Frilly Flowers

These tulips are now done showing off their fantastic blooms. The one above has been altered a bit with my photo program and I love how the color was intensified. Below is the real blossom.


This particular tulip resembles a peony, it is so large.


And this one was my favorite this year. The delicate green with the pale pink was just the perfect blend of soft colors. New colorway for yarn?





There are a few plants that do extraordinarily well on Dancing Leaf Farm and bleeding hearts is one of them. This one was just planted last year and it's now like a shrub. I love this plant with the little hearts hanging all in a row.


And luckily lilacs are another one that I can just get in the ground and they just take right off. I'm trying to get many varieties from very deep purple to the palest pink. This is my favorite spring flower. I pick huge bouquets and place them all over the house. I love the old fashioned scent, reminding me of old aunts and hankies.


Tulips just make me smile!

April Showers Bring Felt Flowers

My felt group's April workshop was to make felted flowers. Paige and Grace showed us some techniques using a cardboard cone. Above is the bouquet of flowers they made to show us examples of what we could try to do. The vase was felted in an earlier workshop.


A closeup of their flowers.




Paige showing us how to fine tune the felting of the inside of the flower. Materials included duct tape wrapped cone, bubble wrap, olive oil soap, netting, water.


Two of the finished flowers.


Our finished flowers. Now I just want to make an entire garden of felt flowers!


This is Judy's silk scarf that she embellished with pieces of felt, along with her flowers.

On Christmas Day in the Morning

A full moon on Christmas. How wonderful is that?!!!! I got up early, went out to feed the sheep and wish them a Merry Christmas, looked up and saw the most gorgeous full moon in the morning sky. I never tire of this view and definitely don't take it for granted.


Later in the day, the weather warmed up a bit and I remembered the 420 bulbs I'd bought back in October and thought I'd better get them in the ground before the dirt totally freezes. I bought mostly tulips, with a smattering of crocus and hyacinth. I tried to span a month's worth of blooming time, with some tulips fading as the others are just starting to show their colors. I adore tulips. They're so happy and perky and bring on a smile as I'm walking past them. I was inspired by Jane Brocket's lovely photos of tulips on her blog. I'm hoping I have enough to cut and put them in my vintage vases. This wasn't your typical way to spend Christmas, but it sure was fun digging in the dirt.

I put me hand into each bag, grabbing as many bulbs as I could and just threw them helter skelter on the dirt. The sheep poo that I'd put on back in September has composted nicely and I could just push the bulbs down with my fingers. March and April will be a tulipy time at Dancing Leaf Farm.

Studio Touring

Today was the first day of Cambridge Open Studios, an art studio tour that takes place every weekend in July. There are 250 artists involved and about 160 studios. I had my route planned, the map highlighted and notes written about the artists. I made it to 21 studios which I thought was pretty good considering I was pedaling like mad between the stops. Biking around the studios was the way to go though as parking is very limited.
Above is an artist who splashes on color. I loved her floor, as colorful as her canvasses.






As well as looking at wonderful artwork, I saw many vignettes in the studios that will make future paintings. I am really inspired to do more 'splashing' myself.



Studio Window



Sculpture in the Garden



This space was a garage until a couple months ago. It's now a beautiful, light-filled photography studio.



One of my favorite summer flowers is now in full bloom, the playful hollyhocks.



One of the artists owns this vintage triumph.



This photo looks all pixilated but it's actually the textured window.


Ann, the felt artist, bought all my leftover roving. Yeah! I won't have to haul it back. I used most of it up, but had about 4 lbs. left. She was quite happy to get some colorful bits.


I went to Richard Heep's studio twice, once alone and once with Houston. I thought Houston would be as captured by his photos as I was. We ended up buying his new coffee table book, 'Man's Ruin'.