April 2012 phenological report

1st two headed toads

2nd marsh marigolds open

4th caddis fly hatch

6th horseraddish appears

9th asparagus spears

11th grape hyacinth blooms

15th chipping sparrows nest

22nd carpenter bees territorial

24th hellebores bloom

28th harvesting rhubarb

30th transplanting chocolate mint

lost and found

Trying to keep to a promise that I made, I'm walking daily. My walks are kept to the road, no side trails..no detours..just strictly for exercise. I've not been taking the camera because it is tiresome to carry and time is limited.

When I walk fast, I tend to look at the ground in front of me. Yesterday, while walking along the river, I found something.

Most likely, it became severed. Ties that bind may break. ..but all is not lost, maybe I can bind it together again.

I found something else too, but that is a story for another day...and no, it was not my Cushing's Dyes.

handspun from tow

Fresh off the bobbin, and onto the nod...412 yards of some tow flax that I've been working up. There are several different types...made up from leftovers off the strick or line distaff.

The paddle distaff has been working like a champ! The knotted flax is simply wrapped up/ wadded up ...as it were. Clumps are wrapped with the tie, and magically, the flax just seems to fall into place on the pull down. If too much of it clumps at once, I use my other hand to pick it apart before it enters the draft. At times, a mass of knotted root ends will come off and land on the floor..so there is a handful of "ends" to clean up afterwards. Note to self: do not use the vac on these! Yikes!

A close up of the spun linen reveals the slubs and hairy bits that are in the threads. No matter, this skein will be used for a project that will incorporate all that fuzzieness.

The skein still needs to be finished off, maybe in the simmering pot. A question to a fellow Ravelry member, resulted in a suggestion to try using Oxyclean in place of washing soda....or instead of dish detergent, which I have been using. I have yet to try making my own washing soda by heating up baking soda (300 degrees for several hours)

This skein is going to be used to make a few more of the wrist distaffs for use with spindle spinning, or Great Wheel spinning. I'm enjoying making these. They are very relaxing to work on. The work of choosing a bead to use, stringing them...knotting them..is pleasing. Only trouble is...that with so many other chores to be done, this seems to take a place at the bottom of the list!

I'm learning how to make the sort of knots that one would use when stringing pearls. Simple overhand knots, but a good technique makes for fast execution...I'm getting better with practice.

..so many knots...so little time ....each knot holds a thought

fusing flowers

Wanting to save some of the spring flowers from the Quince, Forsythia, Jonquils and Violets.....I decided to try using some silk fusion.

This was the first time I applied the technique to glass. I should have pressed the flowers ahead of time. The vase may be used for dry flowers only, so pussy willow stems seemed the perfect choice.

While I had originally intended to make a felted vessel and then apply the fusion, I decided to take a short cut and work with the glass vase instead. I like the luminosity it provides.

We are still experiencing light frost in the early morning hours. Luckily, the fruit trees have been keeping their blossoms closed. They were not tempted to open in those warm days we had a few weeks ago. The daffodils are open, some species are at least a month ahead of themselves. Blossoms that are normally open at Mother's Day are open now. Still no hummingbirds or Baltimore Oriels that arrive with the Quince blossoms that are at least- 2 weeks early.

egg avalanche

It is that time of year again~ time for an egg avalanche!

Luckily, I have lots of ideas for what to do with eggs...and some of those ideas do not involve breakfast.

Vladka made me a very good tutorial...

and she also made this very beautiful doily shown beneath my practice egg..

I used an alabaster egg to practice on. It takes a bit of getting used to. Wire and beads on eggs. Takes a light touch, pulling the wire, setting the bead just where it wants to be, without cracking the shell.

The technique is perfect for using with my flax wicking pots. I tried a sample with linen and love the look of it.

There are so many eggs to practice with!

I never noticed how much the tulips look like the eggs, or are the eggs looking like the tulips?

Happy Easter!