....

I turned on the light for a different result....there seems to be a bug caught in the layers of ice

 all along the road, the ditches were filled with water, and ice

ice that looked fractured

and I could see the light reflections each fracture seemed to create

the snow was still in the bush, although it was slowly disappearing

Though the long driveway was now bare, winter was hanging on tightly

Rockman didn't seem to care that it was almost the end of April, and winter had not yet disappeared

puddles in the road wore icy cloaks, too

approaching the beaver dam, the water flowed swiftly, creating a loud roar I had heard  at the house for the last week

the thaw had begun

roiling and boiling over the granite below

 that bright white in the upper right is the glare of the sun on the frozen beaver dam

the water broke through the dam as the thaw had begun in the forest, but the ice prevented the beavers from stopping the leaks

and so the water pooled, and cascaded over the dam, over rocks

creating a world of water and ice....

 the white is the foaming water spewing from the breach in the dam

churning in small pools

and sweeping along the bedrock

flowing downhill past huge boulders to the lake

 over logs

 Spring is on the way!


Finally!





I hope that wherever you are, you are warm and dry and enjoying sunshine.

I have a houseguest staying with me and probably won't be online much over the next few days.




Thanks for visiting.

Hugs from Suz