Orchids

I've pretty much given up on the window farm. It was great to have herbs but there was a lot of maintenance on it. They also kind of died a quick death when I was traveling and had to move them to my friend's house. It wasn't my friend's fault but just that the set up with the tubes and air pressure is very finicky and I had it set up just right at my house. When I moved it, it was another long continuous fight with the air pressure to get the water to flow.

So, I'm sticking with my orchids! Who would have thought that I could get these guys to grow! My mom had an orchid that was her prized plant. I was terrified of killing it so for 15 years, it has been in a foster home. I was hoping that I could learn to grow orchids and not kill it. It's taken a while but I think I've finally got the hang of it. It helps that I have large east and south facing windows that get a lot of light.

The orchid that I call my Home Depot orchid was my last shot and trying to grow these guys. I knew I had to water it but I couldn't over water it. With this guy, I found my own personal trick on keeping them watered. This may be the third spike that it has sent up since I've had it and I'm very happy because it means that it likes me!

I did miss seeing the current spike develop and so I didn't get it staked in time which is why it just grew side ways. When it's not being photographed, I have the flowers staked to...

My little lady slipper!

When I bought this plant, it had a flower and two developing growths on the side. This flower is coming from one of those growths!

I also have this phalaenopsis. I got this guy and the lady slipper and my little mystery oncidium at the National Capital Society orchid show in 2012. Since then, I've had at least one flower on this guy! I am absolutely amazed! The flowers last for a long time and as they die off, more develop. With our wacky weather and the constant and drastic temperature changes, I think it's been promoting now branch growth for flowering. I expect to see some flowers within the next couple of months!

My mystery oncidium was purchased from the members' table at the orchid show. The members' table consists of little baby off shoots of members' plants. This one, I got for $3 to grow as an experiment. Okay, yes, it is actually labelled with what it's called but I rarely look at the label so I just call it the mystery oncidium. Orchid growth takes patience and I knew that it would take a couple of years before I could even possibly see a flower. It is that young. I just had to keep it watered but not over watered and keep it alive. Well, imagine my surprise when I looked at it the other day and saw a new growth and even root development! I'm doing something right!!!

Finally, my mini phal. I got it at one of the orchid society meetings and it had grown a spike once it had come home with me. I had noticed a few months ago that it started growing funny. It was growing little keikis! Keikis but no roots. I asked around in an orchid forum online and got some suggestions that the potting medium was probably too moist and suffocating the roots. After pulling it out of the pot, yup, they were right! I definitely still had a few good viable roots but it was definitely too moist. I just repotted it yesterday and I'm hoping it will settle in and dry out and roots can develop on those keikis so that I can separate them out into other plants!

Spun to finished

It's taken a couple of years but I'm always excited when I take a project from fiber, spin it up into yarn and knit up something with it.

It started out as a purchase in 2008 at Rhinebeck

And through the years it changed

It sat around for a few years as I tried to figure out what to do with it. I didn't want to make a hat or mitts. Then a couple of months ago, I stumbled across a pattern called the Quaker Yarn Stretcher that only takes a couple hundred yards of worsted and looks great with hand spun and creates a good sized scarf/shawl.

And so...

Taking a break for some socks (WIP Wed)

Sometimes, one has to take a break from other projects and just get the heel flap and turn done. Because sometimes, you need that peace and quiet to be able to concentrate. I just need to pick up stitches and the sock is ready to go as the traveling/commute project again! By the way, this is sock #2!

Some mitts!

It has taken me a while to get these mitts washed, blocked, and photographed. When I finished them, I was on a bus on my day trip down to Phillips Island to see the penguins. I was excited to finish them that day since it was going to be sun down when the penguins came back to land and it was the farthest south I was going to be on my trip to Australia and I wanted something to keep my hands warm.

After Australia, I was in Taiwan and still didn't have a chance to wash and block. After I returned home, I was constantly wearing them until now, when our weather has turned weird to be either too cold for fingerless mitts or too warm for mitts of any sort at all, all in the same day!

These are the Dual Cable Fingerless Mitts (ravelry link) with some Cascade 220 Sport yarn I got in a Puck This! swap. The cables were a little annoying but once I picked up the stitches for the mitt, it all went quickly. I did change the thumb to do a thumb gusset instead because I like that fit much better.

Galaxy Elfe

I give you the Galaxy Elfe. The sweater pattern is called Elfe and it uses a continuous sleeve method so one doesn't have to break the yarn. I had about 1200 yards of a continuous long color change to work with and I really didn't want to break the yarn!




All of this having been spun from 2 bats of the Galaxy colorway from loop!

Knitting away

Yup, all I've been doing is knitting. Not quilting, beading, or spinning. Not only just knitting, I feel like I've been knitting on this sweater for about forever. I've ripped back large parts of the sweater at least twice. It is some really soft yarn!