M'Lady Loves To Garden Updated

Summer for me has to be about the scent and taste of ripe peaches, the hum of bees and chasing butterflies.  I don't chase them so much now I am no longer 7 years old but these are the memories of my childhood summers.

I can even remember the first time I tasted a peach.  My dad had just come out of the RAF and we were living in a caravan on a residential site while our house was being built.  It was nothing like a holiday caravan park! The caravans were specially lined and ours have a solid fuel fire, several bedrooms and all the mod cons.  The site was enclosed so we had total freedom as children.  I loved it!

A couple of actors came to stay in the caravan next to us as they were performing in theatres in Manchester and one of them promised a little six year old me a taste of fresh peach.  We'd only  had tinned peaches up till now and I was so excited!  To read this now you probably think I'm talking post-war Britain! Not at all: just 1976 Northern England!

Anyway, I must have been a right pain because I pestered them and pestered them and eventually they brought me a peach.  Oh lordy, it was amazing.  I can remember now how good it tasted. Nothing like tinned ones at all!  And that memory has always stayed with me as has a love of peaches and nectarines!

As I was organising my threads, I started to sort out the oranges and pinks and it made me think of peaches and fresh apricots.  And that led to my new Victorian Maid.  Well, who said where inspiration had to come from?  Fruit is as good as anywhere! And it is nearly summer though it is hard to think it as I look out at the grey skies and clouds.

So what better than a sweet victorian maid out in her garden?  Dressed in the pinks and gentle oranges of sweet peaches and apricots, her face protected from the sun by her glorious sun hat, and she takes a turn, taking a moment to listen to the bees!  Because of the clouds it is so hard to get a good picture but it is stitched on Sand coloured evenweave xx

Stitch Size 105 x 70 and stitched in DMC

An updated photo because Sarah Paine from Pain Free Crafts sent me details about a camera tent.  I cant afford to buy one so made one out of a cardboard box, some cartridge paper and the trusty pva glue!

I am so pleased...I have to play around with the lighting but yay!!!

Stitched and then taken two hours to get a halfway decent photo in a country where the sun is as rare as an albino hippopotomus!

I hope you like her. She is truly beautiful in person and if you use a sand coloured material, I promise you will not be disappointed.

I won't be posting again until the weekend when  THE GRAND VIRTUAL STITCHING RETREAT will begin!

People who want to take part include;

Shebafudge (Sharon)
Jacquie
Gillian
Lynsey
Mary
Anne
Rose K
Sarette
Julie W
Laney Blue (Elaine)
Sharon M
Sharlene
Harriette
Kathy

You do NOT need to have a blog to take part, but it is no good being anon. If you are anon and would like to take part please leave your name (first name and initial will be fine) in your reply to this post.  It isnt too late to take part!

When I release the post there will be two free charts.  One in Gaelic and one in English.  You chose whichever one you want and stitch it.  I will put them up as jpegs but if you have any problems getting them off then email me and I will send it to you as a pdf.  Because I will be away from Monday 26th, I am starting the virtual retreat a little earlier, to ensure you all get a suitable working copy of the chart.

There will also be some tasks to do that we will be doing on the real retreat here in Ireland.  All you have to do is email me a photo 1. of your finished stitching (no time limit) and 2. Photos of you and the tasks.  Then I will add them all to a page on this blog (so you don't need to worry if you dont have a blog) under your name and we can all be part of something together. Please send photos when you have finished your stitching.  My memory isn't getting any better and I will forget who sent what unless it is in one email per person.

You are a crafty and creative lot so it is fine to interpret the tasks and their themes however you like!

Sound good?  One photo per task/subject and your finished stitching!  All together on the one page with everyone else!

I'm having a sale of pdf charts on the website; that will end this Friday and then I will be closed next week so if you order something after Sunday then it will take a little longer to get to you xx

That's the plan then!  See you soon xxxx