The First Bluets

 

 Every Spring I search to find the first Bluets of the year.  At least in my little world.  And, I did.

I found them last week as I was on my morning walk.  These were growing right next to the curb on the street behind my house.  Hardy little Arkansas Wildflowers...I love them.

About my Morning Walk.  Sometimes I walk in the morning.  Sometimes I have an Afternoon Walk. On a really good day...I walk in the a.m. AND the p.m.  I'm trying to get some exercise.  I feel I need a reward to do this as I'm not really an exercise person.  Finding little beautiful things like Bluets is, in my mind, a great reward!!!

 

 They are very TINY!  Here is a little Bluet as compared to my index fingernail.   It's a wonder to me that I even see them, but really, I do try hard to find them.

 

 One lone little flower....so sweet!

 

 And, then, several in a little row.  Aren't they just dear?  By the way, Bluets can be blue, purple, pink or white.  Who knew?

 

 Really, they are so small I thought you might want to see them in comparison to other things....like a spool of thread, or my thimble.  And, aren't they cute in this little vintage glass I have?

 

 Here you can see the whole plant, from roots up.  About an inch and a half.  Just dear.

And, here is a little thought for you...one I love: 

"Just living is not enough...

one must have sunshine, freedom,

and a little flower."

Hans Christian Anderson

 Hope you are having a good week!!!

from

Bird Nest  Cottage

until next time

♥♥♥

Embroidered Covered Buttons

Here's a selection from my collection of Covered Buttons, presented to you in a vintage pie plate.  Quite Pretty little things I think.  The one in the center and the three on the right, are buttons I stitched myself.  The one at the top and bottom and the three on the left, I either purchased or they were presented to me as gifts.  

A button I stitched for a French Knot class long ago.  I love making French Knots so this button was quite fun to make.

Someone made this from a portion of vintage cross-stitch embroidery.

A basket....you know I love those and a bit of embroidery with pink perle cotton flowers.

A vintage cross-stitch basket. The lilacs stitched by me.

Larger view.

And another.

A cute little vintage embroidery.

And, another.  Love this one!

More French Knots!  This one also vintage.

From a different angle.

Loved making this one!

I really liked making this button....using perle cotton for the pink flowers.  Love the shaded color and the texture.

Sure did!

Another view of those purple French Knots!

And, Cross-stitches.

So...here's a quarter to compare the buttons with which I hope will give you a way to gauge

 their size.

So, there you are...just a bit of button fun!

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until next time 

♥♥♥

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

 

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Sending you, my friends,  best wishes for a lovely day via a small quilt made years ago.  The colors are much softer than shown here, but the sentiment is the same.

 

 A fifteen inch Crazy Quilt, hand stitched with many hearts.

 

 With handwritten quotes around the borders.

 

 And in the center square.

 

 A scalloped border done with tube paints.

 

 Quotes:

  "When friends meet, hearts warm."  

proverb 

"The greatest gift we can give to one another is rapt attention to one another's existence."

Sue Atchley Ebaugh

"If you want an accounting of your worth, count your friends."

 Merry Browne

"No life is so strong, so complete, But it yearns for the smile if a friend."

Wallace Bruce 

from

 Bird Nest Cottage

  until next time

♥♥♥

On an Early Morning Walk....

 

  On my early morning walk today, I looked up and this is what I saw.  Gorgeous, isn't it?  Those jet trails were everywhere....reminding me that some people begin their jobs in the very early hours of each new day.  And, these particular people, making their marks across the sky, were making this morning very special.   Early Morning Weavings.  "Slow Stitching" at jet speed.  Quilting to the Nth degree.  Over lace.  I always think of trees in silhouette as being "nature's version of lace."  Do you see it? 

These photos were taken from the empty street behind my house.  In the cold - it was 25 degrees.

 

 

 Here, in the church parking lot.

 

 This one, directly behind my house.

 

This one also.

 

I tried to get a closer view of one jet trail. 

 First thing I thought of when I saw it was a strip of Tatting.  Yes, Tatting.  The one type of needlework I could never quite grasp.  But a pilot did.

 (Why do thoughts like this enter my mind?)

A beautiful way to start the day!!!

I am grateful.

 

Have a lovely weekend!

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until next time

♥♥♥ 

 

Sparkling like a Snowflake

We did wind up with six inches of snow.  More than some, a lot less than others.

May you enjoy your precious, sparkling moments and be safe.

from 

Bird Nest Cottage

until

next time

♥♥♥

SNOW! A Surprise.

 

Looking out my front door: 

I awoke this morning to a temp of 25 degrees....and SNOW!  It came as a total surprise to me, as I had not heard the weather forecast last night.  The way weather has been lately, it could be 75 and sunny tomorrow.  In Arkansas, we never know!  One of my friends has a nice bunch of purple Iris blooming.  Who knew?

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until

next time

♥♥♥

What is it about Vintage Embroidery?

 

 Early Morning Light.  You know I love it as it gives each little thing it touches a soft kiss and then silently moves on.  Yesterday morning, as I watched the light move across my bed, I got my usual thrill from seeing the "sun glorified"  embroidered pillow I had just added to the "pillowing," as the Old Navy Man used to call it.   There just can't be a better visual treat than the one provided by the morning light.  Don't you love it?

 

 And, just a few minutes later....that glow is gone,  the light in the room is less dramatic and morning has fully arrived.  This pillow was made from a vintage piece of embroidered linen...falling apart from age and use.  I do love it so when a piece of embroidery has been just loved to death and its parts rescued by some resourceful lover of embroidery.  

And, to keep the record straight, I did not stitch this, but I did rescue it on one of my gathering expeditions.  Also, I did not make the other two pillows....the embroidered one was given to me by my friend, Jean, and the small heart was given to me by my friend, Bibi.  And, I am grateful for their generosity.

 

 This is a fine example of Satin Stitch....one of my favorite embroidery stitches and one requiring a certain amount of skill and patience to stitch at this level.  I hope you enjoy these photos of vintage embroidery - beautifully made.

 

 OMG!  Aren't these leaves fantastic?

I hope you enjoyed seeing these...as I never tire of looking at them.

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until

next time!

♥♥♥