Digging and stitching
October 31, 2011
My nails are caked with earth as I dig, cut back, and divide. Dessicated allium stalks, lavender spikes and the other yellowing, fading summer trailings are in a mounting pile by the fig tree. Pushing in with the fork and working against thick roots is as good a way of de stressing as any yoga posture. It’s a still Sunday afternoon, light fading and all around, crushed mint, earth, damp grass and rotting leaf smells. It’s not only the physical exertion that clears the head, but the sense of being in control of things: deciding to split the peonies; trimming the lavender, sweeping and clearing, is more productive than being panicked by the recession doom mongers.
These rocket flowers and nasturtiums are amongst the last stragglers in the veg plot by the fence. To be tossed with a green salad.
Having just contributed my take on luxury to a forthcoming magazine feature – you know the Pure Style way of simple inexpensive pleasures – thought you’d like this idea of using velvet ribbon to personalise and jazz up an old blanket. The important thing of course is to choose the right colours: lime green and pink are good contrasts for the muted wool background of blue, green, yellow and stone shades.
Beautiful idea for a blanket. Thanks for sharing!
Comment by chelsea | November 1, 2011 @ 4:13 amThat’s a lovely idea Jane. Have some old blankets of my grandmother’s, passed on to me by my mother, which will look great with a bit of velvet ribbon love!
Comment by Viv | November 1, 2011 @ 5:53 pmThank you for the gentle reminder, as almost all of the lavender bushes await my attention. Trimming, then, will be the order of the day. However, there is still one lavender bush flowering profusely in November – its rebellious nature and disregard for seasonal order delights me to no end.
Comment by Gosia | November 3, 2011 @ 3:10 pm