bee creative

the wool quilt takes structure

I've been playing, and playing with various ideas (what iffing I suppose), and played a bit more last night.  The result was that my favorite wool square was the silver one and the decision that I needed a structure to build on before all of this was going to become a blanket.  I decided that I would alternate gray and white wool blocks with circles reverse appliqued or appliqued to each square.  I'm going to use silk or velvet for the circles.  And then I'm going to stitch with a variety of colors in a variety of ways.  I want the circles to be smallish for the most part.  And random.   I want the feeling of this to be very dimpled.  I kind of see this as an intersection between planned and spontaneous. 

A few other thoughts were reinforced as I worked my way through this:

• How much I need to work with my materials before I know which direction I'm going to go.  I'm not good at planning things out on paper or in my head unless it's going to be something really basic.
• Keeping it simple is better for me.
• I love texture and the relationships between colors. 
• That sometimes I think we deny ourselves possible paths because we want to be original, out of fear of copying.  This may really be a creative crisis of our times because there are so many ideas out there and they are so easy to access.

From the stash of trash:  wool blankets that are falling apart, silk scraps and yarn left over from other projects. 

winter's not done yet

Taken at 5:30 PM today.

Good thing I just finished pair number thirteen.  Never know when another pair of wool socks is needed.

my global foot print

Green goals for the next month:

• Turn the heat down more.  I've been doing better the last couple weeks, but I've gone over what I was hoping to use for heat this winter.  Part of the issue is that I really can't run the risk of freezing pipes.  In December 2008, we had eleven days that never got above freezing all day long.  That just isn't normal for this area. 
• Get a rain barrel set up.
• Get chickens.  The first batch arrived at the feed store last week.
• Get my bike ready to ride (need air in the tire) and start making some short trips to build up to riding all the way to work.   

spring is coming!

Pulmonaria, also known as lungwort.  Is it the breath of spring?   

second garden update for February

Some of my garden posts this year might be more for myself than anyone else.  I want to create a "ta-da list," ( got this term from one of Julia Cameron's books) and a "to-do list" each week.  One of the things I'm finding valuable is being able to look back at last years photos and some of my blog posts as a record of what I was doing, and where the garden was at certain points. 

What was accomplished:

• Moved another rose, plus three other shrubs.  Part of the "master plan" is for most of the roses to be all together along the side of the house and for all the shrubs and perennials to be along the fence lines. This will give me more privacy and structure.  Really wish I'd thought more about this five years ago.   
• Planted peas:  sugar snaps mostly. 
• Pruned seed pods off perennials, the raspberries, and removed one dead rose. 
• Pulled a lot of grass out from around the roses. 

To-do for next dry weekend day:

• Move all sage plants to along the back fence. 
• Plant bare root trees that are coming (hazelnuts and cherries). 
• Prune on the large apple tree some more. 
• Plant sweet peas and poppies. 
• Build my four square raised bed section.  One of the beds is already made and planted with garlic. The other three beds will be for onions, potatoes, and shell beans. 
• Pull more dead grass that should have been taken care of last fall! 

Inspire Me Thursday- silver

"The silver apples of the moon." W.B. Yeats

A piece of silver silk layered between two pieces of gray wool and stitched with cotton thread. 

eating local during the winter

Blueberry muffins made with local ingredients, including homemade sour cream. Actually, even the bowl (it was made by a local potter) and the recipe were from a local sources.  It's from the Alice Bay Cookbook by Julie Wilkinson Rousseau. Something that I think makes eating local easier is to have cookbooks written by local authors. 

One of my goals last summer was to freeze, dry, store or can enough local produce that I would be able to eat from my supplies through January, February and March when the local options started to get slim. At this point there are apples, potatoes, onions, mushrooms and sprouts at the coop that are from Washington.  

I am happy to say that I stocked up enough that I am going to make it through!  What I didn't really think about was that I'd really save money during those months.  I'm  buying local dairy products, local meat (used as a seasoning),  a few citrus, and bulk items right now.  The timing for this is great as I'm spending some money on seeds and plants at the moment. 

I'm also still eating spinach that I planted in the cold frame last fall.  Next year I will be planting more! 

the wool heart

A little more honest (edited:  Maybe a little more factual.  Both images are honest, just in different ways.) look at my wool heart square (complete with cat hairs).  That would be without filters.  I love how the thread I'm using is glossy against the mat fuzziness of the wool.  I love how dense and heavy this feels. 

The top green layer is a wool sweater that was snagged.  I tried felting it/fulling it but it didn't shrink much. 

garden update: February

I splurged back in December when the amaryllis were on sale and picked up this bulb.  Sure helps with the spring fever.

It was a glorious sunny day on Sunday.  I managed to get a lot done in the garden, but didn't take any pictures.  I'm finding a lot of daffodils and other spring bulbs starting to poke their heads up, a few of the earliest spring perennials starting to leaf out.  

What was accomplished: 

• Planted tomatoes (indoors).  I had a few of the little peat pellets that expand in water that I used for the tomatoes.  For the rest of my indoor starts, I'll be using paper tubes filled with seed starting soil. 
• Pruned small apple tree, started on the large one.
• Moved one of my roses and a shrub. 
• Moved one of my peonies.  Made me sad 'cause it had a lot of buds and I might have shocked it into not blooming.  It would have been better if I'd moved it in the fall. 
• Prepped where my peas will be planted.  Didn't plant yet.  There is snow in the long range forecast and below freezing temperatures for most nights.  I'll probably plant a few next week, I won't be able to help myself. 
• Built a raised bed with concrete blocks ( I already had these) for my green beans. 
• Drew out some diagrams for where I want things to be planted.  Thinking hard about what is really practical for me. 
• Decided from this point on, 90% of what I plant needs to be native to this area, edible or useful in someway.  I am so grateful that roses are edible and wonderful for scenting hand salve!
• Researched getting chickens/chicken tractors.  Figured out where chicken tractor could go and how it could be rotated.
• Weeded the garlic.   The boards across the frame are to keep the neighborhood cats out.  

           

• Acquired sore muscles.

Inspire Me Thursday- Lace

I have become the keeper of my great-grandmother's lace....

Some of which will be incorporated into my own projects.  This doily is being stitched down on to a piece of wool for my wool quilt.  For this square the wool came from an old blanket of my grandparents.

More and more I believe old things are meant to be used.  They should change and grow with us.