Foxglove: Elaine’s Botanicals

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

It’s funny, I always think of Foxgloves as being pinks and coral colours so this palatte surprised me.  I do rather like it, and it would be a great companion piece with the Hollyhock, although I could be having more flashbacks to Grandma’s fairy garden again.  It is, of course, entirely possible my pink and coral visions are of another plant entirely, given my track record with anything containing chorophyll.  Elaine has completed her Foxglove embroidery design with a range of stitches including double running stitch, stem stitch, french knots and pistol stitch.

Forget me not: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running stitch, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, french knots, lazy daisy, satin stitch, stem stitch

Forget me nots are among my fonder memories of my Grandma, Hazel.  My not so fond memories include her flipping over a little handkerchief that I had embroidered at the age of 5 and informing me “The mark of a true artisan is to have a back as neat as the front” … its ok, I am not in therapy anymore …

Not a fairy in sight

I digress, her greatest gifts to her grandchildren were her cordon bleu cooking skills, mmmm yummy food at Grandma’s … and her fairy gardens.  She always had one.  She lived in three houses in my lifetime, and her best fairy garden was at Boat Harbour at the bottom of her garden at the end of a little winding path.  There, forget me nots, foxgloves and bluebells grew with abandon.  They are the flowers I remember clearly, I am sure there were more.  Elaine’s Botanicals Forget me not is simple and yet it features a variety of embroidery stitches; double running stitch, french knots, lazy daisy stitch, satin stitch and stem stitch.

Dianthus: Elaine’s Botanicals

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

Aha, we are back at Dianthus, I already shared with you that these grew outside my window in a small rockery garden when I was a little girl.  The sun shining on them in the summer mornings brought a delicate scent through the window.  These sweet little flowers are closely related to the carnation but are smaller with a more subtle scent.  Elaine has brought these little flowers to life with double running stitch (or holbein, for the blackworkers amongst you), french knots and long and short satin stitch … so not my favourite embroidery stitch, but worth the effort for this lovely design.

Cosmos: Elaine’s Botanicals

Dionne    Embroidery and Crewel     double running, Elaine's botanicals, embroidery, french knots, lazy daisy

Not sure where I have seen Cosmos.  Had to ring mum and ask if and where she had it.  Of course she has it.  It is just that this delicate annual is a late summer flower, apparently a ground cover, and I am never there at Strathmore when it is flowering.

Timing is not a problem with Elaine’s Botanicals Cosmos, it will bloom forever and very importantly not need to be replanted next spring for a late summer show.  Delicately stitched in double running stitch, lazy daisy and french knots, the little leaves resemble fern fronds.