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Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring flowers 2017

I absolute love spring flowers.  Tulips and freesias and bluebells and irises almost make going through winter worth it.  Every year I plant dozens of bulbs, so I will have something to watch over and look forward to all winter long.

I get very excited about the first blossoms, and enjoy making colour-themed arrangements around the house when the full flush arrives, with purple and yellow sprays in my sewing room, russet tones in the entry, vivid reds and oranges in the lounge, and pinks and darkest burgundies in the bathroom.

My mother also loves spring bulbs, but she hasn’t gotten to enjoy them in years, as they won’t grow in Hawaii.  I was talking to her last week, and saying how much I wished I could send her some of my flowers, and she was saying how much she wished she could send me some fruit from the farm in Hawaii (mangoes and rambutans, delicious!).  She suggested that at least we could send each other flowers: it’s  not quite the same thing, but both fruit and flowers are very photogenic!

So, just for my mother, here are some of the photographs I took of my spring flower crop this year.

These stripey purple freesias were my favourites of this years freesia crop, and I want to find more of this variety next year:

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

This is the arrangement that has greeted visitors in my entry for the last two weeks. I’ve had tons of these rust & gold freesias, so I just change them out as they fade.

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

The framed picture behind them is a Baha’i quote:

My home is the home of peace.
My home is the home of joy and delight.
My home is the home of laughter and exultation.
Whosoever enters through the portals of this home, must go out with gladsome heart.

~ `Abdu’l-Bahá

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Spring flowers are so beautiful I even find them attractive as they are dying.

Spring Flowers 2017 thedreamstress.com

Hope you all enjoyed these!

Scroop Patterns Giveaway www.scrooppatterns.com

Scroop Patterns – giveaway time!

Giveaway time! I’ve hit 1,000 followers on my @thedreamstress account on Instagram, and I hit 5,000 followers on Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/thedreamstress/ ) a few days ago.

www.ScroopPatterns.com

To celebrate, I’m giving away TWO Scroop Patterns: one through Instagram on my @scrooppatterns account, and one on Facebook in the Scroop Patterns Sewing Group. You can enter both giveaways.

To enter on Instagram: Follow @scrooppatterns, and leave a comment with the Scroop Pattern you’d like to win (i.e. The Fantail Modern, Fantail Historical, Henrietta Maria Dress & Top, Miramar Dress Top & Tunic, etc. etc.) on the giveaway photo on that account.

To enter on Facebook: Join the Scroop Patterns FB Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/scrooppatterns/ ), and leave a comment on the photo there with a link to the Scroop Pattern you’d like to win.

Winners for both giveaways will be chosen by random draw in one week’s time.

Good luck and happy sewing!

Scroop Patterns Giveaway www.scrooppatterns.com

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Rate the Dress: Gold lace and a blue bow, 20s style

Oh, poor bow dress from last week!  It did even WORSE than the Worth gown, coming in at a 5.8 out of 10 (compared to 6.4 for the Worth).  Reactions were hugely along the lines of ‘blah’, with a reasonable sprinkling of total dislike, and just a few actual fans.

Confession time: I’m actually one of the fans.  I thought the way the scallops framed the front bodice was very smart, creating an interesting interplay between the effect of a very tailored bodice, with an almost waistcoast look, and the very summery fabric, and perky, silky, bunchy bustle.  I’d even recreate it if I could find suitable fabric.  But…I would leave off the four lower bodice bows, and just keep the ones on the wrist and bustle.  And do them in copenhagen blue, rather than red, and maybe white-on-white rather than ecru and white.  So definitely not a perfect 10 from me either, but anything that could be considered for a heavily-inspired recreation is easily an 8 in my books!.

Todays turquoise blue and bright gold dress jumped out at me as a Rate the Dress choice for this week, as a vivid counterpoint to the more muted tones of the last few RTD choices.   It was only once I began to write about it that I realised that the other (super obvious) thematic link between it and last week’s dress is a big ole’ bow stuck to the front of it.

Oops!  Will this one be more popular than last weeks?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

 

*I’ve also seen this dress described as voided velvet, but KSUM described it as gold lace, so I’ll stick to that until I can find the actual museum record.

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