Saturday, February 20, 2010

Gardeners are Creative

To garden is more than just to place plants in the ground and watch them grow.  It is more than science, botany, methods and plants. There is the sense of creating something beautiful. A garden is made with style, color,  design and often scent and of course, purpose.   I look out at the snow that started in October and that has covered my garden,  at times like a while fluffy blanket and at other times as a patchy quilt and I feel the desire to “make something”, because I cannot garden.  This winter, this blog has been that “something”.  Along with learning how to blog I have found enjoyment in finding Blotanical and the beautiful gardens, talented gardeners and writers that not only post their blogs, but visit other blogs and comment with wit and thought and graciousness.  But, in years past I’ve made things. I bet you have too.  Here are a couple examples of things I have  made:

W's  Blanket (2)

Years ago I made this baby blanket for our dear friends in Lincoln, Nebraska. I crocheted 12” squares with a pattern that I drew up on graph paper. John, the new dad, had won a  cow mooing contest, put on by a dairy company, hence the cow.  I finished the blanket as we drove from South Dakota to Nebraska. I had Ted stop along the road and stepped into the open corn field and he took a picture.

 

Baby Blanket

This second blanket was presented to a friend at her baby shower.  I single crocheted the pattern into 12” squares.  Then the squares were put together.

So, my dear friends, what “creative things” do you do when you cannot garden?

14 comments:

  1. Dear Gloria, I am afraid I am not nearly as creative as you - in fact not at all - so I read. But I do enjoy it, particularly C20 fiction.

    Your crochet blankets are wonderful, beautifully thought out and executed. I really do mean it. What lovely, lovely gifts and, to my taste, so much nicer than knitted. How lucky your friends are to receive such perfect, generous gifts.

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  2. Dear Edith, I'm sure you are creative! Just look at your blog! G

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  3. Hi Gloria~~ Ironically when my kids were younger, I sewed and crafted. Now that I'm older [and my kids] I've lost interest in sewing and crafting. If I'm not in the garden, I'm on the computer honing my writing skills. The blankets are lovely and I bet they're really warm too.

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  4. Wow Gloria, you are creative! I wish that I had some creative skills, I have tried knitting, crochet etc, but do not have the patience to practice.

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  5. Thank you all. Actually I haven't crochet anything in years. I found these pictures as I looked for garden pictures. But, in winter I always like to make something. Sometimes it rework jewelry or of course, baking...but that creative endeavor tends to show :)

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  6. Hello Gloria,

    Although I can garden year-round, I do love to bake when I am not out in the garden. I have not learned how to knit or crochet, but would love to learn someday. Your blankets are beautiful.

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  7. Hi Gloria :) I saw that you read my blog, and I must tell you I love yours as well! :D

    I always have envied people that could quilt. I love quilts, they're such a beautiful form of art.

    As for what creative things I do when I'm not gardening, I love to draw. I can draw most anything I put my mind to draw. I think I'm pretty good, but that's just based on what other people tell me lol.

    I can't crochet, but I can cross-stitch. My mum made me love doing that, but she's way better than I am lol.

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  8. What a beautiful blanket. I knit and sew but not as much as I used to. I do a lot of cooking from scratch, but I spend most of my time writing.

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  9. Gloria, I always say that a new garden is like a blank canvas to which you apply shapes, colors, scents and design ( and a lot of work) to create something beautiful. My living is as an artist so maybe that's why I think in those terms. But I do believe gardeners are very creative people. When not gardening or painting I am building something, or doing needlework, or pouring chalkware or making a papercutting, and on and on and on. But I hate to cook. Jeri

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  10. What a thoughtful gift, Gloria. My daughter is an adult, now, but I still treasure the homemade blankies we received for her - before she was even born. Keeping busy in winter... indoor gardening is a big one for me. Though I have so much time on my hands I pamper those poor plants to the point of killing them. :)

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  11. What a wonderful gift! I am sure your friends treasures their gifts to this day. I love quilts and dreamed of making my own, but I am not a sewer. I don't even own a sewing machine, but there are many times I wished I did. I enjoy writing and have written a a couple of books, one for children and one creative non fiction. Now, if I could figure out how to get an agent or publisher to look at them, that would be creative for sure!

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  12. Hi Gloria

    Your quilt is a wonderful work of art. When I'm not in the garden I love these days to do a little sewing - I used to do alot more like patchwork quilting and crochet when the children were younger along with some dressmaking.

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  13. Wow, thanks for the info about orange peels. I am saying them next to the coffee grounds we save. it sure is easier than moving big blue. jim

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  14. Hi, Gloria! What gorgeous quilts! I've crocheted many items in the past, but the most memorable have been gifts: a scarf for a close friend's graduation, a spring-colored light cotton blanket for my mother's midday weekend naps in the summertime, and a baby blanket for my best friend's firstborn (which her second-born ended up adopting and loving nearly to pieces -- multiple repairs were called for!) I'm in the process of creating a shawl for my new mother-in-law, but almost regretting having taken it on as I wonder if I have the patience to finish the fine cashmere lacework in teeny tiny stitches. But I am determined to soldier on! Maybe she will get it for Christmas 2012. ;)

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