invitation replication

 I can't get over how quickly the grass and trees have filled in over the past few weeks!

an evening nibble on the new grass

It's astonishingly green.

front yard

back fields with path to pond mowed

The apple tree, which was almost bare two weeks ago...

...is in full bloom now.

We still have a few redbuds in bloom behind the house...

...but the petals are dropping quickly...ditto with the apple blossoms.  The temperatures are still see-sawing wildly, and I'm slowly mulching the flower beds as my temperamental shoulder permits.  I can do about an hour of work at a time.  Still, the beds are filling in nicely with no help from me.

Even though it's been sunny, it's cold...

...not out of the 40s today, and a frost last week.

These early bloomers are used to it, though, and perked right up.  I'm not too keen on working outside in the cold, though, so other than an occasional getaway, I'm working on my indoor projects.

Todd and I made the local paper (barely!) last week when we were photographed at the International Festival...blink and you'd miss us!

I'm slowly plugging away at my Shadow sweater.  The front and back panels are done, and now I'm knitting the sleeves.  Sleeves and body panels will be blocked and then seamed together soon!

I bought an embroidery stand recently, since my shoulder has been so sore.  It's been a lifesaver!  I'm about halfway done with my latest embroidery project.

I'm eager to start on the next one.  I was incredibly inspired by the UK coronation invitation:

Have a closer look:

I don't care about the coats of arms, but I'm going to find a way to copy the side and top panels into a cohesive design.  It's fascinating to read about the symbolism in the items selected here.  Everything is carefully chosen.  I love it!  

Inside, on these chilly days...lazy cats.

Some lazy ones outside, too.

They're enjoying the calm before the storm...it can turn roasting hot on a dime, and stay there, too.  Here's hoping that I can at least finish the beds around the house before the heat hits.  

Have a great week!  

a bad rabbit habit

I ordered an embroidery stand this week and am loving it!  The paddle bottom slides under your leg and you can adjust the height of the arm as needed.  The clamp holds most size frames.  I'm able to work much more quickly this way.  

I'm going to keep making Yumiko Higuchi embroideries, but I'm also interested in trying other kinds, from Tudor-era tapestry work to more contemporary styles, like this embroidery journal.  This particular one was created by Amy Deacon, and the idea is pretty self-evident:  take an event or object from each day and embroider it into your frame. 

photo courtesy of Amy Deacon

It's not quite my style, but an intriguing idea and one that I might try next year.  I like the idea of doing something creative every day, even if it's small.  It's not an uncommon idea in textile circles.  For example, textile artist Ann Wood makes a fabric book every year, with one page added daily, sewn with random scraps and in a random pattern. It's unrefined, of course, but keeps you in a creative mindset.

photo courtesy of Ann Wood Handmade

There is a version of this for painting, of course.  You can paint a suggested theme each day:

photo courtesy of foxandhazel.com

Or, like the embroidery journal, just paint something from your daily life.  I've long been attracted to this idea.  Two books that I've owned and loved for years are Island by Garth and Vicky Waite and The Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  Great examples of older and more contemporary styles of nature journaling in a chronological style.

A selection from Diary of an Edwardian Lady

A selection from Island

I struggle with the focus and the skills needed to commit to a project like this, but I love the idea of daily creativity and am throwing around some simple 5 minutes a day ideas for a future challenge!

More inspiration all around.  We survived the awful storms last week...

...and the rain and warming temperatures have brought out the flowers!  Of course, I'm making as many bouquets as possible...

...and I've been tramping around in the woods behind our fields, looking for spring ephemerals.  Plenty of early growers, like a whole slope of Cut-Leaf Toothwort:

...and some Spring Beauties, too!

Mayapples are up...it must be spring!

I was hoping to get some Columbines in the garden this year.  I had so many at our Indianapolis house, sprouting up from sidewalk cracks and crowding out of multiple garden beds.  But although I've planted many different types, I haven't had too much luck with repeat blooms.  One of the problem is rabbits, especially this year.  I think it's going to be a bad year for them, and I can see where they've nibbled the growing Columbine flower stalks:

As fast as the flowers shoot up, the rabbits mow them down.  Deer, too, might be a problem this year.  I've seen plenty of evidence that they're around, much earlier than normal and closer to the house, too:

deer scat

I know that deer eat daylilies, but I planted clumps of them all around the yard and they've never been bothered by deer...until this year.  They've been eating down the foliage pretty regularly.  It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we're going to have to fence in the flower beds, and put some kind of strong-smelling deterrent around the hostas and daylilies.  

Meanwhile, the little spring chores continue.  Pruning the roses...

...checking my mini greenhouses regularly...

...and keeping track of all the new green growth outside!

I love it!  Meanwhile, the cats are mostly appreciating our extra hour of daylight:

They're feline fine.  :)  Have a great week!

a maple staple

 Let there be life!

I thought they were goners, but these anemones and ranunculus have really taken off.  I planted these in the ground yesterday and only one was rotten.  I love seeing the green...

...and in probably a month, I'll have this!

It's been pretty chilly, but we have a few bulbs blooming.  Hyacinth and daffodils make a great pair and bring a really cheerful spring feel to the mantle.  I've planted many different types of daffodils, so while the really tiny golden ones are dying now, other patches haven't even bloomed yet!

I love delicate scilla in the tiniest vases.

I'm even making small bouquets with the scant new growth outside...mint, dead nettle, daffodils, and vinca.  Nothing fancy, just something nice to see on the kitchen counter.

I re-hydrated one of my favorite geraniums and it's blooming on a low table in our dining room.  Geraniums are pretty easy to overwinter...just bring them inside, water them maybe once a month, but increase in the spring.  I've had this one for years.

Peonies are starting to pop outside, too!  It won't be long now until beautiful color everywhere!  

Other signs of spring:  these bags are appearing on maple trees all over town.  It's sap-collecting time!  To make syrup, all you have to do is boil down the sap...and the syrup is not just for pancakes. As a child, I fell in love with the description of using fresh-made maple syrup to make candy in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Girl in the Big Woods:

“They could eat all they wanted, for maple syrup never hurt anybody. There was plenty of syrup in the kettle, and plenty of snow outdoors. As soon as they ate one plateful, they filled their plates with snow again, and Grandma poured more syrup on it. When they had eaten the soft maple candy until they could eat no more of it, then they helped themselves from the long table loaded with pumpkin pies and dried berry pies and cookies and cakes.”

Who could resist?  Not me!  Todd and I purchased some of this homemade syrup at our local town's Maple Sugar Festival a couple of weeks ago.  Now all we need is a little bit of snow!  :)  

More spring things:  deer are everywhere, eating up those tender spring shoots.

Birds are building nests.  This nest on our front porch has been used by different birds for four consecutive years!

Rabbits are out and about, too.  This one hopped up the steps onto our front porch to nibble at the pumpkin leftovers from last fall! (not-great cell phone capture)

Speaking of rabbits, I decided to use them as the subject in my next embroidery project.  I traced Happy Rabbits by Yumiko Higuchi...

...used a light box to illuminate the pattern...and then traced it onto light green fabric.  I selected my colors and will be ready to start soon!  

More rain is expected this week...

...but I'll be out working in the garden when weather permits.  

Have a great week!