Wandering Camera – Thistles

Scottish Thistle Watercolour | Whims And Fancies

 

Welcome to this month’s Wandering Camera.

Thistles are not what one would necessarily call very pretty flowers.  They are a wild sort that grows on invasive thorny plants.  Yet the fuchsia colour is undeniably vibrant and beautiful enough for me to seek out and photograph them, and paint them afterwards as well. 

A few months ago, on our third road trip in Scotland, I was looking forward to spotting and photographing them on walking trails.  I found quite a few variations of the flower in different areas. 

 

I hope you enjoy this set of my photos of wild thistles.

 

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

 

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

 

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

 

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

 

This is the only one that I photographed in a garden.

 

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I took this photo by the mountainside, bracing myself against 40 – 50 mph wind gusts.  Considering the effort it took me to take this photo, I feel I brought a bit of the Scottish spirit back with me!

 

Scottish Thistle | Whims And Fancies

 

Thistles are not grand, but definitely tough, wild, and have a strong aptitude for survival.  This little prickly weed has not only got the status of being the national flower of Scotland, it has also placed itself in different varieties of stylised art. 

I too have succumbed to the magic of thistle.  Hope you enjoyed the photos!

 

Camera And Photography Linky Party | Whims And Fancies

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page including PPF.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

 

 

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Pitmedden Garden – The Quilt

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I will start with the name of this little quilt.  Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is home to the beautiful Pitmedden Garden.  Since I love to visit gardens while travelling, we had planned on visiting this one. The idea was to have lunch there, spend an hour or so, and then continue on to Aviemore.  Little did we know that we would end up spending most of the day there.  When I finished making the quilt top and showed it to my husband, the first words out of his mouth were “That’s Pitmedden Garden!” Henceforth, Pitmedden became the namesake of this quilt.

 

 

Pitmedden Garden Scotland | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I can see why he thought of Pitmedden Garden.  You can see the four quadrants of the garden and the walking path through them in this photo.  I will share a lot more photos of this garden in one of the monthly Wandering Camera linky party posts.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I drew this pattern after seeing a flower through the window of my little atelier, and then combining it with a pinwheel pattern.   Then, inspired by our travel to England – specially Derybyshire and Yorkshire – I made this mini using the pattern.   The Tale Of Two Shires post has more on this mini.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Once I finished that one, I wanted to make a quilt for my kitties using the same colours, prints and quilting lines.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Since I often get asked how I choose colours and prints, I wrote a separate post on that – Pinwheel Flowers – Colours And Prints.

I think the blender fabrics for the flowers make them look like flower-patches, which I like even more than the idea of one flower per block.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I used the same quilting lines as I used for the one-block-mini.  I love using my walking foot, so I try to come up with straight line quilting designs to complement my quilts.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The parallel lines on the quilting ruler were exceptionally helpful for this.  I drew a line through the middle first, and then made the V-lines from each side meet there.  That was the only way I was able to get a square-shaped diamond in the middle of the sashing instead of a rhombus. 

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I used the same acid green thread that I used for the one-block-mini.  Much to my surprise, it worked really well with all four flower colours.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Finally,  a green binding to mimic a green wall of shrubbery surrounding the garden.

 

 

Pinwheel Flower Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

 

That wraps up my quilt version of Pitmedden Garden.  It is now being used by our little kitties on one of their many beds.

Now I may just have to make one for ourselves!

-Soma

 

This was also my one monthly goal, which I am happy to say I have accomplished.  I am linking up with –

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal Finish

 

Related Links –

The Tale Of Two Shires – Pinwheel Flower One Block Mini
Pinwheel Flowers – Colours And Prints
Wandering Camera

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

 

 

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