Wednesday 30 May 2012

Of Gardens, Giveaways and Samplers

On the return from my recent visit to Windsor I stopped off to visit my cousin Sheryl. She is also an avid cross stitcher and had been telling me of a family sampler on her mum's side of the family dating back to the 1800s. This sampler now resides with Sheryl's older sister and she promised to email me some pics of the sampler. This week I received the pictures and what a beauty it is!






Very little is known about the sampler other than it is a direct relative who stitched it and the first of a long line of females named Jane. The sampler appears to be in fairly good shape although it looks like some of the stitches are deteriorating on the second basket and around some of the flowers. The reds are still pretty vibrant  and I just love the border!  The verse is interesting too. I'm not sure what's responsible for the silhouettes or outlines around the lettering. It's almost as if the dark floss was carried over between letters. At some point in time the sampler was framed beneath glass. I could be wrong but I don't think that was done originally.
Did you notice my cousin's kitty Cleo admiring the sampler too?
Once again I'm struck by what lovely stitching was done by these young girls. The sampler was stitched by a relative on my cousin's maternal side and I'm related on the paternal side so this young stitcher is in no way related to me.


The mailman also brought the last of my giveaway wins. I know, I know. It takes forever for anything to get to us here in Canada! Canada Post is not known for its speed!
You will recall that a couple of weeks ago I received BBD For My Friend from Melissa



This was followed on Tuesday by the arrival of my DVD win from Edgar.




I can hardly wait until I get some time to myself and can sit for a spell to watch these. Besides the DVDs, Edgar threw in a package of sweets which are one of my absolute favourites -  SweetTart chews. I have always loved the original SweetTarts but have not seen this version yet here in Canada. How did you ever know Edgar that I'm hooked on these candies? Thank you so much for the wonderful giveaway. What a great idea it was!


Finally, today's mail brought the arrival of 2 new designs from By The Bay Needleart which I won from Donna upon their release.




I adore both of these new designs and don't know which one I want to stitch first! The Funky Bird is the first in a new series of Donna's and I just know I'm going to want more of them!


A big thank you to all of you for these fabulous givings!! I know I'll pass many pleasant hours as a result of all of them.


My Magic Garden Sampler continues to progress although my stitching time has been somewhat limited. I forgot just how many appointments I had scheduled this week!



I don't know if you can tell from the picture or not but I've already had a small visit from the frogs. I stitched the interior of the butterfly on the left in the wrong colour. Don't know what I was thinking! In any case, the frogging is complete and I can continue on my merry way now. I'm having a lot of fun with this stitch and haven't picked up anything else this week.


Speaking of gardens, here are some pics from mine. Due to my difficulties in gardening lately, I'm putting in more and more perennials. 
I love columbine and this one is a favourite.



My irises were a gift from a co-worker who was thinning out her own garden.




My latest addition is called Jethro Tull Tickseed, so named because of its fluted petals. I thought it only fitting since I'm a flute player myself.




I've added lots of hanging baskets to the yard to make up for my lack of annuals in the yard this year. Here is one of my favourites of the bunch. It's made up of double million bells in a gorgeous shade of red complimented with white bacopa. I love the blooms on this one!






On a final note, Happy Birthday wishes go out to my youngest son Chris who turns 24 today! We are heading to Toronto on Friday morning to move him back to Ottawa. It will be so great to have him back in the area again. Hope you had a great day Chris!

22 comments:

  1. Your garden is looking lovely and speaking of lovely....that sampler is wonderful. Truly a treasure. Your wip is coming along nicely.

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  2. Lovely flowers, Lynn! The colours are just gorgeous!

    Congrats on all your winnings! I have seen people go on these lucky streaks before. I hope that happens to me sometime!

    That old sampler is wonderful!

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  3. Beautiful sampler! The verse is unique. Love it!

    You lucky, lucky girl. That's quite a number of giveaway wins ^.^

    Your Magic Garden is progressing wonderfully! I took mine out because of you :P Thanks for sharing those photos of your garden. I especially like the Jethro Tull Tickseed :)

    Hugs,
    Veronica.

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  4. Lovely, lovely things you received through the psot :)

    The sampler is beautiful!

    Magic Garden is coming along beautifully.

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  5. Hey Lynn!
    What a great post. That is a beautiful sampler. What an interesting verse.
    Your stitching is lovely, I think that this must me a fun one to stitch.
    Did you buy that lotto ticket yet? What wonderful treats you won!
    Happy bday to your son!

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  6. Wow on the sampler, very nice and your choice of perennials are perfect.
    Congratulations to You and your DH and Chris on his day of being a coupla dozen years old.
    We thought of you on the weekend and hope that next year will fit for you.
    Be always in stitches.

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  7. Hello

    Beautiful sampler - these young ladies were very talented.

    Your garden photos are so pretty.
    Congrats on your lovely giveaway wins.
    Happy stitching!

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  8. I was browsing blogs and came across yours--lovely blog! Your WIP is looking great and your flowers are so pretty!!

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  9. Great post Lynn. That antique sampler is stunning! Congrats on your wins and Magic Garden Sampler is coming along. Some stitching is better than none.

    Have a great week:)

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  10. Happy birthday to Chris! What a special heirloom sampler, thanks for sharing. Wow! Fabulous gifts for you. :)

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  11. Oh Lynn...you've been the luckiest of all Ducks of late, yes? That sampler is gorgeous what an heirloom your cousins have there!
    I love the flower pictures of your garden, that fluted petal one is so vibrant and lovely and the hanging basket...stunning!

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  12. Wow what a special heirloom that sampler is!!!!!

    What wonderful wins you've gotten!

    Your garden is adorable.

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  13. What an interesting family sampler, Lynn! I'm so glad it resides with a relative who cares about needlework.

    Congratulations on all those wins--woo hoo!! You deserve them all--enjoy!!

    Your flowers are so beautiful--just love columbine, don't you? I wish it would bloom all summer...

    Happy 24th to Chris!! My youngest will turn 24 in July--hard to believe our "babies" are that grown up, isn't it?

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  14. When we were away at Easter the farmhouse we were in had some beautiful really old samplers on the wall. Im so annoyed i didnt take any pictures! I love this one you have shown.
    Your flowers are beautiful! Im getting right into my gardening too these days.
    Happy Birthday to your boy :-)

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  15. How wonderful to have a sampler in the family that dates back so far! It's lovely! Really enjoyed seeing the pics from your garden. Sorry to hear the dreaded frog paid a visit. Hope he has now left and won't be back. Congrats on all the lovely giveaway wins and happy birthday to your son!!

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  16. Gorgeous sampler and great giveaway wins too!!!!

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  17. It must be so lovely to be surrounded by all that beauty in your garden Lynn, such a burst of colour. Congratulations on all your wins, I'm sure you will enjoy them thoroughly.
    Best wishes.

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  18. What an amazing family sampler! Your gardens are beautiful ~ so full of color! And just look at all those stitchy goodies and stitches!!

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  19. Loved reading about your family's antique sampler, Lynn. Great flower photos; I LOVE columbines.

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  20. Hi Lynn,

    What a colourful post this is. Stitching and
    flowers in vibrant colours that are welcome
    to see on a dull and dreary day such as
    today has been.

    That old sampler you've shared with us is
    stunning. It's hard to believe that something
    so old and delicate has survived the years so
    well. I'm amazed by all the bright colours in
    it and the pretty motifs and borders. What
    a treasure to have.

    You've been cleaning up in the prize draws
    I see. Quite a haul I must say. I love those
    two pretty By the Bay NeedleArt designs,
    especially the bird. Love the colours.

    Your Magic Garden Sampler looks great
    and looks like it's lots of fun to stitch.
    Do you ever take stitching with you to
    your various appointments at all??

    Your garden is gorgeous and seems to
    be doing well in spite of the wonky and
    somewhat dry weather we've been
    having. Well, dry until last Friday anyways.

    How's dear, sweet Clarisse ????

    Cheers!!

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  21. What a lovely family sampler - piece of history!
    Your wins are great, and garden is soooo beautiful!

    Hugs,
    Tatyana

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  22. Oh Lynn, you were such a lucky girl lately. Your wins are just gorgeous and I bet you are having a lot of fun with them.
    I love that family sampler and I must say that I find it always stunning to see what these young girls in the past stitched. And as far as I know mostly without any pattern. That's truely amazing.
    What a nice little sampler you have on the go. It's so lovely. Whenever you start something new I have to extend my wish list, lol, as I usually love the patterns you choose. Who is the designer of the Magic Garden?
    Our garden is also full of columbines in many different colours and colour combinations. My husband tries to get each colour combination he sees somewhere, so over the years we have collected many. They are such beautiful flowers.

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