Things are still growing very nicely in the Midnight Garden but I have to be honest with you and admit that I have no real garden plan mapped out. Beyond knowing that everything in my beaded garden has to be in shades of grey with a few sparkling glints and highlights, I have no idea what might spring up next. And perhaps that is just the way it should be? After all, if you ever find yourself wandering around a real (or fantasy!) garden at midnight with the silvery full moon high in the sky, you never know what you might see or hear next, whether real or imagined - a glimpse of this, a hint of that, a rustle of leaves, the beat of swooping wings, the blink of an eye in the shadows ...
I am not too concerned about the lack of a plan because my garden is not a formal one, it's a wild garden where anything could happen - perhaps a reflection of life. So when Perry at York Beads contacted me out of the blue and we started talking about his new 'spike beads', I knew that I would easily be able to make room for them in my garden without being tempted away from my chosen colour scheme. These spikes come in a wide range of delectable colours and finishes and as my grey beads have a beautiful AB finish with hints of lilac and turquoise and gold, I decided to make several different pieces with the same grey beads but using different coloured spikes.
The spike beads can look quite threatening on their own, so I wanted to tame them a little while still allowing them to shine and I thought that giving them petals would be the perfect thing.
From a distance, these Thorn Flowers look quite innocent, but when you get a little closer you can see the warning sign! They remind me of some of the flowers from the nightshade family - all of which look perfectly harmless despite some of them being deadly!
If you would like to create some of your own Thorn Flowers, the pattern is now available from my website.
Bye for now!
Kerrie
