Haven't been ignoring this blog intentionally - just lots to do, to make! First up - knitting. When my friend Patty gave me another enormous bag of yarn I decided to break out a color that I rarely (if ever) use -
This is Cascade 220 and it is really really lemon yellow.
The morning light diffuses the strength of this color, believe me! Do you like my little pea pods?
So much fun to knit!
There's been quilting too. I am making a new wall hanging for my office.
'It's Five O'clock Somewhere' is the theme. What office wouldn't enjoy this sentiment?
I tried to include something for everyone!
I like how this piece is shaping up. We've had a lot to do with the sale of my mother's house and the eminent packing and moving, so finding time to quilt is an effort. Needless to say - other things have suffered (housework and weeding!)
The piecing keeps me calm and centered through this latest storm. Speaking of storms, we've had some aggressive behavior from Mother Nature this week - including a authentic tornado watch! Thankfully, the tornado never materialized. My New Dawn is enjoying the wet and humid weather -
Always pleasing -
There's a clematis getting ready to join this riot of beauty.
The new feeder is finished and in place - made entirely of cedar, including the nesting branches.
It's going to weather beautifully and outlast the elements for many many years.
The feeder stack has a swivel top to protect from the rain and there is drainage on the flooring to ensure dry feed. If you like it, you can now order one for your own garden! The Carpenter has gone into production.
More to follow!
The black iris is so fragile that this gentle rain, if it continues to fall, will shatter the bloom by morning. Luckily, I love to take photos in all kinds of inclement weather.
Art imitates Nature - here is my version-
Perhaps I should have taken this outdoors for the natural lighting. . . I don't think that I did this little piece any justice! It was very enjoyable to quilt freehand. Lately I have been giving myself permission to break out of my old tried and true methods. It's good to be open to new techniques. I want my quilts to be informed by tradition, but not restricted. There is something missing. Something painterly. Something free, something more emotional.
I do believe that imitation IS the purest form of flattery.
So you can expect to be seeing new elements in my work. I have so very much to imitate right here in my own backyard. In the rain.
The hosta collection brings so much to the table in terms of form and color.
And there's plenty more where they came from! The grapes are stretching to embrace their arbor this season. It's a relief! I was worried that they would give up and spiral downward.
Carson came over and tied them this weekend and they are looking happy and well adjusted. Have you ever seen tiny grapes as they form on the vine?
Wouldn't you know that a little breeze blew in as soon as I started shooting? I want to learn more about viticulture, but I always fall asleep with my nose in the book!
The gigantic pergola is beginning to "grow" on me. Its scale troubles me from time to time, but I've decided to focus on planting trees to dwarf it!
My lovely daughter sent long-stemmed roses to her momma - they are divine!
I love this color combination - so unexpected and so completely beautiful! I'll never look at a spray of identically colored roses in the same way again!
Their fragrance is heavenly too. My daughter knew that I would appreciate her gift, and I do, thank you, Bean. Because I grow so many flowers I almost never receive any! I think that it is assumed that I have favorites, and I do - ALL OF THEM! (especially roses!
Everywhere I look - color ... glorious saturated color. The Creator has been painting again - and just in time for Mother's Day! I believe that this clematis is The President.
It seems to arrive one week before its cousin, Jackmanii. Of course, the real show stopper is Josephine -
She is so scrumptious that there are no words -
Can you imagine how dynamic this clematis would be if added to a Dublin Bay red rose climber? I have a perfect spot for that kind of duo - perhaps I'll find the rose tomorrow.
We had significant rain this week which was needed, but it destroyed many of the tree peonies before their time. I always feel that they are here for too short a spell, but perhaps this is part of the magic -
They can live to be well over 50 years old! This white is dinner-plate sized.
I do have my pets ... the yellow is really a charmer! I wait for its arrival every spring - I'm never disappointed.
I have large hooves. That's my size 9.5 standing beside one of the hostas that I planted three years ago. The growth this season is exceptional ... perhaps due to the warmer winter that we experienced.
It was a perfect day - warm and breezy, no clouds in the sky. I finished my son's little wall hanging, washed it and hung it out on the line to dry.
Tomorrow I'll add a tiny bit of bead embellishment ...
My buddy and I wish all of the Mothers everywhere a day of small perfections.
My workroom faces east. The morning light is exquisite here. I can see the tips of the Berkshire mountain range and a sliver of the Hudson River.
All of my projects are bathed in pools of light, reminding me of maple syrup, in a dish.
Avoiding my room during the work week is essential. If I slip in, I'll have to call in!
What quilter worth her salt wouldn't trade a day of fiber with a day of computers?
Truth be told, I think about retirement every single day! I could stay home and make lots of these -
I wonder if I could support my fabric addiction myself with my creations! Here is my latest mantra -
Will someone please explain the logic behind the saying - "the shoemaker's children go barefoot". In this house it would be something like - "the carpenter's house goes floorless" (wall-less, windowless, wallpaper-less, you choose). I'm becoming a bitter woman. For years I have watched as the most glorious items have been constructed and then marched out of the wood shop to be delivered ELSEWHERE.
This client is getting a new laundry room. The envy that I experience seriously rivals these paint chips.
I have a kitchen floor that I call Splinter Alley. Walking barefoot is a perilous business around here.
Meanwhile, the carpenter keeps turning out these objects of my desire. It's not fair.
This is Cascade 220 and it is really really lemon yellow.
The morning light diffuses the strength of this color, believe me! Do you like my little pea pods?
So much fun to knit!
'It's Five O'clock Somewhere' is the theme. What office wouldn't enjoy this sentiment? 
I tried to include something for everyone! 
I like how this piece is shaping up. We've had a lot to do with the sale of my mother's house and the eminent packing and moving, so finding time to quilt is an effort. Needless to say - other things have suffered (housework and weeding!) 
The piecing keeps me calm and centered through this latest storm. Speaking of storms, we've had some aggressive behavior from Mother Nature this week - including a authentic tornado watch! Thankfully, the tornado never materialized. My New Dawn is enjoying the wet and humid weather -
Always pleasing -
There's a clematis getting ready to join this riot of beauty.
