Fringe Benefits

Over the past few months my husband and son have been creating magic in our front yard by building raised garden beds and replacing dated framed lattice panels with wooden slats all of which is giving a fresh and modern appearance to the house - and, may I add, some wonderful compliments to the 'carpenters' from our neighbours.  My part in all of this landscaping project is to oil the wooden slats for weather protection and select plants for the garden beds - a job which I have undertaken with much relish.  

I decided to fill the beds with native plants and delighted in the task of visiting the plant nursery to choose suitable plants.  As time goes on and my natives flourish they will form the subject of other posts, but for today I would love to highlight a pretty and delicate flower which, up until I saw it at the plant nursery, didn't realise its quaint size.  It is in fact one of my earliest designs - the Fringe Lily - and I must admit that when I saw it, I just knew I had to buy it (much like a pair of shoes or dress) because it is such a sweet little flower.

There are a cluster of buds on a stem and each flower only blooms once but they don't all bloom at the same time so each new day brings a new and perfect bloom.  It took about a whole week for this particular cluster to complete flowering with about four blooms each day and there are a couple of smaller clusters still yet to flower.  The flower itself is about the size of a thumbnail but what I found absolutely unusual was the pretty frilled fringe around each petal and the gorgeous colour.

My cross stitched design of the Fringe Lily depicts the actual flower perfectly with its markings and colourings and the frilled edge. It contains 9 colours and measures 82 x 73mm (3.2 x 2.9in) in size and there is currently a Fringe Lily card for sale in my Etsy shop on purple cardboard.

I don't seem to recall the flower having a fragrance, but I think we can forgive it for that when it produces such beauty and provides such pleasure.

Ros

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.' - Judy Garland

Design Release - Strawflower

Today I am excited to release a design which I have been working on over the past couple of weeks - the Strawflower.  I am also just as proud to mention that this design was inspired by beautiful strawflowers that I have growing in my garden at the moment with the photos below being proof.

Blooming in differing shades of both pale and bright colours they certainly make a striking display in the garden.  What has amazed me though is that, although they flower best in the hot summer months, these beauties have thrived during our winter and in a position that hasn't been receiving much sunlight. 

Strawflowers are found Australia wide growing in many different habitats from rainforests to deserts to subalpine areas and provide a food source for butterflies, bees and insects.  They are a herbaceous shrub growing to a height of up to 80cm high and have lovely leafy green foliage.  But what makes these little beauties so special is the different texture of their petals (or bracts) which are stiff, papery and dry making them a perfect long lasting flower.  Touching them actually does feel like very light cardboard yet they are quite strong and it is because of this texture that they are ideal as dried flowers and for use in the cut flower industry.

Replicating the sharp edges of the strawflower was a challenge when designing this flower and my aim, as always, is to be as authentic as possible so some stitchers may find the design a little intricate.  This is probably the only wildflower design where the availability of different colours for a flower have been included in the one design and therefore a total of 13 colours have been used.  

But with such an array of colours to choose from to portray the Strawflower, it was just too difficult for me to decide on just one.  Or......maybe.....it was just an excuse for the artist in me to experiment with colours and my stash!!!

Ros

'Flowers are those little colourful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, sombre skies blanket our thoughts' - Dodinsky