© Sandra Alcorn 2012
Aquilegia, Columbines or Granny’s Bonnet – what ever you like to call them, mine have gone to seed after a showy Spring display. I love the variety of colours the flowers come in and their self seeding nature.
The leaves are also such a pretty shape and I have used them for the skirt of this Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe design.
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
Silk scraps are like treasure to me and even throwing out the tiniest piece is hard to do.
Occasionally I find a moment to create something whimsical with them – no planning just making something spontaneously and seeing what takes shape.
This mermaid is one such result – her face and hair machine embroidered and her tail hand stitched with sequin scales.
It reminds me of the old figureheads on ships as she has no arms. Perhaps she sings a siren song to the other characters in my cabinet of curios.
If you read my previous posts The Beginnings Of A Dress and Embellish And Adorn you will find the story behind the creation of this dress.
These silk organza flowers are handcut and embellished with a Swarovski crystal in the centre.
The dress does up with small silk covered buttons down the back.
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
I have made several attempts to establish a pansy patch in my garden. Finding a spot that gets enough sun but doesn’t attract my dog to sit on it has been the challenge and finally I seem to have succeeded, planting them around the foot of my dogwood tree and getting more than enough to pick some for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.
I particularly love the rich purple and burgundy ones – the petals look so velvety.
My earliest memory of pansies is actually of a small bunch of faux ones made of velvet that my sister and I played with at my grandmothers house. I am not sure if they originally adorned a lapel or the waistline of a dress or of what vintage they would have been.
From La Droguerie on rue du Jour in Paris I bought these gorgeous flowers they’re not really pansies but they did remind me of that vintage posy I was so fond of as a child.
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
Returning to Sydney from Hobart to spend time with family and friends is usually a joyful journey but a fortnight ago I returned with heavy heart to be with my father for the last time. He died peacefully surrounded by his family after being diagnosed with cancer 18 months earlier.
Sitting waiting for the plane, a small child wandered over purposefully – the flowers from my garden that I had tucked in my bag had caught his eye – he stretched out his tiny hand and gently touched them. For me it was a poignant moment – a life just beginning in contrast to a life about to end.
Six years ago my parents moved to live by the sea, and like me my father began a creative ritual – his was photographing the seascape out the window – sunrises and sunsets, sailboats, stormy seas, full moons and rainbows.
He inspired in all of us a love of nature and to see the everyday beauty around us. My earliest gardening memories are helping him plant forget-me-nots and my garden in Hobart has many things he planted or struck from cuttings when visiting.
These are some of his wonderful photos and this post is dedicated to him.
© 2013
© 2013
© 2013
© 2013
© 2013
© 2013
Petal & Pins 