Three Cowls

Reclaiming a room

I've been thinking about this for a while, and today was The Day. I shoulda taken Before pictures, since this is the After. I cleared out a ton of junk, mostly putting it in the garage, altho some went in the trash, but I made a nice room out of a dump. This is the front of the house and is rather loud during the day with traffic but I managed a nice nap in here anyway. 

I went so far as to wash the floor because who knows what was spilled on it, collecting doggie hair in its stickiness. Then I moved my little chair and ottoman in, with a side table and lamps.

 Dave's desk got a good cleaning and I emptied a whole bookcase full of stuff into one, and moved his colored pencil stash into new plastic containers that fit the shelf perfectly.

He had all kinds of leftover furniture squeezed into this space which I moved into the garage and dumped in the trash. He doesn't need the myriad tools for working on the car in this room, especially since I don't let him work on anything anymore. What is left I put in the closet.

What remains are three guitars, one in a case behind the right side door. A ukelele sits in the middle of two stacked night stands semi-full of unrelated stuff. So much nicer out of sight and no longer a trip hazard. Also in this closet is a bulletin board which never got used, a bunch of belts and ties that also don't belong here, since he has plenty of space in our clothes closet. 

I plan to use this room more than he ever did, for reading, napping and even maybe one day as a guest room. Imagine that.

And with a complete change of subject, I have created a shawl pin from a few clay beads and a short stitch holder. I found a place online to order these stitch holders for like $.70 each and will offer them with my shawls or cardigans. 

Stitch Samples

Boku and Rios merino. Just because this is a long swatch, doesn't mean anything towards your choice. I just got this far and doubted it being jewel tones enough.

Gina and Merino. In this picture the solid looks bluer than in reality. It is really really purple.

Silk/Merino and Silk Garden. The multicolored yarn starts getting bluer and then green and then lt. green  and then gray.

Koromo (silk, cotton and wool) and Rios merino.

I shot these with only daylight, indirect. Keep in mind they are all much BRIGHTER.

#1

#2

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#5

#6

Yarn combos to select

1. Casablanca and Toconao merino. The Casablanca is rainbow, and would go with any of the solid color yarns I have.  I searched first for a royal blue, but found I didn't have any. Hmmm.

2. Chirimen and a lovely silk/merino mix. Unfortunately, the purple-ness of these two yarns doesn't come up in the photograph, but they are a nice medium purple.  Chirimen is 60% Cotton, 24% Silk, 16% Wool

3.  Boku  95% Wool, 5% Silk and Merino Style. Again, the magenta here doesn't show up correctly, and doesn't look like it matches the variegated yarn, but in reality it is great together.

4. Ice Merino and Toconao merino, subtle blues and greens, on the gray side.

 5. Boku and Swish merino. Boku is 95% Wool, 5% Silk

 6. Casablanca (59% Wool, 24% Silk, 17% Mohair) and Merino Style. 

 7. Cascade Merino, and Casablanca. This is a different colorway than the one above, with a few tans and grays in the mix. 

8. Toconao and Casablanca. Again, the photo fibs, with the Toconao more teal green in real life and matches the greens in the Casablanca.

Garden Diary

In order to remember where and what I planted I have taken shots and labeled each plant with an initial

April 24, 2019. Poppies Pizzicato and Royal Wedding, hardy geraniums, dianthus, yarrow, lupins.

lupin bed

? Several volunteers allowed to grow. no doubt related to the 4 o'clock seeds I tossed out last season.

 Gallardia and foxgloves, fingers crossed they return

Gallardia 

 coneflowers or echinacea, with new plants. Returning calla lily, C

 coneflowers next to lilies.

 Baptisia, gallardia and shasta bed with double decker coneflower off to the left E. plus hydrangeas, h.

 Caesar's Brother, blue bedder salvia, heuchera, gallardia hydrangea

 hydrangea, heuchera, iris, salvia and that volunteer mystery plant

 several upstarts assumed to be black and blue salvia, reseeded?

 keeping an eye on this sprouted salvia, black and blue, one of which is at the base of baptisia, and another came up right at the edge, left of picture. The root is central but perhaps they spread?

 new heuchera

 six salvia in front

 returning and new salvias, hosta in back, with new heuchera

 

 slow sprouting peony in the center