spring means flowers

it also means a renewal of creative energy. between spinning yarn, sewing, knitting a tunic, and planning, i managed to knit a tea cozy for a competition. usually i'm not a terribly big fan of knitting. i think it's because i need to rely on a pattern and even with a swatch i'm not always certain of the finished size; and it's not like you can rip out seams and cut down the fabric to resize, or sew on another trim to make it larger, or that you can make a muslin mockup first. as well, it becomes disconcerting ripping out rows of yarn and restitching several times. so when i say that this cozy was an effort and that i'm glad teapots come in various sizes, you can take it to mean that to get exactly what i had envisioned was a trial. i'm just merry that it is as cute as it is!

not everything is focused on textiles this month; orchids are another thing which interests me. i have eight which i've recently repotted and am looking for signs of growth every time i water them. this past weekend there was an orchid show at the local mall. seeing all the varieties of shape and species is amazing! they're so exotic, but familiar, garish and humble, dazzling and so alive. i snapped many photos, but don't want to become too "family photos from our recent vacation" like, and so will share only some random favorites.

spring and sap

not much happening around here lately; lazy days of spring, planting growing things, switching the bed over for warmer temperatures. i've started saving towards linen sheets, a connection to the past. that, and linen sheets last forever. i think it would be neat to monogram them with some linen thread embroidery. either i'll go highly baroque or scandinavian simple.

the orchids are blooming, the flowers only lasting a couple of nights. frilly, delicate, light, perfect.

some yarn on my drop spindle. i carded cashmere, bison, and mink to create a cooler soil hue different from the warm browns and creams i've been spinning. i've been feeling particularly absent of creative ideas lately. like i'm in a void. i know it's because i don't find myself around other creative types very often anymore, or visiting art installations. you need to feed the imagination, or it runs out of steam. hopefully a workshop will help the sap flow. too bad they're all in the fall.

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.

decaying beauty

after a month of loveliness, my orchid blooms grow weary and fall; their beauty all the more fragile and delicate.

two for the season

i went to provide hydration for one of my orchids when i happened to notice a fairly good sized bloom unfurling from one i've had for years. not that it's unexpected for things like this to happen, but this one has never even shown an interest in blooming, let alone a flower stem. i'm very excited and wonder if it will stay awhile or be one of those "fly by nighters". this will be the second orchid within the last year that has bloomed out of the blue, i think somethings up. hmm. oh well, a mystery, and meanwhile i'll continue to enjoy the exotic presence of a flowering orchid.

some of us just take longer to mature

i've had orchids for 10 years now, and without a scale invasion 4 years ago i would have 22 of them. sadly, i have but 6 remaining. i never got back into it after the scale devastation of '06, so i have not added a new orchid in quite some time. i have one which blooms for 4 days once a year, one which blooms off and on throughout the year, and one which bloomed 2 years ago and not a peep since, the other three have invisible blooms that only pixies can see, or so i thought.

luckily though, one of the first orchids i bought survived unscathed and gave me quite a surprise four days ago; it bloomed and has flowered into a most funny face. the reason for the surprise is that when i bought this plant 9 years ago it was but a baby and the shop owner told me it would mature in 5 years and then bloom. as you see, i had no expectation of it ever blooming once we got into year 8 and there was still no sign. it is a pretty thing to see, and has made my current "cold virus from the depths of hell" suffering brighter.

some spring in the dollhouse

i jaunted over to the southern women's show yesterday, and quite unexpectedly ran across a most awesome booth. it was the clay flower people, nana's clay flowers, who i purchased an orchid and plant from several years ago!

this time i added two more orchids and a charming foxglove. the craftsmanship and tiny details of these 1/12th scale miniatures is breathtaking. luckily, i nabbed a business card, so when the dollhouse is in need of more flora i can contact them!

bloom

one of my phalaenopsis orchids is in bloom right now. the centers are quite vivid.