Mystery Peony

This is my earliest blooming peony. I rescued the tuber from a neighbor's yard prior to them laying sod over their flower garden several years ago. It's quite large as you can see from the next photo and has only ever produced 2 blooms for me. It's quite stunning so if anyone is a peony nut out there and knows the name of this beauty, I'd love to hear it!

measuring about 6" across

New work

                                     3mm raw diamond cubes

It's been a busy Spring in my studio! The garden is finally looking good and I have a flat of lettuce and some flowers to get into the ground if the rain will just let up a bit. But, with all the rain we've been having it's been easy to stay inside and make stuff! I've been playing around a lot with raw diamond cubes ever since I bought some of them about a year ago to experiment with. I wanted to show some of the things I've been doing with them and also with my latest interest, rose cut diamonds. Still nice and rustic, but a bit fancier...

                                              rose cuts

I really like the simplicity of a single cube set in 18kt gold on a textured or hammered, heavy sterling band.

                                                                  
The rose cut diamonds are flat on the bottom with a few polished facets on the top. Perfect to bezel set and adding a touch of luxury without sacrificing their rawness.

I've been paring the diamonds up with other sumptuous stones and pearls to create "Treasure Rings".

boulder turquoise, raw diamond and pearl

Hells Canyon herringbone petrified wood, raw diamond, pearl

Keshi pearl, raw diamond

Keshi pearl, pear shaped rose cut cognac

I'm really excited to continue us these diamonds in my designs. So interesting and full of character!

A few of these pieces can be seen in my etsy shop, many have sold, but more will definitely be on the way, if I have my way...

'

Spring has sprung

Walking around my sadly neglected yard today, I realized that we are well into Spring, even if there are a few hours of winter yet to traverse...

The hellebores have been blooming for a while but they're tucked away and often go unnoticed. Note to self: find a better spot for them.

The bulbs are doing their thing, happily without my help.

And the camellias are becoming quite showy

oh look, a pollinator!

Happy to see the sedum Autumn Joy poking up,

and the huckleberry will produce a crop for the birds again this year!

I have to say that I'm most excited to see all of the peonies have survived neglect and will be spectacular again this Spring!

(one of 6 peony plants, all of which I can't live without!)

I promised my yard that tomorrow, if it's not too hot and not too cold, and if it's not raining, and just as soon as I get the stones set in this pair of earrings I'm working on, and of course put off doing the taxes for another couple of days, I'll come out and pull weeds, trim branches, clear out the dead stuff and prepare the vegetable bed. I really, really will. 

Having a bit of fun with etsy shops

Photo Fun

There's a farm supply store across the river from where I live and I like to go in there every now and then to poke around, especially in the Spring, to see the baby chicks. They have a display of little plastic animals, all types and sizes. Adorable. I couldn't resist buying a couple, they were so cute, and now every time I go in there, I add to my collection!

 One day I decided to start making them earn their keep, and give me a good reason to keep buying them...

                        
                                           photo props!

just passing through...

      The meerkats are my hands down favorites!

if I need some heavy lifting, no problem.

                          Y'all come on back now, ya hear?

The Party Dress Book - Mary Adams

I had the pleasure of meeting Mary Adams, author of The Party Dress Book, How to Sew the Best Dress in the Room, when she appeared at Ristretto Roasters, a very cozy little coffee shop in Portland, a week or so ago. Mary is a clothing designer living and working in New York City, but grew up and began her career here in Portland. I had pre-ordered her book at Amazon, wrapped it up and given it to myself at Christmas, and spent all of Christmas day reading through it! With a forward by Amy Sedaris, an enthusiastic customer, her story is interesting and will be familiar to artists in any medium.

The book is filled with sumptuous fabrics, ruffles, pleats, pintucks and layers and layers of color.

  

The inner spiral binding is a practical touch, much appreciated. 

 And if just being able to visually feast on the images in the book isn't enough, the final chapters are devoted to a tutorial in which you can create your own dress using the full size pattern supplied in an attached sleeve. You can take ideas and techniques from the book to create something quite unique, or use the pattern to go in a totally different direction. 

This book is beautifully done and if it doesn't make you want to sew, it can provide you with raw inspiration you can take anywhere!

Spring dreaming

Living in the pacific northwest, we see signs of the approach of Spring much earlier then in my home state of Michigan. By the end of this month, I'll be cutting heavily budding branches off my white quince for forcing indoors and creating small bouquets of camelias for the table and the snow bells are already poking up. Yes, there's rain, but the color of that new growth just waiting to burst forth is a fair trade in my mind.

          I created this collection in appreciation of what's to come. 
                                        I am so ready!
     You can get a close look at each lovely item in this treasury here.