I have a stalker. The worst kind: a cyber stalker. She sent me a box.
When I brought the box in, it passed the bomb-sniffing kitties, so I opened the box.
Inside were a fabric bowl and tissue holder. Scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cyberstalker you know who you are. Beware. Manny and Miss Lora Brody are always on vigil. You should be shaking in your boots–you should see what they do to a mouse!
~Jodie
This time of year I spend more time in the garden than quilting, thus my report.
Last year we were in a terrible drought. (The lake that was in the news in Georgia is in the next county over.) We were on total water restrictions, so we planted nothing, moved nothing… and now we’re doing double duty this spring. But we are NOT complaining. We’ve been getting at least and inch of rain each week. Happiness is!
This is the entrance from the driveway to the backyard. The path leads to the pond and the deck and porch.
Native dogwoods and azaleas in the front yard.
I should have taken a picture of the manure pile. It’s going down.
This is what you see when you pull in the driveway. Can’t guarantee Rimsky will be there each time though. Mr. Scaredy Cat. We just planted blue daze and angelonia in the bed and added another pyracnatha to match the one that you can just see to the left in front of the sundial.
Time for another trip to the nursery. (Blossom and Bloom)
~Jodie
We’re already past daffodils and into the second round of cherries blooming. The wood hyacinths are almost done. Love those happy little guys!
Saturday we got our first pickup load of plants. We couldn’t go into the glass greenhouse at Blossom and Bloom–our favorite place to get plants–because the hail Friday night had broken some of the glass which was hanging from the roof. Yikes!
My crabapple espalier bloomed while I was in New Hampshire and then was stormed upon, so I missed getting a picture. But the sugar snaps are up in front of it and only half bunny eaten. And you can just see radishes coming up in front.
This espalier pattern is called a Begian Fence. I grew one at a house in Virginia using apples and loved it, so had to do so again here.
~Jodie
My mouse croaked two weeks ago and my backup mouse has seen better days. So off I went to buy a new one. Considering how many hours we spent mouse in hand, buying a mouse is not a decision to make in haste. This time though, it took me just a few minutes to decide. The Microsoft Arc stood out from the crowd in its look, and equals if not surpasses others in the feel in hand. So the fact that it is so sleek and simple looking, made it a no-brainer. The “tail” actually snaps shut to make the mouse smaller for travel. The USB connection has its own little place under the tail that it snaps to, so everything is contained and safe. And the mouse is very responsive. Good thing as I have a lot of design work to do since I’ve been asked to do fabric. Wow! What a challenge!
~Jodie
There was quite a stir recently regarding pending legislation and what it meant for those who make quilts and other items to sell, sell or resell fabrics and even make quilts for charity. You may have caught a piece on the news about resell shops worried about their liability in selling childern’s clothes and other items that could possibly contain lead.
Fabric companies and mail order businesses in quilting were scurrying to find out if there might be potential problems with the fabrics they sell. They quickly found out that the fabrics are in fact safe, but the whole thing was pretty scarey there for awhile.
This article puts the fabric issue to rest. There are a lot of people whose blood pressure has gone down!
~Jodie
P.S. I had a similar scare about a year ago when I heard that plastic toys containing a particular chemical were to no longer be sold after a certain date. I had 3,000 rubber duckies in a warehouse that I would then not be able to sell even though my duckies aren’t intended for children and I had carefully chosen the manufacturer I went with because he has done and continues to do the proper testing and follow the rules. The situation turned out fine too, but boy, there’s nothing like having the feeling of the rug pulled out from under you!
~Jodie
To all of you frozen Northerners, there is hope! Spring is giving us a sneak preview here in North Georgia.
~Jodie
The first berries are coming on from Florida now. YEAH!
While washing strawberries yesterday I was amused to read the yellow sticker on the package, “How’s my packing?” First it was driving big rigs, now it’s putting some berries in a box. What next?
~Jodie
Having recently gotten back on a road bike after more than 15 years off, I can attest to how far fabrics have come in a relatively short time. years ago when I started riding in the cold northeast we wore wool pretty much all summer and winter. Forget polyester and cotton which had major drawbacks. Now whatever the weather, I slip into a jersey made of man-made afbric that keeps me cool or warm, and wicks moisure away without being heavy. I love my winter jerseys and wear them hiking too.
But, nanotubes?
Yup, intelligent textiles with nanotubes woven into the fabric could monitor vital signs, warn of allergens, even cool off their wearers when the temperature rises. Incorporating carbon nanotubes into textiles says Juan Hinestrosa, a professor of fiber science and head of the Textiles Nanotechnology Laboratory at Cornell University, enables them to perform many different functions, making it unnecessary to add on extra, bulky components. “You can use the same threads as conductors, sensors, and as transducers of the signal,” he says. For example, in clothes that adjust to the weather, carbon nanotubes could sense the temperature, carry the reading to a wearable computer, then carry a signal from the computer that directs the fibers to conform to a more open weave if it’s hot out.” Wow!
To read the full article, head here.
~Jodie
During the holidays I’ve been working at the kitchen table a lot. Here I was working on the plans for the new house one evening (Learning Google Sketch Up so I can see it in 3D. I designed it in Plan3D but the program is too limiting for me to get the roofs on.) and of course the kitties all want to be as close to me as possible. So out come the kitty baskets. Three kitties; three baskets. I couldn’t fit the blueprints on the table!
See the littlest kitty in the front basket?
Later on after musical baskets via the food dish the BIGGEST kitty (15 LEAN pounds) had chosen it. And at the time all three were available.
Happy holidays from our house,
~Jodie
A friend took these pictures of a tapestry hanging at a bank in Atlanta.
This is oh so Georgia in the spring. It’s amazing what can be created in thread!
~Jodie