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Sunday, December 28, 2008

the calm amidst the storm.

in all the holiday mania, i neglected to mention that one of my orchids is in bloom (i know how much you all must care about this). the first bud opened on the morning of city of craft and it seems pretty happy. although...three blooms seems to be the norm when any of my orchids bloom (and i have only ever had blooms out of my phalenopses). anyone have any orchid tips for greater blooms.

i think it is also time to wish my oncidium a safe journey across the river styx. i have no idea what happened. it was doing great and pushing up new bulbs and then all turned black and died in the space of a couple of days. here's a photo from its greatest moment when i had just brought it home from last february's orchid show:



rest in pieces, little guy. i am sorry to have let you down.

today i also made a bit of time for quilt sunday at the workroom. it was a slim turn out but a good one. and, while quilting didn't dominated (shannon and i had a real crochet hen party in the corner), we all got lots of crafting done. and chatting. i always find these informal gatherings to be great think tanks for future happenings. we had some really great chats with jacqueline (of soak - which is an amazing product, by the way) about interactions with the corporate world and the pitfalls thereof. how boring. we totally exhausted maisy.



...as per usual.

shannon and i also got to raid the stash of yarn that leah left when she departed for europe. what a score! shannon and i have totally different tastes in yarn, too, so we happily split it all down the middle. look for all this stuff in the form of future boobs, dinks, plushstaches, plants you can't kill and sweets (from shannon) and neckwarmers and hats (from me). i can never keep up with shannon's prolificness. hey leah, do you have any special requests for your european tour? i could use some of this stuff to make you something. just name it and i will see what i can do.

7 comments:

leah b said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
elisabetha said...

i feed my "senior" orchids some kind of special food and they seem to bloom every two years. one particular pot hasn't bloomed for five years and this year buds started peeking out! they're temperamental creatures is all that i can conclude.

leah b said...

i'm really happy your respective talents are making use of the stuff i had to leave behind.

i've been crocheting a lot on the road, but when it comes to working in the round, everything i make turns out pointy - probably due to all the hyperbolic pseudo spheres i've done lately - but, i want to make a beret...what a good rate of increase to make the top flat? xo

sweetie pie press said...

if they are turning out pointy and you want them flat, you are not increasing enough. try doubling your stitches for the first few rounds then taper out the rate of increase.

i have been a very bad influence on you with my propensity for pointedness.

Julie Stenning said...

The first orchid in this post is just beautiful - and the photo of it is excellent too.

sweetie pie press said...

thanks, julie!

i am always so proud at the orchids that flower under my care (which i am sad to say was never the case with the yellow one).

my toronto orchid tip: if your washroom has a window, it is probably the best room for an orchid over the winter. these apartments are so dry in the winter.

pomly said...

So pretty! I got my first orchid ever for my bday in September. I came to the internet today looking how to care for it but I got sidetracked by reading blogs and here you are with the pretty orchids! Well first I saw these which made me think of you of course. http://myuglykitty.com/?p=351
Happy new year Sweetie Pie!!!