Spectacular Gold Lace

This closeup of antique gold liturgical lace is the pride of my collection. I have several pieces as well as a generous amount of running yardage. It is made up of very fine gold wires/threads and is appx 70-80 years old. These pieces are actually heavy. I will be showing more of this part of the collection over the next few posts. I am always in awe when I pull them out and admire them. I hope you feel the same.

Life has been hectic the past week or so. DH has been home and we have been gardening like slaves but the results have been worth it. The only downside is the time it has taken away from my sewing, sewing that I really need to do. I did get about half of the pleating done that I needed to do. I need to get more done if I am going to make the two contests I want to be in. Keep those fingers crossed and wish me good Karma, please! Or better yet, wish me TIME ! That is what seems to be at a premium lately.

DH and I have been blessed with a visit from our children, spouses, and all grandchildren the past few days, to celebrate his birthday. They all live 5-6 hours away so this was wonderful. The grandchildren climbed trees, swam in the river, roasted marshmallows, and collected eggs. My daughters and I cooked, ate, fed babies (twins), admired the gardens, and just enjoyed each other. Our wonderful SILs built a firepit out of large slabs of native sandstone on the river, were great about watching the little ones, and all around male bonded with DH, Mr. alpha male. It was a wonderful, wonderful time. Tomorrow, with one days rest, we head back to their neck of the woods, 5 hours south, to complete the details of our new business. To say it has been hectic is an understatement. But it has been a wonderful blessing.

I did manage to get about half of my pleating done. I will try to bring some with me on the road so I can at least get part of my projects going. I just can't stand being idle or wasting time opportunities so some smocking on the road will be made to order.

DH and I have a little bit more to do in the garden to finish the new beds. The new shade bed isn't mulched yet and my background trees are not planted but here is a peek at just a small part of what we added to the shade garden. To the left and right of the bottle tree are deep red astilbes. A smaller white astilbe is in front and the big hosta on the left goes without nomenclature. If anyone knows the name of this hosta please let me know.
I hope you can see the potential here and enjoy our bottle tree. I have wanted a bottle tree for a long time (my Southern roots)and this dead tree presented the perfect opportunity. I have decided to stay with just cobalt blue bottles. Here is a little about the history of the bottle trees. (Some more info here.)I found it pretty interesting. I have a feeling I may have the only bottle tree north of the Mason-Dixon line. LOL!
We so love shade gardening. It was the only gardening I could do at the our last home, so I got to learn the plants needed for cold weather and their idiosyncrasies. It was a no brainer to start right in shade gardening on our new property. I must say though, that I am so looking forward to "sun" gardening and we have started that with our veggie garden and berry bushes.
One thing you need to know is that we have carved these gardens out of Adirondack wilderness, I mean real wilderness. This involved lots of land clearing, well, maybe beyond "lots." It was all we did the first year. Then bit by bit and bed by bed it started falling into place. So, only a peek today, but more later.....Bunny