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i am a creative person. mother to a daughter who is an active young woman and a constant blessing in my life. i hope that you enjoy your visit here and that you will return often.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

crocus and a march fabric postcard

 
 
a purple spring crocus peeping out of a small rock wall in the garden. 
i love my crocus. they are a welcome sight in early spring and i am finding that they have begun to multiply themselves nicely. i have many colors including white, purple orange and yellow.
did you know that they are part of the iris family? and that there are about 80 species? this group of plants  can tolerate the earliest spring temperatures and even snow due to a special natural "waxy  cuticle".  to read lots more about these early spring beauties follow the link that i provided to "The Plant Encyclopedia". LOTS of great info~!!~
 
the green leaves that you can see to the right of the crocus is a tulip coming up. i wonder what color it will be?
 
i have been out of town just about every other day since my last post. around here that means a minimum of an hour drive in one direction. almost two hours if i go north and almost three if i go east. over the past few weeks i've been in every direction (more than once) and it makes for long days. i'm not as resilient as i used to be and so my blog is neglected as i regain my energy and try to catch up on other stuff. dang the laundry and dishes and vaccuming anyway~!
i have things to share and posts within my brain but just can't summon the time and energy to make it happen. i hope to get better about this but am not sure just how to go about doing that. do i need a special blogging calendar, am i unorganized? lazy? or just plain crazy?
if you have ideas to share with me in regards to being a more regular blogger? i sure could use them~! in the meantime, i'll just appreciate a dose of understanding from you.
 
the good news is that since it's something that i have had to do for all of my adult years i have gotten smart about using the driving time to stitch so i manage to keep a few hand projects moving along.
 
today i'll show you the finished postcard that i made my wonderful daughter for march.  
 
 
i went with a green on green color scheme and lots of stitched texture for this card. see that tiny little shamrock within the glass bubble? i've had that since i was in early elementary school. it was on a chain at one time and i frequently wore it as a necklace when i was young but unfortunately i don't remember where it came from. anyway it's been hanging out in my jewelry box for quite some time so i decided that it must have been waiting for just this occasion to be seen regularly again. on the back there were tiny letters engraved into it spelling out various phrases such as mazel tov, good luck, etc. 
i also tossed in a few beads (the largest wooden green one from a trip to Honduras), sequins and even a couple of washers that i stitched around. 
this card ended up being extra bulky so i mailed it in a padded envelope. normally i mail them in a 4 inch x 6 inch clear plastic sleeve.
 
i'm well on my way to getting april's card completed as this Slow Sunday Stitching shot shows. this is a detail of an edge stitch that i am embroidering (a taylor's buttonhole stitch) onto a leaf. the fabric is a leaf printed batik that i fussy cut. i want the leaf to remain (mostly) unattached . . . sort of an experiment but it seems to be going well. i like the way that the edge of the leaf is beginning to curl a bit . . . it seems more natural to me that way. i have to say though that frequently i have an idea of where i'm going visually and as i sew it changes so be prepared for a possible different outcome once finished. that is one of the joys of slow stitching for me: lots of time to consider and work and 'intuit' just what the piece is whispering into my heart.
 
i recently mailed a birthday postcard to my MIL. i'll show that one to you in the next post.
 
i am also currently working on a small doll sized random sampler and have just a bit of applique (more slow stitching) to finish up and then the hand quilting will begin (more slow stitching~!). LOVE that slow stitching~! for a really good summing up on more of the benefits of slow stitching as well as a linky show and tell, visit Kathy at Kathy's Quilts.
 
can you believe that i'm still mending socks~!?
they make a great take-along project on those trips that i  mentioned. you'd think i'd have every sock in the house mended by now but nope, not quite. partly because it's, yep, you guessed it, slow stitching, but i have to admit to actually seeking out socks to mend . . . a stitch in time, saves nine and all that. and yes, i'm still loving doing it. one can only imagine that there is something seriously wrong with me in that respect.
are there other closet sock darners out there? maybe a secret sock stitching society/club/guild or something?   hhhmmmmm . . .
 
 

 recent gifts include:
  • getting outside with my camera for a fun spring floral photo shoot around the yard/garden
  • the taste of sweet juicy california strawberries
  • discovering how much i like the taste of fresh grated ginger in my breakfast smoothies
  • opening up the windows on a particularly warm spring day for fresh breezes through the house.
 
 linking up with:
Floral Love
 
 

15 comments:

  1. I cannot even imagine opening the windows yet...what a nice treat!
    Enjoyed seeing your green postcard...so pretty!
    Hope you enjoy your hand stitching today...thanks for linking up!

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  2. You are such an artist, Libby Q. Who cares if you can't do EVERYTHING, right? You are a creative delight. Less doing, more being, I say!

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  3. Love the postcard. What a great way to save a keepsake for your daughter.

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  4. I did not know crocus are part of the iris family. Love the pic. My tulips started blooming last week.
    I don't have any suggestions about posting more regularly. I want my blogging to be something I look forward to so if I don't have the time I try not to worry about a couple weeks between posts. Your posts are thoughtful and I prefer that to being frequent. Some people post on a given day of the week. You could try that if you think it would work for you.
    Lovely story about the shamrock within the glass. I seem to remember having something similar. I think you have every shade of green in this postcard. Lovely!

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  5. Gorgeous crocus you have there! Love the drops!
    Thank you so much for joining Floral Love again dear!

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  6. That's a really nice purple crocus.

    I love its freshness with the drops of water on the petals.

    This is an eye candy!

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  7. I am green with envy over your March postcard!

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  8. oh my...you have one lucky daughter to receive such great postcards in the mail. I'm all for MAIL ART! Yours are beautiful. Did you participate in the LIBERATE YOUR ART POSTCARD SWAP? What a gift to receive that in the mail! Great job...and yes, the crocus are out in force along with the daffodils! FINALLY!!!

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  9. Oh, and I forgot that you were the one who had me put all my fave woolen socks with holes aside for mending...haven't done them yet, but thanks for that post! What a great idea...if you run short on socks to darn...well just give me a jingle...I can surely help you out there;)

    Aloha...

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  10. lovely postcard for your daughter,love the embellishments - so interesting.
    I had not idea you were living in area so remote, my my. Sounds like you have company while driving, hence the ability to stitch, lol.
    Don't feel too much pressure to blog, it a "no obligation" media. At least I hope so, as I've been super busy lately too.

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  11. your crazy card is wonderfull. you are both blessed to have a so wonderful daughter.

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  12. I love, love, love that you mend socks! Such a lost art, in this throw away society that we live in. It's a true act of love in my book!

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  13. Your crocus image is just beautiful! I really love your stitched card too ~ you have a talent here that I just don't have! I complained only last week to my mother about yet another hole in yet another pair of my socks ~ "darn it" she said. I had to confess, I don't know how!

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  14. I'm seeing a slow- stitching pattern with your projects lately. That is a good thing! Love your clover charm and how you added it to the postcard- cute!!
    Sometimes just jotting some notes down when I'm not at the computer is helpful for me, then I can basically type it up when I'm near the computer. I also download photos and keep them on a blog post in draft mode until I can write something to go with it.You are always very thoughtful with your posts, that is what I enjoy. I try and have very few words, because that isn't my strong point! lol

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