Where has this year gone? I can’t believe it’s July already! I’ve been spending a lot of time outside in the gardens, but let me tell you what else I’ve been up to.
I finished this piece and sent it off to the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Auction that will take place online in September. I’ve been wanting to finish a piece for that or something, and finally did. My problem is finishing. I get the top done, and then I get so nervous about how to bind it.
For this 12 x 12 inch piece I decided to face it. The background is a soy wax batik piece I created years ago. The circle is also soy wax, but it’s that spinner art I love. I made it using a turntable. I posted about that here.
I stitched in the circles on the background, and then did tons of stitching on the spinner circle. Here is a closeup. I love how the stitching adds such dimension to the circle.
I also took an online class “Art Sparks” with Joanne Sharpe where we painted paper and made books. I got the paper painted and the books cut, but that’s where I stopped. The next step was lettering, and I really suck at lettering. I decided if I finish these I’ll add typed words. It was fun to play with paper, and it did give me some ideas for working on fabric.
I just dyed pieces of rope for coasters or small projects.
Another big thing I did recently was clean up my dye studio. It was so hard for me to do anything out there because of the mess. I put away a table to make room for the shelf (you can see it on the right) so I could have more places to store my dyes, paints and other stuff needed. I found I was just piling stuff on top of that extra table. If I need it, it is close by. I got rid of some stuff, and boxed and labeled the rest. Now I know where everything is. I’m hoping I can keep it clean and inviting.
But gardening has been my constant during this pandemic. Due to the heat we try to get up as early as possible and work for several hours before it gets unbearable. In addition to weeding and all, I spend about 30 minutes almost daily harvesting blueberries. So often after all of that, I don’t do too much the rest of the day, or at least I try not to!
Since my last post about irises, I have completely redone that bed and added a new bed for my irises. They both reside in the Sun Garden which I’ve spent most of my time on during the last several weeks. What took so long was removing all of the Bermuda grass that had sneaked into the area, but also I decided to remove the landscape cloth. I put it down probably 10 years ago thinking it would help with the Bermuda grass problem. Well, it made it worse. Not only did the grass grow over the cloth, it ran under the cloth. Also, the roots of the bushes couldn’t go down into the soil, so they just spread on top of the cloth. What a mess. But it’s done. To finish it up, Dave trimmed up the bushes. They look so cute now.
Here is a before and after of the original iris bed.
You can see how the bushes are trimmed so nicely. Also, this bed is not full of irises because I have ordered some new ones and saved them space for when they arrive.
Here is the new iris bed in this garden. I love having so much room for my irises.
Now I’ve moved on to the butterfly garden. I did take some before pictures. It sure will look different when it’s done. Then I’ll work on the blueberry area. I’m hoping that will be the end of my major gardening this season. I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors this year, but I’ve really enjoyed it even though it’s taken me away from my art. But there will always be time for that when it’s cold.
Thanks for dropping by.
I love your new piece, “Above the Frey.”
Your iris bed looks wonderful. Would you like to come up to Massachusetts and straighten mine out for me? 🙂 That’s a project I may tackle in the fall.
Janice, Thanks! I had an extra incentive on cleaning out that bed and making a new one – new irises!! I wanted to be sure my beds were ready with the new girls appeared in the mail. And they were so crowded they didn’t all bloom. Fall would be a good time too especially if this virus continues.