In Other News

Not my photo or amaryllis :)

 Two winters ago I bought an amaryllis bulb from the local grocery store. I love the big showy blooms that appear right when you need them - the dead of winter.
All I got out of that bulb was some impressively long leaves but not even a hint of a bud.
When summer arrived in Michigan I moved the bulb in it's little plastic container with peat moss dirt out into my backyard where it was totally forgotten and neglected. When Fall came I found the little amaryllis bulb tipped out from its pot laying on its side. I picked it up and to my surprise it still felt solid and alive though it had no leaves and really no sign of green. I brought it into my home and decided to give it another chance to do its thing.
I was really excited a couple of weeks later when I saw the bright green appear on the top of the bulb. I waited and watched, watched and waited. And once again all that appeared were really long leaves and no bud. By this time I had forgotten what color the bloom was supposed to be.
Summer came once again, and once again I put it out in the backyard and neglected it all season, a season that was unusually hot and dry. And once again, this past Fall, I found the bulb tipped out of its pot with no sign of life. But the bulb still felt solid and full of potential sooo, once again I brought the little pot back inside to see what would happen. This is what happened.

All bud and no leaves! With the sun shining through it the bud it looks half empty. And of course my husband is making fun of its slightly phallic nature, and of me for finding it blog worthy.
I love that man.

What do you think will happen? Will it bloom? Will it be deformed? What color will it be? And most importantly, do I need to get a life?

What I've Been Up to Lately

I have been knitting and using up all my scrap yarn! Well Okay, not all of it but now I will feel better about buying new yarn. It's a log cabin blanket! I got the free pattern for it here. Not only is the patten free but there are wonderful video tutorials for every step of the way. What's really cool about knitting this blanket is that I can remember all the projects I made with each yarn. The red is a sweater jacket, the blue on the right is a lace panel sweater and that little bit of pink is from a bag I made and felted for my daughter. I'll post more photos later.

Also I have been out walking with my dog and found these growing from one of our pines

Here they are with a quarter to show scale. They are pretty tiny as pinecones go and considering the size of the tree.

My question for you is what should I do with them? I was so excited when I found them. I grabbed them off the tree as fast as I could and stuffed them in my pocket. There are about 30 of them and there are about 10 more on the tree that I couldn't reach. But I would find a way if I had a reason to!

MSED: Bird #157 Kitchen Chalkboard Bird

If I am going to continue to post birds I must in all good conscience take the words "a day" off the title. it may take me 5 years to get my 365 birds done, but I am determined! One of my new year's resolutions - MAKE MORE BIRDS and be more creative in 2013!

This is my new (to me) kitchen chalkboard. It's one of those really large ones that you see in coffee houses with the menu on it. I believe it will always be a work in progress so maybe I'll post updates.
Happy New Year Everyone!

MSED: Bird a Day #156 Pin Cushion Bird

Well it has been quite a while since I posted a new bird. It seems the "bird a day" has flown out the window, but I have not completely given up making 365 birds. It might take me four years though. 

I made this pin cushion using a free pattern from the DIY Dish web site. I stuffed it with fiber fill and walnut litter to keep the pins sharp. I originally had two tiger eye beads sewn on for the eyes but I thought they made him look a bit goofy. I much prefer him without eyes.

This little guy is for my friend Karen who, with her husband Dave, so graciously taught me and helped me to sew my first quilt.

  She thought I was crazy to want to sew a queen sized quilt on my first try, but I think she thought I was even crazier with my fabric choices. I love my quilt! Thanks Karen!

What I Did on Summer Vacation

Or What I Did on My Lack of Summer Vacation

I completed my knitted blanket! Hurrah! 

If you would like to know more about this blanket check out my Ravelry page

 My camera broke early this summer and I am torn as what to replace it with. I want better pics than what I was getting with the point and shoot (the one that's shot) but I don't want to spend the money they want for DSL cameras. Does anyone have any advice?

 Meanwhile I'm not totally without a camera. I just don't like the quality of photos I'm getting.

 But I love my blanket!

I have also started a sewn quilt. Pics to follow. But no new birds as of yet.

MSED: Bird a Day #155 Blending In Loudly

Water color and Pen, I love to play with you! 

All my pens are running dry. Time to make a trip to the art supply store.

MSED: Bird a Day #154 Untitled

Here is a piece I did a while back. I really didn't know what to call it maybe "abstract bird" 

 I used a technique I found at Art Is Fun by Thaneeya McArdle. She teaches all kinds of techniques on her site and it's free! So much fun! go check it out.

Water color and water color pencil