30 July 2020

The finished garden bed



Getting a flat foundation for the bird bath was actually the driving force behind sodding the area. I used cement blocks and a level. Job done.




I used the lawn edger at the bottom to cut the sod into 8-10" wide rows for easing removal. I did end up really hurting my foot on the shovel. I did the remaining 2/3rds of the sodding myseld because Todd was busy.



I added plants to the front 1/3 while continuing to sod.



 The entire bed done and now adding mulch.


More mulch please!



All done.





27 July 2020

More Kakishibu



Jean couldn't make it today so Marcela and I dyed a bunch of stuff with Nutmeg MX dye. Next week we will get together and make marks with thickened black dye. Hopefully by the time this post publishes We will have cool stuff to show you.






23 July 2020

Sorted



All the the 144 squares have been sorted by hue and value. I will be arranging them in a diagonal wave 5 feet X 7 feet. I will have to dye some additional fabric for a border and binding.






And now a cautionary tale

I bought 6 spools of "Essential Pro" thread from Connecting Threads. It looks great doesn't it? Well, it was total rubbish. The thread width varied regular to thin, broke while sewing and had slubs so big I was actually shocked they made it through the eye of the needle.

I went on to the website and it said NO RETURNS. I wrote them an email and expressed my shock about the poor quality - total lack of quality - of their Essential Pro thread. I never even received the courtesy of a return email. These were over $40. On top of that it took weeks for it to get here. I followed up a few days later with a phone call and they said they would send a return label and my money would be refunded. Never again.

I immediately went to Wawak, selected 8 spools of top quality Gutermann thread and it cost over a dollar LESS a (over 1000yds) spool. Super high quality. I'm just sayin'. DO NOT buy anything from Connecting Threads.





20 July 2020

Fun with Marcella and Jean


Marcella and Jean came over yesterday and we had a great play date. We took a sheet of A2 paper and used blue painters tape to tape it to the table and to divide the sheet into six sections. We used ALL KINDS of media to make marks including ink, watercolors, acrylic paint, posca pens, charcoal, hairspray, oil pastels and much, much more. The main thing is that we painted the entire sheet as though there was no tape on it then when done, removed the tape. Now we had six discrete pictures. 










When I took off the tape it was so interesting I taped it into my sketchbook and added a few marks. What a fun day.



16 July 2020

Back to rearranging the rail fence



After washing and ironing, I folded the 45 X 90 into a 22.5 X45 rectangle giving me four layers


I cut the 45" wide fabric vertically into 6.5" wide strips


I cut each 6.5" strip into 2 " wide strips giving me 4 - 2 X 6.5" strips


These were then arranged into fours matching value and hue


 These were sewn into 6.5" square blocks.


I decided to make 20 6.5" blocks every day so you can see this will be an ongoing project. I will pick up later in the summer with the finished quilt. If you want to sew along with me this is a link to the instructional videos which you will have access to for life.

12 July 2020

SKETCH BOOKS FROM ENGLAND



I ordered some Seawhite of Brighton Sketchbooks. I have 
  • A5 Portrait format     5.8 x 8.3"
  • 140gsm All-Media Cartridge Paper, acid-free and sized for extra wet-strength
  • Attractive black cloth cover
  • 92 pages / 46 sheets
  • Sized for extra wet-strength
  • $12.00


Small square
  • 140 x 140mm size  5.5” square
  • 140gsm All-Media Cartridge Paper, acid-free and sized for extra wet-strength
  • Attractive black cloth cover
  • 190 pages / 95 sheets
  • $12.00



Medium square
  • 195 x 195mm size   8” square
  • 140gsm All-Media Cartridge Paper, acid-free and sized for extra wet-strength
  • Attractive black cloth cover
  • 190 pages / 95 sheets
  • $16.00





A4 Concertina    8.3 x 11.7
A4 Concertina Sketchbook, 140gsm paper - 70 pages
  • A unique and much talked about product
  • A versatile book for display and the application of a variety of media
  • Each page is 2 sheets joined together for extra stability
  • Comes in a hard carrying case
  • $22.00




and last but not least


A5 Concertina Sketchbook, 140gsm paper - 70 pages
5.8 x 8.3"
  • A unique and much talked about product
  • A versatile book for display and the application of a variety of media
  • Each page is 2 sheets joined together for extra stability
  • Comes in a hard carrying case
$18.00



They each ship for $3.00 postage.


Contact me using the contact form below or email me at: beth dot from dot maine at gmail dot com.

09 July 2020

Then what happened

  
So now I needed a place to plant them. I moved a tiny deutzia and planted the red hydrangeas in it's place.



Removing sod from the "tear drop" in the center of my driveway. This is Marcella's son.




It's really hot which is unusual for coastal Maine so he will come back another day and finish the bed. Meanwhile I have plenty of room to plant what I bought.

Now it is two weeks later and I am still working on this "garden in process". I will be sure to send loads of photos when it's all done.

06 July 2020

How this all started



I walk 2.3 miles every morning between 4 and 5:30 am. I have a neighbor with not only a green thumb but a wonderful sense of landscaping. He has this small tree/tall shrub that I found fascinating.



 It is so unusual and he said it was called a sweetshrub. I went to the local nursery where he bought it and came home with a car load.


This was mine just about 18" tall


Very cool blossom


Hypericum with red berries that open into bright orange blossoms.


Curly willow


A Red, yes red, hydrangea. Tag below


Rogues gallery of plants. 


The one without a photo is a giant solomon's seal

02 July 2020

My stuff washed and ironed










Ugly "oatmeal" colored thermal shirts. Now they are BLUE!!


A left over apron.








For the sleeves


An old linen blouse to use as "material" for another project.





For the front and back of the blouse, pockets, facings...








a blouse from Marcella's shop. Once yellow now indigo!! It is cotton lawn