Halfway Through

It's the middle of August already, and we finally had some rain, so the temperatures have cooled, at least for a couple of days.
The gardens were wilting badly, but the rain has perked everything up. It's raining again today, which is good. ;-) 
These photos were taken before the rain:

hot colours for a hot, dry summer

yes, that's grass behind the sweet william........it's usually a deep green this time of the year

even though I've been watering regularly, the golden glow is still wilted

and the echinacea look very sad

 This lily was the only plant of 18 that survived the squirrel/chip-munk attacks, even though I used wire caging.  Once they popped through the ground, their heads were all eaten! grrrr    I'll have to have another ponder.........
 I took this photo after the first rain

a few days later there were more blooms

isn't it pretty?



















I finished PPP #4:

A crystal and silver butterfly has flown to a bullion seam treatment

the finished block

I'm leaving the top section plain, at least until it's joined to the next block.

PPP #5

the fabric card for my sister is underway

auditioning fabrics and trims

these are tags I made for another fabric card

one of the finished pieces for the wrapping cloth had beads added to the flower lace

all the pieces have their buttonhole edging

This is the lay-out for the wrapping cloth. See those openings here and there? I have 2 other finished pieces that I may cut up and fit into the bare spots.........
The size as shown measures 49 1/2" by 51 1/4". I think that's large enough.  Now to finish joining all the pieces together!
I hope your week has been a creative one!
Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz

Summer Arrives

The gardens are in bloom!  There are lots of garden photos, followed by stitching photos.

It was quite hot over the last few days, but this morning is cool and sunny. We had a few moments of rain last evening, and although the rain barrel was 1/3 full before the rain fell, it's only half full now. The soil is still dry in the gardens, so I'll spend some time watering today.
There has been some stitching.

I completed this purple piece. I'm leaving the purple section in the lower right bare until I decide if I want to add some white or pale thread in a meandering vine.

I began working on another purple piece with the addition of a gathered, variegated fabric strip, 2 buttons, beads on sequins, purple silk ribbon, and a blue trim.

The frilly tatting looks like a woolly caterpillar..... lol

Purple fur, purple bullions, french knots and herringbone stitch embellish this seam.

I wrapped the silk ribbon with variegated thread, and added french knots to the flower centers.

Blue beads decorate the blue trim.

The progress so far........









 

On the crewel piece flower #3, I added the inside row of beads and more metallic purple  thread.

Next came the outer row of beads.

I began weaving inside the leaf shapes.

dimension

Next came the second colour for the weaving.

Flower #3 is completed, and I've begun working on flower #4, but not enough to show any photos yet.













Flower #3 is completed, and I've begun working on flower #4, but not enough progress has been made to show any photos.

I'm couching some off-white gimp along the outline of the flowers on the wrapping cloth.

I may decide to add some beads, too, for a bit of bling.

The gimp seems to show up against the background and define the flower shapes and petals.

This last prepared piece is almost finished!

That's all the stitching for this week. I hope your week was a creative and enjoyable one.


Thanks for visiting.
Hugs from Suz