I’ve finally made a bit more progress on my garden stitching, not a huge amount as I’m still a bit hesitant on how I’m going to get the effect I want. Three weeks ago on my last SAL post I’d started embroidering the applique bushes…

The perspective of the piece was still making me procrastinate even more, having designed the piece as if above the arch, if I stuck true to the view then things like the bird bath would be just circles, which way do I embroider plants such as irises…

There has to be an element of artistic license in projects such as this, so I’ve decided to portray the borders as if you’re standing on the patio. I’m working my way through a set of on-line lessons from Nicki of The Stitchery, the course is called Stitch-a-Garden, it’s been a lovely course as she’s sort of felt her way along the lesson format as she has been stitching her piece based on Beatrix Potter’s garden. I was very encouraged when I saw how she had stitched a flower border as a profusion of plants is what I’m aiming for here.

Last week I tried a bit of water colour painting on fabric to colour the background a bit, this was the embroidery representing a huge pink geranium which up until this spring was next to the arch and behind the gate…

Encouraged by the effect I decided to paint the border areas of the patio garden. I used several shades of green and allowed them to mix and merge together. They bled a little beyond the outer row of stitching but I was fine with that as the borders of my garden do overflow somewhat! I’m really pleased with how the painting came out, it just softens it nicely.

As you can see I have finally started stitching the plants. The blue irises round the birdbath are just straight stitch leaves and then a loose fly stitch for the flower. The obelisk of canes is just four long straight stitches which I then couched down as I was stitching the twining stems. The little blue clematis flowers are tiny straight stitches, like a little star, although I have realised since that although I have several blue clematis like that, the actual clematis here is more pink!!

I’ve added a trunk and branches to the magnolia stellata and a few flowers. This is another bit of artistic license as magnolias flower before the leaves appear, but at least it identifies it as the magnolia! I have stitched a magnolia with the bare branches earlier in the year for the garden textile book…

I think I need to look back at Nicki’s flower border again for more ideas (and confidence!) but I’m pleased with it so far. Hopefully by the time I’ve finished this one I’ll have got the knack of stitching all the flowers and the other two areas of the garden won’t take as long!

This stitch-a-long is organised by Avis from Stitching by the Sea, please follow the links to see what everyone else has been stitching.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, 

Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy