Wednesday, April 25, 2012

This weeks gourd production

I have been wanting to make some macrame hangers.. and have a better one almost done.

That one will be next week.  This one was going to be a woven rush one...but I didn't make to the rush store.

The other one is a bowl I made from one of my wonderfully thick bushel gourds.

It is filled with painted nest eggs...and was our market Easter decoration.






Our flower planter log without the pretty flowers

There has been a picture of flower planter log making the rounds of the social networking sites.

It looks grand up there on the computer screen.

Unlike most of the people who think that is cool...I have an abundance of logs in my yard, all

With brambles and weeds around them!

So...I say to myself..this is an OPPORTUNITY.

I say to my husband..you know there is this thing that everybody wants...

and we could be the envy of the neighborhood.

Now...I love husbands...but they all really really want to be the envy of the neighborhood.

So...we are not yet the envy of the neighborhood..and probably never will be.

However...here is the beginning of our planter log...ready for mulch and flowers.

and rain..and nice warm weather.


It took some sawing..and there was lots of sawdust!






Monday, April 16, 2012

Life Happens

I tried.

I wanted to finish eight gourds this week.

But...I guess I have a life...and I do love my life.

Who wants to live alone in house full of dusty gourds?

I don't...so I enjoyed my family this week.

I only finished two.

 An orange and yellow.  I tried a rippled rim.  Like it!

I have yellow leather dye...sometime I like it...mostly I am not sure.

I added beads to this one.


These are waiting..for embellishment? or macrame hangers? plants?



Friday, April 13, 2012

Stumps, sunsets, and dogs



What did they say? What are they doing? Tell me! Tell me!
Why didn't you bring one?



Interesting stump.

I am addicted to photographing clouds.
 Our not so little baby.


Sunset.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Lettuce, Peas, and Onions on a Sunday Evening Stroll

Lettuce, peas, and onions in the garden.
What more do you need...besides some gourds to decorate...or not.
I took the goat and the dogs for a sunday evening stroll.. and
here's what we saw...
First we saw the week's five gourds in various combinations when we closed up the greenhouse for the evening.


These are the first of these gourds that I've worked on.

I thought I would some shakere simulations..but they are nice just as they are.
Don't know if other folks will think the same.
These had only one coat of leather stain, and some sanded off and faded but I kind of like the mottled look.

I like these pictures too...I think they would be fun to paint.



Five total were made...royal blue, green, orange, burgundy, and maroon.

After the greenhouse we walked to the field where the garden grows.

The pea patch came first.
But there are onions and lettuce there too.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Saturday morning in April

Saturday Morning Photos

Meet Fancy Pants


She wouldn't pose..I had a picture of her fancy pants but she was doing an unspeakable thing.
I'll have to try again.
There was a bird in the greenhouse...so I took the camera
but the bird flew the coop so to say..
so I took another picture instead.
They are neat the way they are...but will be nicer a new smooth color.

And then...I saw some cherry blossoms.


Monday, April 2, 2012

To Market To Market We Go

My greens are not growing fast enough to suit me. 

They are very nice, but not big enough to market.

But I love it when a plan come together.

The plan was to try to have other things to market when garden produce was not producing.

This year I had a bountiful crop of gourds and most are dry.
Even though there was a LOT..many were not as thick-shelled as last years.

Sigh.

I try to complete 5 gourd projects a week..but it seems like lately...five gourd projects take more than a week.

Here are the week's five in various combinations.


These two have different rim finishing.
I would like leather..but these will be outside pots and may potentially get wet..
so plastic leather lacing will have to do.

I actually have three of these..all will hold a 6 in pot...two in dark brown..and one in a saddle tan/maroon mix stain.
 

This completes this weeks five plus my first attempt at needle-hitching an entire gourd.


The needle-hitching is not perfect...and the gourd was so thin shelled it should have gone to the waste bin...hopefully I will do a nicer one of these ...and embellish with turqoise stones.

It is still nice..and I after so much work...worth keeping...and will actually probably perform quite well as a planter on my deck.  One more picture of it...