The Weather Stick

 I can see this new format will take a bit of getting use to.  I published this post once today, but somehow lost it in translation or somewhere.


To the right is my Vermont Weather Stick .  I received this unique little stick from my husband as a Christmas gift. 


It took awhile to get it hung under the eave, but that didn't matter since we really had little weather of any significance other than wind this past winter and early spring.  


The little stick usually is turned skyward, much more 
so than it is today, top photo.  We are wondering if the poor little thing is defective or just hasn't acclimated itself to Colorado weather patterns and conditions.  Which would be understandable since it grew up in Vermont.  


It is interesting to say the least and surprising that the little stick does move.  I will post a photo of it turned skyward one of these days.  The second photo was take after we received some rain last week.


I am currently taking a journal class from Jane LaFazio on Joggles.  Why, I don't know!!!  I love Jane's classes, but I have little desire to do anything right now.  I guess I am still recovering from being sick and trying to keep up with the daily things.  I did do the first assignment, which is not one of the best things I have drawn and painted.  I couldn't find my good watercolors, they were hiding out down in the sewing room.  Can't say as I blame them.  I do need to get them out and get going on this class as it is fun.  I have at least been reading the lessons.  Not that it gets the work done.  Which is one thing I really want to focus on this year, "Doing the Work!"  It is only mid April, there is still time to kick it in gear.  

So Much for posting more in March

Another month coming to a close!!!  Where the heck to they disappear to?  The only thing I accomplished was a little watercolor pencil work, a sinus infection and while on medication for that, picked up Influenza A.  I totally missed participating in the Silk Dyeing class I had signed up for on QU with Marjie.  I have saved those lessons and will get to them one of these days.  I had really looked forward to that one as well. 

I was already in a class on Joggles with Dion Dior and watercolor pencils.  I did manage to get through the first lesson of that one before getting sick.  The water color pencils are going to take some more work and present different challenges.  It was a great class.

A new class started yesterday with Jane LaFazio. Just got the lesson printed off this morning. It is another "Watercolor Sketchbook" class entitled "Designs from Life" and is through Joggles. Hopefully I will get a little more done in this one than the last one I took from Jane. Don't remember what happened, but I became totally sidetracked in that one.

I did get the color wheel dyed for our Dyehard swap last week and packaged it up at the first of the week.  I didn't think much of the colors when dyeing it, but one should never rush to judgement due to the influence of the soda ash.  It turned out much better than I thought it was going to, particularly the one I used brown as an additive.  That did wonders for the fuchsia!!!   It is a great fall pallette. 

The light color wheel is on the left and the one with the brown additive to a medium color wheel is below.

 

I will have 8 different color wheels coming back from Mary in OR.  Hopefully mine arrived today, it was sent Priority, doesn't mean much at times though.

 

So it is back to the greenhouse and planting this afternoon. I received a very nice Moleskin Garden Log for Christmas from my husband. I have started keeping track of what is being planted. I write it down inside because if I were to take it out with me, it would be a mess. I guess he thought I needed something after seeing all of the papers I leave laying around with names and numbers on them of veggies, herbs and flowers. I have the peppers, onions

planted so far. Only a week late.

So it is back to the greenhouse and planting this afternoon.  I received a very nice Moleskin Garden Log for Christmas from my husband.  I have started keeping track of what is being planted.  I write it down inside because if I were to take it out with me, it would be a mess.  I guess he thought I needed something after seeing all of the papers I leave laying around with names and numbers on them of veggies,

herbs and flowers.  I have the peppers, onions

planted so far.  Only a week late on those.  Hopefully I will have the tomatoes and lobelia planted by this afternoon. 

Running a little behind!!!

  Thought I should post a note before January got away from me.  Where did the month go??!!  Time seems to be moving faster.  I blame computers for some of it, I am also thinking getting older has something to do with it as well.  I forget what I am going to get between locations, have to do things over again because they were wrong the first, second and sometimes third time ---- I will stop there. 

  Between bookwork, a few trips to the Front Range, and online classes I have been busy, just don't have much to show for it. 

  I am currently taking two watercolor classes, one from Jane LaFazio and one from Laure Ferlita.  Jane's is a journal watercolor class, one where I am to leave white areas in my paintings, and Larue's is more the way I like to paint.  I have new watercolors and I am learning what they do.  Behind in both classes, but hope to change that in the next few days.
  I also signed up for Susan Sorrel's Funky Felt Pins class on Joggles.  It looked fun and something I can sit and do at night.  Behind there as well as the felt came right before we left for the weekend.
  Cleaned the sewing room, it was necessary to make the felt pins, and have no idea how it became such a disholved mess since I haven't made anything lately.  And then there are those quilts for Hollis' class in TX and it is coming up quickly.  
 The picture is of a key I drew while messing around one evening.  Love Zentangels and it was a fun way to do a lesson, however it doesn't count since there is not any watercolor paint on the thing.  The Zentangle heart does have watercolor on it.  

  I just completed working on a piece of fabric for a swap we had on Dyehards.  It was an ugly fabric swap.  We were to send a piece of fabric we felt left a lot to be desired and transform it.  I thought Mary's piece was lovely, mostly yellow when I received it. 
I was pleased with the piece I did, learned a few things and finally overcame my fear of working on complex cloth pieces.  Now if I had more time to get over to the studio and start over dyeing some of those pieces of fabric I don't care for.

  Life use to be much slower in the winter, I would sit reading garden catalogs, waiting impatiently for Spring to arrive.  I need to get the seeds ordered too, but I am not sure when I will get that done and March is just around the corner. 

  So life moves on at a crazy pace around here, even in the dead of winter.