GeorgiaPeachez

My Favorite Garden Time is Daylily Time

The best time of year in my garden is when the daylilies bloom.  I know that for a good solid month I will have daylily blooms somewhere in the garden.

Every year I add a few more.  I just can't help myself.

Aren't they just fabulous?

Pat on the Back and Something New

I'm all smiles and quite proud of my self this week because I finally taught myself how to use a serger.

I scored this Bernina serger at the thrift store several years ago for the insane price of 20 bucks.  Crazy...right?

With the help of Youtube I finally sat down a couple of weeks ago and figured it out!!

I know, I know.  Using a serger is not rocket science and now I realize that.  I don't know why I let this sit and collect dust for so long.  Using a serger is FABULOUS :->

I immediately was inspired to dive into my extensive (can you say hoarder) fabric collection and make some pillow covers.  I think it's a great way to finally whittle down the inventory and share the vintage fabric love.

 

These are just a sample of what I made so far, there are many more in my shop and I am adding more every day.   

Giddyup!

I just have to share this little snail boy that I added to my collection recently.

That would be my Vintage By Crystal collection.  Her creations are over the moon and she has just listed some new ones on her site.  They are insanely fabulous, as always! 

Go check them out :->

Diapers and Veggies?

I've just bobbed back up to the surface after being immersed in my sewing room for the past day and half completing a sewing project for a dear friend.

My friend and hairdresser extraordinare Jodi asked me to make a custom diaper bag for her first baby that is coming....well, sometime soon.  I jumped on that request and converted it into my gift for the new baby.  So when the shower invite arrived a week ago, uh-oh....time to get busy.

But it wasn't going to be that simple.  The soon to be new mom had challenged me with a theme of vegetables and a gender neutral palette. Finding cute veggie fabric was an almost impossible task but I finally found the perfect design.

I didn't wish to create a sewing pattern from scratch so I found a cute one on Etsy from this seller. 

 

I like the big pocket on the front and the side pockets with the elastic, perfect for bottles.

I modified the pattern a bit, putting the scalloped pocket on the front and back.  I also added a zipper closure to the top.

I absolutely adore these fabrics and I think they fit the veggies for babies gender neutral theme perfectly.  Cute little veggie critters and a few friends :->

I modified the pattern again to add an interior zippered pocket.  I lined the inside with laminated houndstooth fabric for easy cleanup.

The baby shower is this weekend and I can't wait to see the soon to be mommy's reaction :->

Green Tea - Chinese Gold

One of my favorite stops while visiting China was to the Longjing Green Tea Plantation in Hangzhou.

Located in a beautiful valley with rows upon rows of tea bushes lining the slopes.

Early each morning the workers fan out across the fields and snip off only the new growth.  Then it is all processed by hand.

The most delicious green tea I have ever had.

Everywhere you go in China you see people with their water cups that have green tea leaves floating within.

I'm definitely a convert.  This is my special cup from China with a built in strainer, although it's perfectly alright to eat the green tea leaves.

Along with the green tea it is customary to include dried orange peel and hawthorne berries.  You can use boiling water or room temperature water.  After you fill it up in the morning you can refill it up to five times with the same tea leaves.  The "souvenir" that keeps on giving :->

Keyword Search - Groovy

If you are from my generation, then you fondly remember the late sixties and seventies.  The word groovy was a common adjective used to describe something "cool".  The dictionary now refers to it as "dated slang".

Well, I love me some dated slang.

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Feelin' groovy yet??    

My Spring Garden

My gosh, how I love spring in the garden.  I never get tired of patrolling my garden to inspect and see what is popping up and how the plants are unfolding.

 

I just replanted one of my troughs.  I love trough gardens and I want to make a bunch of new troughs this year.

I love the chartreuse green color of new growth.

Three of anything makes a "collection" so I have a nice collection of old cast iron fire grates.  These were used for coal burning in the fireplace.

Sedums are one of my absolute favorite plants and I stick them into all my pots.  They make excellent planters for sedums and succulents.

Frogs are always welcome :->    

Gardens of China

I just returned from a fabulous trip to China.

Everything we saw and did was incredible and my favorite sites had to be the gardens.  They are stunning.

 

With names like Tiger Hill, Lingering Garden, Emperor's Garden and Yu Gardens how could they not be beautiful?

Peonies are a revered flower in China and I saw so many gorgeous ones.

Interesting signs too :->

Crazy Rabbits

Thank you Awkward Family Photos for this slideshow.  I haven't laughed so hard in years.

Picture #29 took me out for a full five mintues.

Retro Needlework

I've been craving a good needlework project.  Needlework was so popular in my teens and I loved it.

I'm taking a long overseas trip soon, the perfect opportunity to work on a project that happens right in my lap.

I thrifted this fabulous needlepoint book recently.

There are a LOT of fabulous patterns in this book, classified from easy to extra advanced.

This one is from the EASY category.  Lovely.

Here we are moving into the AVERAGE category.

I love this one from the AVERAGE category.  Reminds me of christmas ornaments :->

If I decide to take along needlepoint, this will be the one.