Smitten

"I look forward to small joys becoming recurring motifs, foreshadowing moments that were worth waiting for."

I am smitten with Patsy's succulents....

....and the rocks I picked up on the beach. 

It's texture week for the Conscious Creativity class....

and I've been collecting images to play with and ideas to fiddle with when we get home. 

 

We have had a fabulous time here in Perry with Patsy and Brian....

we head home tomorrow.  

Lucky Rocks

A few days ago I mentioned that Anne was working on a fabulous project....and I couldn't love it more. 

Anne collects what she calls lucky rocks...ones that have a continuous white line around them. I've also heard them called wishing stones. 

Here....she created a heart by connecting the white lines in the rocks she found on the beach. 

This arrangement gave her an idea.

After drawing a pattern....Anne used wool scraps to make some rocks and attached them to some linen with a blanket stitch. Then she turned them into lucky rocks by adding the white lines using a variety of embroidery stitches. I think it's just stunning so far....there's so much beautiful texture!  She may turn it into a table runner and I can't wait to see the finished product!

Anne and I did an art trade several years ago....and she has been doing them with her sisters ever since. 

This was a card she made last September for their trade. You can see her assembled heart in the middle...and the larger heart around it made by her husband Dana.

I've got a little collection of lucky rocks too....I've always found them fascinating!  And I wonder if it's double luck if there are two continuous white lines...or maybe it's worth 2 wishes!  I'm going with YES!

I've put a few of my rocks on my puzzle table.  I love that this little spot has become a bit of a gallery for me.....with special things I want to see every day.  I still have Lily's painted rock from Alaska in my gallery.

And speaking of puzzles....I joined the top to the bottom of my winter stamp puzzle this morning....and that's always worth celebrating!  Ha ha....I just realized as I was writing this....that this top to bottom connection makes "continuous line".....just like on the lucky rocks!  And now I'm chuckling because I DID find a way to bring the title back in at the end.....and it's OK if I'm the only one who is amused.

 

The Joy Of A Trade

It seems seems fitting that some rocks in the mail a few days ago....one of the many things I collect. I love rocks! Lily may have known that.....and I'm guessing she loves the too. 

The rocks came all wrapped up making them seem so special....

....and they came all the way from Alaska!

A week or so ago I mentioned Lily was interested in my rainbow fiber piece....and she wanted it unfinished in all its raw edge glory.  She's a seamstress....so it will be fun to see what she does with it.

In the end we decided to do a trade and she gave me some choices. But I told her to surprise me.....and my colorful package from Alaska came in the mail a few days ago. I couldn't be more excited!  

Lily....you outdid yourself!

I'm impressed with anyone who can make something with a zipper...they intimidate me.  And this zippered batik pouch is outstanding!  It's beautiful...and a nice big size that I'll use for toting supplies around or as a travel bag....or I may even use it as a clutch sometimes.

The purple lining is just perfect for me!

And the zipper pull made me smile....I think it might be the same tisted fabric twine I've been making.

And this fabric postcard fantastic!  I love the fiery colors....it reminds me of the sunset last night.  Well done Lily....thanks for taking part in the joy of a trade!

The Right Moment

Sometimes you happen upon something at just the right moment.

This orange butterfly milkweed on one our walking route makes me stop in my tracks every year!  And this is the moment when I love it most....when all stages of blooms are present.

I just couldn't stop looking.....and Paul patiently waited.

Paul found this rock in the doorway at our local grocery store...and he brought it home to share with me.  Per the instructions....I will put a photo on the Maine Girl Rocks site....and rehide it for someone else to find. This is the right moment to play along with Tracie, who is just trying to spread some joy with sweet little rocks.

Along Our Route

Spring just keeps on coming!  How lucky are we!

This Japanese Andromeda was in full bloom along our route....it just glowed  in the morning light against the blue sky.

Our route also took us by Molly and Maggie's house....and some of their little painted stones were scattered around the tree by the street.  If you don't know about Molly and Maggie....this is probably the best post to read: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2021/10/creative-spirit.html  I've written about them several times....they've captured my heart.

Were the stones there all winter?.....or are they a new spring arrangement?  They were here for us today....and that's all that matters.

I was quite taken with the shadows...ours and the tree's shadow that seems to go on forever.  

It was a good walking route this morning.

Phew!

Sunlight and water.....the magic ingredients for photosynthesis.

I'm quite relieved to see hints of green appearing on my neglected hosta.  I think it's going go be OK....so I've gone from oops....to phew!

It already looks so much better than the pasty yellow it was when I rescued it from the garage.

I'm becoming familiar with my homemade viewfinder sketchbook....I'm going to be looking at the world one square inch at a time for a little while. I have several small lessons that will lead into a weekend project....and as my practice I'm going to focus on the rocks along my fence.  You gotta start somewhere.  

I've taken dozens of photos of these rocks...and the sky, clouds, and sunsets behind them and all of that history will feed into the project.

I have five at one end and three at the other.....and I love their silhouette.  

Rock From My Garden

It was a breezy but beautiful Mothers' Day....and I spent a few hours this afternoon working in the gardens in Lexington channeling my mom. 

moss rose image found online

I have a very clear image of her working in her rock garden....and I especially remember her planting moss roses.  The front door to our farmhouse was on the driveway side so this garden was always front and center.  There wasn't a spigot on that side of the house...or anywhere actually...so she used to fill a bucket from the pump and I can still see her sitting on the ground filling each hole with a cup of water as she planted.

As I was digging in my garden my shovel hit something hard about 8 inches down.  I dug around it so I could I lift whatever it was out.....and I think I found the best Mothers' Day gift ever! I had already been thinking about my mom IN HER rock garden....and I got the gift of a rock FROM MY garden. I've been digging in this garden for 11 years....and just found this rock today. Coincidence?  I think not.  I love that it looks like a massive potato!

It's all cleaned up and will be heading to its new home in Maine this week....it will always make me think of my mom.

And this gives me a chance to share this scene from the back patio in Lexington.  There's a redbud, some sort of white flowering tree, a large red maple, lots of spring green, and that pretty blue sky on the other side of the fence.  And...on my side a profusion of pink from the verbena shrub and a garden coming to life.

These photos are from another vibernum on the other side of the house.  Such a sweet flower....and so fragrant!                                                                                   

"Land Art"

Sometimes you just have to take a day and clean.....and when I do it's quite satisfying...but it doesn't make for a very interesting blog post. So today I'm celebrating Tamas Kanya, a Hungarian artist who also creates art from nature.....similar but different to Jon Foreman I wrote about a week or so ago. Tomas sculpts with stones, snow and ice, driftwood, and other natural elements.

This was the image that came across my Facebook feed and I had to look twice to realize it was rocks.

Tamas' Land Art Facebook page is worth checking out...especially the video at the top of his page.  I't a backward mind bender....and you just have to see it to understand. You can see it here:
https://www.facebook.com/romaipartikokert/

I was quite taken with these simple snow cairns....

...and his interesting driftwood sculptures.

Hearts

Got the cutest little Valentine text from Tracie.....a sweet way to start the day.

There's no better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with hearts....and I have quite a fondness for heart rocks....many of them you've seen over the years on this blog.  

This is one of my favorites....found it on the junk beach.                      

And I couldn't believe the perfection of this one I found at Jasper Beach.....which is rock heaven.  You can see some photos and read about Jasper Beach here in this post.  

Some of my collection.
  

But this is the best heart rock came in a photo Paul sent me years ago on a random day in August. He knows me well....and I love him dearly.

X    💜    O