Another Perfectly Lovely Day...

Nothing new to report on the stitching front, so I thought I'd share one of my floss drawers.  This drawer contains all my GAST, WDW, and NPS.  The NPS are loose and a bit of a mess.  I have the GAST and WDW sorted alphabetically on rings, so it is pretty easy to find the colors I need.  I also have a master list of all the colors / numbers so when I'm looking at a chart I know ahead of time if I need to buy fibers.

Today, Labor Day, is a perfectly lovely day in the Southern Willamette Valley.

I think Drusilla Deer would agree.

Some of us are laboring, a bit, on Labor Day. 

 

I watered all my plants on the back patio and front porch this morning.

My father and sister are off in the cool of the morning to mow around her large dahlia garden.  I hope to post pictures of some of her 199 plants later this week.  Autumn is dahlia-time and they are glorious right now.

 

I have some photos I should organize...

However, I am receiving encouragement to just

"Enjoy the gift of the day"!

Hope you do the same.

Tranquil Sunday Morning

After setting out bird food, and filling the bird baths and fountain this morning, Homespun Elegance's "Among the Berries" - specifically the Rabbit - at the lower right of the chart - seemed to be the "right stitch"...

As I checked out the wild blackberries this morning...

This little cottontail let me approach within a few yards before scampering off into the thicket. So I too had a bunny "Among the Berries".

Chip...

and Dale alertly awaited my sunflower seed delivery.

Spot, Dot, and their Mom are also sunflower fans.

It's remarkable that there are any left for the birds!

Though some birds literally turn up their noses at sunflowers!

It's going to be a perfectly lovely day today...enjoy!

Vegetables and Flora

I rummaged through my stash and discovered I had three more

Ewe & Eye & Friends vegetable charts:

Snappy Snow Pea, Radical Radish, and Tangy Tomato.

I think the tomato may be calling my name - it certainly would be "timely" and seasonal to stitch right now. 

As I'm not growing veggies, I am forced to share a fuchsia update!

They are performing very well. 

I went crazy taking photos...

You can see why they are sometimes called Ladies Earrings

Some have large, fat blossoms.

Others are small, pale, and delicate.

It would be hard for me to chose a favorite.

There are so many, many lovely plants.

I think you might agree!

Green

As we inexorably move into Autumn, I find that, more than ever, I am enamored of the many shades of green:

Fir, jade, olive, sea, peacock, lime, moss, sage, willow, chartreuse and verdigris.

In threads and plants...

Cool...

 

verdant...

lush...

restorative...

fresh...

bright...

sylvan...

green.

Allium Thursday

First off, many thanks to everyone who took the time to comment on yesterday's post.  It was very gratifying to read the compliments.  Stitching and gardening can both be solitary endeavours, blogging allows us to become a community of like-minded souls!

Design - "Wild White Onion"

Designer - Ewe & Eye & Friends

Fabric - 40 count Sandstone linen

Fibers - GAST & DMC

Started - 27 August 2010

Completed - 1 September 2010

Well after lots of fussing and second-guessing, I ended up using GAST Pineapple Sherbet to stitch the onion.  And, in my opinion, it turned out to be the "right" color after all, giving me a yellowish storage onion as the finished product.  The scan is less than perfect, showing as it does the long "tails" of the single stitches.  If I get this piece framed I'll have to trim the tails a bit.

Working on "Wild White Onion" got me to thinking about onions in general.  They are one of my favorite veggies, and are rather remarkable plants.

Let's take a closer look!

Native to the Middle East and Asia, onions have been cultivated for over 5,000 years.  They are grown from seed or sets and can be started in late winter or early spring.   There are two types of onions - spring/summer such as Vidalia or Walla-Wallas - also know as sweet onions, and storage onions such as Copra and Sweet Sandwich.

My sister has a small row of onions in her kitchen garden half hidden

between the zinnias and the squash.

 

Onion plants are extremely light sensitive.  The tops grow until the summer solstice, then all efforts go into the production of the bulb.  As onions mature they literally heave themselves out of the ground.

  

Mars - a red storage onion

The health benefits of onions are numerous.  Studies show they lower blood sugars and cholesterol.  They are cancer-fighters and boost bone health. They may also help fight inflammation associated with arthritis and asthma.

 

Prince - a yellow storage onion

And they taste really, really, good! 

I'm thinking...an onion sandwich for lunch!

Outdoor Wednesday

Design - "August"

Chart - "Summer & Winter"

Designer - The Prairie Schooler

Fabric - 28 count Lambswool linen

Fibers - DMC

Started - August 2010

Completed - 30 August 2010

I thought this design was perfect to post for Outdoor Wednesday!

If it was true to my small area of the world, the motifs would be: a thistle, a chipmunk, a brown bunny, a California Quail, a barn swallow, and Queen Anne's lace. 

The rain returned Monday morning.  We'd not had measurable precipitation since late June, so it is most welcome.  We ended up with 0.6" so every living thing should now be refreshed.