ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

When we spoke; Grannyg and I, I didn’t manage to tell her of all my crafty exploits over many of my years, but I do thank Grannyg for reminding me or encouraging me to recall the crafty and sometimes arty things I have done.
The first and only recognition of my mainly suspect skills in floral art was a design on a sand saucer. I was probably about 8 or 9. I won a certificate for a little decorated saucer of sand. The only flowers I recall using were “Love-in-a-mist”. This I knew because our wonderful next door neighbour was a Mrs Mosely, and she had given to me a wonderfully illustrated little book of plants and those illustrations were painted. WOW! what I would give to own that little book now. Digressing again, sorry.

Mrs Mosely allowed me to pick flowers from her beautiful garden, hence I won a certificate.

Knowing her probably began my love of gardening as she and my Moster Maria were the most amazing gardeners that I knew as a child. Giving to me this wonderful book, which sadly I no longer have, helped me early on to know and love plants and flowers.

I should mention that my mother also gardened, but she had my father to contend with, he mowed everything. Whoops, they were freesias you say. Looked like grass to me.

And of course loving flowers and nature helps one to know just how colours work together. You have heard the phrase can’t wear blue – there are hundreds of blues, one of them will be right for you. Can’t use red and green together in a piece. Huh! why not – nature does. Do you walk outside and say “help! I can’t cope with the colour combinations”. I don’t think so – there are surprises out there so use the surprises in your own creative work.

You just have to play with colours and yarns and fabrics and embellishments – and there will be something just perfect for you to discover. So go and play.

**** “Freesia alba ‘Burtonii’ arose in New Zealand and is very widely grown there. The flowers are creamy yellow and lack the purple flush in the top petal. The photo above is of a naturalised clump in a garden in Whakatane, NZ, taken on 11th September 05 by Peter Richardson” ****

****if you follow the BBC link and are gardening in the Southern Hemisphere – Love in a Mist is a summer flower in the UK, and flowers in spring in New Zealand****

Another story for another day though – I did a floristry course with a wonderful florist in Pt Chevalier (NZ) some years ago and I loved it.