Good news, flower futures

This morning I got emails about the heddle and the lucet. The lucet shipper alerted me to a status change in my order. This is not usually good news, often meaning they can't do it, but this time the change was that it's shipped.  The heddle has been shipped USPS and will be a couple of weeks.. let's hope.

And last evening I was happy to revert to my favorite sock pattern, and did the toe area in no time. One stage procedure.

I don't know about the recipient, but the knitter is happy.

Yesterday also saw the prep for this year's flower garden. I'm waiting now for potting soil, but the plan is underway.

Indoors I planted some cotton seeds, and have some for knitting friends tomorrow.

After the picture I pushed them into the soil. They're in the kitchen till they germinate and I can transplant them outside. 

They get several feet tall, according to the friend who grew some in her community garden last year. These seeds were in the cotton bolls I carded and spun a while back to make the fiber and wire birds nest. 

I must remember to add it to the Easter decor.

Soon Handsome Son will be here with cheese and crackers and other good things. I have the vegetables ready to go.

Here's the cheese table

Happy day everyone, if you're in the hospital, get well wishes, if you're convalescing, get strong wishes, and if you're still seeking a diagnosis and treatment, get info wishes. 

Sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony and Ursula 

Easter Sunday, but still work to do

Happy Easter if you celebrate. Chez boud it's happening tomorrow, when Handsome Son is free to visit and bring his share of our meal.

But first, to attend to a pressing issue: the proposal to rescind protection for Chaco Canyon, sacred space, against drilling and excavating. I've made my comment against the proposal to BLM. Please do likewise, no matter where you live. We only  have one planet and five days to comment on this pressing issue.

Found online

If that's not working, go to the Sierra Club website, which has a way for you to comment. Act.Sierra Club.org is what I used. I did it through a New Mexico resident on Spoutible.org.

There's also protectchaco.org

And last evening, in need of a project while I'm waiting for my rigid heddle, I was faffing around on Norah Crone Findlay's blog thinking about a lucet for making braid. 

She mentioned that its a form of spool knitting, just two prongs instead of the usual four. Lightbulb. I can use my cardboard and stick spool knitter as a lucet fork! I had been looking at lucets for ages, beautiful tools, but as usual wanted to make one. A while back I showed you a rather flimsy cardboard one I made. 

Then last evening I tried a couple of cords on my steam driven card and stick version

And ended up deciding I'm worth a real lucet, so I ordered one

Like this but maple. It's another of those ancient textile skills.

This is like mine on order. 

And had you ever wondered about how before the advent of photography, fashion got around so wealthy people could order their bespoke gear? Dolls. Dressed in the fashion in miniature acted as physical samples. The same used to happen with ceramics and furniture, traveling samples.

Just fyi.  They were used after WW2 to promote Dior's New Look, and even revived during the pandemic when salon shows were closed. After a good bit of searching I found they're about 27" inches tall. To learn more, go to the wonderful Haptic and Hue podcast or website.

Now I'm off to find my Easter tray of eggs and rabbits and cats. I'm late getting it out this year.

Here, it's official!

See the sample miniature Wedgwood cup and saucer. With Emily the cockatiel's eggs, decorated. I painted the other real eggshells, too. 

Happy Easter Sunday, or Just Sunday!

Exterminator and lucets and fleece

Saturday was about noise and drilling and hoses dragged through the house and smells and debris. And about sorting the mass of items that came out of the storage unit.

I moved the portable ramp into the house along with the other medical equipment. And I Freecycled this portable folding seat 

Happy taker. It's going camping with him. I used to take it out for plein air painting when I didn't know what I might find to sit on.

Later a couple of neighbors helped me sort out a bunch of garden stakes and set the ends in a bag to keep them organized.

Things took an upward leap after the house had been decontaminated and John the Exterminator left.

 I'd admired these maple lucets online. The maker's wife passed on my compliments to him. I've been looking at handmade lucets for ages.

Next her husband offered to make me one if I paid the shipping! I instantly accepted. That definitely improved my day.  

Again I did a search on the etymology of the word and again found it's of obscure origin. Meaning someone lost the bit of parchment it was written on by the only monk who knew, and since then it's been one big coverup.

This is wool day. This library request arrived 

She's hugely readable, a yarn expert, also friend of Franklin Habit, which speaks well of both of them. 

It's her adventure with a massive bale of cashmere-fine merino wool fleece and what happened after it came into her life.

Happy day everyone. You never know what might come into your life and improve your day.

Speaking of trans, I saw an interview today with a trans man who explained a lot of things very frankly and kindly -- the interview was their idea. 

One thing they said was that it's kind for cis people to specify their pronouns, because because it takes a bit off the "otherness" of trans people doing it. I liked that enough to go to my bio on that platform and insert she/her into my self description.

Just sayin'.