Monday, May 10, 2010

Flowers, both stitched and real

Jane Atkinson is coming along.  I'm even doing well on my promise to myself to stitch a line of verse every week. 


In the next picture, the right hand leaf is a problem.  I stitched it in the color marked on the chart, but when I looked at the picture on the cover, I saw the fill in color is actually a light green.  I have yet to decide whether to frog it out and redo it or not.  Sigh.




I got distracted by the ant and the little critter on the right side.   Don't you love them?  I ended up stitching away on the right side because of the cuteness, and then continued on until I decided I'd better catch up on the left side.  Jane was nice to me -- the two sides, although similar, aren't exact copies of each other.  Yay! 

In other news, my father type gave me some wonderful presents for Mother's Day.  He vacuumed and mopped the house for me!  Yay!  And he also gave me some flowers.



If you're wondering about the plastic, it's because there was a freeze warning last night, and there will be another tonight.  Poor father type.  Anyway, these spaces on our front porch are usually empty and nonplanted -- neither the father type nor I are gardener types.  Last year, the areas ended up with long grass in them -- not exactly attractive!  Well, I asked the father type if he could get rid of whatever weeds or grass might be growing in them this year, and he did this!  He told me to come out to the porch to see his handywork, and there were the petunias.  Unbeknownst to him, petunias remind me of my mother, who used to plant petunias on our front porch when I was small.  So it was a nice way to remember my mother.  (It's been almost 30 years since she passed away.)  There's also a hanging basket with what we think are also petunias, but I neglected to take a picture of it.  Hopefully the flowers will survive the cold tonight.

I hope everyone who celebrated Mother's Day yesterday had a good one.  Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.  I always enjoy reading your comments.  Have a great week!

52 comments:

Sweet Sue said...

Watching your Jane come along is such a huge treat!

KarenV said...

Jane is looking wonderful Margaret! I would leave the leaf, unless it really bugs you (pun not necessarily intentional LOL!)

How sweet of your DH to do that, especially with the reminder of your mother :) Glad you had a good Mother's Day!

Giovanna said...

Great progress on Jane! The leaf looks ok to me - I guess you'll have to decide based on what surrounds it.

What lovely flowers from your DH!

Unknown said...

Jane is turning out beautifully!

What a sweet hubby you have...and how appropriate that his gesture should remind you of your own mother on Mother's Day!

HAPPY STITCHIN'
Terri

Anonymous said...

The leaves look great. I never would have known you did them in the wrong color if you hadn't said something. The color you used works and coordinates just fine. Happy mother's day!

Deb said...

Jane looks more wonderful every time you post. I just love the colors in this piece and I think your method of stitching a line a verse at a time is a good one!

Glad that you had a wonderful Mother's Day and your DH was a sweetie to do that gardening for you. It looks great.

Catherine said...

Great progress!! Had you not said anything about the leaf, I wouldn't have know the difference.

What a nice treat from you DH - sounds like you had a nice day!

Loraine said...

Wow! A fantastic sampler, and I have no idea what leaf you are talking about, so it must be okay. Nothing looks out of place to me. I say leave it!
Love the flowers. What a cool place to plant them.
Hugs! Happy belated Mother's Day!

Unknown said...

Jane is just beautiful! I would leave the color - no one will know the difference.

Your husband is so thoughtful! Cleaning house and flowers - how wonderful. It sounds like you had a great Mother's Day.

Have a great week!

Glenna said...

I like the leaf the way it is, unless once you fill in the stuff around it you discover that it sticks out too much. I'm betting though that once there's more stuff around it, you won't notice. I love the bug! And isn't your husband nice to do the flowers for you--I like the colors!

Isabelle said...

Wow !! Margaret, you Jane is turning out stunning : the colors are so pretty and the leaves very nice indeed :-)
I am very happy you had a great Mother's Day and what a sweet husband you have : he had such a marvellous thought for you and your mother :-)
Have a great day ,
Isabelle

Michelle said...

Jane is looking amazing! No wonder you couldn't resist the little critters on the right hand side...too cute! And how sweet that he planted petunias for you. They are lovely!

Siobhán said...

Oh my gosh, Margaret, you had me at the bugs. LOL I have always loved Jane but omg, I didn't see the bugs before!! I HAVE to get stitching this! I love it. I'd leave the leaf in, btw... it makes it your own.

How sweet of your DH to do the plantings for you! I have to admit, as much as I love flowers and lush gardens, I much prefer somebody else to do the work of maintaining them. Hope the plants survive the frost. We had to cut away a lot of our perennials that were damaged because of our harsh winter. :(

Laurie in Iowa said...

I so look forward to seeing your progress snaps on Jane... it's a fabulous sampler.
The father type did a fantastic job of deweeding and degrassing the planters. Love your petunias. They should be fine as long as you cover them... but a sheet or light towel would be better than the plastic. :-)

valerie said...

Your Jane is coming along great! I agree on leaving the leaf in too. No one else will know.

How sweet of the father type to plant you petunias. They look so colorful!

Berit said...

Jane looks good-I'd leave the dark leaves in as they are. Hope all will be well with your planted flowers through this cold snap!

Love to Stitch said...

Outstanding progress Margaret!! I am very inspired to start this one for sure!! GORGEOUS. Forgive me if you posted this info already, but are you stitching this piece with the colors called for? I know you mentioned it was AVAS, but the colors are fabulous :) Thanks for continuing to inspire so many of us!!! Hope you have a wonderful Mothers Day!

Bertie said...

Your sampler will be so spectacular Margaret and such quick progress.

Missed your last post, a big congratulations for your son, Carnegie Hall!! I can imagine he must have been so excited, how wonderful to be able to have experienced that.

Nicole said...

Beautiful progress and beautiful flowers Margaret!! I saw how cold it was in NY today! I can't believe it! Stay warm! :)

Sylvia said...

Happy Mother's Day Margaret. Your flowers outside look very nice. What a treat to have your DH pull out all the weeds for you.

Your Jane is looking wonderful. I like the flower the way it is - it makes Jane uniquely yours.

Lana said...

Your sampler is looking beautiful!! And I love the flowers!! Both the stitched and the real ones!! Hope they survive the cold!

Cari said...

Beautiful stitching on Jane! I wouldn't frog the color unless it really, really, really bothers you. I wouldn't know the difference. Your work is just awesome!! Flowers are pretty too!! Glad you had a wonderful Mother's Day. Hugs

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Jane is gorgeous! Love, love, love her! The flowers are so pretty and unless it looks terrible to your eye, once you've stitched some more around it, I'd leave the leaf as is. But then, I hate to frog!

Lovely flowers from you DH! We had frost last night, too which is why we don't plant till June in Michigan!

samplerlover said...

Hi Margaret, Jane is stunning. I would leave the leaf as well. They say to follow the chart more than the photo. I loved the bugs in it the first time I saw it.
What a lovely gift to you from your DH with fixing your garden for you. The Petunia's set the whole thing off especially for you. Happy Mother's Day.
BTW still no news on the computer front and GS might be finished by the weekend. - Sandra.

Liz said...

Miss Jane is looking lovely Margaret and I have to concur with the majority, leave the leaf, it looks fine!! I love the Petunias, we always have them in the garden in summer as they are my husbands favourite too.
Lizzie
xxx

corinna said...

love the flowers in your beds
way to go hubby
and the ones on your canvas
way to go you

mainely stitching said...

Aw, your DH is so sweet!!

I love your stitching and I would not frog a thing.

Kellie said...

Hi Margaret,
Jane is looking beautiful. I love those big flowers in the border. The ant is pretty cute too. Sounds like you had a great Mother's Day. :)

Melissa said...

Wow Wow Wow! I love how Jane is looking! I will definitely stitch her! So happy that you decided to stitch Jane so we can all see how pretty she is.

Glad you had a nice Mother's Day and DH was so sweet!

Juels said...

I know you hear this a lot, Margaret, but you really do stitch fast! I love the butterfly and the little critters. How fun!

Margaret said...

Gee I am 31 comment so nothing I can add but to say you make fine work of x .

Carol said...

Jane is growing into a real beauty, Margaret :)

So nice to have some pretty flowers in your yard, isn't it? I need to get busy and get mine in. We had a horrid frost on Sunday night, so I'm glad I hadn't planted anything yet...

Happy Belated Mother's Day, Margaret!

Katrina said...

She's gorgeous! Love her and you are really moving along. Pretty flowers too. I am so ready for summer, we are expecting snow tonight into tomorrow :-(. I am hoping it misses us, LOL.

Cathy Lloyd said...

Oh Jane is breathtaking! I so love that sampler! Don't frog the leaf...

Your porch looks lovely and the vacuuming and mopping??? Fabulous!

Enjoy your day stitching!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

BEAUTIFUL samplers and flowers ....not to mention the GREAT Father type...mopping and planting...you need to send him round here :)

Alice said...

Margaret, you are enabling us all with Jane. Those critters sure are cute. Nothing ties you down with colours. It's your sampler after all. How sweet of your DH to plant you flowers. Now you can enjoy them all summer long.
Alice

The Scarlett House said...

Jane, Jane, the lovely Jane. You are tempting me...I might cave, I feel the urge. Okay, I'm better now, but I LOVE Jane.
One more thing in common, petunias have a special signifigance to me and remind me of someone, too. I hope your frosts are past and they can bloom, baby, bloom.

Sherry said...

Jane is really moving along and is so colorful! What a treasure this will be. Sounds like you had a lovely Mother's Day.

Karoline said...

Jane is looking gorgeous, great progress

Littlebit said...

It's perfectly beautiful, Margaret!! And what pretty flowers. What a sweet thing for your DH to do.

Alma Allen said...

Hey Margaret,

Love how your piece is turning out. The little mouse and bug are great! That border design is fabulous!
Your garden is just the right size. Your husband is really sweet!

By the way....the leaves look great. I couldn't tell which one you were talking about...so I wouldn't change it one bit.

Lois said...

I love your Jane! She is so gorgeous!

Lovely plants. We've had frost warnings here the last few nights. How nice of your DH to do that, now could he maybe speak to my DH about doing something similar?!?!?!

Solstitches said...

Oh my goodness! Every time I visit your blog I'm just blown away by your beautiful samplers and the speed with which you seem to stitch them.
This one is already so lovely and the leaf looks fine to me.

Margaret

woolwoman said...

Looks like you had a wonderful MD - your gift of planted flowers will last a long time I hope - they look lovely and talk about lovely flowers - OOH LA LA - Jane is simply smashing Margaret - I adore this piece and the colors look stunning in the silks. Love seeing your flowers grow! Mel

Brigitte said...

Oh, how I love this sampler. These flowers are a real dream and I can easily see why you love stitching it so much.

marylin & poussy said...

It is magnificent I like colors congratulations
Best regards

Lisa said...

Margaret! Jane is just gorgeous! And how sweet of Dave! The flowers are so pretty and mopping too!! Yahoo!

Bre said...

what a great way to have a remembrance for your mom! that ant is too cute, i don't like them in real life but they always make cute little critters in pictures, charts, fabrics, etc.

Lynn B said...

Maragaret your sampler looks awesome, I just love it!
What fabric count is it?

Raven/Missy said...

I think the leaf looks great the way it is. The sampler is coming along beautifully!

The flowers out front look so pretty, thank you for sharing the pictures! I hope they survive the frost.

SusanIL said...

Jane is really beautiful. My mom has started this piece and I think she also ran into that leaf issue - I can't remember what she did but I say leave it alone. There are extra veins in the gold leaves above on the model that aren't on the chart as well, but no one will ever know the difference. I'd just follow the chart and enjoy her beauty! I can't wait to see more!

Stitch By Stitch said...

Jane is beautiful! You are a very fast stitcher! The ant is adorable too! Your DH must be a really good guy, he did a wonderful job with the planters:)