Eco-Tawashi

Despite yesterdays snow, yes it did snow here yesterday, there are signs of spring. The lovely little crocus in the lawn are my favorite. Despite their tiny size they are probably the most welcome of all my flowers each year. I call this photograph Do You Believe in Magic?
But it is still too cold and wet to do much work in the garden and I am thrilled to have received a much anticipated shipment of Eco-tawashi yarn from Japan.
I ordered this yarn right at the time of the devasting earthquake and tsunami so had little hope that it would ever arrive. But my supplier was not injured and shipped the yarn as soon as she was able to return to Tokyo
This is a very special yarn unique to Japan and used to make traditional eco-tawashis, magic pot scrubbers. It is an abrasive acrylic yarn with deoderizing and anit-bacterical properties.
The Japanese crochet this yarn into lovely scrubbers in gorgeous pattterns.
They are called eco-tawashi because they are used to clean pots, casseroles, dishes glasses etc. without soaps or detergents so are great for the environment.
And they do work like magic. I gave the first tawashi I crocheted to my husband and he has been raving about it ever since. Our glass casseroles look like new and our glasses and pots shine.
I have crocheted them into flowers: roses and chrysanthemums, since tawashis must be beautiful and well as effective. They are available for purchase in my Beadedwire Etsy shop.

Still Waiting for Spring

My best friend Elaine lives in Connecticut - she is busy cleaning up her garden, crocus and snow drops and hellebores are blooming.
I am so envious, we are still encased in snow and I woke up to hail and sleet this morning.
And of course the dire news in Japan.
So I am dreaming of my gardens from other years and hoping spring will come again, the crocus first of course. My front lawn is full of crocus, I plant hundreds of them each year, hoping to increase the bloom though even hidden in the lawn they are tasty and expensive food for the little creatures living underground. I plant snow crocus, the tiny crocus that come in such an amazing array of soft colors and bloom with the snow drops. The hellebore is probably blooming under the snow.
And then of course the daffodils and tulips will come.

















But for now there is just snow and mud. I have been knitting and crocheting like crazy, working on cotton hats and scarves for spring for BeadedWire. Slouch hats, cloches and skinny scarves.

Snow Crocus

The little snow crocus are still going strong in my front lawn. They have been joined by the larger purple crocus and other little bulbs but are still the stars in my eyes. I love the exquisite markings though they are so tiny you must get down on your belly to appreciate them.
I will plant more this fall for my pleasure and sadly the pleasure of the many little animals who love them just as much as I.

Find of the Day:

I have never seen anything like this; I am amazed by the ingenuity and creativity of artists like Jennifer Maestre who made this pendant.

It is made of pencils, this is not a drawing or painting or photograph, it is actually pencils carved and arranged then laminated and covered with epoxy. Beautiful, and original. Her work can be seen and purchased at her Etsy shop jenmaestre.

Glory of the Snow

My snow crocus finally have some company in the garden: Glory of the Snow (chionodoxa), puschkinia, and the little iris reticulata.
I am very fond of the chionodoxa which flower so early and so reliably. Although I like the little blue ones I especially love the slightly taller pink version, c. forbesii 'Pink Giant'.
For years I have pronouced chiondoxa with a soft ch, but at a party my friend Abby was talking about her blooms and pronounced it with a hard ch like a K. At first I did not even realize what flower she meant. We of course had a "discussion" of the proper pronunciation. Turns out, of course, that I was wrong (I almost always am in such matters). The correct pronounciation is Chionodoxa=KI-o-no-DOX-a. The KI is a long i. From Gr. chios (snow) and doxa (glory). Thank you Abby.
In any case they are a lovely easy flower and don't seem to get eaten by the little animals who live under the garden, I guess they are not as tasty as crocus.

Find of the Day:

I am always astonished by the work of glass artists: isn't this bowl amazing? Gorgeous, organic shape, and it is beautifully photographed. I would love to have this on a glass shelf in a window.

This bowl in by Heather Palmer of San Francisco and is available from her Etsy shop.

Through the Viewfinder

I have been intrigued by the "through the viewfinder" or TTV photography I have seen on Flickr and Etsy. TTV is a way to use antique film cameras digitally without having to buy or process film. I have been a great fan of "toy" cameras, Dianas and Holgas and Dories since the early 80's but it is becoming more expensive and difficult to buy and process 120 film.

TTV photographs have some of the look of the photographs from the little plastic cameras.

So I bought an old Kodak Duaflex on Ebay for $15.50 and have tried a few TTVs. The Kodak Duaflex (like the more elegant and expensive rolleflex) has a big square viewfinder on top of the camera. You point your digital camera at the viewfinder and actually photograph the viewfinder.

Some photographers make elaborate contraptions that are like long tubes to go between the digital camera and the viewfinder to screen out excess light. I will need to make something if I decide to pursue this area of photography. You can see the glare in the crocus picture especially. If you are interested in finding out more about TTV photography I recommend the Flickr group Through the Viewfinder which has a wealth of information.

Anyway these are my first attempts at TTV. It is certainly fun, I will see what happens when I bring this set up into my garden.

Find of the Day:

What a gorgeous photograph, TTV at its best I think. The photograph, A Song for Spring, is by photographer
Irene Suchocki and is available from her Etsy shop.

It's Still Too Muddy

After finding crocus blooming in the lawn yesterday I am suffering from severe spring fever. But the garden (and my dirt road) are a muddy mess and it will be a few weeks before I can start doing any serious garden work, much longer before I can enjoy my favorite parrot tulips.
Meanwhile I am finding solace weaving flower rings. Here are my two latest. The first is made with very soft colored delicas in rose and peach and pale violet and embellished with three little lucite flowers.
The other is hot, hot pink and is so bright you almost need sunglasses to look at it.
More of my flower rings can be seen (or purchased) on my Etsy shop Beaded Wire.

Find of the Day:

Can you believe this beauty is soap? It is called Lovely Tulips soap and the colors were inspired by the artist's mother's tulip garden. The soap is only $4 and is available from the Etsy shop EpicallyEpicSoap.

The First Day of Spring

I know it is not officially spring but my first crocuses opened today and that is always the first day of spring in my garden. I don't think there is another flower that is as thrilling as these first tiny blooms.
The first crocus are the tiny species crocus just a few inches tall. So far only the the soft purple ones have opened but in the next weeks I will have a parade of purples and yellows and whites many with bronze and brown markings. They have wonderful intricate designs well worth croaching down in the wet muddy ground to inspect and enjoy.
I have been planting 1000 species crocus each fall into my front lawn, though I lose many each year to the little animals who share this hill garden with us. Crocus are extremely easy to grow; the only problem is protecting them from the animals who find them so delicious. Planting lots and scattering them threw the lawn helps. None will come up in my garden unless I plant them in pots or other protective devices.
But to me they are priceless and worth any amount of trouble for the joy they bring each spring.
The second "photograph" here is a scan of my crocus done last spring on my flat bed scanner.

Find of the Day:

I love this print, simply called "Spring Collection" by British watercolorist Jan Harbon. All of the colors and symbols of spring form a joyous wreath around the little crocus. Delicate, exquisite painting. The print is available on her Etsy shop JanHarbon.