....of Strawberries and Cream...and Amore!

Another wonderful weekend…. Except for the heat! We had a storm come through and some welcome drops of rain early this evening but it is still warm… sleeping will be a little easier tonight though.

My Hanging Hearts have been selling well at the gallery and I’m so pleased I made the time to make another this afternoon. I’m still really enjoying these!

Strawberries and Cream

Hanging Heart

This one is made from a beautiful vintage embroidered linen cloth. I think it is crewel embroidery and the strawberries are absolutely beautifully done. The cream lace was gifted to me from a new artist friend (Hi Lynda and Thank You!) I added a few vintage buttons; some hand dyed silk organza held down with Running Stitch and just a few French Knots and Cross Stitches.

Strawberries and Cream - Detail

I really enjoy upcycling these vintage finds!

I'll leave you tonight with a couple of images of corners of our house! These are from our bedroom. The top photo is a closer representation of the colour of the walls we painted a few months ago. It is such a fabulous colour! It glows golden in the morning sunlight and is deep in the corners and shadows. I love waking up in this room! It is blissful!

Peony Roses would have to be my favourite flower- although I think I love them all. I also love oriental ceramics and I collect Fu Dogs (Temple dogs) There's a couple hiding in the greenery on this little pine table.....

Goodnight all.... and wishing you all a happy and creative week!

Lucky finds!

Not my work.... but I have to share a couple of lucky finds from the thrift store yesterday! First was a little table top easel which I just couldn't pass up (only $4!). It will be very useful for my pastel paintings. The second was this sweet little crewel embroidered cushion.....

I don't know whether to be brave enough to wash it or not. There is so much work in this little design. It seems to have been stitched with 2-3 strands of 6 stranded floss not wool thread. The stitching is quite fine and in perfect condition!

..... it's sad sometimes to think of all the time and skill that went into making household linens etc in times past and that fewer people seem to appreciate them. I sometimes purchase them just to 'save' them. Occassionally I use them in my work. Once I've washed this I'll put it on the comfy chair in my studio... and tizzy it up with some tassels on the corners....! I want to bring it back to life!

I'm working on a kit monogram for my hubby's study wall (started about 2 years ago and it'd be nice to have it done and framed for his 50th in July this year!) Apart from that just dabbling around with some UFO's I've found whislt tidying my studio.................!