Outdoor Wednesday - The King's Knot

One of the first places we visited when we were in Scotland was Stirling Castle. This is one of my favorite views - "The King's Knot" know locally as "The Cup and Saucer". It is located on the Dumbarton Road near King's Park. This is what is left of a 16th century garden that was (supposedly) built on the site of a medieval jousting arena. The whole area that you see in the photograph was originally part of an extensive royal hunting ground c. 12th thru 17th centuries.
There are two very distinct sections to the King's Knot. The lower section was a "parterre" (a system of hedges, paths and flower beds) and the raised 9 ft high, section was a characteristic feature of gardens in the 16/17th centuries. According to old records there was hedges and canals in the Knot. Renovations and alterations have been done over the centuries.
Historic Scotland looks after the Knot and recently provided a grant (along with Stirling City Heritage Trust) for a geophysical survey to be taken. The aim is to try and find out more about this landmarks ancient history and maybe what "lies below".

Greetings From Scotland

Our trip to Scotland is fast drawing to a close and we have been busy little tourists :)
Today has been the first full day of wonderful weather so we took my mother to a couple of local gardening centers. She is the main reason we are here. She has been having MRI's, biopsies and other tests done, which have been quite tiring (and stressful) for her. She goes to see the specialist next week and we will know at that point what can, or cannot, be done for her.
Scotland has been experiencing some rough weather so we have not been able to get to some of the areas we wanted to visit. Having said that what we did see was enjoyable.
So where have we been?
Various parts of Stirlingshire since that's where my side of the family live.
Stirling Castle
Wallace Monument
Smith Art Gallery
Dunblane Cathedral
Callander
Glasgow (twice) - shopping, Museum of Modern Art, Glasgow Cathedral, Kelvingrove Museum and a general walk around the center of Glasgow
Scone Palace/Perth
Edinburgh (twice) - Royal Scottish Academy, Canongate Church, Museum of Edinburgh, Queens Gallery, People's Story, Scottish Parliament Buildings, Edinburgh Castle, Camera Obscura, St. Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile and shopping
Blackford Highland Games
Hopefully all our photographs will turn out and I can share some of them at a later date.

Going on vacation

I'm heading off to Scotland tomorrow for a few weeks. I have three hand sewing  projects in my carry-on case. We have a 4 hour layover in Toronto so maybe a few stitches will get done while we wait :)

My parents live not too far from this fine castle (Stirling). There is a big event going on there a few days before we come home and hopefully we will be able to get tickets for it. We plan on spending a goodly amount of time in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Fife.

Outdoor Wednesday - the Cicadas are coming

The 13 year cycle Cicadas are starting to come up out of the ground by the corner of our house. The whole area looks like it's moving, which is quite interesting to see. Cicadas are relatively harmless but when they land on you it can feel somewhat creepy seeing two red eyes staring at you.

Our large tree is slowly getting covered with Cicadas nymphs getting ready to molt. There's a goodly amount of their cast-offs at the bottom of our tree.

These ones have molted and are drying out.

While I don't mind the Cicadas too much I think I will be happy to leave them behind for a wee while when I leave for Scotland next week.
For more outdoor adventure hop on over to http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

And just to end on a pretty note. The weather has gotten hot all of a sudden and this morning my lilies bloomed.

Outdoor Wednesday - a flower :)

Our yard/garden has been devoid of much flowery evidence thus far. Our Columbine is in full bloom and the Iris are just starting.

We are in the middle of re-arranging some beds again. One of the forsythia bushes is now gone and we are creating this little flower area by our back steps. Just have to put in some more perrenials, annuals and mulch.

To see more Outdoor Wednesday goodness (and drama) hop on over to http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/

Edythe Anne's Heart - part 2

It's moving along. The basic heart is now complete (with a few personal modifications) and I am adding the "bling". My favorite part of the whole process so far has been ........

the flower

My most useful ... could not do the project without ...... tool has been my beading needle. I'm about going cross eyed doing all my "just because I can" beading but it will be worth the effort.

Edythe Anne's Heart - all thumbs

Edythe Anne sent me the PDF pattern and kit to make one of her hearts. (One of the gifts I won at OWOH 2011). I'm trying to make it but I confess I am all thumbs. Trying to hold batting in place round the wire heart form and hand sew fabric at the same time just got me frustrated. Sooooo I rethought the process.

I cut some narrow strips of batting and wrapped them round the heart form. I cut a longer piece of fabric, folded it to find the center, and starting at the top of the heart I am working my way round to the bottom. Instead of trying to hold everything together as I sew I have pinned everything down. Now I can spend some time getting my hand stitching done without getting frustrated :) Since my heart might be getting viewed from the back all the fancy bits are going to be stitched on top of the seam.

Jerry Kreinik - a legend in his lifetime

http://kreinikthread.blogspot.com

He will be missed by many. I think he will be missed the most by the children he helped learn to read and stitch.

Hearts For Christchurch

Grab your needles, thread and fabric. A world wide event has started to explode into action. Hearts, hearts, and more hearts and you can help.
Please support Evie Harris in her endeavor to provide a heart to as many Christchurch residents as possible. There also might be an exhibition ..... how cool is that !!!!!
I have a stack ready to stitch together.
Hop on over to http://heartsforchristchurch.blogspot.com to find out what you can do and where to send.

Condolences- The Primitive Needle

Condolences to the family of The Primitive Needle designer and owner Lisa Roswell. She was swept away in her car on the way to work and her body was recovered out of Lake Huron yesterday. Her daughter Mariah has left a message at http://witchstitches0.blogspot.com/

Newspaper reports can be found at http://www.norwalkreflector.com/
We should also keep dispatcher Tacy Bond in our prayers as she tries to recover from the trauma of this accident.