title: A Cottage Garden: Stitch and Enjoy a Bounty of Beautiful Blossoms
author:  Kathy Cardiff 
description: Combine cotton and wool fabrics, stitchery, and quiltmaking and a love of gardening and you have this wonderful collection of projects by Kathy Cardiff. The masterpiece project is a stunning nine-block sampler of flowers in bloom. But there is also a good mix of smaller projects to make for yourself, your home, and as gifts for family and friends. They include a clutch purse, cushions, wall hangings, framed pieces, sewing notions, and a table runner. Kathy also includes advice and tips for working with wool. Enjoy! --Australian Homespun Magazine<br /><br />A Cottage Garden - Stitch and Enjoy a Bounty of Beautiful Blossoms by Kathy Cardiff, published by Martingale, has 11 wool applique ideas and is at the top of my stack of inspirational books for this year's gift-making journey. All of Kathy's designs in this book feature flowers, a welcoming sight when you open a package in the middle of winter. <br /><br /> What magic Kathy performs with a little bit of wool and thread! The sewing clutch is darling (you should see the plaid wool she used inside, a fun contrast to the clean lines of the outside of the clutch), and can be made in no time at all using simple stitches and construction. <br /><br /> Speaking of construction, the Working with Wool section at the beginning of the book ensures the work will proceed without a hitch as it walks the reader through background fabric choices (she mixes cotton and linen with wool, my favorite combinations!), how to select, felt, and store wool, how to prepare wool shapes for applique, etc. <br /><br /> Kathy's expertly chosen background fabrics allow for the applique to pop, providing the perfect canvas for her floral designs. I love her finishes: just the right balance between simplicity and detail, neutrals and color, smoothness and texture. <br /><br /> All the photos in the book were taken in Kathy's garden, her love and the inspiration for all her projects. If we do not have a beautiful garden around us, we can still be graced by its beauty as we stitch our own version of colorful blooms and potted plants using her ideas. <br /><br /> Oh... when you get to the end of the book you spy My Cottage Garden, showcasing Anemones, Black-eyed Susans, Echinaceas, English Daisies, Forget-me-nots, Marigolds, Peonies, Sweet Peas, and Zinnias. Need I say anything more? A Cottage Garden - Stitch and Enjoy a Bounty of Beautiful Blossoms would also make a wonderful gift for stitching friends, perhaps presented with the Sewing Clutch as the motivation to begin a gift-making journey of their own. --Pieced Brain Quilt Designs
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  # Woodbine Cottage
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Sarah Josepha Hale
  
  
  This page copyright © 2001 Blackmask Online.
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com
  
      
  
  "Love, and love only, is the loan for love." — Young.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "PRAY, can you tell me who owns yonder pretty cottage? I am sure it must have
  a history," said Mrs. Conant to
  
  
  her landlady.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "Ah, yes — is it not a love of a place, with its pillars and porticoes all
  around?" said Mrs. Bell, advancing towards
  
  
  the window. "It is called a cottage orne, you know, and belongs to Mr. — — — "
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "No, no! I don't mean that flaunting pagoda, which is just such a vulgar,
  expensive-looking thing as any body
  
  
  who has money may buy or build," said Mrs. Conant. "I mean that dear little
  cot on the hill-side there, nestled in
  
  
  among the green vines and shrubbery and peeping forth from among the leaves
  and flowers like a timid bride
  
  
  from beneath her veil. Who lives there?"
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  "O! that is Woodbine