A stroll through heaven

This is an Oncidium Orchid that I have had for over two years. It flowers for me often. But this last flowering isn't coming out so well and I had come to the conclusion that it needed repotting. Actually, I have known this for awhile but have put it off because I haven't found a pot I like over the internet. Karen, my designer friend had mention we go to the Portland Nursery but we have not been able to coordinate our schedules of late. Today was the day.

If I was an outdoor person, I would have quit my job at the fabric store and applied for employment here. My heart was leaping everywhere and resting on so many leaves, branches and flowers. My soul was just happy. Just happy here. Huge. Very huge. I would have loved to spend an entire afternoon and several hundred dollars or more at this wonderful nursery. It was a rainy day, so the air was cold and wet. Perfect for such a viewing. And the scents. Spices, and cinnamons, and herbs, and I don't know what. I am a smoker and it is not easy for me to pick up smells. But here, my head was swimming in one scent after another. It is the time of year when it is not about flowers. It is about green. Bonzais, maples, ferns, bamboos, ground covers, winter herbs, leaves of all sorts, and the fall colors coming in.

I bought this pot and some bark. The old pot was squeezing the life out of the orchid. I threw some tiny stones into the mix. When I get a real camera I will take a better picture. It is a really beautiful relationship between pot and orchid. I also bought a "Rhamnus Frangula 'Asplenifolia'" for the porch. It is an outdoor shrub which I can keep there through the winter as our winters here in Portland Oregon are not as freezing like the winters in New England.

As much as I love flowers, more important to be surrounded with, is the foliage. For me, it is all about the leaves. I love the shapes and textures. Like with my fabrics. My friend Jody loves the outdoor gardening. And when I eventually move to NY, I will certainly enjoy her gardens. But I will bring indoors the growing gardens. Different, but..... the same.

New scarf details

Here are some of the details of the new scarf. The multi colored pieces are from kimono. The solids are silk taffeta.

Unintentional Organizing

All I have to do is to decide to get up from the chair that I do everything in so that I can go into the other room. I did not return to the chair for another hour. I am working on a project upon which I am appliqueing pieces of silk taffeta. I have a huge assortment of very fine threads for the work but I have come across a color without a match. So it is time to pull out the silk threads. Ah, but then - exactly what colors am I working with in the beautiful taffetas? So I pulled out the bags. These taffetas come from Foust Textiles. We buy their scraps and carefully fold them and sell them as remnants. I have a nice little collection. These will last me a very long time. And if we keep getting them in the store, I will be able to bring them to the next life too. Along with my Kimonos. So I got it all organized in a plastic bin. I was surprised at the wonderful colors. Some of them are so soft. I don't really lean towards brights like loud pinks and neon greens, oranges and purples when it comes to silk. I can when it comes to layers and cottons and linings. But in applique work, I tend toward the subtle gardens. You will see this when I begin to photograph.

I have ordered a real camera. It should come in within the week. Hopefully it will address the needs for getting my work up on this venue. My phone camera is very nice but I can see how it distorts color. Jody takes such great photographs and it is so simple for her to post her work on her blog. I want to be able to do the same.

Learning technology is really the donkey's death. I am a natural at fibers. I am a total moron when it comes to electronics. You should have seen me when I got my new sewing machine a few weeks ago.....and will say no more...................

OH, and I lost my sewing needle last night. We have all done this!! I am happy to announce that it reappeared in this organizing time. I found it taking a step, piercing the ball of my left foot. Yeah! I found it. I didn't loose it after all. I love these needles. I don't care about the bleeding and the pain. I found it. These needles are from Clover and are the "Black Gold Needle" series, and I am totally in love with them. The foot will be fine!

The promised scarf

So, this is the scarf that I created. It is a wool that I processed. Unfortunately, you cannot see the lovely shade of green nor the detail. To the left there is a ginkgo leaf apppliqued in kimono silk. The pathway stones are appliqued in silk taffeta. The wool is distorted from the washing and just drips everywhere. Around the neck, the scarf forms a collar. It is so wonderful to wear. I am not by any means a photographer. I have to become one. Maybe if I take the picture during the day. I have cooked another piece of wool that is wider and will become a shawl when I am done with it. It is a rich dark blue. Another week on that.

I have never liked cameras. And I never liked the saying "Never too old to change".

When God was young

I am so excited. I am about to photograph a wool scarf for the opening page of this blog. I have just designed the applique to be hand stitched to it. Why did I not think about this long ago? It surprises me how the pictures arrive one upon the other and voila! - creation. I wonder if it was like that for God when he was creating all of his stuff in the beginning. It has been like this for decades but I have never been exposed to such a public. Having had my own business, I controlled my market. It's different now. The whole 'internet thing' puts you out there in an unexplainable world and it can be daunting. It is so big, very big. It stops me from accomplishing things that some people think I should be doing, like learning how to use this computer to get my work out there. And I won't say anymore on that subject. I am certain that I am technologically challenged when it comes to computers and one day, someone will march into my life and will have the patience to sit and step by step, show me how to use it without frustration.
In the meantime, I continue to create new things and that is where my serenity is.

Primitive beginnings

Every day, something new. This is to be mine for the day. Encouraged by the few I know who have their own, all the buzz in the media, and from those around me who chatter endlessly about their own, I have spent an entire day sitting before this frustrating little plastic machine trying to figure out how to accomplish this four letter word "blog". At the end of this typing, if it actually posts and someone reads it and posts a comment, then I will know I am one step closer to what is so all important to everyone around me - modern technology. I question - can it be possible to live without all of this stuff? My husband has a computer and never turns it on. He seems to be doing well. Of course he's no spring chicken. He's 62. I think there is a decade or two of people that can or cannot live without computers. They are the people who's needs are not involved with global living. My husband is small town. He goes to work. Comes home, takes care of his mother. His father passed on recently. His mother will follow in a short time. He plays with his dog. Then off to bed only to repeat the day on the next. That's the life. His daughter just had a baby. The family is all right there in the same neighborhood. Technology extends to the quality of the television and the automobile. Really.

Sometimes, my life gets so full of things to do that I yearn for such a simple life. But I know my husband misses my life. He misses all the people and the activity. The colors, the textures. When his mother passes, I will have him come visit for as long as he likes. Maybe he will drive here from New Hampshire. Spend a few weeks. Breathe a different air.

This was supposed to be a simple entry. And look. You have made me go on and on. Now I have to figure out how to place pictures on so I can show you my work.

A demain