Hollyhocks: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     blanket stitch, double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, french knots

Once again my gardening tour of Elaine’s Botanicals takes me back to my childhood and my Grandma.  She always had Hollyhocks.  They are such an old fashioned flower to me, but even just the word and I can see her in my mind’s eye at the end of her dining room table talking to me about her favourite things cooking, sewing and gardening.  I share a love for all three, but sadly excel at only two of the above.  This lovely embroidery rendering features double running stitch, blanket stitch and french knots.

Once again, my garden tour by the non-gardener has provided another off-kilter vision.  While this appears a horizontally inclined flower, I have vertical visions more in keeping with Foxgloves.  Hmmm, … another moment where all those keen gardeners heave a huge sigh of relief that Craig is in charge of the beautiful, old and exotic plants trees that feature in the Victoria House gardens.

Gum: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, pistol stitch

Well here we are again at Australian Flora, I quite like the Gum, but if I were to stitch this it would have to be done as a Blue Gum.   The Blue Gum is the Tasmanian State flower of Tasmania, growing up in a rural area, it was everywhere.  Somehow the red and pink fluffy fronds never seem quite right to me they should be blue!

It seems our customers like it too as it is one of the best sellers amongst Elaine’s Botanicals.  It is relatively easy with only two embroidery stitches, double running and pistol stitch.  I think I might even have a crack at this one.    It it does give me a great idea for a baby’s blanket with Australian Flora and Fauna.

Grape Hyacinth: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, satin stitch

Here again is another flower I have absolutely no knowledge of and only a vague recollection of having seen it once or twice before in an old-style cottage garden.  Elaine’s Botanicals has provided another design that is perfect for the novice.

This design looks a lot more complicated than it is, Grape hyacinth requires only double running stitch and satin stitch to complete.

Geranium: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, long and short satin stitch

Geraniums have never really been my favourite flower but the pure essential oil obtained from this humble plant is utterly glorious, and can be extremely effective treatment for PMT mood swings and cramps.  (Betcha didn’t know that!)  Despite the lovely smell, they were another of my Mittagong garden casualty.

This sweet little Geranium design from Elaine’s Botanicals is a perfect starting point for the novice embroiderer.  Employing basic embroidery stitches of double running stitch and long and short satin stitch, the repetition of stitches helps garner confidence and maybe the motivation to move on to more challenging projects.

Gardenia: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidered, gardenia, stumpwork

Last week I gave you a preview of things to come.  Well, they say confession is good for the soul.  Maybe it is, but if this is my last post, you will know I went down in a blaze of glory, … um, …, well,  maybe under a pile of soil?  I had a lovely one of these when I was a young, groovy, twenty something girl-about-town living in the inner Sydney suburb of Petersham.  Actually I had many of them over a period of time.  As the Princess of Darkness to all things containing Chlorophyll, my hands of death wreaked havoc on these poor defenceless plants.  I had to replace them regularly, ie once a year when my mother came to visit.  She bought me the original one.

Dad was onto me immediately when she mused after 4 years that it appeared to grow very slowly, but it was surprising that it was still alive.  He suggested that I buy a slightly bigger one every year.  Doh!  He also confessed how they had to replace the Governors tree at the Agricultural college he attended.  Name of College and reasons for tree death will remain classified to protect the innocent.

So there you have it Mum.   I killed them, … at the rate of one per year and bought a lovely new one every year just before you arrived.  They had a glorious aroma.  Sadly Gardenia mark 4 did not survive the move to Mittagong.  I think the frost got it, well I am blaming the frost anyway.  These days I leave anything involving the garden to Craig.  At least it will live!  Elaine’s Botanicals‘ Gardenias a little challenging to see online, you have to hit the close up button to see the detail.  It is a simple design embroidered in double running stitch, with a slight nod to miniature stumpwork in the form of a sweet little ladybird perched on a leaf.