Sunday, May 3, 2009

Lily of the Valley

The delicate blooms of the tiny Lily of the Valley have always fascinated me. I love their unique scent, the quintessential floral fragrance, Muget du bois! It was my mother's favorite perfume. We bought her a bottle for Christmas every year. And when she would walk downstairs, stressed up for an occasion, the linger scent of these delicate lillies would follow her. I will forever associate their gentle little bells and fragrance with my mother.
They are now blooming in my garden, and I picked a bouquet of these lovely blooms for the house. Their scent lingers in my kitchen, bringing images of springs past, and gardens of my childhood. I am working on an embroidered quilt block which attempts to capture their sweet bell shape, and pristine pinkish white color.
It is only partially completed but I am experimenting with satin stitch on the flowers, and still have much practice to go before my satin stitch looks good. But it is a start and I am enjoying the fun and making this precious blooms come to life on fabric. I have been trying for some months to come up with a way to creat a table runner which uses lily of the valley to complete my Charming Botanicals table runner collection. May is the only month that still eludes me, as I try to find a way to retain the delicacy of the blossoms, and still create a floral quilt which is easy to do and elegant in design. I took lots of pictures of the flowers in my garden for inspiration, in addition to collecting other artistic pieces that feature the darling buds.
Here are few of the treasures I have found.







I find the green and white palate an great source of peace and contentment, and I hope that the quilt design I finally come up with will convey that same sense of "comfort" and "home." A great way to spend Mothers Day, I think.

2 comments:

  1. Love Lily of the Valley. Just planted some in my yard last year. You know it is considered a "weed" as it is suppose to take over very fast.
    Beautiful vase, and embroidery work. The photos are lovely too. I truly am enjoying your blogspot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do you remember this song? (I learned it as a round in Girl Scouts *many* years ago!)
    "White coral bells upon a slender stalk...
    Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk.
    Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring?
    That will happen only when the fairies sing!"

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to know what you think! Thanks for sharing your ideas.