Potpourri

Merriam Webster's second definition of 'potpourri' is "a
miscellaneous collection"...and this blog post is definitely that!

I'll begin with one of my latest obsessions (basically something to keep me busy while the painters are wreaking havoc in my domicile!). I've been construction several tops using a Kayla Kennington
pattern. The first one, at right, is composed of silk scarves that didn't sell. I think it's a fun top, and I'm looking forward to wearing it.

This second one is crepe de chine that I dyed specifically for this top. I've included this detail shot so that you can better appreciate her seam construction. It's very simple...I had been struggling

with this idea in my own head and then found it on her website.
Imagine!!!

A couple of garden pics....while not nearly as lovely at Elizabeth's,
I am enjoying my Spring flowers this year!
I think the added rain has really given the gardens a most
appreciated boost!

An Echinacea bud:

Look what I won!
YAYYYYY!
A Liz Berg original!!!
I fell in love with "In
the Woods" when I first saw it on the Fiber Art for a Cure
website and had to have it!






Liz also included a lovely thank you card, but Blogger is being most uncooperative today and will not let me post the picture right side up AND it is insisting upon deleting my entire blog entry every time I try to reinsert the pic! I'm sure that Blogger is from Mars!

This was my Mother's Day centerpiece.

I love the combination of the chartreuse euonymous and the purple Baptisia! And much to my surprise: my iris match the color of the stamped artichoke on my runner!

PEACE!!!

I am about to tear my hair out: blogger is not being cooperative today....so just know that I tried my hardest to make this post right! The fonts are wonky and the captions may not appear with the appropriate pictures! I'm throwing my hands up in the air and have done my level best, but it's out of my hands!

the Joys of a Small Town

I often struggle with a very strong desire to move to the city where the fast pace, anonymity, and easy access to museums, theaters, great dining,etc. is so appealing to me. Then there are times like today when I know that another part of me is so very fond of my little town and all that it has given and continues to offer me. I am always thankful for my church, not only from a spiritual aspect but also for the deep friendships I have developed there over the years. We also have a terrific theater group here and C and I never miss a production. The art center is a fabulous addition to our community, and provides many of us with creative stimulation. Today the knitting group that has so graciously adopted me met at Inman Perk, a new coffee shop on the downtown square....the square being something that all self-respecting Southern towns cannot be without! The group that gathered made me aware of another aspect of the positives of small town life: we all know eachother, and we share such history! Sally was the long-time owner of our local quilt shop, and where I took knitting lessons two years ago. My Mom and I used to spend very pleasant times in Sally's shop, just fondling the fabric and discussing/dreaming about projects. Sally always asks after my Mom, and that is so nice and thoughtful. Sally's daughter and my daughter ran their first marathon together at Disney World several years ago. We have history! Tommye was also at the knitting group. Her husband and mine worked together for years, and Tommye also worked at the quilt shop, so we saw eachother often. Bonnie joined us this morning. Her daughter and mine were school chums, and Bonnie used to sing in the choir at our church. I miss seeing her smiling face there. Karen was also there this morning. She was K's gifted teacher in the 5th grade and I credit her with teaching K how to really study. Karen recently ordered one of my ComplexiTees, and I delivered it to her this today. It was pretty neat to see it on her, and then to spot her later crossing the downtown Square to meet friends for lunch, still wearing my tee! So this morning we knit (look at the fabulous article on knitting on Wikipedia) and chatted, and drank a bit of iced coffee.......it was a great morning in this small town! But we missed you Roberta!!!

C and I both spotted 'our' Pied-Billed Grebe, returning after its short migration to who knows where. It was almost impossible for C to snap a picture of our little darling, as she dove and then resurfaced a ways away, as is their custom.

I doubt that I would see my Grebe if I was living in the city fulltime, and I dare guess I wouldn't have my little veggie garden either. Here's what I've got growing right now:

an Ichiban eggplant

Roma tomatoes

Stargazer lilies

Gerber daisies

I leave on Sunday to fly to Seattle where I will be met by my Blogger Buddy Gerrie. We are taking Beyond Kimonos: Color Rice Paste Resist on Silk at the Coupeville Art Center and will be sharing accomodations at a nearby B&B. I am really looking forward to meeting Gerrie in person and getting to know her better, learning another dye process on silk, and to spending some summer time in the Pacific Northwest. WooHoo!!! OK, so I'd better go get packing!

PEACE

Out Came the Sun

We had some much needed rain last night......and it was gentle and cooling!











Have a beautiful day!

PEACE

Scenes from my Garden

Last Saturday's Market Day at our condo was a huge bust saleswise for everyone. To begin with, we had a rather large downpour just as the outdoor market was opening at 10:00 AM. Sooooo, we all took cover and tried to regroup. Then the powers that be wisely postponed the market until Sunday, which was forecast to be, and was, a beautiful day. I think that folks who planned to attend on Saturday had other plans on Sunday, because they sure weren't there. That said, I enjoyed myself tremendously, meeting lots of neighbors and friends, and also knitting on a new sock. Ironically, the gal who was set up at the next table to mine was peddling Obama t-shirts. Of course I bought one on the spot! I wore it yesterday and had meant to get C to snap a pic of me, but it never got done. Hold that thought - maybe I'll get a pic tomorrow!

So today is another gorgeous day and I am about to get out into my garden. I've just finished making a huge pan of granola, and when I looked out the kitchen window, the garden looked so inviting, I had to go snap these pics for you. Here's where I'll be spending my morning:

As you can see, the foxgloves are about at their peak.......aren't they great! And my roses are looking good! AND: Blogger is cooperating and allowing all of these pics to enlarge...can you hear me squeeling in delight?!!!!!

My Japanese and bearded irises are thriving with the increased sun, since I've cut back so many of the shrubs...and the Mahonia is looking very healthy too!

The peonies are just beginning to open. MMMMMMM, they will be perfuming the air over the next few weeks!

This red rose bush gives us pleasure all season long. I was a bit distraught last summer during the fence construction, as I thought it was gone forever, but it is a hearty soul!

I hope you will have a pleasant day too: feed your soul!

PEACE

All in a Day's Work

I began work on the lining of draperies for my dressing room window the other day. Actually, this is a practice piece for something that I intend to create over the next few months, so rather than put a piece of blah white fabric on the lining, I decided it was a blank canvas that was begging for some work. Here are some of the results....actually, more complex cloth:

I cut this fabric up into sections (only a quilter would cut up perfectly good fabric and then sew it back together again!), pleated it, painted it with Procion MX dyes, washed it, removed the gathering threads, ironed it, sewed the sections back together, stamped it with thickened Procion MX dyes (first with leaves and then with the square-in-a-square stamp), and then sprayed it with a fine mist of the blue dye.
I really like how it turned out....certainly not your mother's drapery lining!! LOL

Remember that volunteer tomato plant that showed up in my daylily garden in August? Well, look what I added to my salad this noon:

If you think you see water droplets on the tomato plant, you are correct! Yes, it rained again today!! Yehaw!!!!! And as you can see, we should have plenty more little grape tomatoes before Thanksgiving:

Here are just a few of the many shots I snapped of our Sleepytime Boy last night:

As you can see in the first Barker shot, he never totally lost the scar from his Springtime fling with the Copperhead. But he's still just as sweet as can be, and we love him dearly!!

PEACE

Mass Destruction

I have been pruning, watering, fertilizing and weeding our front garden this Spring and Summer. The Azaleas and Mountain Laurel were long overdue in the haircut department, so they were lopped back to the point that I was not sure that they would recover. Fear not! They are coming along just fine. We have two glorious Crepe Myrtles in the front garden. All of their new growth was hit hard by the Easter freeze, but they were resprouting nicely and I had high hopes of some late blooms. I went out to chat them up a bit the other day, and just look what I found:

That's about enough to turn my stomach!! Those darned Japanese Beetles have been having a free-for-all at the expense of my Crepe Myrtle! YIKES!!!!

Wonder how those lacy leaves would look sunprinted? May as well make lemonade from lemons, right?

Well, I don't have time for that right now, but wondered if you have Japanese Beetles where you live? If you do, what do you do to prevent such extreme damage as this? If you don't have them, tell me where you live, and I may just come join you!!!

PEACE