Spring Garden Tote

Finding inspiration for what I paint or stitch sometimes is as close as my own backyard. It is not the most ideal yard, but it has it's nice spots. My gardens show their best in late summer when most of the perennials will be in full bloom. The best part of the yard for me is the hundred and fifty year old maple tree that towers the house and shades the back deck and most of the yard for the whole afternoon.
Often I like to sit on the deck steps and sketch my ideas for the next painting project, but on this warm sunny spring afternoon last year the idea of a drawing came to mind that I thought would be nice to embroider and add to something. With the last few weeks of cold days and lots of snow falls, I was feeling like working on this drawing so I could think about spring and I started to stitch my backyard on a new found piece of soft linen.
Added to the tree are many flowers from the garden, bird house hanging from a branch, but most of all I liked the idea of adding words of who joined me that day on the deck.
Finished off this weekend into a pretty quilted patchwork tote bag with soft pinks, yellows and greens and a touch of brown. Just the colours you would find in my gardens. I was able to find everything I needed from my basket of fabrics and I just love how it turned out.
Sometimes it is hard to keep a clear picture in your mind of how the finished project will turn out, often I change my mind on colours and images half way through but this time I stayed with my idea and finished it the way I had planned.