miniatures outside the dollhouse

creating small container gardens is quite fun and very rewarding. you can add pizazz with little details and give birth to miniature worlds. in this case, washi tape bunting and twig poles.

it's a "welcome to your new space" gift for our local yarn shop owner. she's opening a new shop, with a new location which gets great light due to the wall of glass at the entrance. succulents love light, and every space needs something living to bring good karma.

i'm trying to use my washi tape more often, now that it's easier to access in its' drawer. it was very quick and painless to make the bunting; a little cutting, pressing, tying, et voila!

green and growing things

i love strawberry season. it's been less than perfect weather for growing, but freshly picked strawberries which are ripened on the stem beat any store bought ones, regardless of size. we took a little trip to the coastal gardens and bamboo farm for a plant sale, and dad did some strawberry picking while we browsed among the plants.

there were some interesting plants at the sale, as well as the bamboo they grow there. i quite liked the black bamboo, and scavenged a piece that lay on the ground. though not all plants in the greenhouse were actually for sale, as the more interesting specimens were those of the students.

we picked up some herbs, common thyme and purple basil. the chives, lavender, oregano, and mint of last year survived the temperate winter. herbs and orchids are about the only green things i can grow with any success, though dreams of a vast and colorful potted garden flit through my days.

how does your garden grow?

with the immense heat and little rainfall my garden isn't growing as quickly as i hoped. but, these past few days we've been getting afternoon rain showers, and i noticed a tomotillo hanging in the lower branches. the flowers are really pretty as well, like dragons.

um...where are the other veggies?

this year was going to be THE year of gardening. i was going to aerate the soil, mix in my compost, start seedlings, create rows in the soil, maintain everything weed free, and reap the benefits of my labor. well. i did do most of those things, except that most of my seedlings died. all of them but the 16 squash seeds, and a handful of the tomotillo or maybe the huck cherries (they look similar and i put them in similar seed containers so i don't actually know which ones made it).

the other thing that happened is the weather; we've had more than 40 continuos days of over 90 degrees, and only 10 or so of those days had any rain. i've been out watering morning and evening (serving up a buffet for every mosquito in a three mile radius), and the squash have been thankful. they're ginormous! every time it does rain they grow another three feet i swear.

today i noticed my first fruit from my labor, a wee squash! it's like a lightbulb. it's incredible what the squash tentacles wrap around. here is some blades of grass entrapped by the vine.

thankfully, my trusty orchids are loving being outside this time of year. lady of the night is blooming (she is scented only during the evening), but i won't be wandering around in the dark to smell her (though it is an intoxicating musky scent).

keeping busy

today was a classic spring day; i cleaned the studio, i gardened (well, watered my seedlings really), i dyed, i wove, i cooked (black beans and yellow rice, yummy!), and then i had some serious thoughts about visiting the chiropractor.

it's finally staying warm enough for me to put my orchids out for the summer, and i figured right by my studio would be lovely. so, yesterday i crafted some wire hangers and attached hooks into the fence, and hung them with very little difficulty. they're happier outside then in (maybe it has something to do with the sparse watering schedule they endure at my hands?).

i also cleared a patch in front of the studio for the weld and indigo seeds, so i'll be watering for a couple of days and waiting on tenterhooks until they sprout. i checked on them this morning and found a line of ants tunneling down the middle of the patch, i hope they're not carrying away my seeds!

i was able to add samples of the madder dyeing i did on monday to my dye book. i've been having fun with the wool roving bits i put aside for the dye book, as i've found it really fun and easy to spin them on my bobbin winder. i'm thinking this technique may work for paper spinning.

one of the metalsmithing tools that's been loitering in my studio is a large crockpot which i keep forgetting to bring to goodwill. but luckily, procrastination paid off and i can use it for an indigo vat! now i'm just waiting for the mail system to deliver the ground indigo. i'm very excited, as i'm missing blues in my dye experiments.

a couple of weeks ago i put a linen warp on my loom and have been playing around with different yarns, piles, and random weft kasuri. i've enough left to try one more thing, maybe something sheer.

i took some photos of the studio before i cleaned, and i don't think the desk looks all that bad. i'm really happy with the way the inspiration board is fleshing out.